Clear a blocked stretch of the Big Cypress Bayou paddling trail, site 3, 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 survey above found a deadfall or debris blockage on the Big Cypress Bayou paddling trail, and credentialed crew removal from a boat would otherwise leave this stretch impassable or dangerous for the next paddler. 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: permit confirm plus before after photos plus material removed record plus GPS 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. Confirm the blockage location and any required permit with TPWD or park staff, and photograph the deadfall or debris before starting. 2. 2. From a boat, operated only by a credentialed crew member wearing a life jacket, approach the blockage and cut or remove deadfall and debris with hand tools or a chainsaw operated only by a certified sawyer. 3. 3. Clear the channel to the trail's marked width and remove all cut material from the water. 4. 4. Photograph the cleared channel from the matching before vantage and record the material removed. Done when: Confirmation the blockage location and any permit were coordinated with TPWD or park staff; Before photo of the deadfall or debris blockage; Material removed recorded; After photo of the cleared channel from the matching vantage

Where

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

Pay

$200 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

permit confirm plus before after photos plus material removed record plus GPS

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

Level

advanced

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

• Confirmation the blockage location and any permit were coordinated with TPWD or park staff
• Before photo of the deadfall or debris blockage
• Material removed recorded
• After photo of the cleared channel from the matching 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.