Capes Dam: If It’s Not Broke, Let’s Not Experiment With It
Letter To The Editor
Dear Editor,
I had been lightly following the discussion on the removal of Capes Dam on the San Marcos river until recently when I decided to look in detail at both sides of the argument. I now understand the debt the San Marcos River community owes to Ben Kvanli and Brian Olson for their relentless pursuit of truth on this issue. We must save Cape’s Dam.
While millions of dollars will soon be spent to rebuild the dam at Spring Lake, Cape’s Dam is slotted for removal even though it qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places, and even though its removal will rob San Marcos residents of one of the finest recreational areas of our river.
While City Council members all expressed their loyalty to “science” in making this decision, Dr. Molly Cummings (Ph.D. Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology) at the University of Texas refers to the removal of Capes Dam as a “giant biological gamble”, indicating that the dam’s removal will likely cause great harm to the habitat that has long supported both wild rice and the fountain darter.
The National Academy of Sciences states that the habitat suitability analysis in the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan “should be treated as a hypothesis and tested for robustness throughout the San Marcos River.” Yet this same modeling drove the decision to remove Capes Dam – a hypothesis rather than a scientific conclusion.
Human Beings have lived in, on and around the source San Marcos River for more than 13,500 years. The river has been the cultural center of our local civilization throughout this period, just as it is today. And for the last 150 years, Capes Dam has played an important role in the historic growth and development of the area, and it’s currently an important recreational and ecological treasure to both residents and visitors.
Let’s stop experimenting in this town. Let’s keep Capes Dam, and respect the ecological, recreational and historical significance it plays in our community today.
Sam Brannon
San Marcos
Re:Capes dam. I’m in agreement wholeheartedly.The powers that be will not listen. We tried to stop several other projects, even voted some down and the projects were built any. Seems if it isn’t for the good of the university you can forget it.