Fishing News
Savanna backwaters open to fishing, boating
By Travis Morse
SAVANNA - Beginning this week, the U.S. Army has opened a large area of Mississippi River bottomlands adjacent to the Savanna Army Depot for public fishing and boating.
The area, which includes land within and west of the Crooked Slough site, will allow only recreational fishing and boating. Hunting, commercial fishing and other activities will not be permitted.
Gale Smith, public affairs specialist for the Army's Operations Support Command, said the Savanna Army Depot was closed in March 2000. Since then, public access to the area had been prohibited due to environmental contamination issues at the site. Smith said studies have shown that there is a large amount of unexploded ordnance in the area, including hand grenades and mortar shells that present a danger to the public.
Because of the danger, the U.S. Army decided to open only a portion of the area for public recreation and to clearly mark which areas are appropriate for the public by installing a buoy and cable barrier system and hazard warning signs in the bottomlands, Smith said.
"The Savanna Depot was deactivated because it was deemed no longer necessary," Smith said. "The reason the Army is still involved there is because of the environmental cleanup. We had gotten a lot public interest in the site through meetings. We developed a way to clearly mark which areas the public need to stay out of for their own safety."
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