Streambeds And The Flood

[Danoinark]

Buddy Gough is a well respected outdoor writer in Arkansas. He has a perspective on what the flooding of late has done to our Ozark rivers and streams. His articles appear in the NW Ark editions of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.....Dano

Renovation by nature

BY BUDDY GOUGH

Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008

Residents of Arkansas and places beyond continue to battle the aftermath of last week’s deluge, which buried streams under walls of water surging to heights not seen in more than two decades. On popular paddling and float-fishing streams like the Kings and Buffalo rivers and War Eagle Creek, the surges came close to the record rises of December 1982. War Eagle Creek, where an optimum float level of 2 to 3 feet is somewhat rare, shot up to nearly 26 feet. The Buffalo National River crested at 22. 9 feet, or 17 feet above the low-water bridge familiar to many paddlers as a put-in point for floats along the upper river. The Kings River near Berryville topped out at nearly 35 feet, just 4 feet shy of the record crest of 38. 9 feet. Property damage and danger to human life acknowledged, such floods are a major force in the natural cycle of renovation and renewal for streams, leaving their habitats healthier than before. That explains the upbeat attitude of outfitter Mike Mills at the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca after last week’s surge. “The river is as healthy as I’ve ever seen it,” Mills said Monday. “The rise took some wide, shallow places and channelized them again. It cleaned out the deep holes, and it carried away a lot of the trash and debris along the banks. It was just what the river needed.” As owners of a new and untested canoe, Wayne Williams of the Rockhouse community and I were focused on the rise of Kings River, where we were planning a series of float-fishing trips this spring.

From his Madison County ranch home, Williams watched Rockhouse Creek grow to a roaring stream strong enough to uproot large trees and high enough to turn his pastures into lakes.

I was repeatedly on the phone with Ernie Kilman at Kings River Outfitters and officials of Carroll and Madison counties as the river surged toward the level of the bridges on U. S. 62 near Berryville and Arkansas 221 at Trigger Gap.

“You’ve reached Kings River Lake,” Kilman announced jokingly from his place of business on a hillside overlooking the river near the Trigger Gap bridge and the old low-water bridge just upstream. “It’s unbelievable !” he said. “The water is about 30 feet from my front porch and nearly up to the bridge. I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been here.” The muddy, debris-choked surge came rapidly, and it receded quickly, too. By Saturday morning, the Kings had retreated to a safe, floatable level of green-tinted currents.

CHECK-OUT FLOAT Williams and I had originally planned a maiden float in our new canoe for the full bloom of spring, when the smallmouth bass would be biting, but the renovation of the river called for a check-out trip.

Of special interest was the 16-mile stretch of the Kings between Marshall Ford and Rockhouse Creek, and more specifically the status of canoe access at the ford.

A new high-water bridge was recently completed at the ford in conjunction with removal of the old low-water bridge that had long been a major access to the upper river. We wondered how the new bridge had fared during the rise and whether access was still possible at the site of the old bridge.

The bridge crew had obviously built well, because the new span was still there and undamaged early Saturday morning. Thanks to its sturdy construction of steel decking and thick, concrete piers and wing walls at each end, it had withstood complete inundation.

Standing more than 20 feet above river level, the bridge also provided a good gauge for the magnitude of the rise. We estimated the water had risen about 8 feet above the bridge, judging from the height of accumulation of debris on nearby trees.

As for the access at the old low-water bridge, it will be a nice one, but not without some cleanup. A paved approach to the bridge had been left intact as a sort of ramp to allow paddlers to back their vehicles down to concrete barriers and carry their canoes a few feet to the water’s edge.

However, the flood had laid a pine tree over the beginning of the ramp, and the concrete barriers had been shoved out of place amidst a scattering of logs and limbs.

We ended up carrying our canoe down a steep, muddy bank to reach the river between the two bridges.

With the water flowing swiftly, we set out on a 16-mile venture that would be completed in three hours and 29 minutes at an average speed of 4. 6 miles per hour, according to Williams’ GPS unit.

The first impressive sight was the height of 20 to 25 feet of the debris line along the banks and in the limbs of overhanging trees. Throughout the float, our eyes would be frequently drawn to stumps and logs caught up in trees high overhead.

We also noticed the pounding that the streamside trees took from the debris being powered downstream. The bark on upstream side of trunks and large limbs had been nearly abraded away.

We were soon reminded of the beauty of the first seven miles of the stretch, which many paddlers regard as the prettiest along the entire river. It is characterized by a narrow channel lined with high bluffs of many configurations. The bluffs were further enhanced Saturday with waterfalls spilling down their faces.

The stretch usually includes narrow, rocky rapids requiring tight maneuvering, but the higher water level made for easier going, and the new canoe proved to be up to any challenges.

After seven miles, the character of river changed. There were still bluffs rearing to 300 feet or more, but they tended to be set back from wooded banks along a wider river channel with the conventional mix of broad, shallow gravel bars and long, deep pools.

Our main concern from beginning to end was encountering logjams or freshly uprooted trees blocking the way.

Logjams, of course, were numerous, but they had all been cleared and piled outside the main channel. This was most obvious where the surge had cut across the bends to carry the debris with it. Uprooted trees also were common, but the force of the current had pushed their trunks and limbs parallel to the banks. Much of the river had become like a freeway.

HABITAT ALTERATIONS The renovation of the river became more noticeable in the lower part of the float, where the surge had affected the prevalent gravel bars and long pools. During years between major rises, patches of sycamores and willows take root on the gravel bars. Known as “strainers,” these thickets narrow the channel. Over time, the strainers become clogged with silt and leaves. Well, the strainers were seriously strained — generally ripped, chewed and digested — during the surge. Gravel bars also were significantly altered. Where they had once spread low and shallow from bank to bank, they were now deepened and cut with one or more channels as gravel had been pushed downstream.

Some of the bars had undergone major excavation, with tons of gravel washed away to form a wider, deeper channel. In places, midstream gravel had been picked up and piled 4 to 6 feet high at bankside.

Where the water flowed over the gravel bars, the bottom was clean as could be.

Another problem between major rises is the gradual accumulation of silt and leaf matter on the bottom of the pools, but the recent surge took care of that by acting as a watery leaf blower.

From one pool to the next, we often noted large swaths of sand plastered high against steep wooded and rocky banks. In addition to leaves collected on the limbs of trees and brush, there were large piles of leaves collected on top of gravel bars at the ends of the pools.

The habitat alterations, of course, will be beneficial to fish like smallmouth bass, with the expanded and cleaner bottom providing greater production of crawfish and other aquatic forage.

The changes raised my hopes for the stretch of the Kings between Trigger Gap and Berryville. Designated as a “trophy area” with a minimum length limit of 18 inches for smallmouths, the stretch used to offer some of the best fishing along the river. In recent years, however, it has suffered from a general shallowing problem. That could now change for the better.

Rather than being a body blow to the Kings River, the flood should be seen as the beginning of a cycle of renewal.

From my perspective, a new canoe for a new river makes sense.

FEEDBACK:

[taxidermist]

I think you will see smallmouth fishing improve over the next few years. This heavy flow is just what we have needed.

[delta_queen]

did I tell you thank you for posting this? I should have; thanks.

[Al Agnew]

Glad to see others believe as I do that this big flood was long overdue and will result in better habitat. I'm looking forward to floating some of my favorite stream stretches and seeing how they've changed.

Small floods move gravel from higher to lower spots, so they fill in pools. That's all we've had for more than a decade, and the rivers were showing it. A big flood like this one scours the pools, piles the gravel high on the inside of bends, and blows some of it out into the bottoms.

[Danoinark]

Delta, your welcome.

Ditto Al

Dano

[Trav]

Flushes are are always good unless your looking to fish.

[taxidermist]

I checked a couple holes on Crokked Creek that had been filled with gravel for several years, one is over 12 feet deep now!!! The other is once again a hole. Did not catch anything as I was not fishing just using a 2 ounce weight to check the depth.