Caddo Lake - Preservation Efforts

Preservation Efforts

In 1993 Caddo Lake preservation entered a renaissance, with the announcement that 7,000 acres (28 km²) of Caddo purchased by the Nature Conservancy were to be merged with the 483 acre (2 km²) Texas Caddo Lake State Park to be become the Caddo Lake State Park and Wildlife Management Area. As a result of efforts by the Caddo Lake Institute (co-founded by Don Henley and Dwight K. Shellman), in October 1993 Caddo Lake became one of thirteen areas in the United States protected by the Ramsar Convention. As of 2003 Caddo Lake flora and fauna consisted of: 189 species of trees and shrubs, 75 grasses, 42 woody vines, 216 kinds of birds, 90 fish and reptiles, and 47 mammals. One of these species, Crataegus opaca or mayhaw fruit, is collected from the water to make a jelly that is considered one of the finest in the world. Forty-four of Caddo's native species were either endangered, threatened or rare. From 2001 until 2003 Caddo Lake residents fought a legal battle with the City of Marshall, Texas over water rights.

Voices advocating preservation of Caddo Lake included rocker Don Henley, frontman for The Eagles.