Announcements

New Shoreline Management Documents Available

Updated versions of the Shoreline Management Plan can be found HERE.

 

Draft shoreline management documents are available

Draft versions of the Shoreline Management Plan, Shoreline Management Plan Environmental Assessment, and Shoreline Management Plan Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) documents can be found HERE.

 

Workshop schedules posted

The Army Corps of Engineers is hosting Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan draft workshops Feb. 24-25 to share information about the update process and to collect public comments concerning shoreline activity around the lake. Locations and times can be found HERE.

 

Greers Ferry Shoreline Management Plan Update Map

Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan Revision

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Little Rock District, is updating the Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). The SMP for Greers Ferry Lake establishes policy and furnishes guidelines for the protection and preservation of the environmental characteristics of the shoreline while maintaining a balance between public and private shoreline uses.  The planning process will include an analysis of potential effects on the natural and social environment, including fish and wildlife, recreational opportunities, economics, land use, cultural and historic resources, aesthetics, and public health and safety. 

 July 2020

UPDATED  Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan Revision with signed Memo 
UPDATED  Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan with FONSI 

- SMP Alternative 1 - No Action

- SMP Alternative 2 - Preferred

- SMP Alternative 3 - Conservative

- SMP Alternative 4 - Selected

Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan Scoping Report 

Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan Revision - Draft Release Report

Appendix A

Draft Public Notice - Postcard

Draft Public Notice - News Release

Draft Public Notice - E-Mail

Appendix B

Greers Ferry Lake SMP Media - News Clipping 

Appendix C

Draft Document - Comment Card

Draft Document - Flyer

Appendix D

Greers Ferry SMP - Land Classifications

Greers Ferry SMP - Operational Management Plan 

Appendix E

24 February Meeting - Sign-in form

25 February Meeting - Sign-in form

Greers Ferry Lake SMP Comment Matrix and public comments

February 2020

Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan PRINTABLE Comment Card

-- NOTE the comment period is now over.

Shoreline Management Plan Draft Workshop Schedule:

Monday, February 24
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Heber Springs Community Center
201 Bobbie Jean
Heber Springs, Arkansas

Tuesday, February 25
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Fairfield Bay Lions Club
365 Dave Creek Parkway
Fairfield Bay, Arkansas

 Greers Ferry Shoreline Management Plan - DRAFT
 Greers Ferry Shoreline Management Plan FONSI - DRAFT 
 Greers Ferry SMP Environmental Assessment - DRAFT

August 2019

Scoping Meeting Poster Board

Shoreline Management Plan Update Comment Card

Scoping Meeting Flyer

Shoreline Management Plan Update Scoping Meetings

Wednesday, August 21 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Heber Springs Community Center 201 Bobbie Jean Heber Springs, Arkansas

Thursday, August 22 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Fairfield Bay Lions Club 365 Dave Creek Parkway Fairfield Bay, Arkansas

Greers Ferry Lakes Shoreline Management Plan 2004

General Information

About Greers Ferry Lake

The Greers Ferry Lake project on the Little Red River is located about two miles northeast of Heber Springs, Arkansas, about 65 miles northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas, and about 132 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee, and was authorized by the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938.  The total area contained in the Greers Ferry project, including both land and water surface, consists of 41,194.5 acres and comprises 306.3 miles of shoreline.

  • The original Greers Ferry Lake SMP (also known as the Lakeshore Management Plan) was approved in 1974.
  • This plan was subsequently reviewed, updated with public involvement, and approved by the Division Engineer, Southwestern, in February 1976.
  • This plan was reviewed again and updated with additional public involvement in 1982.
  • Revision of 36 CFR 327. 30 in 1990 required the Little Rock District to convert its currently approved lakeshore management plans to shoreline management plans. The District's draft operating policy for shoreline management was made available for public review and comment in May 1991. This Shoreline Management Plan became effective date on April 16, 1993.
  • Following public review of the April 1993 Shoreline Management Plan, Supplement No. 1 was added and that version of the Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan became effective on November 21, 1994.
  • The last review of the Shoreline Management Plan began on January 26, 1999. That plan was approved by the Division Engineer, Southwestern, on March 14, 2000, and at a public workshop held in Heber Springs on March 16, 2000, the District Engineer presented the approved Shoreline Management Plan to the public.
  • However, an organization known as Save Greers Ferry Lake, Inc., filed suit in federal court claiming that the Corps had failed to comply with NEPA. In May 2000, the U.S. District Judge issued a temporary injunction that ruled the associated environmental assessment did not support an overall finding of no significant impact.
  • Following the injunction, the Corps withdrew the 2000 SMP, reverted to the 1994 SMP, and publicly announced that it was going to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to continue the process.
  • The EIS was completed in April 2002.
  • The final selection was a preferred alternative combination that conforms with existing laws and regulations and best balances public uses of lake shoreline for recreational opportunity, public safety, and environmental protection.
  • An updated version of the SMP went into effect in 2004.

Greers Ferry Lake was authorized for five missions:  Flood control, generation of hydroelectric power, recreational opportunities, fish and wildlife, and storage to provide water supply (Municipal & Industrial water supply). 

What is a Shoreline Management Plan?

The Greers Ferry Lake Shoreline Management Plan is the required USACE approval document (ER 1130-2-406) that protects and manages the shorelines of all Civil Works water resource development projects under Corps jurisdiction in a manner which will promote the safe and healthful use of these shorelines by the public while maintaining environmental safeguards to ensure a quality resource for use by the public.

The Greers Ferry Lake SMP main objectives are to manage and protect the shoreline, to establish and maintain acceptable fish and wildlife habitat, aesthetic quality and natural environment conditions and to promote the safe and healthful use of the lake and shoreline for recreational purposes.

Shoreline Management Plan Shoreline Allocations

On Greers Ferry Lake, shoreline may be allocated into one of these categories:

  • Limited Development Areas—Areas where boat docks and other shoreline use activities are permitted.
  • Public Recreation Areas—Areas adjacent to or within parks which restricts the issuance of shoreline use permits. 
  • Protected Shoreline Areas – Areas designated to protect aesthetic, environmental, and fish and wildlife values.  No boat docks or other shoreline use permits are allowed in these areas.
  • Prohibited Access Areas—Areas immediately upstream from the dam where private docks and shoreline uses are prohibited for safety and security reasons.

(These four shoreline allocations are designated by 36 CFR 327.30 and ER 1130-2-406)