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Kerr County joins regional habitat plan with Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to streamline endangered mussel protections
Summary
The commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to participate in a programmatic habitat plan and relocation program intended to reduce the cost and permitting burden if the county must drain or alter lake beds where federally listed mussels live.
Kerr County on Tuesday approved a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) to participate in a regional Guadalupe River Habitat Conservation Plan and a Programmatic Aquatic Resource Relocation Plan.
County officials said the agreement is intended to make it easier and less expensive to comply with the Endangered Species Act if a dam drawdown, construction or other action affects habitat for federally listed mussels such as the fat mucket and the golden orb. GBRA is seeking an incidental-take permit from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the MOA would make Kerr County a party to GBRA's permit application and later, if included in GBRA's certificate of inclusion (COI), bind the county to the permit terms.
County staff and commissioners said the county's exposure is relatively small compared with downstream jurisdictions; when GBRA first proposed partnership fees county officials negotiated a lower estimated contribution. GBRA staff and county participants told the court the county's annual contribution would be among the lowest in the basin, with staff estimating a likely annual cost around $10,000 in a best-case scenario. Commissioners were told the permit timeline could range from 2027 to 2029; GBRA will return with final cost and term details as the Fish and Wildlife permitting process advances.
The MOA includes a 90-day, no-fault termination clause allowing either party to withdraw with written notice; county lawyers confirmed that the court could rescind the MOA later if needed. County leaders framed the agreement as an insurance policy that would allow the county to rely on GBRA's biological expertise and negotiated approaches for mussel relocation rather than obtaining a separate permit and consultant team at potentially much higher time and cost.
Whathappens next: GBRA will proceed with its federal permit application; when GBRA has a COI and a finalized fee schedule the county may be asked to join the certificate and begin annual payments. The court approved the MOA unanimously.
