Федеральная программа принесла озёру Каддо экономическую выгоду в 2,86 млн долларов

Study: Federal program yields $2.86M in benefits for Caddo Lake Published 5:39 am Monday, July 6, 2026 A federal program promoting the health of rivers and streams has yielded millions of dollars in benefits for Caddo Lake, a leading conservation organization said. For every dollar the Sustainable Rivers Program has invested in the health of Caddo Lake and the Big Cypress Bayou, the region has realized roughly $8 in benefits related to tourism, fishing, outdoor recreation and more, according to a new independent study commissioned by the Nature Conservancy, which advocates for environmental conservation across the nation. From 2010 through 2020, the Sustainable Rivers Program spent roughly $320,000 at Caddo, according to the report. That amount of money yielded roughly $2.86 million in economic benefits. “Communities are benefitting from the boating, bird-watching, hunting and fishing that a healthier river makes possible,” said Laura-Ashley Overdyke, executive director of the Caddo Lake Institute. The program has improved water quality, wildlife habitats, fish populations and more at Caddo and in the Big Cypress Bayou, thus improving the recreational opportunities available, according to the report. The study, conducted by the RTI International nonprofit research institute, found that the Sustainable Rivers Program is living up to its goal of improving waterways downstream from man-made dams in places across the country. The program is in effect at 65 locations across the nation. It operates within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates dams such as the one at Lake O’ the Pines, which is upstream from Caddo Lake. The United States has more than 90,000 dams, many of which were built for flood protection, navigation or water supply, according to the Nature Conservancy. However, when dams hold back water that once flowed freely in rivers and streams, downstream ecosystems can be negatively affected. Fish can die, wetlands can dry up and water quality drops. The Sustainable Rivers Program, however, works to counteract those effects. As part of the program, environmental and scientific research is used to determine the best way to operate dams — when to open and close dam gates primarily — so that the animals, plants, lakes and rivers downstream receive water in a helpful way. “By adjusting how existing dams operate — without new construction, without new infrastructure — it creates water flows that more closely mirror natural patterns to give rivers more of what they need, when they need it,” officials with the Nature Conservancy said in a statement. The Corps of Engineers releases varying amounts of water from Lake O’ The Pines downstream to Big Cypress Bayou and Caddo Lake at certain times of the year when the lake has enough water to do so. Those flows of water are designed to mimic the kinds of flows of water Caddo received prior to the construction of the dam in the 1950s. Those flows of water, commonly referred to as Caddo Lake’s “flows project,” have restored wetland connectivity near Jefferson and, subsequently, fish populations in the area, according to the report. The program also is designed to improve water quality by keeping water moving, maintaining wildlife life cycles and more. Caddo Lake was one of the first places the Sustainable Rivers Program was piloted, Overdyke said. The federally funded program was created in 2002 and costs $5 million annually nationwide — a trivial sum in the overall federal budget. That funding primarily pays for staff within the Corps of Engineers who work with the program, Overdyke said. The Caddo Lake Institute does not receive funding from the program, though it did in the program’s infancy. Overdyke said she’s glad to see the program has yielded benefits for Caddo Lake. “We are grateful for and really happy to see that there is a measurable return for the local area in terms of habitat and recreation and water quality,” she said. “It’s been a good use of everyone’s time and energies, and a good return for the local people that enjoy the fish and forests and waterways.” To read the full report, visit tinyurl.com/caddoreport.