Property owners around Beaver Lake have a little more than a month to submit permit requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for new projects or maintenance on federally owned lands before a temporary window when new permits won’t be issued.
The Beaver Lake Project Office typically receives about 20 requests for new boat docks and 100 requests for boat dock modifications each year, said Sean Harper, operations manager at Beaver Lake. The office handles about 30 to 40 requests annually for property owners wanting to mow vegetation or to create walkways that lead to the water’s edge, he said.
The office is preparing to temporarily suspend new shoreline use permit requests during a revision of the Beaver Lake master plan, Harper said. The suspension will begin Feb. 1 and continue through spring 2016. Permits last for five years.
New shoreline use permit requests must be received or postmarked by Jan. 31 at the Beaver Lake office. They are required for activities on public lands surrounding the lake such as mowing grass, cutting or trimming trees, disposing of trash or sewage, building structures or boat facilities, or removing rock.
The Corps of Engineers Little Rock District is updating master plans for Table Rock Lake, Bull Shoals Lake and Beaver Lake, said Laurie Driver, a spokesman for the district. The effort started with Table Rock Lake in December 2012.
The revisions require the moratorium on new shoreline use permit requests, Driver said.
The master plan for Beaver Lake was developed in the 1970s and has not been updated since then, said Dana Coburn, project manager for the Little Rock District’s Planning and Environmental Division. The plan guides the uses and development of land and water around the lake.