The War Eagle Creek Watershed Initiative (WECWI) has been active since March of 2023, to advance landscape-scale conservation and provide source water protection for more than 550,000 residents of Northwest Arkansas. War Eagle Creek is the largest tributary in the Beaver Lake watershed and is a contributor of both sediment and phosphorus with several creek segments not meeting State standards. This initiative is part of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), with Beaver Watershed Alliance as the lead partner, along with Watershed Conservation Resource Center, Beaver Water District, the NWA Land Trust, Madison/Washington/Benton County and altogether, fifteen partners in total.
The total financial assistance funding is $2,400,000 to assist agricultural and forest producers and landowners to voluntarily implement innovative and traditional land management practices over a five-year period. Partners have also committed $2,629,684 in matching funds. The program funding is a cost-share program, with additional funding available to assist historically underserved landowners.
Pictured above: War Eagle Creek Watershed Initiative area. Developed by WCRC.
Land management practice implementation is the primary goal of this project to address the resource concern of water quality through reducing field sediment, nutrient and pathogen loss. The land management practices that this program is focused on include forestry management, ponds, pasture practices, sediment catchment basins, unpaved road improvements, low tech erosion control, riparian enhancement and streambank erosion control. In addition, land conservation to permanently protect forest lands, working farms and streamside areas is also an important component, in partnership with the NWA Land Trust. Conservation Management Plans and Nutrient Management Plans are being developed by local NRCS and Conservation District staff to guide landowners and producers in land planning and help reduce on-the-farm costs, as well as Site Assessment Plans and Wildlife Management Plans developed by the Alliance as a USDA Technical Service Provider.
Beaver Water District’s support of $2,010,200 is enabling stream sampling, monitoring with USGS gages, technical support to partners, and helping to provide supplemental cost-share funding for land management practices.
“At Beaver Water District we have adopted a multi barrier approach to drinking water safety, and of course, protecting our source of water, Beaver Lake, is our first line of protection. We are thrilled with the partnerships that we have within the community with organizations like beaver watershed alliance, the northwest Arkansas land trust, and others that help us better accomplish our goals of protecting our source water. Best management practices such as land conservation, stream remediation, sediment reduction, and public education are just some of the efforts needed to preserve Beaver Lake for generations to come.” – Trish Ouei, Director of Public Affairs, Beaver Water District
In addition to the implementation of land management practices, the Alliance is also working with partners to provide education and outreach, and in-the-field training to War Eagle watershed area residents. Public workshops and field days have been a great way to bring those interested to the field or classroom to learn more about conservation and land management practices and learn the process of applying for cost-share funding.
November 15, 2023 – Ag Field Day near Witter, AR.
This program has already experienced successes, and to date, the following milestones have been achieved:
Education and Outreach:
- 10 mailers have been delivered, reaching 8,737 landowners on average.
- 10 workshops and or events held with 372 attendees, including a streamside management workshop, forestry management workshop, and a farm field day.
- A fact sheet on the project is available in both English and Spanish for landowners.
- Four fact sheets have been developed on general project practices, low-tech erosion control methods, natural channel design for streamside landowners and karst land management.
Management Plans and Assessments:
- The Watershed Conservation Resource Center (WCRC) provided technical assistance to develop and complete a stream restoration design plan for a large streambank restoration project along 1,600 ft of War Eagle Creek. In addition, 1,100 feet of an unstable tributary that runs through the project site will be restored through its confluence with War Eagle Creek. Construction will be initiated in late 2024 and implementation of this project will reduce over 5,000 tons/year of sediment and 3,700 lbs/yr of phosphorus to War Eagle Creek.
- The WCRC provided technical support and developed priority areas for sediment basins and unpaved road improvements to reach the highest reductions in sediment and nutrient runoff.
- The local Conservation Districts have developed 21 nutrient management plans for 1,290 acres of pastureland to assist farmers and NRCS staff have developed 54 Comprehensive Land Conservation Management Plans.
- Sixty War Eagle Creek landowners have applied for financial assistance for conservation practices implementation, of these, 76% of applicants were from Historically Underserved communities.
- To date, 46 War Eagle Creek landowners have been awarded $1,405,115 in financial assistance.
- The Alliance has developed 25 Site Assessment Plans, a base plan for all landowners to utilize to manage their properties and learn more on funding assistance.
Land Management Practices:
- Beaver Water District and Farm Bureau have invested significant funding to assist in the cost-share for land management practices to be installed, to reduce the financial burden to landowners. Part of this funding is going towards the installation of four to six modified-ponds this Fall in critical areas of the watershed to reduce peak flows and provide the landowner with a useful land management tool.
- The Northwest Arkansas Land Trust (NWALT) has conducted 8 outreach events in the War Eagle watershed to identify landowners interested in placing voluntary conservation easements on their property. NWALT staff are in discussions with two landowners exploring permanently protecting their land with a conservation easement.
- Beaver Watershed Alliance has provided technical assistance to 158 landowners, conducted 66 landowner site visits, and implemented 61 land management practices in the War Eagle Creek watershed for this initiative.
The RCPP promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand the collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Through RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address.
“We look forward to the coming years to continue to build on this momentum in the War Eagle watershed. The level of investments, partnerships and targeted focus on priority practices to reduce sediment and nutrients and assist landowners with land management issues and challenges is a win-win for the watershed area, as well as a viable model for landscape-scale conservation and protecting our drinking water source, Beaver Lake.” – Becky Roark, Executive Director, Beaver Watershed Alliance.
For more information on the RCPP program for War Eagle, reach out to the Alliance at info@beaverwatershedalliance.org, or call 479-750-8007 for direct assistance.
This initiative is through USDA that is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
