Dam proposals threaten land in Big Thicket: water authority considering rural reservoirs to sell water to cities. (Adjacent Lands).(Brief Article)

BEAUMONT TX.--Environmentalists and Texas water authorities have entered into a heated battle over two dam proposals that, if approved, could inundate parts of a wildlife management area, almost completely submerge a nearby state park, and possibly alter water flows through Big Thicket National Preserve. Though the proposals have yet to enter the first phase of the environmental review process, many local residents and conservation groups are gearing up to prevent what they believe is an unnecessary and destructive project that would flood thousands of acres of bottomland hardwood forests and disrupt an ecosystem across seven counties.

The proposed dam projects are part of a regional effort to supply water …