Effective Management Plan Ordered for Guadalupe River, Bays and Estuaries

(Rockport, TX — March 10, 2013)— Today, The Aransas Project (TAP) applauded a major federal court decision in its legal battle to protect the last naturally migrating flock of endangered whooping cranes as a vindication of the need for an effective water management plan, especially during times of drought, for the Guadalupe and San Antonio River basins.

On March 10, 2010, TAP filed a lawsuit against several officials of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in their official capacities for illegal harm and harassment of Whooping Cranes at and adjacent to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The case went to trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in December 2011. Today’s historic decision by United States District Judge Janis Graham Jack comes three years to the day after the original filing.

“We are both humbled and pleased by the Court’s historic decision,” said TAP’s Lead Counsel Jim Blackburn. “For this important river and for the whooping cranes, the Court’s opinion provides a clear statement of the need for an effective management plan for this river basin during times of drought to ensure adequate freshwater flows reach the bay. The decision is also a vindication of the sound science and the dedicated efforts of the longtime Whooping Crane Recovery Coordinator, Mr. Tom Stehn, to preserve these magnificent birds.”

The Opinion

In an exhaustive and detailed 124-page opinion, Judge Jack ruled that the water management practices of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the Guadalupe and San Antonio River basins violated the Endangered Species Act.

The Court issued an order preventing the TCEQ from approving or granting new water permits affecting the Guadalupe or San Antonio Rivers “until the State of Texas provides reasonable assurances to the Court” that new permits would not result in harm to the whooping cranes.

Importantly, the Court ordered the agency seek what is known as an Incidental Take Permit and develop a Habitat Conservation Plan. An Incidental Take Permit is a permit issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that allows the holder to proceed with an otherwise lawful activity that results in “incidental” harm to an endangered species, but requires the permit holder to design, implement and fund a plan that minimizes and mitigates harm to the species while carefully balancing competing interests of various stakeholders in the basin.

The preceding article was submitted to Dolphin Talk by CJ Garriott of El Dorado, Kansas. CJ, a former resident of Seadrift, attended many meeting of The Arnasas Project while she resided here.