Miller County Authority wants to refurbish bayou to address erosion issues

The Southern Miller County Authority expressed a dream about refurbishing Mercer Bayou to correct the problems due to erosion and utilize the assets of Interstate 49.

Deryl Jones and Caleb Mudford, representing the SMCRDA explained the “dream” to correct the problems of erosion, fish kills in addition to log jams at the confluences of the Red River and Sulphur River.

“We have dreams for Southwest Arkansas,” said Jones during the Red River Valley Association Conference Wednesday in the Texarkana, Arkansas Convention Center.

The authority wants to improve the ecosystem in Mercer Bayou and has the help of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. The group also wants to utilize economic development along the five exits from Fouke, Ark. along Interstate 49 to the Louisiana border, Jones said.

A video presentation showed the erosion of the Sulphur River at the confluence of the Red River and the Sulphur River.

The group has an agreement with the game and fish commission to implement a five-year plan to improve the conditions of the bayou for the wildlife, hunters and anglers.

With the erosion, plant growth and algae, Mercer Bayou is shrinking.

The group wants to use Mercer Bayou as an eco-

nomic driver for the county through tourism in the Fouke and Doddridge area.

The erosion has costs some landowners to lose acres of land, Mudford said.

The game and fish commission will start draining the bayou July 1, Mudford said, who is an engineer with MTG Engineers & Surveyors.

In a meeting earlier in the spring in Fouke, representatives of the game and fish commission said the benefit of the renovation will include: sediment compaction, vegetation control, reduction of unwanted fish species which includes the silver carp, spotted gar and bow-fin.