Water hustlers need to move on
DR. MICHAEL BANKS
Gov. Rick Perry blasted the Bush administration in his State of the State speech by calling the administration "environmental extremists."

He voiced to Washington, "Let Texans run Texas," implying he did not want interference in the state's plans for 20 more reservoirs.

However, Gov. Perry was very wrong when he stated a better location had been identified for a wildlife sanctuary than the U S Fish and Wildlife's Neches River National Wildlife Refuge.

Last spring, for the USFWS, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department along with representatives from the City of Dallas conducted a search for an alternate site of equal or better habitat than the refuge site.

A better alternate site for the refuge could not be found, because one does not exist. Gov. Perry has also voiced support of personal property rights in the past, but his actions say otherwise.

The reservoir site on the Neches River would have taken by eminent domain more than 150,000 acres from the landowners in East Texas without the owners having a say in that action.

Is this an example of Gov. Perry saying one thing and doing another?

With the wildlife refuge, land is being acquired from willing sellers only.

A recent lawsuit was filed against the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the creation of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge by the Texas Water Development Board, joined by the City of Dallas and supported by Gov. Perry.

However, the plaintiffs are finding they have no grounds since the service did the proper studies in the creation of the refuge and land has already been accepted into the refuge by the service.

Taxpayers' money is being used in this frivolous suit of one governmental agency against another. Is this not like us suing ourselves?

With print media editorials and thousands of petitions and letters in support of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, it has a backing.

The City of Dallas and the water hustlers of the state need to move on.

Dr. Banks is co-chairman of the Friends of the Neches River.