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The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is
currently soliciting public comment on
proposed changes to the trout management
plan for the Beaver Lake tailwater trout
fishery. The Commission will act on these
recommendations this coming Fall. Beaver Lake
is the first lake in the White River chain of
lakes that were created when a series of
hydro-electric and flood control dams were
constructed along the White River in the middle
of the twentieth century. With the construction
of these lakes came the destruction of one of the
world's finest Smallmouth Bass fisheries due to
the cold water being pumped from the bottom of
these deep mountain lakes. In response, the USFWS,
USACE, AGFC, and MDC built a series of trout
hatcheries in the region and began stocking
trout in the tailwater sections of the White
River below each dam and in Lake Taneycomo. The
Beaver Dam tailwater lies completely within the
state of Arkansas and is located in Northwest
Arkansas near the famous tourist town of Eureka
Springs and within an hour of the booming greater
Fayetteville area. The tailwater consists of 8
miles of riparian habitat.
The Beaver tailwater has long been considered
unsuited for the natural reproduction of trout.
As such, it has been managed by the AGFC as a
put-and-take trout fishery. During the past
two decades, AGFC has heavily stocked the
tailwater with Rainbow, Brook, Cutthroat, and
Brown trout; with the bulk of the stocking
consisting of Rainbows. But recent studies by
AGFC coupled with a series of public input
meetings with Beaver tailwater stakeholders
have led Darrell Bowman, the head trout biologist
for AGFC, to submit a series of regulation
changes and management recommendations to
the commissioners. These recommendations
are as follows:
1. Reduce rainbow trout stocking rate to
96,000 eleven-inch catchables, annually.
2. Reduce brown trout stocking to 5,000,
six-inch fingerlings.
3. Skip stock brown trout every other year.
Skip 2005.
4. Eliminate current 16-inch minimum length
limit on brown trout.
5. Regulate entire tailwater with 13 to 16
inch slot limit for all trout from Beaver Dam
to Houseman Access. 5 trout per day (only 1
over 16 inches). Bait fishing allowed only
with single barbless hooks.
6. No bait-fishing zone replaces the present
catch-and-release area.
Furthermore, the US Congress has allocated land
and water to build a trout hatchery along the
shores of the Beaver tailwater more in hopes
of enriching the biomass of the tailwater with
the nutrient-rich effluent from the hatchery
than because of the need for the fish. The
trout for Beaver currently come from AGFC and
USFWS hatcheries in the Ozarks and, if adopted,
these new management practices would curtail
the number of trout currently being stocked
there. But is this hatchery an impending reality,
or just a pie-in-the-sky pipe dream? About the
hatchery, one local angler and outdoor writer
recently wrote, "A hatchery? Hell yes I'd like
a hatchery! But you show me the money...Congress
allocated the water and the land, not the cash.
We will not have a hatchery on the ground inside
the next 5 years..."
"Congress has allocated sufficient water to
operate a trout hatchery," said Stan Todd,
assistant trout biologist for the AGFC, "but
construction funding has not been authorized."
"A big problem below Beaver Dam," Todd added,
"is low minimum flow, which limits the number
of invertebrates and small fish that trout eat.
Effluent from a hatchery would increase minimum
flow and provide a ready source of trout." And
there you have the rub. According to the Beaver
fishermen that I've talked to, it seems unlikely
that the hatchery will be built anytime soon.
However, one local fly shop employee who attended
both public meetings reports, "As a former
Commissioner said at the first meeting, the AGFC
has the money NOW. It's just a matter of priorities."
So the obvious question is: Is AGFC proposing
these changes in management practices for Beaver
because the hatchery is coming, or are they
proposing the changes and hoping that
a hatchery might follow? Right now,
no one knows, or...if they do...they aren't talking.
In the end, it seems to me that the changes
in management at Beaver could have a positive
impact either way. But they would obviously
be far more successful with the hatchery in
place. It also seems to this author that with
the Beaver tailwater less than an hour's drive
from one of the fastest growing regions in the
United States, namely the
Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale area of Northwest
Arkansas, the possibility of getting the hatchery
funded is pretty good. Giants in Arkansas politics
such as Wal-Mart (who has a strong vested interest
in fishing) are headquartered in the region, and
will certainly be in favor of improving the quality
of recreational opportunities for their employees
and vendors. The same could be said for the
University of Arkansas, transportation giant,
JB Hunt, and Tyson Foods, Inc. It seems that
everyone stands to gain from the proposed
hatchery except possibly SWPA, the regional
energy conglomerate that operates the dams.
If money is indeed short for the project, it
seems to me that private stakeholders and the
state government should join forces to seek
financial assistance from these huge companies.
I'm almost certain one or more of them would
contribute to the project, providing matching
grants to make up any shortfall in the state
budget. I just don't see how such a project
could fail if structured properly and presented
well. Finally, local members of organizations
like Trout Unlimited, the Federation of Fly
Fishers, and other sporting and conservation
groups need to petition their organizations
to become proactively involved. And anglers
who would like to see a much-improved Beaver
tailwater should write their national and state
representatives to voice support for the hatchery
project. ~ Ken
About Ken:
Ken graduated from Southern Methodist University
in 1988, and spent the next several years serving
in the United States Navy as an intelligence analyst
and Russian Language translator. He is a veteran
of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Leaving the
nation's service in 1993.
Ken is also a published outdoor writer and historian,
having penned articles and stories that have appeared
in several national hunting publications like North
American Hunter magazine, on GunMuse.com, in regional
and local newspapers, and historical and literary
journals. He has also provided hunting and dog
training seminars for Bass Pro Shops and other
sporting goods retailers nationwide. He volunteers
his time to Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited,
as well as several local charitable organizations.
He is also a REALTOR with Coldwell Banker in
Branson, Missouri; where he lives with his wife,
Wilma, and their Weimaraner, Smoky Joe.
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