|
Improved Habitat and Water Quality at Lake Atalanta
by Angela Danovi, OWW Arkansas Projects Manager
More than 100 people came out on a chilly November Saturday morning in Rogers, AR to volunteer for a bird habitat improvement project. The event, held at Lake Atlanta Park in Rogers, was put on by Audubon Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society who partnered with Toyota Together Green Volunteer Days for the project. Lake Atalanta is considered to have some of the highest diversity of plant and tree species in Northwest Arkansas, providing important habitats for birds and other animals in the area.
 | | Lake Atalanta Park Sign |
Volunteers who attended had plenty of project choices to lend a helping hand towards improving the environment in Northwest Arkansas! Several teams worked together to clear invasive plants including Privet, Bush Honeysuckle, Tree of Heaven, and Euonymus.
 | | A volunteer beside a brush pile of invasive plants removed at the Lake Atalanta Bird Habitat Improvement Day |
These invasive plants were overtaking the area and depriving native plants of needed soil nutrients, moisture, sunlight, and growing space. By removing the invasive plants, native species were given more space and resources to grow and thrive, providing more habitats for birds and greater support for the natural ecosystem of Lake Atalanta Park.
 | | A team of volunteers removes invasive species along a hill at Lake Atalanta Park during the Bird Habitat Improvement Day |
 | | A volunteer marks the stump of an invasive plant with herbicide to prevent regrowth |
A second group of people focused on picking up litter off the grounds of the park. Litter that is thrown on the ground generally follows the path of water, downhill, and ends up being blown by the wind or carried by water to local creeks and streams. Once in the stream network, litter can harm fish and wildlife or degrade the water quality. Since Prairie Creek and Lake Atalanta are important natural features of the park, picking up litter and refraining from leaving litter on the ground are important to supporting the natural ecosystem at Lake Atalanta Park.
 | | Families of volunteers who helped to pick up litter at Lake Atalanta for the Bird Habitat Improvement Day |
 | | Tires and litter picked up from Prairie Creek and Lake Atalanta Park during the Bird Habitat Improvement Day |
A third team of people helped to install four new pet waste stations in the park. Lake Atalanta Park is an important public space that many people enjoy visiting with their pets. As a result of increased public use and recreation with pets at the park, pet waste can build up in the park. Not only is pet waste a nuisance but it also contributes to degraded water quality because rain water will carry pet waste into the nearest stream, contributing bacteria and potential pathogens into the water.
 | | A volunteer installs the base for a pet waste station at Lake Atalanta |
The new pet waste stations, serviced by the Rogers Parks Service, will be supplied with bags for owners to use to pick up their pet's waste while visiting Lake Atalanta Park. Before leaving, people can deposit their bags of pet waste into the receptacle at the stations.
 | | One of four new pet waste stations installed at Lake Atalanta Park. The stations allow people to pick up after their pets, deposit pet waste, and prevent water quality degradation within the park. |
Michelle Viney of Audubon Arkansas was especially pleased with the turnout at the event and the work accomplished by the volunteers. "Lake Atalanta is a special place in Northwest Arkansas," said Viney. "It is a unique area with endemic species that have space to thrive again. Those native species will continue to attract birds and other wildlife to the park."
 | | Volunteers from Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority at the University of Arkansas helped to remove invasive species from Lake Atalanta Park |
After the invasive clearings were completed, litter was picked up from around the park, and the pet waste stations were installed, all of the volunteers came together for a cookout and to enjoy their community park they helped to clean up.
 | | Courtney Thomas of Beaver Watershed Alliance speaks with a volunteer during the Lake Atalanta Bird Habitat Improvement Day |
For more information on the Bird Habitat Improvement Project at Lake Atalanta, please contact Michelle Viney of Audubon Arkansas at mviney@audubon.org.
| 
