There has been much discussion about the fate of a portion of Buffalo Bayou because of a request by the Harris County Flood Control District (Permit Application No. SWG-2012-01007) going before the Army Corps of Engineers to take measures to curb erosion. I am opposed to the granting of this application because 1) it is a senseless, expensive, and unnatural way to restore the bayou; 2) the city of Houston, HCFCD, the Army Corps of Engineers, and others need to look at a solution to erosion of the Bayou as a whole -- all 53 miles and not just this section; 3) there needs to be more public input about this process; and 4) the effect of the Addicks-Barker dam on flooding needs to be included in all evaluations of the future of the Bayou -- the ACE has deemed it extremely high risk (see write up here, swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx) and stated that the outflow of its water to Buffalo Bayou is cause for concern. This needs to addressed first before an invasive and expensive Band-Aid solution is applied. Nancy Greig, director of the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences Cockrell Butterfly Center wrote this recently about the plan, stating that it is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong -- savebuffalobayou.org/?p=394. I know not all of you out there agree with my position -- so please dont try to sway me here. I will delete comments that get out of hand with people trying to convince each other back and forth. I agree to disagree with some of my friends on this and other issues and that is the American way. We remain friends and respect each others opinions. If youd like to take action (any action really!), feel free to start with my write-up on Simple Steps to Being a Changemaker -- gishcreative/steps_to_being_a_changemaker.pdf. As for the bayou, the Save Buffalo Bayou website has plenty of suggestions for what to do -- click here for ideas: savebuffalobayou.org/?page_id=32 and also be sure to LIKE their Facebook page to get updates. Heres what I did: 1. I have written an extensive, personally crafted email to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Mayor, City Council members (Houston and Hedwig Village), and many others. 2. I signed the Stop the Bulldozers petition -- petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-bulldozers-on-1?source=s.icn.em.cp&r_by=10603190. 3. I am spreading the word. Help us if you can! savebuffalobayou.org
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 19:24:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015