Greentree Reservoirs (GTR) are regarded as some of the best habitat for migrating waterfowl. The flooded timber provides warmth and shelter to birds where they are able to feed on acorns, seeds, and invertebrates. While conditions in many GTRs have long been predictable, it has become clear that without intervention, they are not sustainable.

Ducks Unlimited (DU) has partnered with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) on several GTR renovation projects, including the recently completed renovations to the South Unit at Henry Gray Hurricane Wildlife Management Area..

The South GTR is a prime example of one of the AGFC-owned GTRs that desperately needed action to protect and restore the original bottomland hardwood communities. AGFC conducted a forest health assessment in 2021 on the South GTR and determined over 400 acres of timber had already died due to current conditions. The number of acres of dead timber would continue to multiply each year without intervention. Our Restoration efforts to the South GTR focused on significant changes in water control infrastructure within the unit.

Restoration and enhancement efforts by DU and AGFC have restored a more natural hydrologic function to the South GTR, allowing the GTR to pulse more naturally and function as a true bottomland hardwood forest, improving the overall forest health and providing water quality benefits downstream. Functioning hydrology is the foundation for maintaining forest integrity. Project work included installing large structural spillways and removing existing dirt plugs to allow for a more natural flood pulse.

In Mississippi, DU has been working with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for several years to restore management capacity and infrastructure on Delta National Forest. Delta National Forest is approximately 60,000 acres in Sharkey County, Mississippi, and was established in 1955. Delta National Forest consists entirely of bottomland hardwood forest with stands varying in age from regeneration areas to mature forests. Being one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of mature bottomland hardwood forest in the Mississippi Delta and the only national forest composed entirely of bottomland hardwoods, Delta National Forest is a critical area for wildlife dependent on this ecosystem.

Enhancement work for the most recently completed project focused on Green Ash GTR and Dowling Bayou GTR. The main water control structures, as well as multiple auxiliary structures for both the Green Ash GTR and Dowling Bayou GTR were failing and needed to be replaced to continue managing the GTRs. Construction activities replaced these failing structures and repaired heavily damaged portions of the GTR levees. These enhancement practices have impacted approximately 1,600 acres of wetland habitat.

Ducks Unlimited works to restore Greentree Reservoirs in Arkansas and Mississippi