Last Call for Fairfield Lake State Park
Months later and we've circled back to Eminent Domain to save the state park
This weekend I drove up to Fort Parker State Park between Groesbeck and Mexia to spend a weekend with two of my friends. We’ve been getting together at least once a year since 2018 to spend some time together away from kids and spouses. We’ve rented the cabins at Fort Boggy State Park, rented Airbnbs and hotels in various cities, but one of my friends recently purchased a camping trailer and I think we have a new venue for our outings!
I took the scenic route to the state park, using small county or farm-to-market roads between Tx-6 and I-45, driving north, parallel to each of those roads for much of the way. It’s an area with little public lands once you get beyond Sam Houston National Forest. The roadsides were full of wildflowers and a few times I u-turned to inspect curious botanical species I had yet to see before. The roads were quiet for the most part. I could tell when I had I really transitioned into the post oak savannah and could sense the habitat around me was probably pretty fantastic on those acres and acres of ranches adjacent to the road. I could tell from looking at the roadside plants as I zoomed by at 70mph that I wished I could explore more beyond the roadside right-of-way. I also knew that starting around the town of Iola, and sporadically north until I got to Jewett and up and around Lake Limestone, that there was heavy oil and gas presence that can’t be seen via the road but can be seen via aerial imagery in the form of thousands of well pads dotting the landscape. And then coming up over a big hill on FM 39 you get a sweeping view of the Jewett lignite mine which supplies the nearby NRG Limestone Electric Generating Station, which is cooled by the waters of Lake Limestone. I couldn’t help but think of several things while driving through this area. The first being, there should be more public lands in this little sliver of land between Tx-6 and I-45, or at least someone should be working to engage some conservation easements on this land—I suspect there’s some very interesting botanical discoveries to be found on these properties but no one from the public is exploring them. And second, the irony of passing the lignite mine and power plant on a publicly owned lake made me think heavily about Fairfield Lake State Park.*
I’m tired of thinking about this state park, y’all. This entire process has been dragged out far longer than it ever should have been. It’s the 11th hour (really, it’s midnight but, for drama’s sake…) and here we are, still sitting here asking each other, “What’s going on with the state park?” Lets out heavy sigh…
I went up to Fort Parker SP with the intention not to be heavily in the loop news wise on anything. I knew late last week that there was potential talk about the deal with Todd Interests purchasing the park falling through due to their lack of finding enough investors to complete the deal. On Sunday, near lunchtime, I heard from my husband who filled me in on the latest information that had happened over the weekend regarding the state park. I did a quick search online and was dismayed to see the quick turn of events.
The park officially closed for a second time yesterday, June 4th, 2023 at 10pm. Texas Parks and Wildlife offered Todd Interests $25 million to step away from the contract, in addition to some other terms that would have allowed them to move away unscathed from the contract with Vistra. But apparently Todd Interests managed to secure their funding and declined the last gesture from TPWD to walk away from a deal that is surely going to tarnish their reputation for years to come.
Now, we’re back to eminent domain talk. The talk no legislator wanted to touch because they were all too fearful about being re-elected. The talk no legislator wanted to adequately assess and look at every other eminent domain deal that occurs in our state and throughout the country to secure pipeline and powerline easements, transportation corridors, the border wall, and many other developments. There is nothing more asinine to listen to than when someone proclaims to be against eminent domain and for private property rights without taking a hard look at what goes on every day with regard to eminent domain. But please, be two-faced about it if it will benefit your re-election campaign!
On June 10, 2023 at 10:30 am the TPWD Commissioners will hold a Special Commission Meeting regarding the condemnation of land in Freestone County for approximately 5,000 acres at Fairfield Lake State Park. Condemnation = Eminent Domain. You can submit your comments here regarding the use of eminent domain to save the state park.
This particular use of eminent domain is for the benefit of the citizens of the state of Texas and those guests who come in to visit the state. It’s of the same benefit that condemning someone’s property to build a powerline easement through it is to provide power to a community nearby. It’s literally the last line of defense we have now. Todd Interests finalized their acquisition on June 2nd. TPWD’s official lease ends on June 13th and the park was closed to visitors yesterday, June 4th.
This is it.
I thought about writing more about the failures of various entities throughout this whole process, some of which I’ve touched on in my initial writings about this topic, but I’ll save that for the aftermath of whatever happens on Saturday.
If you want to listen in to the meeting you can do so here via Zoom** and you can give public testimony in person. I had hoped they would do phone-in testimony again as I was intending to call in this time but that is unavailable, unfortunately. If you can show up in Austin, please do. At the very least, sign their comment form and share it with your friends and family.
It’s not over until it’s over, but we’re nearly there. Stay with me and keep fighting!
*Yes, Fairfield Lake itself was privately owned, but open to the public via the state park. It’s just the whole lake + power plant + mine situation that hit home for me.
**Note that the commissioners will meet in a closed session first so stay on the line for a while until they come in for the public portion. It could be a while, but it might not be. Just FYI!
Misti writes regularly at Oceanic Wilderness and can be found on Instagram at @oceanicwilderness. She hosts two podcasts, Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast, and The Garden Path Podcast.
This story has more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thanks for keeping up the good fight.
Thanks for keeping us up to speed about the Lake Fairfield State Park situation. Winston Churchill said Americans will always do the right thing — once they've exhausted the alternatives. This perfectly describes how TPWD and the Lege are handling this Fairfield situation. Exasperating!