About Us

In 2004, the Brazos River Conservation Coalition (BRCC) was formed in the Texas counties of Parker and Palo Pinto after Tony Goodwin, Larry Jones and Sandy Wilkins brought attention to the degradation of the Brazos River. Silt deposits had accumulated as a result of the runoff from unregulated quarry operation along the riverbank.

Goodwin, Jones and Wilkins rallied a large group of individuals to their cause and together they succeeded, through state legislation, in having the section of the Brazos River that lies in Parker and Palo Pinto Counties designated as the John Graves Scenic Riverway. The legislation established silt control and monitoring by the Brazos River Authority. 

Two years later, a group of Hood County residents led by Charles and Dominique Inge and Clark Lantz and Barbara Goodwin-Lantz joined the members of the BRCC in their concern for the health of the Brazos River and also Lake Granbury. In 2006, they successfully recruited area residents to support BRCC’s efforts, which led to the expansion of the BRCC into Hood County. In 2007, the BRCC officially moved its headquarters to Granbury in Hood County.

It is the mission of the Brazos River Conservation Coalition (BRCC) to monitor and protect the water quality, flora and fauna and beauty of the immediate environs of the Brazos River basin. To that end, the BRCC has developed a broad base of community volunteers who have assumed leadership in creating public awareness of the threat to the river and lake and also in gaining representation in the decision and policy-making processes of the agencies that control the river.

The BRCC continues to achieve its major goals. The group’s membership now numbers more than 600. The BRCC holds a stakeholder seat on the Lake Granbury Watershed Protection Plan Project. It is a member of the Lake Granbury Area Chamber of Commerce. The BRCC also hosts regular community meetings at the Dora Lee Langdon Center Concert Hall in Granbury where ranking members of state and local agencies are among those people who frequently address BRCC members and guests.

Among the guest speakers have been representatives from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Brazos River Authority, the Hood County Environmental Health Office, the USDA and the Hood County Commissioner’s Court. A number of business professionals in fields related to real estate development, water quality, river ecology, salinity, etc., have also shared their expertise with the group

In 2008, the BRCC successfully obtained the official backing of the Hood County Commissioners Court when they voted to unanimously support the passage of a resolution in support of the John Graves Scenic Riverway into Hood County. The BRCC also sought and received support of the resolution from the Lake Granbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the cities of Granbury, DeCordova and Brazos Bend.

The BRCC works harmoniously with the various agencies that manage the river and Lake Granbury through non-adversarial representation of its members’ interests and by supporting the efforts of the agencies to maintain the recreational and economic value of these wonderful water resources.

The BRCC is currently:

1.  Working with State Senator Kip Averitt, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, and State Representative Jim Keffer toward the introduction and passage of a bill in the 2009 Texas legislative session to extend the John Graves Scenic Riverway through Hood and Somervell Counties. The legislation will protect the Brazos River from the effects of polluting runoff from rock and gravel quarrying along the riverbanks.

2.  Following the development of a desalination project in the area of the salt flats in the upper Brazos River — a project that could significantly improve the water quality in Lake Granbury.