colt
Guest
Yeah, I agree sinking the Texas would be really messed up, It has allot of great history.
Great news about TPWD Artificial reefs
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Lukiedukie
Guest
After re reading this post I am glad I have not had time to send and email to them. I will send one to them against the sinking of the Texas. Thanks for point out what a mistake it would ahve been to sink the Texas. I was not aware for the history or the on going efforts to restore her.
Debraw
Contributor
Ok so we all agree no wants to see a piece of history sunk for an artificial reef.
What no one has commented on was that this suggestion came from the Texas Parks Wildlife Department!
Why would the TPWD suggest such a thing?
What no one has commented on was that this suggestion came from the Texas Parks Wildlife Department!
Why would the TPWD suggest such a thing?
humanphibian
Guest
HMMmmmm....I'll bite
Perhaps they were (are) just trying to pass out "Warm Fuzzies" to those that were inquiring. When people get anwsers that are warm and fuzzy, they do not generally keep flooding your office with requests for information. When you receive your warm fuzzy from the government, naturally you must go forth and share with everyone. Everyone else gets warm and fuzzy by proxy, and all is good! When you are told that there is no real progress to speak of, or more often get ignored or passed off, well then the Powers That Be must spend days anwsering to the "inquiring minds". I have gotten the feeling in the past, through direct contact with persons at TPWD, that when they do not have wonderful information that warrants a press conference, they would just as soon not bother with taking calls/ e-mails.
TPWD is a government entity and suffers from the same "That's not our Dept." syndrome typical of EVERY other agency.
Perhaps they were (are) just trying to pass out "Warm Fuzzies" to those that were inquiring. When people get anwsers that are warm and fuzzy, they do not generally keep flooding your office with requests for information. When you receive your warm fuzzy from the government, naturally you must go forth and share with everyone. Everyone else gets warm and fuzzy by proxy, and all is good! When you are told that there is no real progress to speak of, or more often get ignored or passed off, well then the Powers That Be must spend days anwsering to the "inquiring minds". I have gotten the feeling in the past, through direct contact with persons at TPWD, that when they do not have wonderful information that warrants a press conference, they would just as soon not bother with taking calls/ e-mails.
TPWD is a government entity and suffers from the same "That's not our Dept." syndrome typical of EVERY other agency.
Posted in other thread, but valid here
I received this today from Dale Shively at TPWD, it clarifies where they stand today.
Thank you, and your club's members, for your support of the Texas Artificial Reef Program. The reef program is dedicated to the enhancement of marine habitat in the Gulf of Mexico and increasing fishing and diving opportunities for citizens of Texas and its visitors. I would like to address a few issues that you can forward to your membership.
Texas Clipper Ship Reef Project:
The Texas Clipper ship project is currently under review by the US Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C. I should get an official answer to the TPWD's request for transfer of the ship title by April. If the project is approved and funding terms are met, then the ship will be towed to Brownsville for cleanup. We hold the US Army Corps of Engineers reef site permit for a location in PS-1122 (South Padre OCS block) about 17nm miles out of Brazos Santiago Pass. The ship will be modified so that a dive would begin at 50ft from the surface (top of ship funnel) and the promenade deck will be at around 70ft. The plan is to have the ship sitting in an upright position off the bottom. Depending on the time frame of cleanup, the ship could possibly be reefed by fall 2006. BUT, we have a number of hurdles to jump first.
We are redesigning the Artificial Reef Website at TPWD and will have a "status update" link so the public can keep tabs on the project.
USS Texas Battleship:
There has been some scuttle butt recently in the dive community about TPWD considering the reefing of the USS Texas battleship. TPWD has NO plans or authority to do such a project. The ship is scheduled to undergo hull maintenance again and may require drydocking for that process. There has been discussions centering around the costs of continued maintenance on the ship and its drain on the parks budget. Any type of plan for using the ship as an artificial reef would require several things: grass routes efforts by the general public to raise funds (~ $4 million) and political support from the state legislature. The ship is of value as a nautical heritage site and there are some people who would not like to see her used as a reef. Again, at this time there is NO official movement by TPWD to consider reefing for the ship.
Dive Site in High Island Area:
The Artificial Reef Program is involved in a number of reefing projects in the Gulf; some nearshore for fishing and some further offshore for marine habitat enhancement. Through some discussions with divers and others, I agree that a ship reef in the High Island area could be a great boom for Texas diving. If divers are willing to travel over 50nm offshore for some good, clear water ship diving then the High Island area could certainly be home to the next ship project. At present, we do not have any immediate plans for another ship reef mainly due to funding. Funding on any future ship project will be the key to its success. The first step in getting a ship reefed in the High Island area needs to come from the grass routes efforts of local dive clubs, counties, and private individuals. If you can gather the support (petition drive, letters of support) and get financial commitments (donations, grants), the Artificial Reef Program can work to secure the reef site and a suiteable ship for reefing.
I received this today from Dale Shively at TPWD, it clarifies where they stand today.
Thank you, and your club's members, for your support of the Texas Artificial Reef Program. The reef program is dedicated to the enhancement of marine habitat in the Gulf of Mexico and increasing fishing and diving opportunities for citizens of Texas and its visitors. I would like to address a few issues that you can forward to your membership.
Texas Clipper Ship Reef Project:
The Texas Clipper ship project is currently under review by the US Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C. I should get an official answer to the TPWD's request for transfer of the ship title by April. If the project is approved and funding terms are met, then the ship will be towed to Brownsville for cleanup. We hold the US Army Corps of Engineers reef site permit for a location in PS-1122 (South Padre OCS block) about 17nm miles out of Brazos Santiago Pass. The ship will be modified so that a dive would begin at 50ft from the surface (top of ship funnel) and the promenade deck will be at around 70ft. The plan is to have the ship sitting in an upright position off the bottom. Depending on the time frame of cleanup, the ship could possibly be reefed by fall 2006. BUT, we have a number of hurdles to jump first.
We are redesigning the Artificial Reef Website at TPWD and will have a "status update" link so the public can keep tabs on the project.
USS Texas Battleship:
There has been some scuttle butt recently in the dive community about TPWD considering the reefing of the USS Texas battleship. TPWD has NO plans or authority to do such a project. The ship is scheduled to undergo hull maintenance again and may require drydocking for that process. There has been discussions centering around the costs of continued maintenance on the ship and its drain on the parks budget. Any type of plan for using the ship as an artificial reef would require several things: grass routes efforts by the general public to raise funds (~ $4 million) and political support from the state legislature. The ship is of value as a nautical heritage site and there are some people who would not like to see her used as a reef. Again, at this time there is NO official movement by TPWD to consider reefing for the ship.
Dive Site in High Island Area:
The Artificial Reef Program is involved in a number of reefing projects in the Gulf; some nearshore for fishing and some further offshore for marine habitat enhancement. Through some discussions with divers and others, I agree that a ship reef in the High Island area could be a great boom for Texas diving. If divers are willing to travel over 50nm offshore for some good, clear water ship diving then the High Island area could certainly be home to the next ship project. At present, we do not have any immediate plans for another ship reef mainly due to funding. Funding on any future ship project will be the key to its success. The first step in getting a ship reefed in the High Island area needs to come from the grass routes efforts of local dive clubs, counties, and private individuals. If you can gather the support (petition drive, letters of support) and get financial commitments (donations, grants), the Artificial Reef Program can work to secure the reef site and a suiteable ship for reefing.
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