The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Beaver Watershed Alliance and Natural State Streams recently worked with volunteers to plant native trees on the newly renovated banks of Clifty Creek in east Benton County and west Madison County.
The creek is a tributary of the War Eagle River, which is a major tributary of Beaver Lake.
The effort is part of the Beaver Lake Fish Habitat Project funded by the Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership, Bass Pro Shops, and Fish America Foundation. A total of 300 trees and shrubs were planted to improve the riparian area on the banks of Clifty Creek.
Healthy riparian areas have vegetation that filters pollutants from runoff before the water enters the stream. Planted vegetation by volunteers will reduce the chance of erosion along the stream bank. That means less sediment will end up in the War Eagle River and Beaver Lake. Sediment is a major cause of pollution in Ozark streams such as the War Eagle, White and Kings rivers.