The lake that won't be built: a Texas judge sides with the ranchers, the prairie and the river

For more than a decade, Clay County landowners and the Texas Conservation Alliance fought a proposed reservoir, Lake Ringgold, that would have flooded 16,000 acres of ranchland and wildlife habitat — including 2,000 to 3,000 acres of native tallgrass prairie, one of the rarest landscapes in the USA. On 9 October, Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled in their favour, overturning the state water-rights permit the City of Wichita Falls had won in 2024. 'This is a big win for conservation, property rights, and thoughtful water planning based on common sense,' said Grahame Jones, the Alliance's executive director, crediting the landowners who 'stood up for their homes, ranches, communities, and wildlife through a long and difficult process.' The city and the state commission have 30 days to appeal — so the fight may not be over. But for now, the prairie stays prairie.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: legal ruling