The city of Graham will soon have more green space for its residents, and Brazos River Basin lakes are destined for improved fishing opportunities.
The Brazos River Authority Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting on May 19, 2025. At that meeting, the Board approved a five-year agreement with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for fisheries’ habitat improvements.
Different types of fish need different things, especially when it comes to finding food or a safe place to hide. Those needs can change as they grow. The two most important aspects to keeping a reservoir filled with a healthy fish population are called spawning, which is when fish have babies. The second is having what’s called recruitment, which is the act of surviving long enough to grow up and have babies of their own.
Most fish spawning activity takes place in the area closest to the shore, as the area has all the components needed to provide protective cover for young fish, such as sand, clay, gravel, coarse woody debris, and aquatic vegetation.
Spawning locations can become an issue during droughts.
When a reservoir’s water levels drop due to drought or water supply use, these natural fish habitats are suddenly out of water, leaving no space for fish to have and raise babies. To help prevent that loss, these new habitats will be placed in deeper areas of each reservoir to help in preserving them when lake levels decline.
This project is a continuation of the original partnership in 2016, said Tiffany Malzahn, BRA chief environmental officer.
As a result of the 2011 drought, the lake levels and fisheries habitat in several reservoirs in the Brazos River Basin were impacted for an extended period. Through that, teams were able to observe available habitat at varying water levels in all the System reservoirs. This knowledge aids the TPWD Inland Fisheries Division staff in determining where habitats made by people would be the most beneficial to place to help the reservoir fisheries withstand future severe drought conditions, she said.
The BRA and the TPWD will collaborate on which reservoirs will receive the new habitats each year.
“We develop a unique strategy that’s a collaborative effort between Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologists and our BRA team for each reservoir and then decide which reservoirs get done each year,” Malzahn said. “We get a lot of comments because we have an interactive map where we document each reservoir and where we’re putting the structures, and a lot of fishermen seem to enjoy that and enjoy fishing off of them. Even though a lot of them are in deeper waters, apparently, it’s still having positive benefits for them as far as recreation.”
To view all the existing fish habitats placed in the basin, go here.
Also at the meeting, the Board of Directors conveyed about 175 acres north of Possum Kingdom Lake in Young County to the city of Graham.
The landlocked property encompasses Salt Creek, and the city already owns the properties on each side.
The BRA has been undergoing a process of evaluating some of its properties to determine the best and most appropriate use for them. Through this process, this land was identified as an area not needed by the BRA and the city of Graham expressed an interest, said Randall McCartney, BRA regional lake operations manager.
Based on the evaluation of the properties, the only element critical to the BRA’s mission is the ability to use them as inundation easements, which means having the right to flood them based on Possum Kingdom Lake operations, McCartney said.
Board Presiding Officer Cynthia A. Flores said the property floods, and it serves no value to the BRA outside of being available to flood during operations.
Ultimately, the transaction is an opportunity for the BRA to be a good neighbor for the city of Graham, she said.
Graham City Manager Eric Garretty said the city thinks this is a chance for a great strategic partnership between the city and the BRA to make sure they’ve preserved this beautiful area along Salt Creek for future generations.
“If you don’t remember anything else I say today, I want you to know we’re united with BRA in preserving, protecting, and sustainably managing this area. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to have a designated greenspace on the western edge of the city,” Garretty said.
Since the property floods, it can not be used for development. Therefore, the city agreed to use the property for public recreation or natural areas, including wildlife management, green spaces, and/or hiking and biking trails, McCartney said.
The agreement includes some clauses to ensure leaders in the future don’t try to go in a different direction with the land. Enclosed buildings, walled structures, and above-ground utilities will not be permitted on the land and if the property ceases to be owned by the city or is ever used for anything else, the property ownership will revert to the BRA.
Another plus, the BRA will actually save money by transferring ownership to the city, McCartney said. Staff takes care of illegal dumping in that creek, which can sometimes include hazardous waste.
“Currently, I believe there’s some shingles that have been dumped on an area of our property, and I think a sailboat. The team up there is working to try to remedy that,” he said.
Interested in learning more?
- For a complete list of actions the Board of Directors took, go here.
- Watch the full Board meeting here.
- Sign up to be notified of upcoming Board meetings here.
For any additional questions, email us at information@brazos.org.