WATER FOR WETLANDS, 1: By working together, agencies 
make water available for wetlands ... details on Passport 
to Texas ... 
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PTT ... from TPWD and the Wildlife Restoration Program 

Wetlands provide food, habitat and shelter for fish and 
wildlife. Because we've lost wetlands to development, 
we're creating new ones. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife built levies in Alazan Bayou WMA 
- in southern Nacogdoches County - to operate a type of 
wetland called a moist soil management unit. But you 
can't have a wetland without water.
 
We went to TCEQ and asked for water rights on Alazan. And all of the 
senior water rights were tied up in the Neches basin. We couldn't get 
any water for the management area, so we couldn't operate those 
wetland cells. :13

Gary Calkins, a wildlife biologist based in Jasper.

TCEQ told us maybe we could get one of the other senior water rights 
holders in the Neches River Basin to let us have some water, so I went 
to LNVA, and LNVA was willing to give us water rights on a long term 
interagency agreement. We now have 10-thousand acre feet a year on 
Alazan to manage those wetland cells for the next 50 years. :19

LNVA stands for Lower Neches Valley Authority. 

It's a pretty bold move for LNVA just to give Parks and Wildlife that 
water and that authority over that water to help manage that habitat. 
:06

A progress report on these wetland cells tomorrow.

That's our show. We had help today from Tom Harvey. 
The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and 
provides funding for wetland conservation through the 
Private Lands Enhancement Program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.