Land donated to refuge by California couple
Fish and Wildlife Service is unsure of how gift will impact pending litigation
BY LELAND ACKER STAFF WRITER

A California couple donated one acre of land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August, thus finalizing the establishment of the Neches River Wildlife Refuge, said Elizabeth Slown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We actually had a big announcement planned for Jan. 19, but the lawsuit interrupted that," Ms. Slown said. "We did agree not to take in any more land until Feb. 1, until (Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board) figure this out."

Ms. Slown said she is unsure of how the land donation will affect the pending litigation because the lawsuit covered a number of different items. Under the National Environmental Impact Act, Ms. Slown said the window for litigation is six years.

Janice Bezanson of the Texas Committee on Natural Resources said news of the land donation has the potential to make the lawsuit a moot point.

"Part of the lawsuit was to prevent land from being put into the refuge. This certainly is a major factor," Ms. Bezanson said. "There are other complaints in the lawsuit saying the Fish and Wildlife Service didn't do adequate studies. "

Ms. Bezanson stressed the wildlife service has done the required studies plus some additional studies.