Upping Our Game

Aug. 29, 2014

Frustrated with the lack of awareness? Fed up with their deeply misguided plans to destroy the last natural stretch of Buffalo Bayou we have in the city?

The alligator snapping turtle lives in Buffalo Bayou. It is listed as threatened in Texas. Photo by Ashley Tubbs.

The alligator snapping turtle lives in Buffalo Bayou. It is listed as threatened in Texas. Photo by Ashley Tubbs.

Angry that they will bulldoze our riparian forest, kill our wild bayou, sacrifice the natural bayou ecosystem, mutilate our magnificent bluffs, and drive the wildlife away to someplace where they cannot survive?

Worried that after they do all that, their fake, landscaped, rebuilt bayou will all wash out? (You should be.)

Interested in hitting back where it will hurt?

We are contemplating some fun-filled, entertaining, and informative picketing and leafleting at a significant event in the next two weeks. This could involve some creative costumes, bright lights, and cameras. It’s still in the planning stages so if you’d like to help plan, create, and participate, email us at info@savebuffalobayou.org.

6 thoughts on “Upping Our Game”

  1. Lynn Killam says:

    I can do leafletting or picketing!

  2. Rick Gent says:

    Please send me more info….
    I would love to do whatever i can for this cause…

    1. We’ll be contacting you, Rick.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I am appalled at your lack of understanding of basic science and think your swarmy PR tactics are cheap. I don’t appreciate having that misguided flyer plastered on my car today. Get a clue and take your energy for sensationalism elsewhere. Are you even from Houston?

    1. Dear Supporter of the Bayou Preservation Association’s plan to destroy the last natural stretch of Buffalo Bayou:

      There is no science justifying this irrational project to raze the riparian forest, bulldoze the banks, and dredge and channelize the last remaining stretch of wild Buffalo Bayou as it flows between Memorial Park and the River Oaks Country Club. No credible science exists that would support the destruction of a healthy, stable, historic natural area in violation of every principle of erosion and flood control and habitat preservation.

      No hydrologic, hydraulic, or slope stability analyses have been presented in support of this plan, which seems to have no benefit whatsoever except possibly to engineering and construction contractors, some of them represented on the BPA’s board. There is no evidence that the proposed solutions—channelizing and reconfiguring the bends—have anything to do with the alleged erosion problems. The proposed plan could even result in greater erosion and an increase in flood stage.

      The methods to be used, discredited decades ago, have no scientific basis, have never been monitored, are opposed by real river scientists, and are likely to cause the reengineered banks to fail and wash out, as they have in other parts of the country. The use of logs and root balls buried in the banks will increase scouring of the channel and create dangerous hazards for paddlers as they float through this denuded project area stripped of wildlife and habitat.

      The purported goals of improving water quality and reducing sediment load are contradicted by the permit application submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers by the Harris County Flood Control District. Water quality will not be improved. The amount of sediment contributed by this lovely nature area is miniscule. But sediment in the bayou will likely increase as a result of this hugely destructive plan promoted by the Bayou Preservation Association, whose leadership seems to have no appreciation of nature or of how rivers work.

      Because there is no rational or scientific justification for this project, the BPA and the Memorial Park Conservancy, which has also been hoodwinked into supporting the destruction of the people’s wild bayou, must falsely claim that the project area is severely eroded, falling in on itself, devoid of trees and plants, filled with invasive species, constantly changing course, etc. None of this is true, although it will be if this project is carried out. Go see for yourself. There are photos and films on this website, along with a lot of other information.

      Many of us are native Houstonians who grew up playing and canoeing on the bayou. Others are nature-lovers who moved to the city and were thrilled to find this amazing southern wild river with its magnificent bluffs teeming with wildlife in the middle of the city.

      The waste of taxpayer money is appalling. This useless project is scheduled to cost $6 million, at a minimum, and once the rebuilt banks wash out, as they have at the Houston Country Club, the costs will skyrocket.

      We hope that you and many others change your minds. It’s the rational thing to do.

    2. Lynn Killam says:

      I am from New York, actually, but have lived in Houston for the past 33 years. The supporters of saving Buffalo Bayou as it currently exists have science on our side, eloquently expressed by the first reply to your comment. New York has saved some of it’s natural beauty, thankfully, before it all disappeared, but Houston is on the wrong track here. And, whether or not you appreciated the tactic of leaving a flyer on your car or not, it is a way to spread the word that this appalling lack of appreciation for our bayous is not only unscientific, but hideously damaging. Do you know how many birds, raccoons and other wildlife live around this scenic stretch of water? Do you care? Or are you more interested in lining the pockets of the engineers and construction companies that want to turn this into a channel of cement that no living things other than humans can use?

      Think about it. What have you cared about in life so much that you might inconvenience someone else with a slip of paper on their windshield for? Have you ever stood up against someone or something for a thing or a place that you valued, other than your own bank account?

      What will YOU leave the world with when you are gone? Me? I will fight for what I care about. And, so will lots of other Houstonians.

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