Big Cypress Bayou
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Big Cypress Bayou/Caddo Lake, TX & LA - Enhancing connected rivers, lakes, and wetlands
In eastern Texas the Big Cypress Bayou flows into Caddo Lake, which was named a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. Sustainable Rivers Program activities are seeking to re-introduce seasonally timed variability in river flows to regenerate rare cypress forests, support bottomland hardwoods, and improve fish habitats.
Reduced flow variability has also allowed invasive species to impact much of the native ecosystems. Collaborating with many partners, the Corps and Conservancy are aiming to use periodic high flow conditions and dry spells to invigorate floodplain and backwater habitats.
Big Cypress Bayou - In eastern Texas, Big Cypress Bayou flows into Caddo Lake, which was named a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. Sustainable Rivers Program activities seek to re-introduce flow variability to regenerate rare cypress and bottomland hardwood forests and restore fish habitats (USACE photo).
Big Cypress Bayou - Reduced flow variability on the Big Cypress Bayou has allowed invasive species to impact much of the native ecosystem. Collaborating with many partners, the Corps and Conservancy are aiming to use periodic high flow conditions and dry spells to invigorate floodplain and backwater habitats (USACE photo).
Lake O' the Pines - Fort Worth District works with several partners to determine the appropriate water releases from Lake O’ the Pines Dam to support the study at Caddo Lake (USACE photo).
Lake O' the Pines – Release works - View of the outlet tower and pool at Lake O’ the Pines reservoir (photo by John Hickey, USACE).
Big Cypress Bayou below Lake O’ the Pines - A calm day on Big Cypress Bayou just below Ferrell’s Bridge Dam and Lake O’ the Pines Reservoir (photo by John Hickey, USACE).
Big Cypress Bayou above Caddo Lake - Paddlers explore Big Cypress Bayou at Caddo Lake State Park near Karnack, Texas (photo by John Hickey, USACE).
Caddo Lake - The Big Cypress/Caddo Sustainable Rivers project involves Caddo Lake, located in Northeast Texas, and its contributing tributaries and associated wetlands. The watershed is approximately 2,970 square miles, about a third of which is regulated by Lake o’ the Pines and other upstream reservoirs (photo by John Hickey, USACE).
Gravel Bar Building - Environmental flows are used to help flush fine sediments. Gravels are placed to establish a gravel bed in Big Cypress Bayou for Paddlefish spawning habitat (USACE photo).
Paddlefish Reintroduction - Paddlefish released in the Caddo Lake, Big Cypress Bayou water system. Water releases are timed to encourage Paddlefish spawning (Caddo Lake Institute photo).
Story
The Caddo/Cypress Sustainable Rivers project is focused around Caddo Lake, located in North East Texas on the Texas Louisiana border, its contributing tributaries, and associated wetlands. The watershed is approximately 2,970 square miles, about a third of which is regulated by Lake o’ the Pines and other upstream reservoirs. Lake o' the Pines is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer reservoir with the dam and associated infrastructure, as well as all the lake project lands, being federally-owned and administrated by the Fort Worth District, for the primary purpose of flood control and secondary purposes of water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. Read More
Partners
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District
- Caddo Lake Institute
- North East Texas Municipal Water District
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Resources
KEY PUBLICATIONS- Summary Report Supporting the Development of Flow Recommendations for the Stretch of Big Cypress Creek below Lake O' The Pines Dam. Texas A&M University, 2005
- Environmental Flow Regime and Analysis Recommendation Report. Trungale Engineering and Science, 2010
- Application of a Framework for Monitoring, Reporting and Managing Dam Operations for Environmental Flows at Sustainable Rivers Project Sites at Lake O' The Pines on Big Cypress Creek. Trungale Engineering and Science, 2014
- Fish Community Indices for Long Term Monitoring in Response to Implementation of Environmental Flow Recommendations in the Caddo Lake Watershed. Trungale Engineering and Science, 2015
- Installation of the Big Cypress Bayou Monitoring Network: Groundwater, Soil Moisture, and Long-Term Vegetation Plots 2012-2013. Environmental Conservation Alliance, 2013
- Final Report for Big Cypress Bayou Paddlefish Reintroduction Experiment. US Fish & Wildlife Service, 2015
- Baseline Assessment of Physical Characteristics, Aquatic Biota, and Selected Water-Quality Properties at the Reach and Mesohabitat Scale for Three Stream Reaches in the Big Cypress Basin, Northeastern Texas, 2010-2011. Braun, Christopher L. and James B. Moring, 2013
Publications
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