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Washita River (NPS Photo) |
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The Washita River, a typical muddy eastern river that more closely resembles a creek than a river as it passes through the park, is a major natural resource of the historic site. Because the floodplains along the Washita are composed of relatively moist and organic soil, they have been coveted as prime farmland since Euro-American settlement at the turn of the 19'th century. A lot of farming practices, particularly those associated with the Dust Bowl era, were not particularly sustainable. In fact, many agricultural fields abutted right up to the banks of the river, which meant that most of the riparian vegetation was necessarily removed. With the vegetative cover removed increased flooding, bank erosion, and channel incisement resulted. Today the river is recovering, but slowly. Revegetation along the banks should help by adding some stabilizing roots and woody debris to the system, but more study is required to determine what degree of river restoration is actually possible.
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