Lake McClellan returns to former glory

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By John Kanelis, Special Projects Reporter

PAMPA -- Lake McClellan over many years has been dry -- as in bone dry -- making it a "lake" in name only.

Today? The lake is full of water. It likely will become empty again, as it has done for centuries, as part of its ecological cycle, according to the man who administers the lake and surrounding national grasslands as part of the U.S. Forest Service.

"We're getting a lot more activity there now," said Tom Smeltzer, district office manager for the Forest Service office that oversees the Lake McClellan National Grassland in Gray County. Smeltzer does his management of the project from Cheyenne, Okla.

"The spring rain in 2015 throughout the watershed did a lot of good for the lake," Smeltzer said, explaining that the lake now totals 320 acres, while the McClellan National Grasslands site accounts for 1,500 acres in Gray County.

"The area has been developed for recreation," said Smeltzer, noting that "Texas has limited public land. He said his office also manages the Lake Marvin area near Canadian.

"Yes, the lake is now full of water and the area is getting a lot more activity because of the water," Smeltzer said, adding that the federal Forest Service is working with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to stock the lake with fish, such as bass, sunfish "and different species."

Lake McClellan's use is primary just "day use," he said. "We allow hiking, fishing, camping – but no hunting," given that it's on federal land, Smeltzer said. There's also plenty of water-skiing occurring on the lake, according to Smeltzer.

Lake McClellan has a long history in Gray County, said former County Commissioner – and noted local historian -- Gerald Wright, whose county commissioner precinct includes the national grasslands. Wright, who served on the Gray County Commissioners Court from 1985 until 2007, recalled how the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the lake in the 1930s, during the Franklin Delano Roosevelt presidential administration. The CCC was one of many government agencies formed by President Roosevelt and Congress to jump start a national economy caught in the grip of the Great Depression.

Wright recalled the ebb and flow of water to and from the lake as it washed in from McClellan Creek, a tributary of the Red River.

Wright said the creek and, eventually, the lake were named after famed Civil War Gen. George McClellan, who, according to Wright, led an expedition to the Texas Panhandle in 1852 and was the "first white man to see the creek" that would eventually bear his name.

McClellan, of course, went on to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War and ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1864 against the then-commander in chief, President Abraham Lincoln.

"Most of the Panhandle lakes depend on rainfall," Wright said, "and it has to rain in the watershed. Sometimes it rains there and, of course, sometimes it doesn't."

Gray County Judge Richard Peet echoed Wright and Smeltzer's assessment of the lake's relatively good health, but said "it's not as active there as it was, say, 20 years ago." Wright interjected, "People just don't seem to have as many boats as they used to have."

Peet – who's been county judge for the past 22 years – recalled the devastating wildfires of 2006 that swept through much of the Panhandle. The blaze destroyed some buildings at the lake, he said. "We lost the office and the store," Peet said, "and that discouraged a lot of people from coming to Lake McClellan. They didn't go out there, but it's coming back to life now."

The office and store have not been replaced, Peet and Wright said, citing the need for a "congressional appropriation" to pay for the work, given that it would be on federal public land.

Wright said, "Unless the commissioners ask for it, the federal government won't do it."

Peet added that "we need a push from the Commissioners Court," but explained that the county – which would have to pay a share of the money of the total construction – is strapped for the funds. "We've lost quite a bit of revenue recently," Peet said.

Wright noted, too, that the county has done plenty of work already on the lake bed to deepen it and to increase the volume of water it can hold, as it has done with the return over the past year of spring and early-summer rain. He said the county has dredged about a million cubic yards of silt from the lake bed and deepened the lake to about 23 feet at the dam from where the lake backs up.

Even though the grasslands area lacks an office and a store, it does have new restrooms and showers, Wright said, explaining that they were built in 1996 and 1997.

Smeltzer remains optimistic about the lake.

"Word has gotten out all over the Texas Panhandle and the Oklahoma Panhandle that the lake is full," he said. "This summer we expect to see a lot of activity."

He added that the camping sites, which include recreational vehicle sites with electricity and water, "are about 90 percent full." But he said, "We don't make reservations. It's on a first come, first served basis."

Smeltzer said the grasslands area "always has activity of some kind" even when the lake is dry. "But now that the lake is full," he said, "we've got a lot more activity."