Arkansas Grand Prairie Irrigation Project Memphis Corps of Engineers

The Arkansas Grand Prairie has become an unfortunate victim of three consecutive years of above normal temperatures and below normal rainfall. The National Drought Mitigation Center says the region’s warmer seasons and lack of natural moisture have caused a drought condition ranging between abnormally dry and extreme. Groundwater has quickly become the Grand Prairie’s most precious natural resource. More...

Groundwater supplies found below the Arkansas Grand Prairie have been shrinking for the past 70 years because natural recharge of the aquifers has not been able to keep up with demand. The shallower Alluvial Aquifer was once a prime water source for agriculture but its capacity has been diminished, and deeper wells are now drawing on the region’s supply of drinking water contained within the deeper Sparta Sand Aquifer. More...

An important natural resource to the State of Arkansas, the White River bounds the Grand Prairie on the east and continues to play a key role in the region's evolution. The White River drainage contains a viable wetland ecosystem providing prime habitat for both wildlife and fisheries. The River's most important ecological role may be as a well-defined migration corridor for North American waterfowl, while providing wintering habitat for the world's largest concentration of mallard ducks. More...

This portion of the Natural State - The Grand Prairie - is rich in fish, wildlife and outdoor tradition. From the White River National Wildlife Refuge to the south, up through the Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area, and into the Wattensaw Wildlife Management Area near DeValls Bluff, this region offers unlimited year-round recreational opportunities for a wide variety of outdoor interests. More...

Because the Grand Prairie region is so rich with fish and wildlife habitat, nature abounds. While most of the original Grand Prairie was cleared and leveled for farming during the early-1900s, many aboveground and greentree reservoirs were also created as seasonal waterfowl habitat. Bottomland hardwoods along with seasonally flooded bald cypress (Taxodium distichum ), Tupelo gum or water Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) make up the forest along many of the region's creek and bayou drainages to create a wide variety of prime fish and wildlife habitat. More...

If the White River is the Grand Prairie's lifeblood, then agriculture is its economic engine powered by thousands of rice and soybeans acres. Stuttgart has long been known as The Rice and Duck Capital of the World because of the region's exceptional rice production, storage, processing and marketing capabilities. The harvest residue from rice affords a natural attraction to waterfowl and is a welcomed bi-product that helps make duck and goose hunting a secondary source of income for many landowners. More...

The Grand Prairie includes the first American settlement west of the Mississippi and early on was inhabited by the Quapaw Indians. This vast prairie landscape was later cleared and farmed by many European immigrants. Communities including Humnoke Indians and Eastern European Slovaks are present-day examples of the region's historic diversity. The Grand Prairie region has also produced many waterfowling legends including Chick Major (1896 - 1974), a sportsman, duck call maker, duck-calling champion and member of the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame. More...