YAZOO PUMPS- HERE WE GO AGAIN

[Dingy]

Besides why in the world would you want a hundrend plus thousand acres of grass and food underwater in an area you couldn't hunt anyway? All this land is private and unless you happen to be in one of the clubs on it or one of the landowners you couldn't hunt there anyway.

To attract ducks into the region just like what happens in the N.E. delta when it floods out (which it still does regularily). There's lots of public hunting opportunity in the are that could benefit from having reoccuring high water since much of the bean land has been taken out of production.

It's more than just ducks. Water quality, nutrient cycling, Sediment processing, fish production, etc. The floodplain-water connection is a necessity to a functioning ecosystem.

[mudsucker]

What I don't understand is that the COE is , for lack of a better term, the gatekeeper for all wetland draining permitts. They'll throw a damn coniptiion fit about joe blow farmer clearing up 20 acres of wetland, but see no problem with draining roughly 26K acres of wetlands for one of their projects.

IT controlls floodwater to a specific reference(ie: elevation above sea level) NOT drain wetlands. How do you say this? Maybe wet during an abnormaly high flood event but not wet as wetland for 365/24/7! Joe Blow the farmerman would permently take out 20 acres of wetland in your scenerio. IS the 26K wet at current flood stage or below? Then it should be after pumps bring water levels down to normal!

Joe Mitchell
I suck mud 'fo the corp.
I DO NOT build levvies or flood control pumps!
New Orleans Dist. ACOE
2nd. Mate, U.S. Dredge Wheeler

[DanP]

I think the wetlands in question would have to be in the 1-2 year floodplain, 87-91 feet. Anything below this level would still receive backwater flooding b/c the pumps wouldn't come on until the water reaches 87 ft riverside and 87 or above landside of the Steele Bayou control structure. It's not like the corp is going to "pull the plug" and drain all these wetlands, just the water they depend on will be pumped back riverside. To put this in perspective, if the pumps were already installed, they would have cut on 1 time and ran for 9 days since August 13, 2003 (far back as the data goes that I can find). Also, the 26k of wetalnds are at risk of loosing their "jurisdictional status" because they will no longer be flooded an average of 15 (or so) days out of the year. But will they still function as wetlands? The reason the EPA wetland estimate is so much higher is because they don't require average innundation component. EPA also includes ephmeral wetlands in their estimate which are alomst exclusively dependent on rainfall and may even dry up, however backwater flooding does serve to rejuvenate these wetlands. Another benenfit is that water will be held 3' higher behind the Steele Bayou structure during low water periods, which is great imo.

Mudsucker to defend your job a little bit I think SOME NOT ALL streams, creeks, bayous could benefit from dredging ONCE, maybe, maybe twice. Delta waters are pretty much absent of benthic invertabrates because of all the DDT and toxaphene tied up in the sediments. The only way to get it out is dredging! Once on the bank and exposed to oxegen the half life of these chemicals is minute compared to what it is under water. Steele Bayou is a prime example, dredging it lowered DDT and toxaphene levels by like 60% (or something like that, Matt you could probably tell me since you wrote the EA). Get those chemicals out and build the invert population. I bet a few ducks would appreciate it. But I do not agree with repeated dredging from a biological standpoint and completely understand the argument. Just wanted to make Mudsucker feel good .

[Wildfowler]

It's more than just ducks. Water quality, nutrient cycling, Sediment processing, fish production, etc. The floodplain-water connection is a necessity to a functioning ecosystem.

Ya, that too.

[mudsucker]

My type of dredge does not even come into play on small rivers,streams,bayous,etc. We are specificly built for ship channels like the S.W. Pass of the Ms. river or Galveston entrance jetties, Gulfport channel, etc. We are 410'l X80'W with a loaded draft of 39.5'! Not one of the barge, cutter head dredges that you see up this way on the river! I see no value in dredging the Sunflower/Little Sunflower at all. No commercial traffic goes up it that I know of. Google"US Dredge Wheeler if you want to see pics and specs!

[Meeka]

Pintail, ducks need habitat, even when its NOT duck season!!!

And the sump has held ducks during spring floods. I have seen it for myself, and, if I'm not mistaken, once made a duck report in March/April or so one year in the infancy of MSDUCKS.

The area flooded (the sump) is largely uninhabited. Ride up Highway 61 and you see lots of homes and communities. They do not flood with the high water the pumps are designed to accommodate. That is why the homes, and the highway itself, is where they are.

And the flood doesn't hardly bother nobody, except farmers, cause the flood more often than not occurs in the late spring/early summer. And most of the farmland has been converted to WRP and much has been planted in trees. So what's the harm with the floods?

The ONLY advantages to not having that land flood every 3-5 years or so, are:(1) to spend money and give busy work to the COE; and (2) if one wanted to develop that cropland/timberland. So who do you think is pushing the pumps?

On the other hand, the benefits of the infrequent flooding are . . . . oh what the heck, if you don't know, ride thru dummy line or 702 or the roads from Valley Park to the Levee. Come back here and tell me what you see. You'll say "It all looked flat with almost imperceptable draws for drainage. Huge oaks and the forrest floor was clean. We got out and walked and it was like walking thru a park. We saw deer, ducks, bears, hogs, squirrels of all colors, gawking white birds, gators . . and no houses, just hunting camps on stilts"

There is a reason it is called the delta. It was made by floods and floods reinvigorate it (this one small remaining portion) every so often, as God intended.

[Wildfowler]

I talked about the number of ducks that are drawn into the area when it does flood. Here's a little perspective.

I'm sure most of you remember when the south delta did flood at the end of duck season a few years ago? I took the liberty of driving the Whittington levee at sunset. I was dumbfounded at the sight of all the ducks that were coming off DNF and PS headed to roost. Just in my little area of travel, I can say that I saw 40k fly out of the forest and off to roost in parts unknown. Simply amazing.

If our WRP land was contoured to resemble the original flood plain instead of impounded, and if we didn't have all the flood control measures in place that we do, we could expect to have ducks drawn into the area in dramatic numbers like this on a regular basis. It's very possible to have a successful hunt under such conditions if you're willing to try. (I know that when this was occurring, many hunters complained about the ducks being scattered. Which is probably true from the perspective of them abandoning typical 40 acre bean fields. There is some fantastic hunting to be had when this does happen. You may have to get out of your routine to be successful.) If we continue down the path we're on, there's no way we can ever expect to see this again in the south delta especially during duck season. There may be some individual landowners who have chosen to try to manage their property for waterfowl. At best, those plots may be an island oasis in a sea of otherwise dry trees.

I know that flooding is a major issue for people who choose to live and make their living in the area, but it really is a magical time for a waterfowler when it happens during duck season. Just ask the guys up in the NE delta which still floods regularly. I'd like to see us actually restore what's been damaged. Put the "R" back into WRP. Again, I will always be on record of believing that an individual landowner should have the right to be able to choose exactly how they want to manage their property. Sadly, from my perspective most of it doesn't appear to managed for waterfowl, which is what I think of when I think of the term "wetland".