WATERSHED RESTORATION FEASIBILITY FOR THE WASHITA BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

The National Park Service is exploring the feasibility of restoring a section of the Washita River within the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (WABA) to the condition at the time of a historic battle in 1868. The purpose of the project is to describe and explain the changes to the Washita River and to determine if restoration is possible. An overlay was produced by analyzing four sets of aerial photos from 1961, 66, 74, and 82. Observations of the overlay indicate that small sections of the river are drying up, the channel is becoming narrower, and vegetation encroachment is taking place along sandbars. A map of the watershed, including the battlefield, was compiled to locate flood control dams that the Natural Resources Conservation Service constructed during the 1960’s in order to reduce peak flows in the river and thereby prevent flooding. Records of streamflow measurements and peak flows from a gauging station located at the downstream end of the study watershed in Cheyenne, Oklahoma support observations that the river has become more stable. One negative effect of this new stability is the entrenchment of the river. It can be inferred from the data that the river has adjusted to the reduced peak flows caused by the flood control dams. If the channel is in equilibrium with the prevailing period of peak flows and sediment load then restoration may prove impractical and uneconomical. A more detailed study of the river can reveal more concerning this entrenchment and economic feasibility of restoring the river.