Arkansas Stream Team
The Arkansas Stream Team program is an opportunity for all concerned citizens to get involved in river, stream and watershed conservation efforts here in The Natural State. Through education, stewardship, and advocacy, the program encourages safe use of Arkansas’ streams, rivers, springs and bayous. Stream Teams in Arkansas help control litter, work on streambank stabilization projects, improve fish habitat, and monitor water quality.
HAVE YOU EVER floated a stretch of river and thought it just begged for a clean up? Is the high riverbank on your property seriously eroded? Have you quit swimming in the neighborhood creek because there’s scum water draining from a pipe upstream? There’s a solution to your problem, but it will require team effort to get the job done.
Arkansas water is as valuable to Arkansan as oil is to Texas. Over 90,000 miles of streams lace the Natural State, from the mighty Arkansas River to small creeks you can jump across. These rivers, streams, bayous, creeks and springs provide millions of hours of recreational activity, millions of gallons of drinking water, water for irrigation and industry, and millions of dollars of income to the state and its citizens.
Unfortunately, we’ve hurt the quality of many Natural State waterways. We’ve lost thousands of miles of free-flowing, natural streams to damming, industrial and agricultural pollution, in-stream and off-stream mineral mining, and numerous other impacts. In fact, recent studies indicate we’ve lost over 25 percent of the state’s smallmouth bass streams this century. Volunteers are needed to help resolve these problems.
Arkansas’ Stream Team program provides opportunities for concerned citizens to become involved in stream and watershed conservation. Efforts revolved around three primary aspects of stream conservation: education, stewardship and advocacy.
Education: The Stream Team program provides information to increase understanding and appreciation of Arkansas stream systems. Volunteers receive training in water-quality monitoring and streambank maintenance and restoration techniques.
Advocacy: People with first-hand knowledge of problems, needs and solutions are better equipped to weigh both sides of a stream issue and speak out on behalf of Arkansas’ rivers and streams. The Stream Team program teaches volunteers how to work for the proper conservation of Arkansas’ water resources.
Stewardship: The Stream Team program helps landowners and stream users plan and carry out projects by matching them with the appropriate agency or ongoing organizational efforts. Litter control, streambank stabilization, streamside tree plantings, improvement of fish and wildlife habitat, water-quality monitoring and other special projects are all possible. Missouri started its Stream Team program in 1985. Today they have more than 800 Stream Teams with over 24,000 people working to improve the condition of Show-Me State streams. Working with landowners, volunteers have repaired hundreds of miles of eroding streambanks. They’ve monitored water quality on thousands of miles of streams and have picked up tons of litter.
With your help, the Arkansas program can be equally successful. Write to: State Stream Team Coordinator, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, and request a sign up form, call Steve Filipek at (501) 223-6369, or click on the link below.
Return the completed
form and you will receive an inventory form and directions for surveying your chosen stream. Stream Team members can adopt a stream, determine its current situation and plan a project based on their initial survey. This is done with the landowner’s approval and technical assistance from program sponsors. Projects can include litter pick-ups, water-quality monitoring, streambank erosion control, watershed improvement and more. Your imagination is the only limitation.
Join the Arkansas Stream Team. Get your feet wet, and help us conserve Arkansas’ streams for future generations.