May 2007
Fourche Creek Watershed Initiative
Little Fourche Creek Assessment Report
by Johnnie Chamberlin, Victoria Whaley
Prepared for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Acknowledgements
This work is made possible through a grant from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency as a part of its Targeted Watersheds Initiative and through the
continued support of Audubon Arkansas partners and donors.
The Targeted Watersheds Grant Program is an EPA program designed to
encourage successful community-based approaches and management techniques to
protect and restore the nation's waters.
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... i
Summary and Recommendations ....................................................................................... ii
Maps of Reaches with Reach Assessment Scores ............................................................. iii
Little Fourche Creek Reach Summaries ............................................................................. 1
Map of Fourche Creek Watershed. Little Fourche Creek is shown in blue.
Introduction
The Little Fourche Creek Assessment Summary is a compilation of data gathered
in the field using the Unified Stream Assessment protocol and forms developed by the
Center for Watershed Protection. Using these forms Audubon Arkansas employees hiked
each reach of Little Fourche Creek and recorded human impacts such as cleared riparian
vegetation, illegal dumping, eroded stream banks, and leaking sewer lines.
This summary provides information about the location, quality, and
characteristics of each reach. Potential restoration projects are also discussed when
applicable. The first section of this report provides an overall description of Little
Fourche Creek and potential projects that would improve the quality of the creek. The
next section contains color-coded aerial maps that illustrate the location and overall
condition of each reach. The final section contains detailed descriptions of each
individual reach and contains several photographs including an aerial photograph to give
the reader a good idea of what the reach and surrounding area looked like at the time the
assessment was conducted. This document is best viewed in Microsoft Word at 150%
zoom.
Summary and Recommendations
Little Fourche Creek begins in the area around the southern end of Geyer Springs
Road and flows northeast through a rural area to the south of Little Rock. The entire
length of the creek is extremely sinuous and swampy except for where it has been
impacted by human activities. From its headwaters, Little Fourche Creek flows under a
high bridge on Hilaro Springs Road. Just downstream of this bridge the creek has been
channelized, cleared, and widened. The development bordering this section of the creek
was likely built within the 100-year floodplain and wouldn’t be permitted today. The
creek would benefit from reversing the floodplain encroachment in this section and
reforesting the stream channel and banks.
From the channelized area, the creek meanders north to Baseline Road. The creek
is often more than a quarter-mile wide in this area and is full of cypress trees. The
number and density of trees in the channel decreases as Little Fourche Creek makes its
way north and flows under 65th Street. In this area the creek is still hundreds of feet
wide, but is mostly open water. Downstream of 65th Street the creek is channelized and
flows between Interstate 30 and some large sedimentation ponds near the 3M quarries.
The creek passes under Interstate 30 into Fourche Bottoms Park. It flows under a
sewer maintenance road in two places and into several large borrow ponds. While Great
Egrets are commonly seen in these ponds, water quality and habitat could be improved
through planting trees in the shallower and often dry areas of these ponds. Little Fourche
Creek is channelized and straightened from where it exits the borrow ponds to where it
enters Fourche Creek. The banks along this section are rapidly eroding and contributing
large amounts of sediment to the creek. This problem could be lessened by redirecting
some flow back to Little Fourche Creek’s historical channel, located nearby to the
northeast.
ii
Maps of Reaches with Reach Assessment Scores
The following maps illustrate the locations of reaches assessed on Little Fourche Creek and the
score assigned to each reach on a scale of 0 (Worst) – 160 (Best).
Examples of a low scoring reach (left) and a high scoring reach (right):
Reach number increases as you head upstream. Reach LITTLEFOURCHE001 is the furthest
downstream of the reaches and ends at the confluence of Little Fourche Creek and Fourche
Creek.
iii
Little Fourche Creek Reach Summaries
The following section contains detailed summaries of each reach assessed on
Little Fourche Creek. Photos are provided along with information regarding reach
location, stream channel substrate, surrounding land use, and major problems. ‘Right’
and ‘left’ are used to describe locations of objects while facing downstream.
1
Little Fourche Creek Assessment LITTLEFOURCHE001
GPS Start: Lat 34.70395 º Long -92.30650º
GPS End: Lat 34.70219º Long -92.30458º
Date: 4/3/2007
Surrounding Land Use: Park
Total Survey Reach Score: 87 /160
Dominant Substrate: Cobble
Reach Length: 670 ft.
This reach flows through a wooded area between a high-voltage power line crossing and
Fourche Creek. This section is channelized and has very high, rapidly eroding banks.
Several large trees have fallen into the creek due to bank failure. This reach will likely
continue to erode unless more flow is directed down the old channel that also drains the
large man-made ponds in that area.
2
Little Fourche Creek Assessment LITTLEFOURCHE002
GPS Start: Lat 34.70219º Long -92.30458º
GPS End: Lat 34.70195º Long -92.29891º
Date: 4/3/2007
Surrounding Land Use: Park
Total Survey Reach Score: 66/160
Dominant Substrate: Silt/Clay
Reach Length: 2220 ft.
This reach flows between a sewer maintenance road located near Interstate 30 and a high
voltage power line crossing the creek near its confluence with Fourche Creek. This
section of the creek has been dramatically altered from its natural state. The creek flows
through a series of several large, open borrow ponds that attract lots of Great Egrets.
This area would benefit from reforestation with cypress and other flood tolerant tree
species. More trees would shade the creek and provide more habitat for wildlife. Public
access to this area will likely be increased in the near future, after large scale clean-ups
and road improvements are completed.
3
Upstream Areas of Little Fourche Creek
The rest of Little Fourche Creek was difficult to navigate by foot due to dense
undergrowth, private property concerns, and the creek’s wide, swampy nature. We
stopped at several points along the creek where it flowed under roads. The following
section contains photos from these points and a description of surrounding areas.
Sections are described in a downstream to upstream ordering.
Interstate 30
GPS Coordinates: 34.700270° -92.298913°
Distance Upstream from Fourche Creek: 0.65 miles
Surrounding Land Use: Interstate/Quarry Dominant Substrate: Silt
This aerial is of Little Fourche Creek in the area where it crosses under Interstate 30. The
creek is channelized along the east side of the highway and borders large quarry retention
ponds.
4
65th Street
GPS Coordinates: 34.688759° -92.301441°
Distance Upstream from Fourche Creek: 1.57 miles
Surrounding Land Use: Interstate/Industrial
Dominant Substrate: Silt
This section of Little Fourche Creek is very wide and swampy. It is bordered by
industrial sites, Interstate 30, and a railroad.
5
Baseline Road
GPS Coordinates: 34.667404° -92.308875°
Distance Upstream from Fourche Creek: 3.16 miles
Surrounding Land Use: Residential/Forested
Dominant Substrate: Silt
The creek in this area is very swampy and full of cypress. Though water is covering a
wide expanse in this section, there appears to be a smaller, highly sinuous channel. This
is especially true upstream of Baseline Road.
6
Hilaro Springs Road
GPS Coordinates: 34.657327° -92.322332°
Distance Upstream from Fourche Creek: 4.40 miles
Surrounding Land Use: Residential/Forested
Dominant Substrate: Silt
The creek in this area is very swampy and full of cypress. Though water is covering a
wide expanse in this section, there appears to be a smaller, highly sinuous channel
winding through the area. This is especially true upstream of Baseline Road. This reach
would benefit from reforestation of the stream banks and reversing some of the
floodplain encroachment that has been permitted along the creek.
7