The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, in conjunction with the Beaver Watershed Alliance, was awarded $80,000 for the Beaver Lake/Big Clifty Creek Fish Habitat Enhancement Project. This is an aging reservoir that has lost much of the course woody debris that originally provided habitat for fish populations.

The goals of the project will be to improve fish, wildlife and glade habitats on Beaver Lake and Beaver Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) by removing invasive Eastern Red Cedar trees from several areas around the lake and place them in 110 sites within Beaver Lake to improve fish habitat. Thirty of these sites will be located close to public use areas to improve shoreline angling success and increase access to under-served communities.

Additionally, excess sediment and nutrient inputs to Beaver Lake will be addressed by restoring 300 linear feet of eroded stream banks on a tributary stream, and use this as a demonstration project for other local landowners who have similar erosion issues on their property that are affecting water quality in Beaver Lake.