The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority will hold a workshop for Lake Dunlap residents and users on Saturday, Oct. 16 on efforts to restore the waterway, which was drained after a spillgate failure in 2019.
The event will be held at the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority River Annex Building from 9–11:30 a.m. It's located at 905 Nolan St. in Seguin.
The workshop will provide a series of presentations with an emphasis on habitat conservation and stewardship.
The primary objectives of the Lake Dunlap Habitat Project are to preserve, restore and enhance aquatic habitats and rebuild the fisheries on the waterbody. The project also aims to improve safety and enhance shoreline fishing access at the Lake Dunlap public access location located at the underpass of I-35, according to a news release.
GBRA will also distribute native seedling trees and riparian vegetation to interested lake property owners to assist in reestablishing beneficial native vegetation on their properties. GBRA will also supply information on how interested lake property owners can receive and install aquatic habitat enhancements in front of their properties and under their docks.
“We are very excited about the Lake Dunlap Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Project,” said Greg Binion, TPWD Inland Fisheries Division Corpus Christi District Supervisor. “This is a great community initiative and the partnerships that have developed in support provide an exciting opportunity for collective natural resource stewardship to preserve, restore, and enhance this recreational gem, expand fishing opportunities, and better the quality of fisheries for Texans.”
The Lake Dunlap Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Project is being supported by the new TPWD Inland Fisheries’ Habitat and Angler Access Program or HAAP as well as both cash and in-kind contributions from various project partners, including TPWD and GBRA. Mostly from the sales of freshwater fishing licenses, the HAAP supports projects to restore and enhance fish habitat in Texas’ public inland waters as well as develop, enhance and increase shoreline fishing access.
Nathan Pence of GBRA's Environmental Services said the lake's recovery process should not take long after a new dam is completed and the lake level returns.
"So lakes have a way of mending and taking care of themselves and then with all the extra effort we are going to put into it as GBRA, parks and wildlife, and the homeowners, we can expedite that and help kind of speed that process up and make it even better than it could be on its own," Pence said.
Without major weather delays, the dam could be completed as early as the spring of 2023.
