SPRING, 2005
Texas Rivers Protection Association · 444 Pecan Park Dr. · San Marcos, TX 78666
Officers:
Tom Goynes,
President
Martindale,
512-392-6171
e-mail: mailto:goynes@centurytel.net
David
Reichert, Vice-president
San Antonio,
210-545-0548
Leslie
Redwine, Secretary
New
Braunfels, 830-626-8047
Duane
TeGrotenhuis, Treas.
Martindale,
512-353-3946
Board of
Directors:
Mark Andrus
Angleton,
409-849-3732
Kathy Cusick
Spring
Branch, 830-885-5324
Steve Daniel
College
Station, 979-846-4649
David
Davenport
New
Braunfels, 830-609-3038
Jim Hatcher
Fort
Stockton, 915-336-6700
Ed Lowe
Dallas,
214-824-9470
Ann Olden
Houston,
713-864-0205
Jeff Pine
Austin,
512-443-2870
Ginger
Turner
Austin,
512-459-5742
Michael Van
Winkle
Kerrville,
830-995-2558
Fred Zagst
Marble
Falls, 830-693-1054
We’re Tax Exempt at Last!
On May 17, 2004, the TRPA was granted
501 (c) (3) status by the IRS. This has
several implications: First of all, it means
that all contributions to TRPA (including your dues) that are in excess of any goods you
receive, are tax deductible. Of course, this
is only good news if you happen to itemize your deductions, but for some of you, it will
be helpful. It also means that you can
participate in programs whereby your employer can match your TRPA contributions (once
again, this is only helpful if you have an employer who does such things). And perhaps most importantly, it means that the
TRPA can apply for grants from organizations and endowments that contribute only to tax
exempt organizations. Over the years we have
had to decline more than one offer of a sizable grant because we were not 501 (c) (3). The only down side (if it can be considered as
such) is that we will not be able to spend our money lobbying for legislation or endorsing
candidates. We will still be able to testify
on legislation, and we will be able to educate you regarding legislation, but we will have
to be careful how we spend our money and what we say in our newsletter. As I understand it, we won’t have to change
very much of what we do, but we will be in a good position to increase our support.
In January we sent out letters to
everyone who contributed $75 or more since May 17 of last year. Those letters also let the recipients know the
value of any goods they received in exchange for those contributions. If you contributed after that date and did not
receive a letter let us know and we’ll take care of it.
Since the TRPA is now tax exempt, and
since we now share the official purposes of our sister organization, the Texas River
Recreation Association, it is possible that the TRRA might be dissolved and her assets
given to the TRPA. This issue will be
discussed at the annual meetings on March 6 (see details page 3).
Victory in Bed and Banks Case &
Upcoming Cleanups.
The San Marcos River Foundation and
the TRPA won a major victory regarding the San Marcos Bed and Banks Supreme Court decision
(page 2). And, don’t forget to make
plans to attend the San Marcos, Brazos, and Medina River Clean Ups. Information is within.
Hidalgo Falls.
This organization now owns over 13
acres of land on the Brazos River at Hidalgo Falls near Navasota. We (along with a generous group of Texas
whitewater paddlers) bought the property to assure that river users would always have
access to this exciting rapid and to preserve the property in as pristine condition as we
can. If you haven’t been there, then by
all means plan to attend the upcoming Hidalgo Falls Festival. All paddlers are welcome to visit the site, but
the combination to the gate is only given to those who either belong to the TRPA at the
$25 protector level, or who contribute at least 5 hours of their time annually at a
Hidalgo work event, or who have contributed $500 toward the purchase or maintenance of
Hidalgo Falls.
The Look Ahead
Don’t forget to check out our
website at www.txrivers.org and be sure to send articles to our webmaster if you have
something to share. 2005 has the potential to
be our best year ever. Please do your part to
make it so. webmaster@txrivers.org
Tom Goynes,
president.
Victory in the San Marcos Bed and Banks
Case!
In Texas, it's relatively easy to get a permit to transport private water in a
public stream (that is, using the bed and banks of a river as a pipeline). The problem arises when a city decides that the
sewage it is disposing into a river is private water that it should be allowed to take
back out downstream, or sell to someone else.
Lots of things happen when this is
permitted. First of all, a city is only given
permission to dump its sewage into the river because there is adequate flow to dilute
their effluent in the first place. If every
city took out an amount of water equal to their discharge, the flows in our rivers would
probably cease altogether during dry periods. A
bed and banks scam is just a cleaver trick whereby a city can claim it is
"reusing" its wastewater, when actually the water it draws out contains some of
its sewage but usually a whole lot of other, better quality water. If a city wants to reuse its wastewater before
discharging it, we applaud and support them. But
this "indirect reuse" as it is called, is not reuse at all.
At any rate, the city of San Marcos applied for and received a bed and banks permit
several years ago. Both TRPA and the San
Marcos River Foundation (SMRF) fought the permit and won a number of concessions - limits
on the quantity of water that could be withdrawn and environmental quality concessions -
that is, the river had to be left alone when the flow was low. The city didn't like these restrictions, so they
appealed the decision. SMRF appealed the
permit as well, trying to get it even more restrictive.
The District Court upheld the original permit. The City then appealed to the Third
Court of Appeals and so did SMRF. (TRPA helped fund the appeal.) In a major victory, the
Third Court threw out the whole permit in late August of 2003.
The City then took the case to the
Texas Supreme Court. This January, the Supreme Court for the final time upheld the
decision of the Third Court, ending the possibilities of further appeal. Other cities are
planning Bed & Banks applications like this - hopefully this decision will slow them
down. Thanks to SMRF and TRPA, and thanks to
all the members who have supported this important work.
Medina River Protection Fund Launched
And Medina Clean Up Scheduled
The Medina River is arguably the most
valued natural resource in Bandera County. The Medina River Protection Fund was set up
recently to guarantee support for an annual river cleanup and protection of the river.
Inspired and supported by the Texas River Protection Association, the first fundraiser
will be held May 6 at the Estrellita Stone Ranch on the river near Bandera. Tom Goynes,
president of TRPA, will be honored at the event.
Paddling groups from throughout Texas
will join in the next day to clean 50 miles of the river from 15 miles above the town of
Medina to Medina Lake.
Registration for the cleanup is from
9-12 a.m. at the entrance to the Bandera City River Park. LAMCOS will provide a t-shirt
for all those participating by land and by water. All participants will be served a
barbecue meal from 2-5 p.m. At 5 p.m. there will be a prize given for the “most
outrageous trash” found along the river’s bed and banks.
The City of Bandera will provide a
dumpster and make free camping available in the park for participants on May 6 and 7. Bandera County will receive and dispose of the
trash.
This is the fifth annual river cleanup
initiated by the Lake Medina Conservation Society (LAMCOS) and supported by the Texas
River Protection Association. The river cleanup has grown from 65 to 175 participants
since its inception.
Prior to the cleanup day, a crew
paddles the 50 miles of river to identify large items that must be removed by land.
Volunteer paddlers are being sought at this time to locate the big pieces of trash.
On cleanup day, volunteers are invited
to join the bank crews and by boat. The river has been divided into 12 sections of 3-6
miles in length. Section heads are being recruited to head teams to paddle and pick up
trash along each section. Volunteers for both the land crews and the river crews can sign
up for sections of the river at www. Medinariver.net or contact Bob Brischetto, Medina
River Cleanup Coordinator at 830-612-3643 or by email:
mailto:Brischetto@wireweb.net.
To continue support for the river
cleanup, the Medina River Protection Fund was recently established within the Bandera
Regional Community Foundation. Tax-exempt donations can be made to “BRCF” with
designation for “Medina River Protection Fund” and sent directly to the
Foundation at P.O. Box 1656, Bandera, TX 78003 or donate online at http://www.medinariver.net/
TRPA Financial Report 2004
Beginning Balance, 1/1/04
$8,229.74
$
Earmarked for Hidalgo Falls, 1/1
93.90
Contributions
Received for Hidalgo
1,749.19
Total Money available
9,978.93
Expenses, Hidalgo Falls:
Electricity
249.97
Property Taxes
426.39
Road Maintenance
480.00
Irrigation system (for new trees)
453.71
Total expenses, Hidalgo Falls
1,610.07
Total available
8,368.86
$
Earmarked for Hidalgo Falls, 12/31/04
139.12
Total general fund available
$8,229.74
Contributions received (general fund)
$7,145.01
Interest received
10.38
Subtotal
$15,385.13
Expenses:
Bed and
Banks case
$2,000.00
Medina
Clean up
725.00
New TRPA
caps
720.00
IRS 501
(c) (3) registration
500.00
Medina
River Protection Group
500.00
Postage
191.58
Brazos
River Clean up
135.00
Newsletter
122.50
Tax
Return prep work
83.32
River
Network (dues)
80.00
Sec. of
State (restatement of articles)
50.00
Office
Expenses
40.78
Post
Office Box Rent
33.00
Total general expenses
$5,181.18
Money Available General fund
10,203.95
Money earmarked for Hidalgo Falls 12/31/04
139.12
Total money available 12/31/04
10,343.07
Ending checkbook Balance, 12/31/04
10,252.71
Ending Cash 90.36
THE
20 TH ANNUAL
GREAT
TEXAS RIVER CLEAN UP
March
5, 2005
On
Saturday, March 5, folks from all over Texas will be participating in the world's longest
river clean up. We will be picking up trash
along the entire length of the San Marcos River (approximately 90 miles).
BANK
CREWS
Everyone
is urged to help. If you are unable to participate in the water, we need volunteers to
work the banks of the river, especially at parks and highway crossings. Scuba divers and
snorkelers are also urged to participate.
RECREATIONAL
PADDLERS
We
are asking recreational paddlers and canoe clubs to accept the challenge and volunteer for
a section of river. If your group or club has not already been assigned a section, be sure
to contact Tom Goynes and tell him what stretch you would like. The upper sections of the San Marcos River,
particularly just downstream of the City of San Marcos, will require the most attention,
and the short mileages set for these sections reflect this. Furthermore, the river becomes
less accessible and more hazardous as one goes downstream. For that reason, novice boaters
should volunteer for either section 1 or 2 and more experienced boaters for the other
sections.
CANOE
RACING ENTHUSIASTS
The
lower river, from Luling to Gonzales, has several long sections with few bridge crossings
and for that reason, we are asking canoe racers (especially teams that have competed in
the Texas Water Safari) to volunteer for sections 9 - 11.
CAMPOUT
AND GET-TO-GETHER
Everyone
participating in this event is invited to camp free at either Shady Grove Campground/
Spencer Canoes or at Pecan Park Retreat for the weekend. Starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday
evening there will be a free barbecue provided by the San Marcos River Foundation at Shady
Grove/Spencer Canoes.
SUNDAY
WORSHIP SERVICE
On
Sunday morning at 8 a.m., there will be a non-denominational Christian worship service at
Pecan Park.
MEETING
TIMES AND SHUTTLES
A
group meeting will be held for everyone working sections 3 through 7 at 9:00 a.m. Saturday
morning at Spencer Canoes. Groups working sections 8 - 11 will arrange their shuttles as
early as possible Saturday morning and try to put in the river by 9:00 a.m. Persons
working sections 1 and 2 will meet at City Park in San Marcos at 10:00 a.m.
Tom
Goynes (coordinator) 512-392-6171
e-mail:
mailto:goynes@centurytel.net
RIVER
SECTION LISTINGS
1 San
Marcos City Park to Thompson's Island (2 miles)
2
Thompson's
Island to Pecan Park Retreat (3.5 miles)
3
Pecan
Park Retreat to Spencer Canoes (6 mi.)
4
Spencer
Canoes to Staples - Hwy 1977 (5 miles)
5
Staples
to Fentress - Hwy 20 (9 miles)
6
Fentress
to Stairtown (7miles)
7
Stairtown
to Luling - Hwy 90 (6.5miles)
8
Hwy
90 to Luling City Park (6 mi.)
9
Luling
City Park to Palmetto State Park (14.4 mi.) Texas Canoe Racing Assoc.: Ginger Turner mailto:gingerct@juno.com
10
Palmetto
State Park to Gonzales Hwy 90A (14.8 miles)
11
Gonzales
90A to Gonzales 183 (10 mi.)
TRPA
Annual Meeting
On Sunday, March 6 at 10 a.m. the Texas Rivers Protection
Association will hold it's annual general meeting. We
will meet at the Pecan Park Retreat office (which is also the home of Tom and Paula
Goynes).
We will discuss ongoing river issues. Everyone is welcome to attend. We hope to adjourn by 1 p.m., at which time there
will be a short meeting of the Texas River Recreation Association.
To get to Pecan Park Campground:
coming from Interstate 35 in San Marcos, get on Highway 80 and head toward Luling for 1.8
miles. Take a right on county road 101. Take an immediate left onto county road 102. Go 1/2 mile on 102 and take a right on Pecan Park
road. Keep going straight (past TG Canoe
Livery) and the road will end at the Pecan Park Retreat Office. For more info call Tom
Goynes at 512-392-6171 or visit our website at http://www.pecanparkretreat.com/
Hidalgo Falls River Festival
Sunday, April 9 & 10
This will be the first year the festival will cover two days. On Saturday we will have a 26.5-mile downriver race from Batts Ferry south of College Station ending at the festival site at the TRPA property. A number of folks from the Texas Canoe Racing Association who have never been to Hidalgo are planning to come, and we expect that this new population will provide further support for our efforts there. We therefore expect that there will be a bunch of folks camping there beginning on Friday night. On Saturday night we expect to have a live band (the Snake Charmers, from Houston) for a concert. On Sunday morning we will also have a short (3.5-mile) "race"/float trip from the falls down to Hwy 105, and in the afternoon we have our slalom race (of sorts)--one in which paddlers will not run gates but will negotiate a course around and through the islands that make up the rapids--and our whitewater rodeo competition. On both Saturday and Sunday boats and equipment will be available for demos, paddling videos will be shown, and on Sunday we will have an auction of paddling paraphernalia.
This year each person attending the festival will receive a festival t-shirt as part of his or her $12 admission fee (children 12 and under free, but no t-shirt). The admission is good for the entire weekend and includes camping (with access to non-potable water and electricity), rudimentary showers, the concert, etc. The downriver race has a $20 registration fee: that fee includes admission to the festival and a special racer's version of the festival t-shirt.
For more information visit the Hidalgo Falls website at: http://www-phil.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/hidalgo.html
or contact Steve Daniel: mailto:sdaniel@philosophy.tamu.edu
Second Annual Brazos River Clean Up
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Meet at Tres
Rios Campground (near Glen Rose) at 9:00 A.M.
Complimentary
BBQ dinner after clean up (2-6 pm).
Free canoes
and shuttles.
Complimentary
camping at Tres Rios 4/1-4/3. Cabins available. Call Tres Rios for info (254-897-4253)
Contact: Ed
Lowe
w-214-358-0612, cell-214-802-6811
Texas Rivers Protection Association
Membership Application
To join, or renew your membership, fill
out the information below and include a check for your dues.
Mail to: TRPA, 444 Pecan Park Dr., San
Marcos, TX 78666
Name
_________________ Hm
Phone________________________ Wk
phone____________________
Street
__________________________________
City
___________________ State ___________ Zip ______________
E-mail
_____________________________________________________
Check here if e-mail version of
newsletter is sufficient ______
Levels of membership: (check one)
___Regular$10 ___Protector$25 ___Guardian$50 ___Ranger$100 ___Bronze$500 ___Silver$1000 ___Gold$5000
Is this a renewal? _______
Check if new address _______
____ I would like to receive a new
bumper sticker.
All members receive a bumper sticker,
notices and newsletters and get to vote at general meetings. Protectors also receive a cloisonné pin with our
emblem. Guardians receive the pin and either
a logo cap or logo t-shirt. Rangers and above
receive all three. Guardians need to indicate
their choice (cap or t-shirt) and Rangers and Guardians wanting t-shirts should indicate
their size (M,L,XL, or XXL).
Protectors, Guardians, Rangers, Bronze,
Silver and Gold members:
Please send the following (we will
not send any merchandise, unless indicated) :
Protector $25
___ Cloisonné Pin
Guardian $50
___ Cloisonné Pin and ___
Cap or
t-shirt (circle one) M
L XL XXL
Ranger $100 & above ___ Cloisonné Pin and ___ Cap and t-shirt
(circle one) M L
XL XXL