The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 11, 2004 Page: 5 of 32
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THE CANADIAN RECORD
THURSDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2004
NEWS PAGE
Texas waters & wildlife at risk
EM, Army Corps policy directive
will have major repercussions
Texas Prairie Rivers
Region hires field
biologist Luke Lewis
Texas Prairie Rivers Region has hired its
first field biologist, Luke Lewis. A native of
Louisiana, Lewis has had an extensive career
in field biology and has spent numerous years
working for the National Wildlife Turkey Fed-
eration (NWTF).
"With all the accomplishments in Texas Prai-
rie Rivers, we've created a monster," Economic
Development Director Remelle Farrar said.
"We knew we were at a point where we either
had to grow it or get rid of it."
Lewis has stepped up to the plate and will
bring his family from Edgefield, South Caro-
lina, to break new ground for TPRR. He hopes
to build on the community's and area's natural
attractions.
An avid hunter, Lewis has been involved in
generating hunting leases, and the development
of a national program for timber companies to
protect endangered species and habitats. He
worked for a timber company for 20 years and
has volunteered or been an employee with the
NWTF for more than 20 years.
He said he hopes to bring the example of
NWTF into this job. NWTF began in 1973 with
only three employees and has grown to a multi-
million dollar organization with aquarter million
employees. The organization was able to grow by
forming partnerships and marketing, similar to
what Farrar has been trying to accomplish for
Canadian and the surrounding area, he said.
"I think we can be as effective as they have
been, at least on the local level," Lewis said.
Lewis' arrival came about when introduced
to Farrar at a turkey hunt in I "rowell Six weeks
later, Farrar said, she received a phone call "out
of the blue." Lewis brought his family—wife
Donna, 15-year-old daughter Albany, 19-year-
old son Keegan and 20-year-old son Logan, who
attends Louisiana Tech University—to visit the
community.
"What attracted me, was this town has per-
sonality, a lot of neat culture and history that
needs to be preserved," Lewis said.
Lewis said it is imperative to find new and in-
novative ways to market and grow a community,
otherwise, the place will die.
"This is a challenge for me," he said. "It's new
and fresh."
Farrar said Lewis will bring wildlife exper-
tise and experience in conservation work to the
organization, finding new-ways to achieve TPRR
goals and enrich the area.
"He can help us continue the story of what
can be done," she said. "He gets the connection
between economic development and conserva-
tion."
AUSTIN—Texas waters and wetlands that
provide millions of dollars in revenue from fish-
ing and hunting are at risk under a federal pol-
icy directive that ends Clean Water Act protec-
tion for so-called "isolated waters," according to
a new white paper from the National Wildlife
Federation.
"The policy is being made in Washington,
but the damage is being done here in Texas to
our valuable water resources," says Earl Mat-
thew, Texas Committee on Natural Resources
and National Wildlife Federation Board Mem-
ber.
The white paper is based on infox-mation ob-
tained from interviews with state and federal
biologists. Itshows that numerous wetlands and
other waters in Texas have lost federal Clean
Water Act protection due to a directive from the
Environmental Protection Agency and Army
Corps of Engineers, The directive was issued
to interpret a U.S. Supreme Court decision
from 2001.
Down the Drain: The Destruction of Wa-
ters and Wildlife in the Southwest identifies the
waters and wildlife most at risk under the ad-
ministration's policy directive. According to the
information gathered, some 3.3 million acres
of non-estuarine coastal wetlands and some
20,000 acres of playa wetlands in the Texas pan-
handle could be at risk. Without Clean Water
Act protection, they could be subject to pollution
or development.
"These waters provide us with great hunt-
ing, fishing, and wildlife watching," says Mat-
thew. "The Clean Water Act has protected
these waters for 30 years. It was wrong to re-
move the protections, and it is critical to restore
full protection, for our wildlife, our health and
our economy."
"The decision not to protect these valuable
wetlands, streams and other waters repre-
sents an unprecedented abandonment of Texas'
critical water resources and the fish and wild-
life they support," gays Julie Sibbing, National
Wildlife Federation Wetlands Policy Specialist.
"The agencies have taken a minor loophole and
created a gap in the law big enough to drive a
bulldozer through, and it's clear the district of-
fices are not going to close it."
In Texas, there are possible economic losses
stemming from waterways being left unpro-
tected. Duck hunting brings Texas $100-mil-
lion a year in revenue, more than half of which
is generated by use of the coastal marshes and
prairie wetlands of the Texas coast. In addition
to numerous ducks, including pintail, gadwall,
American widgeon, northern shoveler, redhead,
bufflehead, ring-neck, mallard and common
teal ducks, the coastal wetlands are important
for Sandhill cranes, snipe, bald eagles, pere-
grine falcons, and neotropicalmigrants.
One study also observed about 259-million
songbirds using forested wetlands in a 100 by
200 mile area. In addition, all of the Texas pan-
handle's nearly 20,000 playas now fall outside
Clean Water Act protections according to the
Army Corps.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
estimates that up to half a million waterfowl
winter on the playas. In 1988 a Texas Tech
study estimated that there was potential to
generate more than $7.5 million from water-
fowl hunting leases and related activities in the
playas. Pronghorn antelope also depend upon
these wetlands, especially in the rangelands.
"Hunting and fishing is a way of life to many
of us in Texas. But we have to conserve our
water resources if we want to pass this legacy
down to our children and grandchildren," says
Matthew.
Surveys show the Clean Water Act is valued
by sportsmen. According to a recent National
Wildlife Federation poll, 58 percent of sports-
men oppose the new Clean Water Act guidelines
that eliminate protection from eertain waters.
"Because water is so scarce in Texas, the
loss or degradation of any water resources to
development or pollution could adversely affect
both human and wildlife populations," says Mat-
thew. "Texas' hunters and anglers call on the
administration to immediately reverse its dam-
aging policy directive and on our Congressional
delegation to support legislation that would en-
sure full protection for all our critical water re-
sources."
Protecting wildlife through education and
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action since 1936, the National Wildlife Federa-
tion is America's conservation organization cre-
ating solutions that balance the needs of people
and wildlife now and for future generations.
IE IN
ATI 01
Down the Drain: The Destniction of Waters
and Wildlife in the Southwest can be found,
online at wnw.iM'f.org/news
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Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 11, 2004, newspaper, November 11, 2004; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth220655/m1/5/?q=EARTH: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.