From the first opposition meeting more than 20 years ago in a tiny church in Boxelder, to now a statewide, organized effort, the opposition to the massive, proposed lake in the Sulphur River Basin continues to grow. The proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir has long been deemed by the people of Northeast Texas as something that would have a devastating impact to local tax bases and the local economy, but an even greater impact to the long list of landowners in the Basin that would lose generational homesteads, and a way of life passed down to them by their grandfathers. Inside the boundaries of the proposed lake are farms and ranches that have belonged to the same families for generations, and historical sites like Native American burial grounds that would be lost forever with the lake’s construction. Aside from a long list of endangered species that would be wiped out by the lake’s construction, there would also be communities put underwater for good.
Now, thanks largely to the efforts of Preserve Northeast Texas, more than 2,000 Texans have expressed their opposition to the proposed reservoir by signing a petition which condemns the water project and states, “The proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir would rob Northeast Texas of land, valuable jobs, and precious water, devastating the region’s economic vitality, heritage farmlands, and natural resources. I stand in opposition to this project and call on policymakers to put a stop to this costly, unnecessary and damaging project.”
The petition was created by the grassroots organization, Preserve Northeast Texas, a growing group of landowners, business owners, community leaders, conservationists, and elected officials who have banded together to voice their opposition to one of the biggest transfers of private land to public in modern history. The full list of petitioners pushing back against Marvin Nichols Reservoir can be found at www.PreserveNortheastTexas. org. “Texas is growing, and water is a vital resource necessary for life and commerce,” said Bill Ward, President of Ward Timber Company. “That’s why the DFW Metroplex must do more to conserve and reuse this precious resource, rather than use eminent domain to take away the homes and heritage lands of fellow Texans. Reservoirs like the proposed Marvin Nichols project are an outdated solution to meet our water needs.”
