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Lake Dardanelle Shoreline Management Plan Update   

Reach Out to USACE

Comments may be submitted at the workshop, via the website above, mail, fax, or email with attention to:

Lake Dardanelle SMP Planner
Recreation and Natural Resources Section
USACE, Little Rock District

P.O. Box 867
Little Rock, AR 72203
Fax: (501) 324-6230

Email: LakeDardanelleSMPUpdate@usace.army.mil

Written comments must be postmarked, e-mailed, faxed, or otherwise submitted by March 5, 2025.

trees and a lake

Public Meeting Notice

The USACE will host a public meeting to collect public comments regarding the Lake Dardanelle Shoreline Management Plan Update. The meeting will be on February 18, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the USACE Russellville Site Office, 1598 Lock and Dam Road, Russellville, Ark. 72801

General Information

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Little Rock District, is updating the Lake Dardanelle Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). 

The SMP 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 use. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an Environmental Assessment of potential impacts of the draft plan will also be prepared.

What is a Shoreline Management Plan?

The Lake Dardanelle 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. The shoreline management plan is intended to protect this vital resource in a manner which will promote the safe and healthful use of these public lands and waters while maintaining environmental safeguards to ensure a quality resource for generations to come.

SMP Shoreline Allocations

On Lake Dardanelle, 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—Area 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)

What is NEPA?

The National Environmental Policy Act is our basic national charter for protection of the environment. It is foremost a procedural law that helps ensure that federal decision makers take a hard look at the potential effects of a proposed action and allow the public and other stakeholders to comment on the federal agency’s effects analysis and consideration of reasonable alternatives. The NEPA analysis helps these decision makers understand the environmental consequences of the alternatives in comparative form before making a decision. This “hard look” is informed by the public and other stakeholders, starting with a project or study’s scoping phase.

graphic describing the national environmental policy act
* click the image to enlarge 

The environmental review process that accompanies Corps planning studies and its value to the public are not always easy to understand. Recognizing this, and to help the public and organizations effectively participate in federal agency environmental reviews, the Council on Environmental Quality wrote the informational A Citizen’s Guide to the NEPA