User:Crogers52/Cooper Lake/Courtneythom123 Peer Review

General info

 * Whose work are you reviewing?

Crogers52; Chandler Rogers


 * Link to draft you're reviewing
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Crogers52/Cooper_Lake?veaction=edit&preload=Template%3ADashboard.wikiedu.org_draft_template


 * Link to the current version of the article (if it exists)
 * NA; new article

Evaluate the drafted changes
Lead: The lead does represent the new content added. The first sentence introduces the article well. The lead could use a better summary of the subsections below it. The only thing that was listed in the lead and remained unaddressed in the article is the history (if findable) of the name change from Cooper Lake to Jim Chapman Lake. Overall, the lead was concise and introduced the topic well.

Content: All the subsections are related to the topic and seems up-to-date. More information for each subsection would be nice if it could be found. This article does address the Caddo Nation and the settling of their land which is an underrepresented community.

Tone and Balance: There's no persuading language in this article. The tone is unbiased and purely informational. Great job!

Sources and References: More references would help lengthen the article and add detail. Each sentence with a claim requires a citation, so just be careful about that. The citations are current, relevant, diverse, and trustworthy. The links to the sources work just fine. The main concern is the number of sources; more references would increase the quality and quantity of the article. I was able to find a few sources listed below if you're interested in looking at them. I hope they help!


 * 1) Volumetric and Sedimentary Survey of Cooper Lake: https://www.twdb.texas.gov/surfacewater/surveys/completed/files/Olney/2014-04/OlneyCooper2014_FinalReport.pdf
 * 2) Jim Chapman Lake (includes links at the bottom of the article to water data tables and list of surveys): https://www.twdb.texas.gov/surfacewater/rivers/reservoirs/jim_chapman/index.asp
 * 3) TCEQ Water Quality Assessments: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/waterquality/swqm/assess/02twqi/assessments/02_0307_fact.pdf, https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/waterquality/swqm/assess/04twqi/assessments/04_0307_data.pdf
 * 4) Classification of Lake Cooper as Eutrophic: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/water-quality/assessment/integrated-report-2022/2022-trophic.pdf
 * 5) Cooper Lake State Park Recreational Info: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/cooper-lake; https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/cooper/access.phtml; https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/cooper/
 * 6) Cooper WMA (wildlife management area?): https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=6; https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=6&activity=fishing
 * 7) Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/programs/landscape-ecology/ems/emst/herbaceous-vegetation/texas-blackland-tallgrass-prairie
 * 8) Post Oak Savannah Ecoregion: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/wildscapes/ecoregions/ecoregion_3.phtml
 * 9) Management Advice for Both Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah Ecoregion: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/post_oak/
 * 10) Army Corp Info: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=M203820
 * 11) Wildlife Info about Cooper Lake State Park: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/cooper-lake/nature

Organization: The order of subsections made logical sense. However, some of the grammar could be more clear. Below is an edited version of the article once I made some adjustments in the italicized text.

"Cooper Lake is the titular lake of Cooper Lake State Park in Delta and Hopkins counties, Texas about three miles (5 km) south of Cooper, Texas. The park is situated on Jim Chapman Lake, formerly known as Cooper Lake. There are actually two geographically separate units; the Doctors Creek unit 33°20′54″N 95°40′08″W (maybe use north, south, east, or west + distance English (SI) again, so it's easier to picture) is located on the north side of the lake, in Delta County, while the South Sulphur unit 33°17′49″N 95°39′35″W (don't need exact coordinates if you say it's south-just add a distance) is located on the south side of the lake, in Hopkins County."

"History: The Caddo Nation (link) lived around what would be Cooper Lake until the 1880s when colonists started using the land for growing cotton and raising livestock and dairy farms. Cooper Lake itself was built between 1986 and 1991 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Although the dam was originally designed to be build six miles upstream, it was eventually built using a earth-fill dam (link) measuring 28,070 ft (713 m) . A spillway (link) was also constructed that is 700 ft (18 m) wide."

"Reservoir (spelling): The United States Geological Survey (link) has measured the water level at Cooper Lake for the last 20 years. Over this time average monthly elevations have been collected and published on the USGS website (maybe instead of staying this create a table showing it?). Cooper Lake holds on average 435 ft (133 m) holding more water in the spring and summer months of March through July (This sentence is confusing. Is the water elevation 435 ft taller? 435 ft^3 more water?). "

"Nature: The park lies at the intersection of the Tallgrass Prairie and Post Oak Savannah ecoregions. There is a diverse variety of mammals (including the gray fox and nine-banded armadillo) and birds in the park, and multiple species of catfish, crappie, and bass in the lake. (Needs citations, also bullet points by flora and fauna might make reading the list more aesthetically pleasing, suggested link 11 has lots of animals listed with more in the lists at the end of the article)

"Recreation: Recreational activities at Cooper Lake include fishing and swimming. Catfish, white bass, and crappie are the most common species in the water."

Images and Media: No media or images were added per Wiki's strict rules. A map of the area would be nice if findable in the Cooper State Park page.

Overall: The article is more complete than it was. I learned about the history of the area around Cooper Lake, the development of the dam, surrounding wildlife and ecoregions, as well as recreational activities. The article could be improved by adding more information addressing the "Checklist of Information to Include" at the last page of the Wikipedia Article Project Guidelines like hydrology, water quality, invasive species, changes over time, and history of the area. The article as is still informed me about Cooper Lake. Good job!

I hope that this peer evaluation was helpful, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out!