A team from the Memphis District, led by District Commander Col. Vernie Reichling, met Gen. Walsh and officials from The Nature Conservancy, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the White River boat ramp in Clarendon, Ark. All of these agencies and organizations have expressed an interest in supporting the proposed project and ecosystem restoration initiatives.

   Col. Reichling welcomed the group of about 15 people, and spoke about the importance of the proposed work.

   “I went out on the Internet yesterday and looked at the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance,” he said. “The lower Cache and White River watershed was number three on the list in the United States. That says a lot.”

   The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries (including the U.S.) to maintain the ecological character of their "Wetlands of International Importance" and to plan for the wise use, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.

   Gen. Walsh echoed Col. Reichling’s emphasis on the importance of the watershed and noted that protecting and enhancing the resource was the reason everyone was there. Memphis Planning Chief Edward Lambert provided a brief overview of the proposed project, then most of the group boarded two shallow-draft boats and traveled upstream on the White River to the Cache River where they viewed several proposed meander restoration sites.

   Current efforts on the Cache River trace their roots back to 1970 when the Corps received the green light to perform channel excavation – better known as “channelization” – on more than 230 miles of the river and its tributaries. Although channelization had been the standard technique for flood control for many years, scientific and engineering studies by then were showing that this method often caused environmental damage.

   The construction that began in 1972 channelized four miles of the river and cut off several natural meanders before environmental groups succeeded in halting the work with a Federal Court injunction in March 1973. The injunction was lifted in 1976 and crews completed an additional three miles of channel enlargement before the Environmental Protection Agency also came out in opposition to the project. The Corps then halted further channelization work.

   Now, nearly 35 years later, the Corps is seeking ways to perform a major ecosystem restoration project on the lower seven miles of the river. Initial studies have indicated that restoring the meanders that were cutoff will significantly increase the fish and wildlife habitat of this Ramsar-designated “Wetland of International Importance.”

   But as is often the case, the challenge is finding sufficient and appropriate funding for the project. That was one of the primary reasons for the recent meeting.

   As it stands now, restoration of all six meanders initially identified is likely to cost around $13 million. However, since the work is to be accomplished through the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP), Congressionally mandated spending limits are in place – in this case, $6.6 million for the combined Federal and non-Federal cost share.

   Corps planners have identified some potential solutions to this financial roadblock. These include either constructing part of the project (perhaps restoring three of the six meanders) or seeking other means to finish the work, or moving from a CAP project to a General Investigation (GI). Both of the alternatives have merits and drawbacks.

   At the end of the day, everyone agreed on two points: Restoration of the Lower Cache is a high priority, and timing is critical.

   “We can’t get back time,” Gen. Walsh said. “Now is the time to agree and execute a plan.”