On April 4, 2022, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club (Sierra Club) met with the Sabine River Authority (SRA) and the Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA) to discuss and view a private tract of land on Toledo Bend Reservoir that is proposed for a major fishing tournament recreation area.

The proposal would affect Sabine National Forest (SNF) because it would require widening of a U.S. Forest Service (FS) road and the trade of 27-acres of private land for 27-acres of FS public land.  This proposal is the result of two years of discussion about an initial project by the SRA that would have removed or reduced forest on 300-400 acres of SNF.  The new proposal is a much improved project that would result in little loss of SNF lands.

The Sierra Club, SRA, and TCA reviewed the present condition of the FS road proposed for widening, walked the FS property that the SRA would like to trade for, and walked the SRA property that the FS would receive in the land swap for the public.

The Sierra Club, TCA, and SRA walked along creeks, steep forested slopes, Toledo Bend shorelines, and upland forests as we reviewed the different tracts of lands that could be involved in the land swap.

Discussion topics included protection of rare or sensitive plants, minimization of the road expansion, getting equal natural resource value for lands included in the swap, shoreline erosion, Bald Cypress protection and or mitigation, and other issues.

During the in-the-field visit the Sierra Club was delighted to see two Bald Eagles at close range and many rare or sensitive plants like Slender Trillium, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Bloodroot, Southern Cranefly Orchid, and other “spring ephemeral” herbaceous plants.

At the end of the field trip the Sierra Club told the SRA that it was interested in the proposal and would like to talk further about it in the future.

Author: Brandt Mannchen