ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS - Brit - Botanical Research ...

CONSERVATION IN BIG THICKET/INTRODUCTION 195
Many individuals, ranging from concerned local residents to writers, scientists, politicians, and
even lumbermen, were instrumental in raising attention and serving as a national conscience
to save at least something of the Big Thicket. Some of the most notable who influenced the
formation of the national preserve include Lance Rosier, “Mr. Big Thicket” (Fig. 111); the
botanist, artist, and writer Geraldine Watson (1975, 1979) (Fig. 113); Maxine Johnston
(1972, 2001), conservationist and currently co-editor of the Big Thicket Reporter; Professor
Claude McLeod (1971, 1972, 1975); Professor Pete Gunter (1967, 1993, 1997, 2000),
author and musician; William Owens (1973, 1978), folklorist and author; guide Harold
Nicholas; naturalist and author Howard “Tush Hog” Peacock (1994; also see Cook 2001); the
“fire-eating” newspaperman Archer Fullingim; activist Ned Fritz (see Ostdick 2000);
Dempsie Henley (1967, 1970), author and politician; Billy Hallmon, graphic artist who also
did field work to define the preserve boundaries; lumberman Arthur Temple; Congressmen
Bob Eckhardt and Charles Wilson; and Senator Ralph Yarborough (Cox 2002), considered by
some to be the most effective conservationist in Texas history (he also co-wrote the
Endangered Species Act of 1969 and was instrumental in the formation of Padre Island
National Seashore and Guadalupe National Park—Odintz 1996; Johnston 2001).
CREATION OF THE BIG THICKET NATIONAL PRESERVE—Finally, after 27 other unsuccessful Big
Thicket bills had been introduced in Congress (Cozine 1993), a bill creating an 84,550
acre (34,216 hectare) Big Thicket National Preserve was signed into law by President
Gerald R. Ford in October of 1974. This culminated the nearly half-century long, often
rancorous environmental struggle. The Big Thicket was the country’s first designated
National Preserve (Owens 1978), but even this was a compromise—while logging was not
permitted, hunting and oil and gas production could still continue (Fountain 1986).
Unfortunately, by the time of the preserve’s creation, only tiny remnants of the once vast
old growth forest were left. One of the best remaining examples of such old growth forest was
outside the preserve on the small Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation in the northern
portion of the Big Thicket near Livingston—a striking commentary on the value placed on
the natural world by different cultures.
On the positive side, significant areas of high diversity second or third growth forests still
remained, and knowledgeable preserve supporters and local residents (e.g., Billy Hallmon,
Geraldine Watson) assisted in establishing the most appropriate boundaries for the newly
created preserve (Gunter 1993). The 84,550 acres saved were divided into eight widely
spaced land units and four connecting water corridors—the goal being to include and link
as many different habitats as possible (Fig. 114). According to the National Park Service
(http://www.nps.gov/bith/), the preserve was created “to protect the area of rich biological
diversity where the eastern hardwood forests, the southern coastal wetlands, the western
prairies and the arid southwest converge.”
In 1993, President Clinton signed an “additions” bill that would increase the size of the
preserve by 10,766 acres (4,357 hectares), to be acquired by an exchange of national forest land
for land owned by timber companies (Peacock 1994). The additional acreage was to be divided
between three newly created units—the Village Creek Corridor, the Big Sandy Creek
Corridor, and the Canyonlands Unit—all ecologically important areas. With other minor additions,
this would bring the preserve to a total of 96,804 acres (39,175 hectares) (Big Thicket Association
2002). Unfortunately, lack of cooperation between government agencies brought the expansion to a
standstill, and efforts are currently being made to finalize this addition. Only the future will tell
if this modest addition to one of the nation’s most important protected areas will become a reality.
Fortunately, in the more than twenty-five years since the creation of the preserve, attitudes have
gradually changed, and there is now even local pride in and appreciation of the local economic
benefit from what has been set aside and brought to national attention as the Big Thicket
National Preserve (Owens 1978). In 1981, the United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere program selected the preserve as