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June 9, 2008

State Dems say yes to refuge, no to reservoir

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A resolution supporting the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge and in opposition to the Dallas-backed Fastrill Reservoir was passed Saturday at the 2008 Texas Democratic Convention.

The resolution worked its way up from the grassroots level; first being passed at precinct conventions in four local counties, then being accepted at the county level and finally being pushed to the floor of the state convention.

“We just got word Monday that it made it through the resolution committee and was adopted on June 7 in general session of the convention — which is great news for East Texas,” said Dr. Michael Banks, co-chair of the Friends of the Neches River and founder of Save Texas Parks. “There are thousands of resolutions that are submitted from around the state and only a handful are passed at this level; so I think it indicates that there is statewide support for the wildlife refuge.”

Back in June of 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the refuge, effectively negating the plans the city of Dallas and the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority had to build a dam on that portion of the Neches River. For the past year-and-a-half, Dallas and Fish and Wildlife have been embroiled in a lawsuit to determine the fate of the refuge.

An identical resolution was also unanimously passed at Republican conventions in Cherokee, Anderson, Angelina and Nacogdoches counties back in March. Banks is hopeful the resolution will likewise be accepted June 12-14 at the Texas Republican Convention in Houston.

“The Republican convention starts this Thursday, and we don’t have as many people pushing it there as we did in the Democratic convention, but I am hopeful it will also do well there,” he said.

Banks said the adoption of the resolution proves that a consensus of the Texas population supports the refuge and opposes the proposed Fastrill Reservoir.

“This resolution, which was voted on by people from the entire state, wasn’t just in favor of the refuge; it was both pro-refuge and anti-reservoir,” Banks said. “Through our efforts, we have been able to generate a statewide interest in the refuge, and any additional recognition and support we can receive will only help us.”

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