Front page reprint, Thursday, July 28,2011

 

 

In less than one year, Friends of the River San Bernard has been able to retire a $75,000 Conservation Easement Note, securing the environmental protection of a portion of the river.

 

According to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department handbook, “A conservation easement is a restriction landowners voluntarily place on specified uses of their property to protect natural productive or cultural features. A conservation easement is recorded as a written legal agreement between the landowner and the holder of the easement, which may be either a nonprofit conservation organization or government agency.” Landowners retain legal title to their property and can choose how they wish to limit development of the property. “For example, a landowner donating a conservation easement could choose to limit the right to develop a property, but keep the rights to build a house, raise cattle and grow crops,” states the handbook. "The landowner may continue his or her current use of the property provided the resources the conservation easement is intended to protect are sustained.”

 

On September 11, 2010, (see article below) FOR announced it had enacted a land conservation easement on the river adjoining another easement held by Ducks Unlimited. Together, these two easements put a two-mile stretch of the river under permanent development restrictions. The easement contains a landmark sycamore tree that is cited on the original land survey commissioned by Steven F. Austin. It marks the intersection of Ft. Bend, Brazoria and Wharton counties.

 

The $75,000 note was scheduled to be paid out over five years, but thanks to donations from local industries, fundraisers and Supplemental Environmental Program funds from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the note has been retired.

 

On Saturday, September 11, 2010, F.O.R. San Bernard announced they have enacted their first land conservation easement on the San Bernard River watershed in Southeast Texas. Adjoining an existing easement held by Ducks Unlimited, this new easement results in two contiguous miles of pristine riverbank placed under permanent development restrictions.

 

Part of an original land grant, the easement contains a landmark Sycamore tree that is cited on the original land survey commissioned by Steven F. Austin. This tree marking the intersection of Ft. Bend, Brazoria and Wharton counties still towers over a landscape little changed from those early days.

 

Working closely with Ft. Bend county landowner, Dyer Moore, Ft. Bend County Commissioner Richard Morrison, Brazoria County Commissioner Dude Payne and state and county officials, the easement is the culmination of more than 12 months of extensive effort involving the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Ducks Unlimited. As a bonus, it is now planned for the easement to be twice the size as originally plotted with the eventuality of it growing even larger – mostly paid for with SEP money that would have otherwise gone to Harris or other Texas counties.

 

Thomas Valliere, chairman of the F.O.R. environmental committee states “This is an important step in preserving our river. Water quality is the ultimate measure of a river’s health and the key to water quality is watershed management.” Nancy Kanter, F.O.R. President, adds “F.O.R.'s mission to preserve and protect the San Bernard River for future generations is reachable. This is the first step to attain that goal. We are making a difference.”