There are some big goings-on up at Lake D’Arbonne. While a lot of them are still in the planning stage, the first steps have been taken and funding is on the way to get things started.
There has been talk of a Mega Ramp for more than a decade, but it has never really gotten off the ground. But recently, the Town of Farmerville, some movers and shakers and our legislators like Rep. Chris Turner and Senator Stewart Cathey have been working hard to get a good plan together, make the best use of funding and make the right decisions. Right now, preliminary plans and funding are in place to build a large parking lot, ramp and more on the south side of Hwy. 33 just before you get to the big bridge. There will have to be some dredging and drainage work, but that’s in the plan as well.
It’s taken a lot of work to get this past being stuck in the talking stage for as long as I can remember, and coming up with a practical plan that will work. I understand that everybody has their own idea about this, but it’s time for action and not talk. This is a great plan.
Originally, some study funding was made available to consider building the ramp and lot on Ramp Road on the other end of the bridge. But it never got off the ground. I have to tell you, I never liked that idea for a simple reason. They were going to have to jump through hoops to fill in a big portion of that inlet and it would have totally changed ramp road. It would have ruined a great fishing spot.
Ramp Road is one of the most popular fishing areas for folks without a boat on the lake. People come from miles away to fish there. They bring their whole family. It would have been a shame to fill it in and pave it. In fact, in the future, it’s a great place to build a couple of fishing piers so kids and adults alike can even fish there more easily. More people will come. More people will spend money in Union Parish.
I can’t go into all the details, but funding for the project is due in part to the new planned improvements being located in the City Limits. And it’s due to a lot of people working together, being flexible to look at a new up-to-date plan and not worrying about who gets the credit. That last part may be the most important.
The current plan calls for a 100-truck and trailer parking lot, a three-lane boat ramp, a big covered pavilion, a smaller covered pavilion with restrooms and a cleaning station, a stage for big events and 18 temporary boat slots where people can pull their boats up and safely park them while going to get their trailers. This growth will spur more growth. I can’t wait to see it happen. Imagine the possibilities.
This week also holds something else special for the lake and Union Parish. A large contingent of visitors, many legislators from Baton Rouge, are coming to see Lake D’Arbonne from the very best spot available – the front seat of some fishing boats with some of the best crappie anglers around.
Representative Turner is pulling this together from the visitors side with local fisherman Steve Adams organizing the fishermen and the Town of Farmerville and “Friends” doing the rest of the leg work, including setting up a big fish fry for the visitors when the fishing is done.
A big thank you to the fishermen who are taking time to take these folks fishing and enter into a good-spirited fishing tournament. There’s no doubt that when help for Lake D’Arbonne is asked for in Baton Rouge, they’ll remember what they’ve seen.
This is exciting news. And folks, this is what people working together can look like.
