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	On one side of the White River, undisturbed forest, on the other, farm fields. © TNC View more photos from the Big Woods and the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Threats to the Big Woods of Arkansas

The Big Woods of Arkansas is a working forest and river system with tremendous ecological, economic and cultural value. For generations, its timber has been felled, its cleared bottomlands plowed and planted, and its rivers harnessed and tamed — all representing economic progress and offering substantial benefits to people. But the ecological costs have been high.

Altered river flows

The Mississippi and its tributaries have experienced intensive alteration for more than a century, especially following the devastating floods of 1927. To control flooding and provide for navigation and agricultural irrigation, levees and dams have been constructed, wetlands have been drained, and waterways have been diverted and “channelized,” or deepened and straightened.

As a result, the natural hydrologic regime – the rhythm of seasonal high and low water flows that shaped the ecosystem – has been altered. The frequency, duration and extent of flooding have been greatly reduced in some places and increased in others, with important consequences for the health of the wetland forest.

When the forest is cut off from its life-giving waters, wetland trees give way to upland species and some trees like cypress cannot regenerate. Channelization and the draining of wetlands have lowered water levels, triggering destructive riverbank erosion and the permanent drying out of large areas of former wetlands, as well as destabilizing the river channels themselves.

Habitat loss and fragmentation

As recently as the 1970s, when the price of soybeans skyrocketed, creating incentives for farmers to clear and plant what were considered marginal lands, large tracts of forests were still being cleared in the Big Woods.

All told, more than 90 percent of the original eight million acres of forested wetlands have been lost in Arkansas. What remains of the once-vast forest has been reduced to ever-smaller patches insufficient to support many native migratory species.

Today, these patches of bottomland hardwood forest occur as small “islands” isolated from other forest patches. As forests continue to be broken into smaller fragments by roads, ditches, urban development and gravel mines, the number of plants and animals that can survive in those patches decreases.

Habitat alteration

Because of changes to the hydrological regime, the Big Woods has experienced some unnatural changes to its forests and waterways. Tamed rivers are now more prone to erosion. As riverbanks erode, forest vegetation loses its foothold and is swallowed by the river. Ultimately, the forest is cut off from the river entirely.

Clear-cutting and short-rotation forestry continue to degrade bottomland hardwood forests. As old-growth forest has been cut over the years, and cypress and tupelo trees fail to regenerate without a natural flooding regime, native species like the ivory-billed woodpecker have suffered. The loss of marshes and cane breaks has contributed to the threatened status of many birds, including both the ivory-bill and Bachman’s warbler.

Decreased water quality

Non-point source pollution associated with runoff from farming operations has a direct bearing on the region’s water quality. Sedimentation from gravel mining and sand dredging, runoff from industrial operations, and salinization from irrigation are also sources of water-quality problems.

For More Information About the Ivory-billed Woodpecker:

• The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
  Follow the ivory-billed woodpecker on a journey through historic America lasting one hundred and eighty-five years.
• Audio Chat: Phillip Hoose Speaks About the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
  Listen to Phillip Hoose, author of The Race to Save the Lord God Bird speak about the recent rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker in a live online audio chat.
• How You Can Help: Donate online
  Support our efforts to conserve this critical habitat for the ivory-bill and other species.
• Ivory-billed Woodpecker News
  See ivory-billed woodpecker photos, maps of the ivory-bill's habitat, and other news and information about the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker.