Cedar Bayou Pass and Politics

Vinson Slough was 1100 feet wide and Cedar Bayou was almost 900 feet wide in 1968 before it was closed in 1979 by the General Land Office.
Note the water through St. Jose Island. These wetlands are vital to numerous species survival. These passes were migration paths that connected the gulf to Mesquite, Aransas, Carlos, and San Antonio Bays. The closest access point to the gulf now is some twenty miles south in Port Aransas.





This is the 22,000 acres of wetlands that we have lost. Note the sand when there should be water. Lynn Edwards with Save Cedar Bayou Inc. wants to correct this wrong that was created by man, but there are several agencies bent on preventing it from happening. While all elements of our environment are important, the grass wouldn't be there if these passes hadn't been closed. The very agencies entrusted with protecting our resources have literally requested that the permit be denied until more research is done to protect grasses that have grown where water used to flow.





Save Cedar Bayou Inc. was formed in 1984 by Mr. Mac McVay, Lynn Edwards now heads it up and has made it a mission to see these passes reopened. She and engineers have worked tirelessly with all agencies concerned to meet their specific requirements in order to obtain the permit from the USCOE to begin dredging.

I think Dr. Larry McKinney said it best in a issue of the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine July 2002.
"The passes are critical to fisheries of all kinds. The mixing of fresh water from river inflows with sea water entering the bays and estuaries though the passes creates differences in salinity levels that are necessary for completion of the life cycle of 90% of our recreational and commercially important fish. If you put a cork in the bottle and the developing fish can't get into and out of the bays, they can't complete their life cycle."

I concur with Mr McKinney, but I'm puzzled by his comment letter to the USCOE in response to the application which you can read below. I also think it's a bit suspicious that on June 13th 2007 there was an on site survey conducted with all these agencies and two land managers that represent the private landowners on St. Jose Island, and no one from Save Cedar Bayou Inc was informed or invited to attend. The land managers stated that Vinson Slough is open during high tide periods and was open as recent as early June, I'd like to see proof.

• The original permit application.
• Dept. of the Army's response.
• Dept. of Commerce comment letter.
• Dept. of Interior comment letter.
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality comment letter.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife comment letter.
• US Environmental Protection Agency comment letter

There are several conservation agencies that fully support and have contributed to the effort including CCA, SEA, and RFA to name a few. With so many in support of this project I'd like to know how our entrusted officials made one site visit with the land owners representatives and decided it was a bad idea to go forward.

Right now Save Cedar Bayou Inc. is anticipating a grant to do the additional research that has been requested, if you'd like to help, Lynn Edwards can be reached at tinfish@awesomenet.net

To learn more about the issue feel free to visit the Save Cedar Bayou Discussion Forum.

Cedar Bayou Pass and Politics

Vinson Slough was 1100 feet wide and Cedar Bayou was almost 900 feet wide in 1968 before it was closed in 1979 by the General Land Office.
Note the water through St. Jose Island. These wetlands are vital to numerous species survival. These passes were migration paths that connected the gulf to Mesquite, Aransas, Carlos, and San Antonio Bays. The closest access point to the gulf now is some twenty miles south in Port Aransas.





This is the 22,000 acres of wetlands that we have lost. Note the sand when there should be water. Lynn Edwards with Save Cedar Bayou Inc. wants to correct this wrong that was created by man, but there are several agencies bent on preventing it from happening. While all elements of our environment are important, the grass wouldn't be there if these passes hadn't been closed. The very agencies entrusted with protecting our resources have literally requested that the permit be denied until more research is done to protect grasses that have grown where water used to flow.





Save Cedar Bayou Inc. was formed in 1984 by Mr. Mac McVay, Lynn Edwards now heads it up and has made it a mission to see these passes reopened. She and engineers have worked tirelessly with all agencies concerned to meet their specific requirements in order to obtain the permit from the USCOE to begin dredging.

I think Dr. Larry McKinney said it best in a issue of the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine July 2002.
"The passes are critical to fisheries of all kinds. The mixing of fresh water from river inflows with sea water entering the bays and estuaries though the passes creates differences in salinity levels that are necessary for completion of the life cycle of 90% of our recreational and commercially important fish. If you put a cork in the bottle and the developing fish can't get into and out of the bays, they can't complete their life cycle."

I concur with Mr McKinney, but I'm puzzled by his comment letter to the USCOE in response to the application.