On July 24, 1946, Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act authorizing the building of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (officially known as the Arkansas-Verdigris Waterway prior to legislation changing its name). Byrns had written editorials for four decades promoting navigation on the Arkansas River. Among its number was Clarence Byrns, editor of the Fort Smith Southwest-Times Record. That same year, the powerful Tri-State Committee, which handled the appropriation requests for Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, presented a waterway development program for the Arkansas River to the U.S. In 1946, the Arkansas Basin Development Association (ABDA) was established and led the effort for Arkansas River navigation legislation. Meanwhile, independent estimates put the cost for creating an Arkansas River navigation system much lower than the Corps’ figures therefore, Congress ignored the Corps’ negative report and passed a landmark flood control act in 1936, creating the Southwestern Division of the Corps, which then began work in the upper Arkansas, Red, White, and Black river basins. Army Corps of Engineers informed Congress that Arkansas River navigation was technically but not economically feasible due to the high cost of the project during the financial woes of the Great Depression. The next year, Congress passed a flood control act. This led to the formation of the Arkansas River Flood Control Association (ARFCA) to lobby members of Congress for a comprehensive flood control program. The Flood of 1927 made the Arkansas River a conduit for an eight- to ten-foot wall of water that destroyed nearly every levee downriver from Fort Smith (Sebastian County) to the Mississippi River. Disastrous floods had struck Oklahoma in June and October 1923. Part of the impetus behind such development was the prevalence of flooding along the Arkansas River system. In the 1920s, advocates in Arkansas and Oklahoma looked to river development as an achievable goal for the future. It then crosses Arkansas, emptying into the Mississippi River in Desha County. There, it is joined by the Canadian, Cimarron, Neosho-Grand, and Verdigris rivers. From its source near Leadville, Colorado, the river drops 10,000 feet in 125 miles, travels through Kansas, then through northeastern Oklahoma. Clinton Presidential Center and Park.Īt 1,460 miles long, the Arkansas River is the longest tributary in the Mississippi-Missouri River system. Many communities, such as Little Rock (Pulaski County) and North Little Rock (Pulaski County), have taken advantage of the development to enhance further riverfront developments, such as the River Market and the William J. Additionally, the system has numerous flood protection projects, hydro power plants, and soil conservation and recreational areas. Today, it is responsible for $1 billion to $2 billion in trade transportation in Arkansas each year and from $100 million to $1 billion in trade transportation in Oklahoma. Army Corps of Engineers at the time of its opening. Clair.The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) was the largest civil works project ever undertaken by the U.S. The tournament will determine the final order of the Angler of the Year standings, with only the Top 50 anglers advancing to the AOY Championship scheduled for Sept. “They’ve been promised nine events and then the Angler of the Year Championship, and we want to make every effort as an organization to make sure all of those events are held.” “Anglers have been working hard all year, jockeying for position in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings,” Weldon said. Leaving Fort Gibson as the tournament venue would have created a greater risk for cancellation. Tournament Director Trip Weldon, who notified the 75 Elite Series anglers of the change by email Thursday afternoon, said it was imperative to complete a full schedule of nine regular-season events. “We certainly made every effort to hold the event on Fort Gibson Lake, but the conditions just wouldn’t allow it.”ī.A.S.S. “The ongoing high water at Fort Gibson Lake and the uncertainty of dam repairs downstream at Webber Falls really left us no choice,” said B.A.S.S.
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