Lawsuit halts Neches refuge
By GEORGIA PURDY

When The Committee on Natural Resources met last October to celebrate the creation of the Neches River Wildlife Refuge, it was a euphoric group. They gathered to hear U.S Fish and Wildlife Service regional chief of refuges Chris Pease speak of the unique qualities of wildlife habitat, which had been formally approved as a refuge in June of 2006.

"This is one of the most unique areas for a wildlife preserve," Pease told the TCONR group last October. "A lot of people have kept it high profile. They came to the Department of Interior and made a strong case protecting this hardwood bottomland and the Texas State Railroad, preserving both the habitat and heritage of East Texas. There is phenomenal support for these areas."

The euphoria didn't last long. Earlier this month, the City of Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, charging that they did not consider the economic impact to the Dallas area. Now, Governor Rick Perry has sided with the plaintiffs and against the USFWS.

The lawsuit says the Fish and Wildlife Service's actions approving the refuge violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 because it doesn't adequately consider the environmental impact of designating a 25,281-acre site within Anderson and Cherokee counties - the same area as the planned Fastrill Dam reservoir. The lawsuit also accuses the agencies of violating the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon the traditional state and local role of water and land-use planning.

The refuge would prevent the building of Fastrill Dam, an impoundment that would inundate thousands of acres of land in Cherokee and Anderson counties- water that Dallas says is needed for future use in their high-growth area.

But the rub for many East Texans is this: the lake created by Fastrill Dam would be located in Region I which comprises most of East Texas. Water rights would go to the Dallas metroplex, which lies in Region C.

Conservation groups such as the committee on Natural Resources (TCONR)- a National Wildlife Federation affiliate, Sierra Club, and landowners and various outdoorsmen joined Friends of the Texas State Railroad in 2005 and again in 2006 at Region I Water Plan hearings where they overwhelmingly rejected Fastrill Dam.

They cited negative impact to the Neches River all the way to the coast, protection of critical wildlife habitat located in the wetlands and hardwood bottoms of the proposed wildlife refuge, and the destruction the new lake would do to the Texas State Railroad.

Since the lake would cover existing track, the park will either have to cease train operations or build a track over the water, a project that would cost millions of dollars.

They also pointed out that land for the Fastrill project would be obtained through eminent domain, taking huge amounts of property off of the tax rolls.

Criticism also included Dallas' waste of water resources since the predominant use goes for watering lawns.

Wildlife officials have cited the refuge, some 25,000 acres along the Upper Neches, as critical habitat for migrating waterfowl and prime habitat for many plant and animal species.

Even though the refuge was approved in June, blocking Fastrill Dam, which was still in the State Water Plan, could not be assured until the first acre of land was donated. One acre was donated in August, but it did not stop the suits.

Gina Donovan, communications director for TCONR said that one-acre was donated by a California couple in August.

The lawsuits are a setback, but supporters of the wildlife refuge aren't giving up easily.

"TCONR and other conservation groups have been contacting Governor Perry and other key elected officials expressing support for the refuge and against the building of Fastrill dam," Donovan said. "Folks have been calling, e-mailing, and faxing letters to these key officials."

Donovan refutes the charges that the USFWS did not do the necessary studies before approving the refuge.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service performed all the studies required for establishment of this refuge and the state's lawsuit is a huge waste of Texas taxpayers' money," Donovan said.