THE Official Twin Buttes Reservoir Thread

[Harvey]

What's the road like these days getting back to the Spring Creek Dam? Haven't been back there in 3 years. Runnin' buddy and I will be in town on Friday and might drive out to check on our old stomping grounds.
I'm not as careless about truck scratches as I was in college. Is it thick back there along the roads?

[Anthony Wilson]

Mr. Wilson:

I WILL call you. I am tied up filming for next few days till end of wknd. I actaually was SUPPOSED to be in the loop on this TBR project ( I'm President of Concho Valley Hunters Advocacy) and had meeting with City Manager LAST YEAR. I was told I would be in the meetings etc. for this project and was never called! I stopped by CM office and was told he was unavaiable and asked to have him call me TWICE and NEVER heard from anyone. I truly hope that this improves.

Rob Sparks

Rob, that sounds great. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on this. We are scheduled to discuss this further with the City Council at its next meeting on Jan. 11. The meeting is open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. and will be in the Convention Center, 500 Rio Concho Drive. We'd love to have you and anyone else who is interested attend and participate in the discussion.

Anthony Wilson

[SanAngeloBowman]

Rob, that sounds great. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on this. We are scheduled to discuss this further with the City Council at its next meeting on Jan. 11. The meeting is open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. and will be in the Convention Center, 500 Rio Concho Drive. We'd love to have you and anyone else who is interested attend and participate in the discussion.

Anthony Wilson

Mr. Wilson

I already planned on being there. I'll see if Jason Huebner and Frank Carter can make it too. I talk to those guys pretty regular. We all have a sincere interest in whats happening out there as well as want to see it prosper as an asset to the city and place we can take out families for recreation. Its truly a Texas gem and should be treated as such.

R, Sparks

[SanAngeloBowman]

What's the road like these days getting back to the Spring Creek Dam? Haven't been back there in 3 years. Runnin' buddy and I will be in town on Friday and might drive out to check on our old stomping grounds.
I'm not as careless about truck scratches as I was in college. Is it thick back there along the roads?

Harvey its not TOO bad if ya stay on main road that goes straight out to the river and then follows along the shoreline (sorta) till ya hit the old cattle guard. Cant guarantee you wont get a few scratches.

TIP: put a good coat of wax on truck before ya go and it will seriously help with protecting from minor scratches.

[Harvey]

Well, we went out to Spring Creek yesterday to check it out for the first time in 3 years.
Very disappointing to see all the litter scattered throughout the land and water; cans, spent shells, household trash, nails, etc.
Something must be done. TBR area was still relatively pristine 3 years ago.
I'm all for limited vehicle access and maybe even special use permits if that's what it takes to minimize the a-hole traffic.
I enjoyed the freedom of going out there whenever we wanted, but were always good stewards of the resources out there.
Sad situation as it becomes a wasteland of abuse.

[westexbuck]

Hey some buddies of mine and I are looking at possibly going duck hunting at Twin Buttes reservoir this weekend coming up. What all do we need as far as permits and tags, besides public lands permit and duck stamps? Are there any special regulations for the lake or can we just show up to area 6 with waders, decoys, shotguns and the permits/stamps just mentioned. We have deer hunted near Mertzon for 24 years and now want to start waterfowl hunting in that area. I went to school at Sul Ross and we pond hopped the trans pecos for ducks from Presidio up to Pecos. We love the region, so any info would be great!

[SanAngeloBowman]

Well, we went out to Spring Creek yesterday to check it out for the first time in 3 years.
Very disappointing to see all the litter scattered throughout the land and water; cans, spent shells, household trash, nails, etc.
Something must be done. TBR area was still relatively pristine 3 years ago.
I'm all for limited vehicle access and maybe even special use permits if that's what it takes to minimize the a-hole traffic.
I enjoyed the freedom of going out there whenever we wanted, but were always good stewards of the resources out there.
Sad situation as it becomes a wasteland of abuse.

Harvey

You missed it when it was REALLY bad earlier last year. What you saw was AFTER months of clean-up This why I've been saying that the local government has had enough, as well as the local LEO's over the area, and local concerned hunters. We are putting a stop to one of the biggest abuses to our local enviroment and resources. TBR has the potential to be a prime public hunting destination and recreation spot for West Texas and we aim to see it thru to the end of the project. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

[Hafernick]

Hey some buddies of mine and I are looking at possibly going duck hunting at Twin Buttes reservoir this weekend coming up. What all do we need as far as permits and tags, besides public lands permit and duck stamps? Are there any special regulations for the lake or can we just show up to area 6 with waders, decoys, shotguns and the permits/stamps just mentioned. We have deer hunted near Mertzon for 24 years and now want to start waterfowl hunting in that area. I went to school at Sul Ross and we pond hopped the trans pecos for ducks from Presidio up to Pecos. We love the region, so any info would be great!

You don't need any Public Land Hunting Permits. You just need your federal duck stamp. Good luck...

[Horns Fan]

Hey everyone,

Kindof new here but not really. I was with Harvey when we went out there the other day. To see what it used to be to what it has become is really sad. The thing that i don't understand is why someone would drive 20 min into TBR in order to shoot skeet and then not clean up the spent shell casings. Clays are one thing but a million shell casings is another. Hopefully the locals and the lake police can get it turned around. Just a shame to see such a great place being torn appart by a bunch of people who don't respect it for what it is.

[Hafernick]

Hey everyone,

Kindof new here but not really. I was with Harvey when we went out there the other day. To see what it used to be to what it has become is really sad. The thing that i don't understand is why someone would drive 20 min into TBR in order to shoot skeet and then not clean up the spent shell casings. Clays are one thing but a million shell casings is another. Hopefully the locals and the lake police can get it turned around. Just a shame to see such a great place being torn appart by a bunch of people who don't respect it for what it is.

Hey Buddy,

I hope the time you spend with Charles doesn't make you retire from drinking also! If that happens I am going to have find new friends.

[Anthony Wilson]

All, as a reminder, the City Council will consider approving some measures to shore up security at TBR at its meeting next Tuesday, Jan. 11. The meeting is open to the public, will be in the Convention Center at 500 Rio Concho Drive, and begins at 9 a.m. (This item is at about midway through the agenda, so we can't say for sure what time that discussion will happen.) The meeting can also be watched live on the City's Web site. (I haven't posted enough times here to be able to post a URL. Call me at 653-5328 and I'll be happy to share the link on the Web site with you.)

We received a suggestion from a local outdoorsman to ensure that responsible hunters and fishermen still have some vehicular access to TBR that we will be endorsing to the Council. Under the proposal, citizens could apply to temporarily receive a key to the gates that lead to the south pool and to the north pool's south shore. The gates would be equipped with heavy-duty padlocks with keys that are not to be copied, i.e. a patented key system. Citizens who wanted access to those areas would fill out an application, provide personal information (which would be shared with the San Angelo Police Department), sign a form agreeing not to copy the key, and pay a deposit in order to check out the key.

We are confident that anyone willing to go through this process will follow the law.

What do you guys think of this recommendation?

Anthony Wilson
Civic Events Manager
City of San Angelo

[TGW]

Let's digest this one a bit...as there are some landowners around the area that have access to the public land via gates from their land. Would their vehicle access be restricted as well? What about someone leaving the lock open to let buddies in? Keys will likely be copied no matter what someone signs. Many public lands have annual permits that can be purchased for land use; why not model TBR in the same way?

All that said, before rules and restrictions are imposed, some common goals need to be laid out, before anything else happens. What do we want TBR to look like 5-10 years down the road? Hunting, fishing, and "responsible" camping tend to be the best use of the land and the least destructive.

[TXHORNZ]

Question about future access

All, as a reminder, the City Council will consider approving some measures to shore up security at TBR at its meeting next Tuesday, Jan. 11. The meeting is open to the public, will be in the Convention Center at 500 Rio Concho Drive, and begins at 9 a.m. (This item is at about midway through the agenda, so we can't say for sure what time that discussion will happen.) The meeting can also be watched live on the City's Web site. (I haven't posted enough times here to be able to post a URL. Call me at 653-5328 and I'll be happy to share the link on the Web site with you.)

We received a suggestion from a local outdoorsman to ensure that responsible hunters and fishermen still have some vehicular access to TBR that we will be endorsing to the Council. Under the proposal, citizens could apply to temporarily receive a key to the gates that lead to the south pool and to the north pool's south shore. The gates would be equipped with heavy-duty padlocks with keys that are not to be copied, i.e. a patented key system. Citizens who wanted access to those areas would fill out an application, provide personal information (which would be shared with the San Angelo Police Department), sign a form agreeing not to copy the key, and pay a deposit in order to check out the key.

We are confident that anyone willing to go through this process will follow the law.

What do you guys think of this recommendation?

Anthony Wilson
Civic Events Manager
City of San Angelo

Anthony, from your message it sounds like you have addressed the gate access from Knickerboker road. Has there been any dicussion about the other access points to TBR?
Also, how long will a person be able to keep the temporary key to access the TBR land? If you are a hunter would it be for the entire hunting season? Which is the main reason I am at TBR.

Thanks for your help

[Anthony Wilson]

Anthony, from your message it sounds like you have addressed the gate access from Knickerboker road. Has there been any dicussion about the other access points to TBR?
Also, how long will a person be able to keep the temporary key to access the TBR land? If you are a hunter would it be for the entire hunting season? Which is the main reason I am at TBR.

Thanks for your help

Just so the rest of you will know, TXHORNZ and I spoke by phone this afternoon, and I asked him how long he thinks we should issue keys for. (This is a question we're wrestling with internally.) He suggested a month. What do the rest of you think about that?

As for his question about other access points, we have done our best to identify all vehicular access points all the way around TBR. Those would be fenced and gated. The City Council was mainly interested in ways to allow limited vehicular access to the north pool's south shore and to the south pool's Gardner Dam.

I really appreciated TXHORNZ calling me and offering his input. I'd invite any of you to please do the same -- that is tremendously helpful. You can reach me at 653-5328.

Thanks again, TXHORNZ.

Anthony Wilson
Civic Events Manager
City of San Angelo

[TXHORNZ]

Just to clarify

Just so the rest of you will know, TXHORNZ and I spoke by phone this afternoon, and I asked him how long he thinks we should issue keys for. (This is a question we're wrestling with internally.) He suggested a month. What do the rest of you think about that?

As for his question about other access points, we have done our best to identify all vehicular access points all the way around TBR. Those would be fenced and gated. The City Council was mainly interested in ways to allow limited vehicular access to the north pool's south shore and to the south pool's Gardner Dam.

I really appreciated TXHORNZ calling me and offering his input. I'd invite any of you to please do the same -- that is tremendously helpful. You can reach me at 653-5328.

Thanks again, TXHORNZ.

Anthony Wilson
Civic Events Manager
City of San Angelo

I did mention that getting an access key on a monthly basis. But that was better than the possible 72 hours to a week that was mentioned during the call. Honestly as a hunter I would not mind getting the key for the entire deer season. Which would include the archery season, general and the doe spike season as well. But from my understanding the City might not like the idea of having keys checkout that long with none being checked back in.
How much of a deposit are ya'll thinking?
Where would we have to go an checkin/out the keys, SAPD?

Thanks again,