Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Randall Townsend | The Little Rock District is actively engaging the public in its effort to update the...... read more read more
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock District has embarked on an aggressive schedule to revise the master plans for three of the most popular recreational lakes in the district. Many of the District’s projects across Arkansas and southern Missouri have had no major revisions to their respective master plans since the 1970s. A master plan is the strategic land and water use guidance document that describes how the resources of the lake will be managed in the future and provides the vision for how the lake should look in the future.
“Over the last 40 years, demands on our lakes have increased substantially and the Corps has the responsibility to gather public comment, weigh existing and future interests, and develop a master plan to maintain the sustainability of the lakes for generations to come,” said Dana Coburn, Environmental Branch Chief, Little Rock District.
The master plan revision for Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, was completed earlier this year and the revision process for Beaver and Bull Shoals lakes are in full swing. The process from the initial planning and public scoping workshops to the release of the revised plan takes approximately 18 months. The public comment period for Bull Shoals Lake closed in early October and the public workshops and comment period for Beaver Lake will begin in February of 2015.
“The public workshops help us to capture all the public comments during the scoping process,” Project Manager Tony Porter said.
“The scoping report provides an analysis of the comments and we’ll use this information to draft the new master plans.”
The master plan revisions will classify public lands around the lake based on environmental and socioeconomic considerations, public input, and an evaluation of past, present, and future trends.
“At the heart of the master plan are the land and water classifications. These classifications could affect future recreational opportunities and natural resource management,” Coburn said. “A question the team members have been asking as they go through this process is, ‘should areas stay in the current classification or should they be changed to another classification and why should that change happen?’”
Classifications of public land and water around the lake are:
• Project operations - Includes land around the dam.
• High density recreation - Examples are Corps parks, other campgrounds, marinas and large scale commercial operations.
• Environmentally sensitive areas - Examples are areas around the lake aimed to preserve the scenic, historical, archeological, scientific, or ecological value.
• Low density recreation - These areas are designed for general hunting and fishing access and are the only areas where private boat docks and mowing permits might be allowed through the shoreline management plan.
• Wildlife management - These areas are managed specifically for wildlife and fisheries habitat.
• Vegetative management - These areas are where vegetative management activities can occur, such as timber management.
• Future/inactive recreation areas - Many campgrounds have been closed around the lake; some were placed in previous master plans, but were never developed.
New Water Surface Classifications
• Restricted Areas could restrict water activities near dams, spillways, or water intake structures.
• Designated No-Wake Areas could be designated near Corps swim beaches.
• Fish and Wildlife Sanctuary Areas could be areas that are considered ‘sanctuary’ to fish and wildlife species.
• Open Recreation Areas are the rest of the lake.
The planning process includes an analysis of potential effects on the natural and social environment, including fish and wildlife, recreation opportunities, economics, land use, cultural and historical resources, aesthetics, and public health and safety.
Once all public comments have been collected, a scoping report is made available to the public, and a preliminary draft master plan and environmental assessment are complete, the Corps will begin planning focus group meetings with stakeholders, partners, concessionaires and local interest groups.
“We’ll hold focus group meetings to see if the preliminary draft master plan captures the comments and opinions of the public, partners and stakeholders in conjunction with the missions, guidelines and regulations of the Corps,” Porter said.
The Bull Shoals draft master plan should be complete by the summer of 2015, and Beaver Lake’s draft master plan should be ready for public review in early 2016.
“Once the draft documents are complete, we’ll hold more public workshops around the lakes to again let the public provide input,” said Coburn. “We had tremendous interest from the public at Bull Shoals when we started this process and we hope that will continue throughout that lake’s revision process and during the process at Beaver Lake.”
The master plan does not address the details of how and where shoreline use permits may be issued, however, it does set the stage for implementation of the shoreline management program. After the master plan is revised, the operational management plans and shoreline management plans will be revised to be consistent with the goals identified in the new master plans.
The team has already started the planning process for a revised shoreline management plan at Table Rock Lake. Public scoping workshops and comment period will also begin in February 2015.
“The revision of both the master plans and shoreline management plans at our recreational lakes impacts many aspects of life in the communities surrounding the projects,” added Coburn. “We want to ensure our processes are transparent and that we take the comments of all stakeholders into consideration, in conjunction with the missions, guidelines and regulations of the Corps, to develop the best way forward. Ultimately, environmental sustainability of our lakes and rivers is a guiding principle the driving force behind the much needed plan revisions.”
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2014 14:53 |
| Story ID: | 148807 |
| Location: | LITTLE ROCK, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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