Document a blocked stretch of the Big Cypress Bayou paddling trail, site 1, the Mill Pond canoe and kayak launch, Caddo Lake State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), Karnack, TX 75661, Harrison County (2026-08-04)

The Big Cypress Bayou paddling trail network out of the Mill Pond launch has a deadfall or debris blockage with no photo record to prioritize it for the channel maintenance crew before the next paddler runs into it blind. Standard: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Texas Paddling Trails program condition and maintenance guidance for the Big Cypress Bayou / Caddo Lake trail network plus US EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols stewardship waypoint practice, applied here to the Mill Pond canoe and kayak launch, Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, TX, Harrison County. SDG 6.6 and 11.7. Proof: document only observation log plus blockage distance note plus GPS plus ranked follow on note Method (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Texas Paddling Trails program condition and maintenance guidance for the Big Cypress Bayou / Caddo Lake trail network plus US EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols stewardship waypoint practice, applied here to the Mill Pond canoe and kayak launch, Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, TX, Harrison County. SDG 6.6 and 11.7.): 1. 1. From the Mill Pond canoe and kayak launch at Caddo Lake State Park, photograph the paddling trail channel entrance without entering the water or boarding a boat. 2. 2. Note any visible deadfall, log jam, or debris blocking the channel and its approximate distance from the launch. 3. 3. Photograph the site from a fixed reference point for future comparison. 4. 4. Record a ranked follow on note naming the blockage for the credentialed channel maintenance crew. Done when: Photo of the deadfall or debris blockage taken from the public launch; Note of the approximate distance of the blockage from the launch; Confirmation the water was never entered and no boat was boarded during the survey; Ranked follow on note naming the blockage for the credentialed maintenance crew; GPS waypoint of the launch or nearest safe vantage

Where

the Mill Pond canoe and kayak launch, Caddo Lake State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), Karnack, TX 75661, Harrison County

Pay

$85 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

document only observation log plus blockage distance note plus GPS plus ranked follow on note

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-11-03

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 30–60 minutes. Method of record: EPA dry-weather / AMD field screening

Bring

• GPS phone
• pH meter or strips
• conductivity meter
• ammonia + iron test kit as specified
• surfactant screen if specified
• gloves
• camera

Steps

1. 1. Navigate to the outfall/reach; record GPS; photograph it, capturing any visible flow or staining.
2. 2. Note whether flow is present in dry weather (yes/no).
3. 3. Measure and record pH, conductivity, and each specified analyte per kit instructions.
4. 4. Log any color, odor, floc, or aquatic-life observation.
5. 5. Enter all readings with units, GPS, time, and photos into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Dry-weather flow present with elevated conductivity/ammonia/surfactants -> flag suspected illicit discharge for the responsible agency.
• pH < 6 with visible iron floc -> tag suspected acid mine drainage; recommend metals lab panel.

What counts as done

• Photo of the deadfall or debris blockage taken from the public launch
• Note of the approximate distance of the blockage from the launch
• Confirmation the water was never entered and no boat was boarded during the survey
• Ranked follow on note naming the blockage for the credentialed maintenance crew
• GPS waypoint of the launch or nearest safe vantage

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Watershed Health. A watershed is everything the land pours into a stream, and the stream keeps the record. The EPA's bioassessment method reads that record through the small creatures living in the gravel: mayflies and caddisflies mean clean water, only worms and midges mean trouble. Mastery looks like a person who can wade one riffle with a net and tell you how the whole valley is doing. That skill is built sample by sample. This packet is one of them: one site, one careful count, one entry in the long record of a stream.