Without a concerted effort to protect Texas' best potential reservoir sites, such as the
Fastrill Reservoir, the state's water security will be in great peril in the near future. The 80th
Legislature's overreaching attempt at protecting these sites gives little to no actual defense from
the grasp of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). If something is not done at the state or federal level to change the law,
considerable barriers will exist to block the development of most reservoir sites in Texas,
particularly those in East Texas where most of the remaining bottomland hardwoods occur. Reservoir construction that results in a new loss of riverine, wetland and wooded
bottomland habitats, should include requirements to compensate for those impacts, and to
participate in preserving and managing remaining areas. Both state and federal law requires such
mitigation of impacts. Hopefully, the emerging spirit of cooperation between water developers,
conservationists, and other affected interests can be extended to cooperation in reservoir
development to provide the funds and increase the political will necessary for increased
protection of bottomland hardwoods and other natural resources beyond what can occur from the
establishment of refuges alone. The Fastrill project can be a model example of the potential for
this process by relocating the proposed refuge to a site with better habitat using land that is
acquired in fee at the project sponsors' costs that can be managed to the benefit of all Texans, not
just a wealthy few.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 360 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 17 |
| Published : | 06/01/2007 |
