Neosho River logjam grows to mile long 'tree graveyard' / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, August 13, 2004

The Associated Press

August 13, 2004

Emporia — What started almost 25 years ago as a cluster of logs huddling on the Neosho River has turned into a mile-long "tree graveyard."

To Jacobs Creek Landing residents, some now living 200 yards from the logjam that has grown nearly a mile longer in two months, the natural phenomenon is a cause for concern.

"Something should have been done a long time ago when the logjam was small," said Debbie Wistrom, who lives near the jam in northwest Coffey County. "It smells bad, there's trash and dead carcasses in there and it gets worse every day."

The logjam, which begins near the John Redmond Reservoir and extends through the Neosho River, has grown from a half mile in length to over a mile and a quarter in two months.

In the late 1980s the logjam formed when built-up sediments created a mud flat where the river enters the lake. Slowly, the tree debris built up to create the jam.

Residents blame the logjam's growth on winter ice storms that broke tree limbs and this summer's heavy rains.

Jacobs Creek citizens said that for years their concerns have gone unnoticed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the land.

The Tulsa District Corps of Engineers said in a letter, "there is no indication that the logjam is negatively impacting flood-control operations of the lake or is detrimental to the Wildlife Refuge."

Peter Navesky, a Corps of Engineers spokesman in Kansas, estimates that removing and disposing of the logjam would cost $5 million. He said the corps is considering removing the debris or cutting a new channel. But because sediment will again build up, Navesky said it might not be worth it.

A public meeting Tuesday in Burlington brought out state and federal lawmakers, including state Rep. Peggy Long-Mast, R-Emporia, and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

"It's a phenomenal sight. The Neosho River is just completely plugged," Long-Mast said. "It just looks like one big tree graveyard."