Woodpecker Halts Grand Prairie Irrigation Project

A sighting of the ?EUR??,,????'??extinct?EUR??,,????'?? ivory-billed woodpecker has stopped work on the Arkansas Grand Prairie irrigation project.

In March 2005, Granite Construction, Inc., of Watsonville, Calif., was flying high-it was awarded a $35 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build a pumping station near Devalls Bluff, Arkansas, part of the $319 million Grand Prairie irrigation project, a system of canals and piping to bring water from the White River to Grand Prairie farmers.

On Friday, April 2005, however, the USACE was asked to cease work on the irrigation project-until a study can determine how it will impact the ivory-billed woodpecker, a species thought to be extinct until spotted along the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Arkansas. On the same day, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission issued an ?EUR??,,????'??emergency proclamation?EUR??,,????'?? to help protect the woodpecker. Prior to that sighting, the ivory-billed woodpecker had not been seen in the U.S. since 1944 in Louisiana.

The work stoppage has pleased the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, the National Wildlife Federation and White River property owners, who had previously filed federal and county lawsuits to stop the irrigation project. The federal lawsuit was dismissed last year and is being appealed. The bird incident, may help the cause.

The USCOE reports that environmental impact studies have already been done on the region, concluding the irrigation project would not negatively impact the wetlands and habitat along the White River.