Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Is located in the rapid below the big rock slide and above daddys knee

Thanks to Cooper and Cole for clearing a passage by the tree, but the strainer is still a danger. I have tried to attach a picture of the tree to this post.

This gave us a few tense moments, because you could not see that it was all the way across the river until after you rounded the corner and were getting pretty close to it. We had a couple of younger paddlers that are still learning how to catch eddies, and I was really concerned at one point when one of them got within 5 to 10 feet of going into this sideways. It was a good reminder that no matter how well you think you know a creek or how recently you’ve floated it, things can and do change.

The whole situation just brings together a series of basic safety mantras – have a more experienced paddler in the lead, stay together as a group for safety, don’t run anything blind, eddy catching is a safety skill, not just a “play” move, and so on.

I think the next flood will move this tree, because it doesn't really seem to be hung up on anything, but until that happens, be careful!

For those who care, one commonly accepted definition for woody debris is wood which exceeds 10 cm in diameter and 2 meters in length (or 3.9” by 6.5 feet). By that definition, Cole and I did NOT remove any woody debris from the creek; we trimmed a few much smaller branches. But anytime there is a discussion that touches on removing wood from creeks, I always post a link to this:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... ody_debris" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cowper thank you for posting this information for ones that are new to this sport. I know I will be working on those eddies when back paddling again . Got my new helmet today, a rocker with face shield and it is white, matches yours Cowper. Thanks for all you do to keep us safe.

Karla

Thanks for all you do to keep us safe.

AMEN

Cooper=hero...u 'da man!

Hey, you guys aren't giving due credit to Cole!

Sorry really did not mean to leave Cole out. He is a good guy too. Thanks Cole for your support helping out when needed and your support to others on and off the river. Kuddos to you.

Karla

As pointed out in the AW references, woody debris "size" was selected as a general parameter with which to judge the importance, or functionality, of a fallen tree or branch in a waterway. The functionality of the wood in the ecosystem varies depending on the particular location it occupies in a specific waterway. A discarded baseball bat can form a dam in a small ditch, pooling up water by damming the ditch from bank to bank, and giving small acquatic creatures a lifesaving refuge. Removing the bat might be evironmentally unsound, say, if the ditch had been a natural channel with bat-sized wood in it (roots, limbs) that was dredged cleanly to a uniform shape. The bat would be simulating the former natural setting of the stream.

Cutting a 24 inch diameter log that has fallen into a creek into sections three feet long and leaving it in the creek would not perform the same function as leaving the log intact. Whether or not cutting that log into three foot sections was environmentally undesirable depends on what function the log was performing in the particular spot it occupied. If a log spanned a creek from the top of one bank to the top of the other bank (not a very wide creek), it would not provide the benefits of pooling water or collecting sediment to help retain nutrients. Cutting such a log into three foot segments and dropping them into the stream might very well create ecologically desirable habitat.

Judgment is definitely required when removing wood from a waterway; size is only one factor to be used in making that decision.

Mike Coogan