Over many years, I have counted on the dam releases from Ray Roberts to generate some fantastic fly fishing for big hybrids and bushels of sand bass on any given day when the releases are just so.
Starting in 2018 and through 2019 that action began to slowly wind down, and as of today it is at a dead stop. Today there are flocks of seagulls feasting on shad just below the dam (50 or so yards down), and no fish and only my dumb self there (no crowds anymore) to CONFIRM what I had suspected long before it made the pages of the Denton Record Chronicle in Summer 2019.
The Elm Fork of the Trinity has been blocked off by an epic log jam, so large in fact, that the USACE has said there is nothing they can do about it. So large in fact, even the smallest of sand bass cannot pass through. Game over.
So I am working on the long version of this article, but I though I would throw this out to find out what else I probably don't know about this situation. I want to be fair and balanced, but this really puts a hit on my fun AND the recreational fun around Denton (380 TPWD park has been closed a long time rendering a huge section of the Greenbelt unusable for kayaking, biking and hiking).
Below is a photo of the rerouted Elm Fork of the Trinity River that now goes across the parking lot of Greenbelt 380 Park today (note the water breaking against the light poles - DANGER - would sweep you off your feet). Obviously there won't be many fish brave enough, or strong enough, to swim across that flow across the parking lot. Just a wild guess, but I don't think this was part of USACE's master plan.
I will run the long version, along with your input this coming week. I'm not used to any government agency saying "impossible" when it comes to getting things done, but maybe that is the new normal. The thrust of the long article: USACE caused this. USACE should fix this. I wish it were that simple.

I'm with your thoughts brother. Although I don't flyfish Lewisville, the lake downstream has went slowly, but steady downhill for quite some time. This logjam is a sore spot for hikers, fishers, and everyone, affecting the entire ecosystem from the Ray Roberts dam to the Lewisville flood gates. How much money was spent on creating the Greenbelt Trail System just to deteriorate?
Let us/me know what can be done! We do have a voice.

Yes. What can be done or who to petition?

Honestly, I don't know what to do except try and get it on the big media's radar. Seems like a "governmental epic fail made for television event" to me. I am attaching this organization's url, and have contacted them. https://www.friendsofthegreenbelt.org/

How is a log jam impossible to clear? Is it a funding or manpower issue?

A pack of C4 would come in handy.

We actually tried to do that when a jam was impacting Lake Grapevine back in ‘10-‘11ish time frame. Calculated a few charges for the job. My old National Guard unit was actively looking to partner with the USACE to do jobs they couldn’t as training. Ended up doing odd jobs at LLELA and that was it.

It would be SO COOL if Federal Departments could cooperate, and every thing ended with a few GOOD big booms, wouldn't it?

So I ran the article. Somehow this feels like a big can-o-worms, not the fishing kind ... https://texasflycaster.com/trinity-river-obstacle-debacle/ (not pimped).

Good work. It's certainly not acceptable for the controlling bodies to wait and see what happens, considering this is a waterway we've already dammed and altered.

So this was my first contact https://www.friendsofthegreenbelt.org/ and the email address is rarogers@veneableroyalty.com at the bottom. I get the feeling this site and the twitter account was quickly abandoned (guess what? it's work!). Has anyone found any other sources of contact - in the non-governmental arena?
LOOKS LIKE next stop is local Mainstream Media? They hardly get outside of the 635 loop unless it's mayhem though ...

Still looking for organizations that may have power to pressure - https://www.utct.org/contact_us.htm -- looks a little "benign" actually.

Glad to see that there are others that are a little dismayed by this for the last few years.I have seen a picture or two of the log jams may I ask where are they located?I am willing to donate some of my time,sweat and money to try and solve this issue.If we pool our resources we can give this a shot. My e mail is anthonys750062001@yahoo.com.I suppose I will contact of some local beaureacrats.i have done some cleanups on the Trinity down by Dallas and others down south and realistically you need big equiptment and some expertise. If we have to get medieval on these jams I want and demand some sweat and not just talk from you guys.You cant just blow up a log jam without permission.

I did a little homework and reinvestigated this problem. Seems that when they put in Ray Roberts they never anticipated all the rain we would later have and have to unload out of the lake. This water has flooded all the way down thru Dallas .Even if you could clear a log jam or two the problem would reappear. I see jams at several of the bridges for miles. I know of several kayaking businesses that have met their demise because of massive flooding. Remember folks :The corps doesn't build lakes to suit fishermen .I will keep banging on my contacts to see if anything can be done to change the Greenbelt .Some of my friends have been instrumental in opening kayaking trails thru Dallas and Arlington in spite of the horrible conditions of monumental trash and parking.

Spoke to a nice young lady with the City of Denton at Clear Creek. Everyone is trying to work through getting this resolved including TPWD. The core handles the lakes, not the Elm Fork. That is managed by City of Denton and TPWD. They have been looking at ideas on how to resolve the log jams, but it takes LOTS of money. Money our government already paid to have the parks cleaned up after our floods back in 2015, I think? Just to have it flood immediately after. In the next week or 2 the City of Denton and TPWD will be taking drone footage of all the blockages and seeing what can/can't be done. Especially, what can be done from an environmental perspective. YES, explosives have been considered, but they have concerns on how it could effect the river bed or the land around it. Bringing in some sort of dozer with some sort of dragging apparatus to dredge out the log jam has been another option. However, since this is in fact protected wetlands, they may not be able to get heavy equipment back in some areas due to damaging the land itself. Another option is somehow getting a barge dragged up stream with a an excavator, but the sediments is so built up in areas it could take years to dig it's way just to the first log jam.

So yes, your voice has been heard over the years. Improvements have been in the making, but Texas has seen more rain over the last 5 - 7 years that has flooded these wetlands. We need the area to dry out, so the State can really assess "WHAT" needs to be done,"HOW" it needs to be done and "HOW MUCH" will it cost. Yes, tax payers have paid for this area, but that money was spent on the repairs 5 years ago. Then allocated to "other" repairs to different recreational areas, etc. We will hopefully no more from TPWD and the City of Denton by April.

Whoa, that is good information! I find little hope if the City of Denton gets involved with such an epic fail. They are ill prepared from a knowledgable, experienced employee base - that much I am 100-percent CERTAIN of. So we are saying that USACE's jurisdiction ends at the Ray Roberts Dam? That I never knew. There is a public meeting coming up ... but it is USACE https://dentonrc.com/news/corps-of-...7a9ada9-1b57-57ee-95da-6720e8ddbc9d.html

With the current flooding going on there today, the plans for improvements probably will get pushed another few months.