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EAST STUDENTS FIND DAMAGE TO BYRD LAKE NATURAL AREA

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:29 AM CST

Special to The Commercial

William Blair, a Watson Chapel High School EAST team leader, examines a shortleaf pine in the Byrd Lake Natural Area. Special to The Commercial

A tornado that damaged the Wal-mart Supercenter, First Assembly of God Church, a few homes and businesses also apparently caused several trees to topple over in the Byrd Lake Natural Area in late October.

The EF-1 tornado traveled a path of 2.6 miles Oct. 29, according to a spokeswoman at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission will send a team to review the damage, students said.

On Nov. 10, members of the Watson Chapel High School EAST team and Mary Smith, Audubon Arkansas director of education, discovered the damage in the Byrd Lake area, in South Pine Bluff near 52nd Avenue and Olive Street.

Smith and EAST students estimated that more than 30 large canopy trees were leveled on the property which spans 144 acres. One tree, an old short leaf pine with a 3 foot diameter may have been more than 100 years old, students said.

The Watson Chapel High School EAST team, led by William Blair, has directed efforts to promote the natural area. They have developed partnerships with Wal-mart, Lowe’s and their classmates to remove litter, build a picnic table and to monitor the area.

The team and Smith discovered the damaged trees on Nov. 10 when they arrived at the park to install a picnic table near the entrance and walk through to discuss future plans. After walking about 25 yards of the trail, they noticed the sunlight from the open canopy.

“You could tell that this park had been hit pretty bad,” Blair said.

According to the heritage commission’s Web Site, Bryd Lake is an oxbow lake that interacts with its parent stream, Bayou Bartholomew, when the water is high.

“The natural area is representative of the natural boundary between the West Gulf Coastal Plain and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Bald cypress trees surround the lake, while adjoining lands support plant communities that respond to fluctuating water levels and rich alluvial soils,” the Web site said.

“The higher slopes of the north bank of Byrd Lake are well drained and support a contrasting mixed pine-hardwood forest. A paved foot-trail provides visitors with access to the site. Due to its location within the City of Pine Bluff, development of nearby private land has the potential to impact the ecological integrity of the natural area,” the Web site said.

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