Last year, 83 acres of prime fish habitat mysteriously disappeared from a cove in Lewisville Lake. The habitat consisted of some 4,000 trees that had been cut from the Texas fishery during a low water period.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials investigating the incident later discovered the trees had been cut to make way for a subdivision planned by Kerr Real Estate, Inc. In the largest settlement for this region of the Corps, Frank Kerr and Kerr Real Estate has agreed to pay $600,000 to restore fish habitat and $30,000 to repair drainage problems created by the activity.
With a proven track record for working with state and federal agencies on stakeholder groups and habitat restoration projects, the Texas BASS Federation Nation (TBFN) was asked to help coordinate a stakeholder group that will guide the restoration efforts.
“I jumped at the opportunity to help the Corps and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with the recovery efforts,” said Tim Cook, conservation director for the TBFN and the national Federation Nation Conservation Director of the Year. “The Denton County Bass Club has already been working on an aquatic vegetation project in Lewisville Lake, and will be the perfect group to lead the on the ground efforts. $600,000 is going to buy a lot of plants!”
A more in-depth look at the settlement and the restoration plans will be forthcoming in a future issue of Bass Times.
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