Proposed condemnation of entire nature preserve angers environmental groups along the coast.
Nature area faces condemnation
Threat to use eminent domain on South Padre brings criticism
Dec. 18, 2005
By JAMES PINKERTON
Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2005
RAYMONDVILLE - Willacy County officials who want to ferry people to the pristine beaches of South Padre Island have astonished conservationists by taking the first steps toward condemning an entire 1,500-acre nature preserve.
The county's district attorney said commissioners are looking to purchase only a small part of the preserve for beach access for a ferry landing.
But he acknowledged that the commissioners court caused suspicion earlier this month when it ordered a condemnation suit to take the entire preserve through eminent domain.
There are no bridges linking this impoverished South Texas county with the nearby island, so officials have been planning for years to ferry residents and tourists miles across the bay so they can enjoy the public beaches. And now they want the preserve to serve as the ferry landing, where restrooms and picnic facilities can be built.
Officials with the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, which established the preserve in 2000, say county officials have yet to contact them about the condemnation.
''They're proposing to condemn an entire nature preserve, which is without precedent in this state," said Carter Smith, the group's state director. ''It's alarming, especially for all of us who care about protecting the barrier island and the Laguna Madre."
''I'm not aware of any instance in the Nature Conservancy's 40-year history in Texas in which a local government has attempted to condemn a nature preserve," Smith said. ''We will be fighting this vigorously."
District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra said he will recommend purchasing a small parcel of land — perhaps only 3 to 5 acres — from the Nature Conservancy so the county can have legal access to the beach.
''They (commissioners) have an interest in the county having some land they can own out there because right now the county has absolutely nothing out there," Guerra said. "Our position is people from Willacy County should be able to go out there and enjoy the public beach."
Access to preserve
A condemnation suit would be a ''last resort " if the reserve owners refuse the county's offer, Guerra said. He noted that the unfenced preserve is open to anyone who can reach it by four-wheel-drive vehicle or by boat, and people frequently camp on sections of the preserve next to the water.
''Because of the big number (of acres), people are assuming there is another reason the county is trying to do this," said Guerra, who explained the court merely wants ''to show we are serious" about acquiring land from the refuge.
Conservancy officials said that in the past, they and county officials discussed access to the preserve, which lines the south side of the Port Mansfield channel.
But county officials then would provide few details of their plans, Carter said.
Carter called the threatened condemnation ''a real assault on the sanctity of private property rights and private land conservation in this state."
County leaders said there is no intent to offer any Conservancy land for private development, which would violate a new state law that placed restrictions on land condemnation by Texas governmental bodies.
Gov. Rick Perry allowed the Texas eminent domain legislation to be added to a special legislative session this summer. Perry's decision came after a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Connecticut case that upheld a city's authority to condemn private homes and then sell the property to commercial developers as part of an effort to increase jobs and expand the city's tax base.
Willacy officials say they only want access to the nearby island by water so that local residents, schoolchildren and winter tourists who don't own boats can visit the undeveloped beaches.
The nearest bridge to the island is in Port Isabel, nearly a two-hour drive.
"I'm not much for developing — I'm for making people aware it's (the beach) there, so that it could be seen and it can be touched," said County Judge Simon Salinas, adding he doesn't envision ''skyscrapers like in Corpus Christi."
The plan to ferry tourists from Port Mansfield hit a major snag in March, when the General Land Office canceled a $700,000 grant to the navigation district to fund ferry operations.
Ferry proposal problems
The biggest drawback was the lack of a landing site on the island, Suydam said, noting that the federal agency that provided the grant money would not approve condemning land for that.
Other problems were a lack of Coast Guard certification for the district's 30-passenger amphibious vessel, which does not have restrooms or meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, he said.
Navigation district officials did not return repeated calls to the Houston Chronicle to comment on the ferry project or how it will be funded now that the $700,000 grant has been canceled.
Earlier this year, officials with the Padre Island National Seashore, which owns the land on the north side of the Port Mansfield channel, rejected the county's request to unload ferry passengers on parkland.
The 1,500-acre island preserve is part of a 24,500-acre tract the Nature Conservancy purchased for $7.5 million from a Houston firm, after plans for a large-scale residential and marina development on the site failed. The conservation group sold, at below its cost, the majority of the island acreage to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand an existing federal wildlife refuge.
The proposed condemnation has angered environmental groups along the coast.
"They (Willacy County) shouldn't take over a private sanctuary," said Patricia Suter, chair of the Coastal Bend Chapter of the Sierra Club. ''They're trying to take too much."
james.pinkerton@chron.com
Houston Chronicle: www.chron.com
Threat to use eminent domain on South Padre brings criticism
Dec. 18, 2005
By JAMES PINKERTON
Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2005
RAYMONDVILLE - Willacy County officials who want to ferry people to the pristine beaches of South Padre Island have astonished conservationists by taking the first steps toward condemning an entire 1,500-acre nature preserve.
The county's district attorney said commissioners are looking to purchase only a small part of the preserve for beach access for a ferry landing.
But he acknowledged that the commissioners court caused suspicion earlier this month when it ordered a condemnation suit to take the entire preserve through eminent domain.
There are no bridges linking this impoverished South Texas county with the nearby island, so officials have been planning for years to ferry residents and tourists miles across the bay so they can enjoy the public beaches. And now they want the preserve to serve as the ferry landing, where restrooms and picnic facilities can be built.
Officials with the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, which established the preserve in 2000, say county officials have yet to contact them about the condemnation.
''They're proposing to condemn an entire nature preserve, which is without precedent in this state," said Carter Smith, the group's state director. ''It's alarming, especially for all of us who care about protecting the barrier island and the Laguna Madre."
''I'm not aware of any instance in the Nature Conservancy's 40-year history in Texas in which a local government has attempted to condemn a nature preserve," Smith said. ''We will be fighting this vigorously."
District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra said he will recommend purchasing a small parcel of land — perhaps only 3 to 5 acres — from the Nature Conservancy so the county can have legal access to the beach.
''They (commissioners) have an interest in the county having some land they can own out there because right now the county has absolutely nothing out there," Guerra said. "Our position is people from Willacy County should be able to go out there and enjoy the public beach."
Access to preserve
A condemnation suit would be a ''last resort " if the reserve owners refuse the county's offer, Guerra said. He noted that the unfenced preserve is open to anyone who can reach it by four-wheel-drive vehicle or by boat, and people frequently camp on sections of the preserve next to the water.
''Because of the big number (of acres), people are assuming there is another reason the county is trying to do this," said Guerra, who explained the court merely wants ''to show we are serious" about acquiring land from the refuge.
Conservancy officials said that in the past, they and county officials discussed access to the preserve, which lines the south side of the Port Mansfield channel.
But county officials then would provide few details of their plans, Carter said.
Carter called the threatened condemnation ''a real assault on the sanctity of private property rights and private land conservation in this state."
County leaders said there is no intent to offer any Conservancy land for private development, which would violate a new state law that placed restrictions on land condemnation by Texas governmental bodies.
Gov. Rick Perry allowed the Texas eminent domain legislation to be added to a special legislative session this summer. Perry's decision came after a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Connecticut case that upheld a city's authority to condemn private homes and then sell the property to commercial developers as part of an effort to increase jobs and expand the city's tax base.
Willacy officials say they only want access to the nearby island by water so that local residents, schoolchildren and winter tourists who don't own boats can visit the undeveloped beaches.
The nearest bridge to the island is in Port Isabel, nearly a two-hour drive.
"I'm not much for developing — I'm for making people aware it's (the beach) there, so that it could be seen and it can be touched," said County Judge Simon Salinas, adding he doesn't envision ''skyscrapers like in Corpus Christi."
The plan to ferry tourists from Port Mansfield hit a major snag in March, when the General Land Office canceled a $700,000 grant to the navigation district to fund ferry operations.
Ferry proposal problems
The biggest drawback was the lack of a landing site on the island, Suydam said, noting that the federal agency that provided the grant money would not approve condemning land for that.
Other problems were a lack of Coast Guard certification for the district's 30-passenger amphibious vessel, which does not have restrooms or meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, he said.
Navigation district officials did not return repeated calls to the Houston Chronicle to comment on the ferry project or how it will be funded now that the $700,000 grant has been canceled.
Earlier this year, officials with the Padre Island National Seashore, which owns the land on the north side of the Port Mansfield channel, rejected the county's request to unload ferry passengers on parkland.
The 1,500-acre island preserve is part of a 24,500-acre tract the Nature Conservancy purchased for $7.5 million from a Houston firm, after plans for a large-scale residential and marina development on the site failed. The conservation group sold, at below its cost, the majority of the island acreage to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand an existing federal wildlife refuge.
The proposed condemnation has angered environmental groups along the coast.
"They (Willacy County) shouldn't take over a private sanctuary," said Patricia Suter, chair of the Coastal Bend Chapter of the Sierra Club. ''They're trying to take too much."
james.pinkerton@chron.com
Houston Chronicle:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Sunday, December 18, 2005
<< Home