Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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March

16 Athens-Big Fork Trail Maintenance - contact Roy O’Neal at roneal2@bellsouth.net

19 Monthly Meeting - Speaker is Shawn Puffer, who has paddled the Mississippi River from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico

21 Outings Planning Meeting at Walk Ons on Youree Drive - 6:00 pm Bring ideas for future outings

April13 Shreveport Green’s Great American Cleanup

16 Monthly Meeting - Speaker TBA

19 Moonlight Paddle - Location TBA Contact Wayne Kiefer at wkiefer59@gmail.com

27 Annual Crawfish Boil at Henry Ann Burton’s place in Oil City. Noon - until?

May4 Shirley, Arkansas Paddle/Camp Weekend -

contact Tammy Jernigan at tjerni88@hotmail.com (Shirley is only 47 miles to Gilbert)

4 Spring All Society Meeting in Gilbert, AR

21 Monthly Meeting - Speaker TBA

BAYOU BYLINE

Calendar of Events

Our monthly meetings are now being held at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge 150 Eagle Bend Point, Bossier City, LA 71112.

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday ofeach month. (except December) Programstarts at 6:30 pm. Business meeting follows.Plan to join us after the meeting forpizza and socializing.

March 2019

Speaker is Shawn Puffer, who paddled the Mississippi River from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico

Note: New Monthly Meeting Location!!!!

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Classy Ads and Other Important Stuff

If you have any equipment you want to sell or give away, get in touch with Roy O’Neal. 318-272-0259 or roneal2@bellsouth.net or just bring it to the upcoming meeting.

We have reverted back to the old dues structure - dues are due on January 1st every year. If you join in November or December last year, you won’t have to pay dues again until January 1, 2020!

The Ozark Society Spring Meeting will be held May 3-5 at the Gilbert RV Campground in Gilbert, Arkansas. 11 RV sites available (electricity and water provided) at a cost of $20 for 4 people and $5 for each additional person per night. Tent sites- unlimited, $5.00 a person per night.  Contact Jim Klontz and Gilbert RV to reserve a site-870-439-2111.  Details of activities, pot luck, and entertainment to follow.

March “Special” DaysMarch  1 - Kathy Kramer-Hill’s birthday   March  6 - Ash Wednesday   March  7 - Wayne Kiefer’s birthday                      Ken & Donna Harris will have been experiencing “wedded bliss” for 27 years   March 10 - Daylight Savings time Begins – Better have rolled your clocks forward Saturday night.   March 14 - Perry & Kathy Hill nee Kramer, are in a dead heat with Ken & Donna,  27 years also.   March 17 - St. Patricks Day.  The wearing of  the green. Not to be confused with the New Green Deal. If you are blessed to have some Irish blood, be prepared for some Good Luck.  No green?  Be ready for a pinch.

March 20 - First Day of Spring   March 21 - Val Loridans' birthday   March 28 - Mary Ann Bowie’s birthday

March 30 - Steve Eyler will be only 63 years old on this day.  So he says.  (“only” inserted to make Steve feel better)     As always, please let the Byline staff know of any special days we missed.

Change of plans for Planning Meeting

We have decided to move the "planning" meeting up to March 21st. This is the Thursday after the monthly meeting. We believe the 6 week change will allow folks to better plan their May through September months and we may get more of us involved in the activities. Those with limited vacation days could plan their utilization better.  It will be 6:00 PM at Walk Ons in Shreveport. PLEASE think about trips you’ve done in the past, places you wish to go and come to the meeting. If you can't attend, please pass on your ideas to Tammy Jernigan or myself so we can share them.  Now's the time to get involved.  Consider being a leader for a trip. It’s SIMPLE. Just check some emails, monitor the list of who is going and update items like weather and accommodations. An hour here and there and you've made others happy with a nice get away. Hope to see you at Walk Ons on Thursday March 21st at 6:00 PM.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Backbone Trail HikeBy: Wayne Kiefer

On February 16th, 6 hearty souls journeyed to the Backbone Trail at Kisatchie National Forest. 4 Bayou Chapter members and 2 guests came out and hiked the 8 mile trail. The weather was great, a little cool but no bugs, no rain and no problems. The only stream we had to ford was less than six inches deep at the crossing so most just slipped off their shoes and waded across.  At that point we were passed by four ladies on horse back.  Great to see and share the trail with them. Many flocks of robins were seen as we hiked.  We had two new people with us - Robyn Gillies and Cindi Ryan. Both ladies were great and plan to come back (even after spending the day with Roy O’Nealand Dick Maxwell - good thing Sandy Roerig was there to keep them in line). Robyn kindly shared her work experience at the Chimp Haven with us.  Very interesting. We arrived back in town about 3:45.   Thanks to those who came out and hiked. It was a great hike with great people. If you missed the hike, hope you can join us on the next one.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Need to Check Water Levels and Predictions?By: Wayne Kiefer

So if you want to know what lakes and river levels are doing, here it is!!https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/forecasts.php?wfo=shv

The NOAA sites can be accessed and they will show current levels and future predicted water levels.  The lakes are shown as altitude above sea level. Example: 178.2 raising to 179.7 means they expectthe lake level to come up 1.5 feet in the next day.  Rivers and bayous are shown from permanent stakes in the ground with feet marked off in specific locations. The Shreveport Red River marker is in down town at the railroad bridge.  Normal summer pool level is 14.4 and today is much higher around 21.  About 7 feet higher in down town which is a narrow portion of the river.  Also "cubic feet per second"  of water flow isshown. That equates to thousands of gallons per second or hundreds of thousand of gallons per second. Once on the NOAA map sight, place your arrow over the dots and a graph will pop up for the locations. Click on it and it will stay up. Checking this could save your trip or your life. Remember as water levels rise, debris is picked up from the shores and become hazards in the water. The high volume of water creates great forces on your boat and person.  I've heard people ask about where I find out the water levels so I wanted to share this with you.  I power boat and paddle year round so I visit this site weekly.  See you on the water.

Cypress Lake / Cypress Bayou PaddleBy: Wayne Kiefer

The Feb. 23rd BCOS paddle at Cypress Lake was very good after the weather cleared. The storm front passed at 11:15 and 4 dedicated paddlers came out. Barbie Halbert,Tammy Jernigan, Roy O’Neal and myself trekked north from the La 162 boat launch on Cypress lake.  Winds were up some but once we made it into the channel they didn't have any real effect. After about and 1 1/2 hours we stopped to rest and have something to drink. 4 wild hogs came by to check on us and then trotted off to Pigville.  We continued north fighting a slight current.  The return trip was very quick, 45 minutes and we were at the launch. White pelicans flew around as we paddled the lake portion of the trip. Conditions were perfect as the temperatures warmed up nicely and the company was great.  At the launch we collected trash before leaving .

Another fine day on the water. Salvinia is present so I don't know how long before this area will be covered.  We hope to try this again when more can attend.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Pop Up Paddle - Sunday March 10thBy: Wayne Kiefer

Another great day on the water!  Sunday, March 10th we went back to Cypress Lake and paddled from the Rt. 162 boat launch north.  We had 8 boats and 11 folks paddle for about 3 hours. The weather was very pleasant for the trip. After a slow start getting into the bayou, we went almost 2 hours north which follows Butler Hill road on a map.The return trip was down hill...with the wind :). So the current got us back in under and hour. Four people were new and found us on facebook. Didn't see very many birds and only one snake that I heard of. Water level was down over a foot from the past paddle and current was very limited.  Great group of people!!  See you at the next paddle!

Monthly Meetings are now being held at the Red River Refuge on Teague Parkway in BossierTHINK before you chunk!

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Bayou Chapter Ozark Society

Crawfish Boil

When: Saturday April 27, 2019

12:00 PM until……

Where: Henry Ann Burton’s Home

Oil City, Louisiana

11595 Mosquito Bend

Cost: $15 if you sign up and pay before April 20th, $20 if you sign up after that.

We will have iced tea and water. If you want to drink anything else, bring your own. Also, bring your own lawn chair. And if you have any tables that we could use, that would be appreciated. Feel free to bring a dessert to share.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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BCOS Minutes - February 19, 2019

By: Sandy Roerig (subbing for Secretary Gary Hackman)

The Bayou Chapter of the Ozark Society met on February 19, 2019 at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge, Education Building. Chair, Wayne Kiefer opened the meeting at 6:30 pm.

Previous meeting minutes: Wayne stated that the minutes of the January meeting had been published in the February issue of the Bayou Byline for everyone to read. Tony Spitale made a motion to approve the minutes as published. Tammy Jernigan seconded the motion. There was no discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s report: Treasurer Dick Maxwell reported a balance of $5,515.68 in the bank account.

Newsletter report: Wayne stated that Marian Howard is doing a good job with the Bayou Byline and he will add a March meeting agenda to the March issue.

Publicity report: Tom Goleman said he needs to be notified about the meeting speakers so he can publicize the meetings.

Louisiana Wildlife Federation: Tom stated that the Chapter needs to renew our membership in LWF by paying the annual dues. He explained that our membership in this organization provides an opportunity to bring issues of concern in the form of motions for Committee review and vote. Sandy Roerig made a motion to pay the annual dues. Kathy Kramer seconded the motion. During discussion, Tom related that the Bayou Chapter is one of several organizations in North Louisiana that are members. The headquarters of the organization is in Baton Rouge. Larry Raymond, Chair of the Bird Study Group and Zac Brunson, Chair of the Friends of the Red River National Wildlife Refuge serve on the Board of LWF. Motion passed unanimously.

Conservation Report: Sandy presented information about the disease known as white nose syndrome that is responsible for declining bat populations in Arkansas and around the US. Several approaches are being tested in attempts to eradicate the disease.

Planning Meeting: Al Higgins suggested that future planning meetings be held at a local restaurant, Walk-Ons. There was general agreement to do this.

Speaker for the evening was Doug Rainwater, the Assistant Director of Caddo Parish Parks and Recreation. He described 16 sites in Caddo Parish, including neighborhood parks, community parks, regional parks and an historic site. Regional parks include Earl Williamston Park on Caddo Lake, Eddie Jones Park, Walter B. Jacobs Nature Center and Wallace Lake. Chapter members are familiar with these parks and have paddled in many of them.

After the talk, Sandy mentioned that the Charter members of the Bayou Chapter had a role in developing the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Park and Nature Center. The Chapter had suggested to the Police Jury that the 160 acres donated by Walter B. Jacobs could be developed as a nature center. The Chapter assisted the Police Jury in determining sites for nature trails recommended in the Audubon Society study. The Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Park and Nature center was dedicated in May, 1976.

There was a 10-minute break for coffee (provided by Roy O’Neal), king cake (provided by Ann Gibson) and brownies (made by Marian).

Wayne discussed the upcoming Wallace Lake Cleanup project that will be held March 2, starting at 8:30 am. The city of Shreveport will provide a dumpster and sheriff deputies for traffic control on Linwood Avenue. Trash bags and pickers will be available for participants. There is a lot of trash at this site, so many volunteers are needed.

Roy discussed the upcoming Duck Pond Cleanup that will be held on March 9, starting at 8:30 am. Trash bags and pickers will be provided. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Conservation: Wayne described his meeting with a small committee to plan pop-up clean-up projects. He met with Becky Evans, Francine Heller, Tammy, Sandy, Marian and Roy. The committee will check out potential spots that need to be cleaned. Wayne envisions a 1-2 hour clean-up followed by a fun paddle. One potential site is the Hwy 157 bridge on Bodcau Bayou. Another site is Richard Fleming Park on Caddo Lake.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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February Minutes - continued

Tammy discussed her recent visit to Lake Bistineau State Park to evaluate development of potential canoe trails. She, Marian and Roy had met with park officials, who were very enthusiastic about the idea. She suggested that a group of paddlers will be needed to mark the trails sometime this spring.

Outings: Wayne described the February 16 hike on the Backbone Trail in Keatchie National Forest. Six hikers, Wayne, Roy, Dick, Sandy and two guests enjoyed the good weather and the trail.

Roy announced that the Athens Big-Fork Trail Maintenance event will be March 16. We will camp at Shady Lake, unless he finds out that the campgrounds will not be open. There will be a pot luck supper in the evening. Everyone is invited to participate in this fun event.

Wayne described a pop-up paddle on North Cypress Lake for the coming Saturday, February 23. We will meet at the boat launch off Hwy 162. It will be a short, flat water float. All are welcome.

The annual crawfish boil will be April 27 at Henry Ann Burton’s house on Caddo Lake.

The Ozark Society Colorado Trip will be July 14-20. Members should contact Catherine Tolson for details.

There was discussion on the Chapter policy for loaning the Chapter-owned kayaks. A donation will be required to use the boats.

Handbook Update: Sandy discussed the project to update the Bayou Chapter handbook, last published in 1976. She had met with a small committee to discuss the bylaws and had handed out assignments for revisions. She also read the committee-suggested proposed changes to the bylaws and will send out an e-mail notifying members of the proposed bylaw changes so that a vote to approve or disapprove can be taken at the March meeting.

Tammy made a motion to adjourn the meeting. There were numerous seconds. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned, 8:40 pm

Wallace Lake Cleanup

By: Wayne Kiefer

GREAT work BCOS !! On March 2nd, we had 18 volunteers associated to BCOS at the Boggy Bayou cleanup on Linwood Ave in south Shreveport. Our members and guests spent about 4 hours cleaning the worst trash I have ever seen on a waterway in this country.  We had been asked to spear head the "on the water" effort by Caddo Parrish sheriff's department.  They contacted us after an 11 year old girl wrote a letter to them asking to please clean up her bayou.  With the water level at a reasonable level to paddle and shore walk ,we collected enough trash to almost fill a 30 yard dumpster provided by the Caddo commission.  

Most of the debris was only access able by being on the water. So in small boats, kayaks and canoes we began. Our shore walkers cleaned the woods and collected bags as we returned them to the banks of the bayou.  It was an unending sea of trash . We did an outstanding job. Many thanks to everyone who participated. This was definitely more than we bargained for when originally asked to help. Shreveport Green passed on it’s appreciation for our hard work with several phone calls and offered us supplies for any conservation activities we have.   I will pass on any other feedback we receive. Super job folks!!

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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COLORADO HIGH ADVENTURE TRIP - July 14-20, 2019

The 2019 Colorado High Adventure Trip will be held from Sunday thru Saturday, July 14 – 20 at Cascade Campground, located in the Collegiate Peaks area west of the community of Nathrop, Colorado. If you prefer motel accommodations to camping, you can make reservations at nearby motels or bed & breakfasts. The trip is limited to 60 people. The cost of the trip is $175 for campers or $125 for those who choose the motel or B&B option. You will need to complete the Trip Form and include it with your fees. Here is the Trip Form. It is also available at the Ozark Society website under Outings and Activities: https://www.ozarksociety.net/ and it will be in the Spring issue of the Pack and Paddle newsletter. You must be an Ozark Society member to participate in this trip. Only paid trip participants who sign waivers will be allowed to join group-led activities. If you are not already a member, you may join by paying your dues online at www.ozarksociety.net/membership/ or by sending $30 annual dues along with trip fee of $175 for campers or $125 for non-campers. Reservations will be accepted between January 15th and May 31st, 2019. Please be sure your reservation arrives by May 31st at the latest. To confirm your place on the Colorado outing, send 1. Your completed Trip Form 2. A check made out to the Ozark Society Mail these to: Catherine Tolson 216 Vinwood Rd Monroe, LA 71203 Meals will be provided for all trip participants, regardless of whether you are camping or staying elsewhere. The meals will begin with dinner on Sunday July 14 and end with dinner on Friday July 19. If you have special dietary needs or preferences, you may need to bring your own food as the menus are planned well in advance of the trip. There will be a variety of outings from which to choose: hiking, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, sightseeing, and rafting or boating on the Arkansas River. If you plan to canoe, kayak, or bike, you should bring your own equipment. For rafting, you will need to make your own arrangements with a local outfitter. If you have any questions about the trip, contact Catherine Tolson by phone at 318-680-9280 or by email at catherine.tolson@comcast.net.

Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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Bayou Chapter, Ozark Society Thursday, March 14, 2019

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