Summary: Why should news of catfish in Bexar County, 300 miles south, concern Willow Park citizens? The natural source for Willow Park and Parker County water is directly connected to the water source in Bexar County. And government over-reach anywhere is a precursor to government over-reach everywhere.
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Weaponizing Blind Catfish
It's all about our drinking water.
Sens. Cruz, Cornyn sent a letter confronting the Biden Administration’s weaponization of the Endangered Species Act, by listing the toothless and widemouth blindcats, two underground species of blind, translucent catfish, as endangered. The rule directly impacts the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County, Texas...
Why should news in Bexar County, 300 miles south, concern Willow Park citizens?
• The natural source for Willow Park and Parker County water is directly connected to the water source in Bexar County. The well water in Parker County and Willow Park are fed by two aquifers, the Paluxy Aquifer and the more profound and deeper Trinity Aquifer. The Trinity Aquifer runs right through Parker County, including Willow Park, and then through the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County. (Texas Water Development Board > Trinity Aquifer / The Edwards Aquifer Website > The Trinity Aquifer )
• Government over-reach anywhere is a precursor to government over-reach everywhere. Or to paraphrase the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, First they came for others, and I did not speak out because it did not affect me. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. (Willow Park Civics Editorial Note)
• Sens. Cruz, Cornyn Send Letter Confronting The Biden Administration’s Weaponization Of The Endangered Species Act In Texas, Senator Ted Cruz Press Release, 23 October 2023
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service to express their strong concerns with the agency’s recently proposed rule that lists the toothless and widemouth blindcats, two underground species of blind, translucent catfish, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The rule directly impacts the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County, Texas, where these two catfish species reside, which provides over 1.7 million Texans with drinking water. The Biden administration has prioritized the well-being of blind catfish over the needs of people in San Antonio and south-central Texas for clean drinking water. If the Department of the Interior deems a species endangered, then it grants unelected federal bureaucrats power over Texans’ land even though scientists have never directly observed either species in their natural subterranean habitat.
Upon sending the letter, Sen. Cruz said, “This administration has weaponized its political agenda by sending bureaucrats on scouting missions to find obscure species that are not on the endangered species list. Their goal is to regulate private lands and strip landowners of their ability to control their own property. Now, they have proposed an ESA rule that protects two species of fish while threatening the drinking water supply of 1.7 million people living in San Antonio. This rule would shut down two major pumps that feed and refill the primary underground water storage facility. The lack of fundamental research to support this unfounded regulation is astonishing. The Biden administration should stop imposing oppressive regulations that elevate two obscure species of catfish over the needs of millions of working families.”
President and CEO of San Antonio Water System Robert R. Puente said, “The proposed listing of two blindcat fish species lacks appropriate science and fundamentally misunderstands how groundwater pumping works in San Antonio. The listing may put at jeopardy well-established and nationally-recognized programs that currently protect the aquifer and which have been agreed on by stakeholders across the Edwards Aquifer region.”
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service >
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