Coalition building will probably be an on-going topic here over the next several months. Before I dive into that, I want to thank all of the new subscribers to the newsletter. Or if you happen to end up here just to read at some point in the future, thanks for stopping by and reading! This newsletter will be free and stay free for the near future—I see no reason to put valuable, educational information behind a paywall, and that especially pertaining to the coming loss of a state park from the Texas state park system.
I certainly didn’t expect to be writing so much about the state park when I started this thing but well, it is about Texas nature and so, here we are. Over the last week there’s been a lot of activity on social media and news outlets about the closure of Fairfield Lake State Park coming next week. There are a lot of people with passionate viewpoints and ideas on how to save the park and some are great points of reference to get started. I’m a biologist by trade and my current occupation is that of environmental consulting so I am very familiar with most regulations regarding the environment. There are loopholes everywhere. Several people brought up endangered species and bald eagles—you can get a take permit from USFWS. Endangered plants are offered almost zero protections on private property so once the land is in the hands of the new owners, they can generally bulldoze without repercussions. Filling wetlands? There’s a permit and mitigation for that.
Now, the only thing going against the new owner is that this is a very high profile property now. There will be eyes watching every move and people willing to file lawsuits and protest and throw a wrench in every step of the process just to make their lives more difficult. As it should be. If you are going to turn a state park into a multi-million dollar housing development with a golf course, you should at the very least be held to the fire by your feet on all of the regulations and permitting.
One thing I am not seeing is a coalition forming. Yes, Rep. Orr has filed the bill for pursuing eminent domain but that has to pass committee before it gets to a vote. There’s a long way to go. But we need action items and usually from someone leading the way. I hesitate to even try to be that leader because I don’t live near the state park and honestly, I have enough on my plate as it is. But if I don’t do it, will someone else? Or are we all going to be flailing about in a couple of weeks with no continuing outrage to fuel the process? It’s a long haul and I’ve watched and continue to watch others across the country deal with this for their own special park lands, from Split Oak Forest, to the Okefenokee, to Bell Bowl Prairie.
My goal in the coming weeks is to work on an action item list and start looking at ways to not only attempt to save the state park but how we can push state officials to protect the other leased state park lands. And even beyond that, expansion of public lands in Texas.
Until then, we have plans for a farewell trip to the state park on Saturday, likely with throngs of others so maybe I’ll see some of y’all there. I’ll share some photos from that trip next week and be back soon with some action items for the long haul.