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District News Releases
11/18/2009Date Icon
USACECorps announces boat ramp closure at Sam Rayburn Reservoir

FORT WORTH, Texas - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today they are temporarily closing the Etoile boat ramp until further notice in order to treat for Giant Salvinia. More...

10/29/2009Date Icon
USACECorps announces flood updates at Waco Lake

FORT WORTH, Texas - Due to the recent rainfall and subsequent flooding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have announced complete and partial closures at Waco Lake. More...

10/29/2009Date Icon
USACECorps announces closures at Waco Lake due to flooding

FORT WORTH, Texas - Due to the recent rainfall and subsequent flooding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have announced complete and partial closures at Waco Lake. More...

10/22/2009Date Icon
USACEU.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Conduct Public Meeting

FORT WORTH, Texas - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct a public meeting to introduce details from the investigation of the former Hammond Bombing and Gunnery Range, a formerly used defense site located near Hammond, LA. More...

10/16/2009Date Icon
USACECorps reopens Whitney Lake boat ramps and repairs lake infrastructure

FORT WORTH, Texas - With recent rainfalls raising Whitney Lake over three feet, the Corps of Engineers announced today they have reopened area boat ramps. The lake elevation currently stands at approximately 524 feet, but Corps officials state this is still approximately 9 feet below the normal range. More...

10/16/2009Date Icon
USACECorps of Engineers plans Joint Cooperative Management Lease at area Lakes

FORT WORTH, Texas - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District plans to announce an important change in the operation of several parks on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The Corps plans to enter into a Joint Cooperative Management Lease Agreement with the Our Lands and Waters Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, for the cooperative management of Mill Creek, Twin Dikes, San Augustine, Rayburn, Ebenezer, and Hanks Creek Parks located at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. More...

10/16/2009Date Icon
USACECorps seeks voluntary compliance on encroachment violations

FORT WORTH, Texas - Whitney Lake park rangers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans on Oct. 15 to step up measures to educate the public on the types of encroachment violations to assist area residents in taking steps to become compliant. More...

10/09/2009Date Icon
USACENo change to current hunting program at Grapevine Lake

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth District Corps of Engineers announced today it will maintain its current hunting program for the 2009-2010 hunting season at Lake Grapevine. Perspective hunters should apply at the Grapevine Lake Office, 110 Fairway Drive, Grapevine Texas 76051 and fill out an application. More...

10/06/2009Date Icon
USACEWater Sample Tests Show No Zebra Mussel Larvae in Lake Lavon

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth District U.S Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced on Oct. 5 that samples tested for the presence of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) larvae known as veligers from Lake Lavon and West Prong Sister Grove Creek are negative. More...

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Water Sample Tests Show No Zebra Mussel Larvae in Lake Lavon

Brandon Mobley of the Fort Worth Operations Division assembles a plankton tow to collect water samples at Lake Lavon.
Brandon Mobley of the Fort Worth Operations Division assembles a plankton tow to collect water samples at Lake Lavon.

The Fort Worth District U.S Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced on Oct. 5 that samples tested for the presence of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) larvae known as veligers from Lake Lavon and West Prong Sister Grove Creek are negative.

“Sampling surveys were analyzed to determine if veligers were present in the water. A positive reading would have been an indicator that adults have established a toehold in the lake,” said Heath McLane, the Corps’ Lake Lavon manager. “This does not confirm an absence of zebra mussels in the lake, but the results are encouraging.”

Adult zebra mussels were found in the upper reaches of West Prong Sister Grove Creek in late July, which prompted the water samples testing.

“We know zebra mussels got into the Lake Lavon water system at some point in recent months, because we found three attached to rocks in the creek that flows into the lake,” said Bruce Hysmith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries biologist based at Lake Texoma, the only Texas lake where zebra mussels are known to have presently become well established. “The question now is whether there is an active population in Lake Lavon. The negative water sample tests indicate maybe not, but we will continue monitoring, and we continue encouraging boaters to take the necessary precautions after visiting Lake Lavon or Lake Texoma to help avoid spreading zebra mussels to other water bodies.”

In late August, the two agencies took water samples to try to detect zebra mussel veligers. A total of twelve samples were taken at various locations along the creek and in the lake.

The Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, Colorado conducted Light Microscopy and DNA testing protocols on the samples. There were no veligers seen in any of the samples, but numerous ostracods and a couple of corbicula were found, according to the report.

Ostracods are 'seed shrimp' and Corbicula are Asiatic Clams. Both are considered to be 'signal' organisms showing the environment is suitable for mussels. The presence of these organisms in the sample confirms that the test was effective.

TPWD and USACE will continue to work together on monitoring our area lakes for the presence of this invasive species. Both agencies ask that boaters continue to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of zebra mussels in Texas waters, including:

  • Drain all water from the boat including such things as the engine, bilge, livewells and bait buckets before leaving the lake.
  • Inspect the boat and trailer and remove any zebra mussels, vegetation or foreign objects that are found.
  • Wash your boat and trailer at a commercial carwash using high pressure and hot (140-degree) soapy water. Hot water, 140 degrees F, will kill zebra mussel veligers, and when the water from the carwash goes through a waste water treatment plant the process should kill any remaining mussels.
  • Open all compartments and livewells and allow the boat and trailer to dry for a week before entering another water body.

For additional information on Zebra Mussels go to http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/protectourwaters/. To report possible zebra mussel findings contact the nearest Corps of Engineers or Texas Parks and Wildlife Department office, or call the Operation Game Chief toll-free hotline at (800) 792-4263.

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Featured Projects

Trinity River Wetlands restored in Dallas

Wetlands along Dallas Floodway Extension As part of the Dallas Floodway Extension, Fort Worth District and the city of Dallas are using an innovative approach to return floodplain value to the Trinity River, while improving flood damage reduction.

To improve and restore wetland habitat within the boundaries of overbank flood-management swales and within south Dallas, the district will build seven wetland cells.

Native plant establishment in both temporary and permanently flooded zones were built into each wetland cell with the help of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility (LAERF) in Lewisville, Texas. The LAERF has participated in development of numerous strategies for both managing nuisance aquatic plants and establishing desirable native plants in Corps systems, with emphasis on habitat enhancement. Constructed cells will hold normal pools at a maximum 7 foot depth with native grassland buffers about twice the area of each cell. The district is planting native aquatic plants in zones where the water level can be managed — 1 to 3 feet deep. This provides ideal depths for initial plantings and growth. Once plant colonies begin growing at these depths, implementing moist soil management practices will increase plant community diversity and overall productivity of the system.

Click here for the complete article with pictures...

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Trinity River Project Central City, Fort Worth, Texas - Final Environmental Impact Statement

Trinity River Project Central City The Central City study area is located at the confluence of the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River in the heart of Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas (Figures 1 - 1 and 1 - 2). The Central City study area is bounded generally by the Fort Worth Stockyards to the North, University Drive to the West, I-30 to the South, and Sylvania Avenue to the East (Figure 1 - 3).

The Central City Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) documents existing conditions in the study area, identifies problems and opportunities in the study area, describes the array of alternative solutions designed to address the problems and opportunities, and compares those alternatives to the No Action Alternative. A preferred plan is identified along with identification of aspects of that plan that could be undertaken by the Corps of Engineers. The EIS also identifies and addresses, to the extent possible, the actions of others that may be connected to or stem from a project within the Central City Study Area. Within the framework of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this document is tiered from the Upper Trinity River Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement dated June 2000.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate potential modifications to the existing system of levees and channels that would enhance existing levels of flood protection, restore components of the natural riverine system that were sacrificed in the construction of the existing flood control system, facilitate urban revitalization, and provide major quality-of-life enhancements (ecosystem improvements and recreation) for citizens of the region.

Click here for the complete statement...

Latest News

Gulf Region Division's Volunteer Opportunities

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is inviting Corps employees, those of other federal agencies, and those from the private sector to consider serving our country as a civilian in the Gulf Region Division. Important work is being conducted to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and a variety of specialties are required.

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Fort Bliss Modular Force

Fort Bliss Modular Force

This program is required by the Army’s initiatives under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (IGPBS), and the Army Modular Force (AMF) program, although the projects may be required from any Military Program. The Army must posture facilities to effectively orient combat capabilities where they can most effectively organize, train, and deploy to support ongoing operations worldwide.

The execution of the work under the Military Construction Program will be accomplished using a “product line concept” for the facilities. The “product line concept” will be used for the construction of barracks, dining facilities, company operation facilities, headquarters buildings, vehicle maintenance shops, unit and ammunition storage facilities, aviation facilities, equipment parking areas, and other features of the program. Under the product line concept, Districts in the Corps of Engineers’ Southwestern and South Pacific Divisions will be assigned one or two facility types and will be responsible for awarding Design-Build IDIQ contracts for their assigned type of facility (product line). When there is a requirement for their facility type, each District product line team will scope, negotiate, and award a task order to deliver the required facilities to the Program Office assigned to manage the overall project.

More information is available at the Fort Bliss Modular Force website.