Advocacy & Policy
TCA is involved in crucial issues across the state advocating for wildlife and protection of wild habitat. Scroll down for an overview of these topics.
Reservoirs
Marvin Nichols
The proposed Nichols Reservoir would permanently flood more than 66,000 acres of high-quality wetlands, bottomland hardwood forests, upland forest, and agricultural lands in Red River, Titus, and Franklin Counties, with at least 80% of the water piped over 100 miles to the DFW area. Compensation for lost wetlands and wildlife habitat would require setting aside mitigation land that has been estimated at twice the acreage of the reservoir footprint. The reservoir and its mitigation together are expected to take more than 200,000 acres out of production in a region whose economy is fueled primarily by land-based industries - timber and agriculture. Capital costs to construct the Marvin Nichols Reservoir and deliver water to DFW are currently estimated at $7.4 billion. If Marvin Nichols is built, the impact on the region – socially, economically, and environmentally – will be enormous. Thousands of Texas families will be forced to sell land that in some cases has been in the family for generations, land that provides their livelihoods. Many families will lose their homes, some will see family cemeteries inundated. The number of jobs lost, especially in the timber industry, will be devastating to local communities and school districts. More than 30 miles of the main stem of the Sulphur River and hundreds of miles of feeder streams will be inundated. The impact on wildlife is incalculable. Marvin Nichols Reservoir first appeared in the Texas Water Plan in 1968 and has been actively pursued since 2001. Fierce opposition from the residents of Northeast Texas, guided by TCA and aided by other organizations, has delayed initiation for 25 years. TCA’s program, Preserve Northeast Texas, continues to build opposition to Marvin Nichols Reservoir. Learn more at https://preservenortheasttexas.org/
Lake Ringgold
A classic example of the deep flaws in how water development decisions in Texas are made is Lake Ringgold, a 16,000-acre reservoir proposed on the Little Wichita River by the City of Wichita Falls. Wichita Falls has sufficient water to meet its future demands and those of its customer cities. However, vested interests who would benefit financially from building the reservoir have been pushing for the new reservoir for decades. The same consulting firm that is expected to be granted a contract in the neighborhood of $100 million to design and oversee construction of Lake Ringgold also serves as the consultant to the official regional water planning group, putting the firm in the position of recommending a project from which it will receive substantial benefit. The two state agencies tasked with projections of future population and water use, the Texas Demographic Center (state demographer) and the Texas Water Development Board, both project a steady decline in population for Wichita Falls and its entire service area over the next fifty years. Wichita Falls, however, relied on the regional water plan, which uses data prepared by the consultant, to project a significant increase. If Lake Ringgold is built, it will permanently drown more than 2,000 acres of native tallgrass prairie, one of the rarest ecosystems in the country. Most of the remaining riparian forest in Clay County will be lost under water. Families with land and homes in the lake site will be forced to sell. The people of Wichita Falls and surrounding communities will see water rate hikes to pay the $550 million construction costs. Texas Conservation Alliance is actively opposing the state and federal permits for Lake Ringgold and pushing for water decisions based on scientifically-accurate projections of need and accurate assessment of impacts.
Lavaca River Dam
The Lavaca-Navidad River Authority (LNRA) has applied for a state water rights permit to construct a reservoir on the Lavaca River and divert 96,000 acre-feet of water annually into an off-channel reservoir. The reservoir would be on property owned by Formosa Plastics, allowing their production to expand, or possibly for them to supply water to a proposed new Exxon plant. Formosa Plastics has a history of environmental non-compliance. In October 2019, Formosa Plastics agreed to pay a $50 million settlement, the largest settlement of a Clean Water Act suit filed by private individuals. The Lavaca River is one of the few free-flowing rivers left in Texas, flowing from the northeastern part of Gonzales County southeast for 115 miles until it empties into Lavaca Bay, a component of Matagorda Bay. Creating the dam would significantly reduce freshwater inflow from the Lavaca River, which is extremely important to the Lavaca-Matagorda Bay system. Freshwater inflows support critical reproductive habitats for marine life, including fish, shrimp, and invertebrates. Removing nearly 1/6th of the freshwater inflow into the bay systems would impact commercial and recreational fishing as well as food supplies for shore birds and migrating waterfowl, including the endangered Whooping Crane. While the permit application requests water for municipal, manufacturing, and mining purposes, no municipal or mining uses are being discussed. It would be a case of the public building a dam to benefit a for-profit industry. Since the reservoir would be on private property, there would be no public value for recreation, and no habitat values have been mentioned. The Matagorda Bay system has already sustained significant impacts from Lake Texana and other diversions. With the huge impacts we see to all Texas bay systems, there is a deep need to protect what is left.
National Forest Management
TCA has been a leader protecting national forests since the 1970’s, when our founder Ned Fritz filed a lawsuit to protect the national forests in Texas from wholesale clearcutting. TCA’s litigations and decades-long policy work have significantly changed management of national forests across the Southeast and led to reduced clearcutting and a greater focus on ecosystem management in national forests nationally. TCA’s leadership in passing the Texas Wilderness Act of 1984 led to creation of five wilderness areas in East Texas, totaling 34,000 acres. Over the past twenty years, Larry Shelton, TCA’s National Forest Policy Coordinator, has collaborated with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) personnel to protect fragile habitats within large areas scheduled for logging and other maintenance activities. Thanks to Larry’s deep knowledge of the national forests in Texas and the rules regarding logging them, thousands of acres of mature hardwood forests, riparian areas, and other vital habitats have been conserved, protecting their biological diversity and preventing erosion and fragmentation. While the past year has seen a shift in USFS priorities toward more intensive logging and less collaboration with public interests, so far the primary focus in Texas continues to be thinning of pine plantations, which avoids major impacts to diversity.
Wildlife
Wildlife
Mountain Lions
Mountain Lions
Municipal Water Recycling
Water Recycling
Native Prairie Restoration
Prairie Grass
Oyster Recovery
Oysters
Recovering America's Wildlife Act
RAWA, Video
Successes and Accolades
Successes
