Re-Wilding Wildcat Creek
A riparian restoration project in partnership with the US Forest Service.
The Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service partnered to plant 3,784 native trees, shrubs, and grasses along an eroded section of Wildcat Creek in Tontitown, Arkansas. Over 39 different native species were planted by IRWP staff, US Forest Service staff, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff, and 29 volunteers!
The updated Upper Illinois River Watershed Management Plan was published in October 2024.
These native plants, along with livestock exclusion from Wildcat Creek, will allow the riparian buffer to revegetate and armor its eroded streambanks, improving water quality for the Illinois River Watershed and the lease-holder’s livestock operation.
The recently updated Upper Illinois River Watershed Management Plan labelled livestock Access Control as one of the most impactful Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water quality improvement. Excluding livestock from streams and wetlands can decrease land/soil erosion, decrease bacteria in streams, reduce fence maintenance costs, and improve livestock health, and improve water quality.
Since 2018, data has shown a slowing in the rate of improvement in the amount of phosphorus present in the Upper Illinois River Watershed. This does not mean progress hasn’t been made, but it does mean that every private landowner and public land manager has an opportunity to make a positive impact for water quality. Studies have shown that Non-Point Source Pollution a significant source of nutrients and bacteria as compared to Point Source Pollution.
So, how can Illinois River Watershed cattle producers help improve water quality? By establishing and maintaining riparian buffers along waterways, limiting cattle access to streams and providing alternative watering sources, and implementing rotational grazing systems, producers can play a key role in improving water quality while supporting the long-term sustainability of their operations.
Want to start improving water quality on your farm? Schedule a free site visit with IRWP.
The US Forest Service (USFS) manages the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, including the lands along Wildcat Creek on the Wedington Unit. The USFS partnered with IRWP to address streambank erosion, reduce bacteria and sediment loading into the Illinois River, and improve livestock access and management.
IRWP worked with local contractors to develop two new ponds and exclude cattle from spring runs and wetlands. Excluding cattle from a creek is a great starting point to implementing a Rotational Grazing plan that can improve pasture’s forage production and soil health.
Newly constructed pond with hardened access.
14,280 linear feet of fencing were built along the spring run, wet prairies, Wildcat Creek, and around ponds to limit cattle access. This fencing allows the lease-holders to rotate between paddocks in a rotational grazing system, providing rest periods for the forages to regrow and supporting improved soil health.
Heavy use areas were installed to protect pond access and entrance areas are managed using floating electrical fence.
1,234 native tree and shrubs were planted along 5,763 linear feet of Wildcat Creek and its tributaries.
Three gallon potted trees and shrubs were planted along 3,250 feet of Wildcat Creek at 15 foot intervals. An additional 300 live willow stakes were harvested from nearby Logan Springs Preserve, with permission from The Nature Conservancy, and hammered in along the toe of 300 foot of eroding streambanks.
Species planted included Boxelder, Red Maple, Silver Maple, Paw Paw, Riverbirch, American Beautyberry, American Hornbeam, Native Pecan, Shagbark Hickory, Buttonbush, Redbud, White Fringetree, White Flowering Dogwood, American Filbert, Cockspur Hawthorn, Green Hawthorn, Ozark Witchhazel, Deciduous Holly, Black Walnut, Sweet Gum, Black Gum, Ninebark, Sycamore, Cottonwood, White Oak, Bur Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak, Water Oak, Willow Oak, Northern Red Oak, Shumard Oak, American Linden, and Slippery Elm.
IRWP Volunteers planting natives trees and shrubs along Wildcat Creek.
2,550 native grass and sedge plugs were interspersed to improve soil stability in key areas.
IRWP installed 2,550 native grass plugs along 500 linear feet of unstable streambank after livestock exclusion fencing was installed to help establish the riparian buffer. These faster growing herbaceous species will mature and help stabilized streambanks sooner while larger trees and shrubs get established.
Species included Switchgrass, Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Canada Wild Rye, Prairie Dropseed, and Bottlebrush Grass.
IRWP’s mission is to improve water quality through public education, outreach, and the implementation of conservation practices, and volunteer tree plantings like this are a perfect demonstration of those three pillars in action! This volunteer planting took place over two days and saw 29 volunteers! Thank you to all of the volunteers who donated their time and energy to this project. Volunteers came from Siloam Springs High School, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists, Burns and McDonnell and Rockline Industries.
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