Earlier this year, the Beaver Watershed Alliance recognized Jim and Kathy Rollins for restoring nearly 1,500 feet of eroding stream bank on their cattle farm along War Eagle Creek. That’s the largest tributary feeding Beaver Lake, the drinking water source for more than 550,000 northwest Arkansas residents.
Recently, Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis joined staff from the Alliance and the Watershed Conservation Resource Center for a walk along the newly rebuilt banks to see what the restoration looks like on the ground.
On a windy January morning a few weeks ago, a gathering of engineers, nonprofit leaders, a farmer and one journalist convened at the Rollins family property. The tour starts at a farm pond that sets the stage for everything downstream.
Sandy Formica, executive director and co-founder of the Watershed Conservation Resource Center, says that years ago, a flood carved a new path from the pond toward War Eagle Creek.
“So there was a big flood. I don’t know which flood it was, but it went over, the pipes got clogged and it went over. And that’s probably what started that big hole over here. And the tributary going to the main channel.”
To repair that damage, WCRC engineer Jordan Holt says crews deepened and widened the pond, then used the gravel they dug out to rebuild the creek banks below.
“Yeah, we recovered a lot of gravel and material for the projects from this pond, so it’s kind of serving two purposes. We’re getting a lot of the material we need. We’re also expanding this pond, increasing that retention during those big storm events.”
The pond now slows runoff before it ever reaches the creek, holding water on the landscape instead of sending it all downstream at once. Down closer to War Eagle Creek is about 1,500 feet of what Formica calls new land.
“This is the old cut bank. So, like before we built this. If I’m standing here, the river would be right below my feet. So we reconstructed, and you haven’t seen the other side of that, we’ve reconstructed all of this.
“And we built, we used material from the point bar because it was accumulated for years and was too, too much material over there or was pushing on the bank. So we used material from there and we created wetlands, and we got a lot of happy beavers over there now, which is where we hope they stay.”
Engineer Holt explains how a mix of rock, logs and living plants work together to keep the creek in place.
“Looking upstream, you can see the extent of where the bio block and fabric has been established. We’re connecting to bedrock at the upstream end, and then we’re tying into that with our brush mattress, what’s called brush mattress and toe wood and rock. And this is all creating a foundation where we can bring back and restore this native riparian bank that’s going to help create flow resistance for big flood events, keeping water in the channel.”
Formica says that buried wood, called toe wood, solves the problem that was eating away at the Rollins land.
“So what was happening before the river, even at lower flows, was eating away the toe of this bank. And then as it ate away the toe, then the top part, especially if it was saturated, it would fall in. And that’s how the erosion was happening. And so by protecting the toe, we’re protecting everything back behind it.”
The restoration does more than just hold soil in place. As crews reshaped the banks, they salvaged native Carolina willow from a gravel bar across the creek.
“This whole point bar over here was full of Carolina willows, which is the main native willow that you’ll find on the Ozark streams around here. And as much as possible, we either transplanted it directly or we cut it up and made stakes out of it. And we’re actually growing a ton of it from that material in our greenhouse right now for other projects.”
Those willows, along with shrubs, grasses and trees yet to be planted, will form a thick riparian buffer that filters runoff from the pasture. Some of the most important work on the site will happen after the heavy equipment leaves. Formica says her team has committed to at least a decade of follow-up.
“We will maintain this for at least 10 years. It’s not a one-time deal on any restoration project, whether it’s wetlands or stream, prairie. You have to maintain them or you won’t get the same functionality that you’re looking for. And this project, we want this to be here for decades and decades. So 10 years of maintenance relative to how long this is going to be here is nothing.”
The maintenance plan includes checking for damage after big floods, irrigating and fertilizing new plants, and fighting back invasive species.
“Anytime you disturb soil, you’re inviting invasive species in. So it’s really our responsibility, or anybody’s responsibility who does restoration, to do follow-up if they’ve disturbed the soil and make sure invasives aren’t coming in.”
The Rollins primarily use the land for their cattle operation, which shaped the design, too. Formica says landowner Jim Rollins asked to keep the creek banks vegetated with foliage like gamagrass and wildflowers for his cows grazing. However, the animals are staying back from the new banks for now, while roots knit the fresh soil together.
As they walk, the discussion turns to the creek’s deeper past. Beaver Watershed Alliance CEO Becky Roark and landowner Jim Rollins add that this valley was once home to Indigenous peoples.
“The Osage tribe settled up and down this, and this was even upstream as a part of the Trail of Tears, I believe.”
“This whole valley all the way, as far as you can see. You can imagine it being a campground. You see signs of where they built their fires under the rock overhangs all up this way.”
Rollins says over the years, museums and universities from several states have visited the property to study that heritage. Therefore, holding the banks in place helps protect both the working landscape and the cultural history underneath its soils.
The restoration on the Rollins Farm is just one piece of a much greater effort on War Eagle Creek. The project is funded through the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, part of a $5 million War Eagle Creek Watershed Initiative that combines federal funds with local matching dollars to support conservation practices across the watershed at no cost to landowners.
Partners include the Beaver Watershed Alliance, Beaver Water District, the Watershed Conservation Resource Center, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Farm Bureau and several state agencies and local governments. Formica says those partnerships matter long after the excavators leave.
“Beaver Water District is one of the main partners that helps us to maintain projects in the Beaver Lake watershed, but we have other partners like City of Fayetteville and others that help us. Arkansas Natural Resources Division of the Department of AG, all of them help us to have funding because you got to have funding to do that. So all of those sources help for that long-term maintenance.”
And there is still work to be done here in the near future. On Feb. 7, the center will host a volunteer planting day on the property. The team plans to install more than 1,500 plants and will serve hamburgers and hot dogs to all participants.
As the field trip wraps up, Formica looks out over the rebuilt area between the creek and the pasture, the new bank, armored with brush and rock, and a rising bluff on the far side. From the headwaters of Madison County to this bend in War Eagle Creek to Beaver Lake itself, the health of northwest Arkansas drinking water depends on places like this.
You can visit the Watershed Conservation Resource Center’s Facebook page for more about the upcoming volunteer day on the Rollins property and ways to get connected.
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