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Tom Valliere
F.O.R. Director
Original OC Member
Tierra Grande Landowner’s Association Meeting
On Tuesday July 15th, I had the opportunity to
meet with the president of the Tierra Grande
Landowner’s Association, Ms. Mary Hawk, and
several of their board members at their
quarterly meeting.
Tierra Grande is a rural subdivision in
unincorporated Ft Bend County that is nestled
alongside the San Bernard River several miles
north of Needville. Finding your way to Tierra
Grande can be a challenge but the reward of
spending some time in this jewel is worth the
effort. Thanks to the very good directions given
me by board member, Bob Rice, I was able to
arrive at the Tierra Grande recreational
pavilion just as their meeting was beginning at
7:00PM.
The river environment in the TG area, is much
different than the lower river that most of the
FOR members are familiar with. In TG, the river
is wilder and more remote, with virgin stands of
Cypress trees and much wildlife.
The subdivision itself is a refreshing change
from the monotony of the endless farm fields
leading into it. As you enter TG, it like
entering another dimension with the cool
dampness of the forests and scattered lakes.
The Tierra Grande recreational area and pavilion
form a nice private park reserved for the use of
the residents. It was there in the pavilion
under the shade of the large pecan trees that
the meeting was held.
After brief introductions, we launched into a
discussion of FOR, its origins, mission,
accomplishments and future plans. It was
immediately evident that the Tierra Grande
residents share a deep love of our river and a
respect and concern for the pristine condition
of the river in their upstream segment and an
overall concern for the health of the entire
river ecosystem.
I explained that FOR’s intentions were to
include the entire watershed area into the
organization and that any perceptions that we
are a Brazoria county exclusive entity are
simply wrong. It may appear that way because of
our origins in the lower river and past focus on
the mouth issues, but since our inception we
have understood that the entire watershed of the
San Bernard River must be included into FOR. All
of the issues and threats we are facing with
urban encroachment, development of the
watershed, flood control, and most importantly,
water quality require basin-wide solutions and
participation of all concerned residents.
After some brief discussion, the following areas
of interest and points of commonality became
apparent.
1. Flood
control – they have a flooding problem – like
all of us along this river.
2. Wharton project – they have concerns
regarding clearing, channelizing and building
levees to alleviate flooding in Wharton county
3. They have an extreme love and respect for the
river in its pristine state with the natural
fauna and flora especially the fishing, Cypress
trees and recreation use.
4. Share our concerns regarding floodplain
development and shared with me a specific
concern regarding a railroad switching yard
being built outside of Kendleton.
5. Feel as a small community they have little
voice in river affairs.
From
this list, some specific actions have been
assigned to FOR team members and are currently
being worked. Here are some of them:
1. Get
information on Kendleton project – Done – Thank
You Larry Vacek!
2. Set date for fall meeting at Tierra Grande –
TomV and Mary H
3. Set up a hosted open house at the community
center to include boat tour of Lower River –
TomV / MaryH / FOR executive committee – agenda
to include:
A) Introduce FOR Board Members
B) Committee introductions
C) Annual meeting, River Raiser, officer
nominations and elections process
I would like to personally welcome
all Tierra Grande residents to FOR and would
encourage them to get involved with the various
committees and elective offices.
I would further encourage all downstream
residents to attend the fall meeting at Tierra
Grande and explore the upstream areas of our
great river and meet some really fine people in
the process.
As for me, I want to personally extend my
gratitude for the hospitality afforded me last
Tuesday.
Tom Valliere
One
of F.O.R.'s primary functions is to
educate the public regarding the
issues concerning the San Bernard
River and it's Communities. Contact
Pat Webb
pat@sanbernardriver.com
to schedule a guest speaker for your
group or special event.
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