Town Hall meeting on Marvin Nichols set for March 29

A town hall style meeting is scheduled for March 29 in Texarkana for all of those who would like to voice their opinion on the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir. The Stop Marvin Nichols Town Hall meeting’s purpose is to discuss the mammoth reservoir that is slated according to the current Texas Water Plan to be dug out of the Sulphur River Basin.

Opponents of the proposed reservoir have been fighting its inclusion in the State Water Plan for more than two decades, and still today say it will be devastating for the local economy, the environment and those who live here. The reservoir would inundate precious bottomland hardwoods that are primary to the logging industry that so many depend on for their livelihood in Northeast Texas. It will also send to extinction many endangered species, and put underwater forever farmlands and homesites that have been owned by the same families for generations, dating back to before the Civil War.

Those opposed to the lake’s construction say the 66,000 acres that would be lost in Titus, Franklin and Red River counties, plus the yet undetermined amount of mitigation land, is simply unnecessary, as the water from the lake would be pumped to the densely populated areas around the Dallas metroplex, and little or no benefit would be derived from Northeast Texas residents.

A Red River County Commissioners resolution recently stated, “this project would force local property owners off thousands of acres of family lands, drown resources that would devastate the timer and agriculture-based economy in the region, negatively impact wildlife habitat and inundate archaeological and historic sites and cemeteries.”

An organization formed for the sole purpose of battling the lake’s construction, Preserve Northeast Texas, is organizing the Town Hall meeting in Texarkana, with another slated to be held soon in Mt. Pleasant.

Almost 1500 people have signed the Preserve Northeast Texas (PNET) petition. Also, Preserve Northeast Texas is inviting people to post stories on the PNET website, PreserveNortheastTexas.org, about how Marvin Nichols will impact them (financially or personally) - or how they feel about their land or the history of their family on the land – anything relevant to the impact of Marvin Nichols.

STOP MARVIN NICHOLS TOWN HALL

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Location: The Silvermoon on Broad, 217 West Broad Street, Texarkana, TX 75501. Street parking is available.