I grew up a stone’s throw away from the Sulphur River in northern Franklin County. As a child I was always struck by how wild and untouched it seemed to be. With the exception of roads that crossed it out of necessity, it looked unchanged from centuries ago.
Until recently, it seemed that it would remain like that for years to come. Perhaps not anymore. If certain entities have their way, the Sulphur Bottom will be inundated with the 66,000 acre Marvin Nichols Lake. In addition, an estimated twice that amount will be taken for mitigation. That’s almost 200,000 acres, folks. If you’re like me, that’s a number that’s hard to imagine. Especially when most urban homes sit on a quarter acre lot. To put that into perspective, that’s only 75,000 acres smaller than the fabled 6666 Ranch. It’s an area greater than 1/4 the size of Rhode Island. Or, roughly the same size as Dallas. That’s a large piece of Northeast Texas gone forever. No timber industry, no farming, no petroleum production. In addition, cemeteries, archaeological sites, and heritage farms will be no more.
Property that has been owned by the same family for generations will be lost. For what? The answer is so the Metroplex can slake its ever-increasing thirst. Let’s examine that for a moment.
