Since last week’s column on problems at the north levee on Pleasure Island I have been contacted by numerous concerned citizens and officials regarding this important issue.

    In case you didn’t see last Thursday’s paper or are not aware of the ongoing problems with access to the north (and sometimes south) levee at Pleasure Island then here is the skinny.

    The north levee is currently being closed at night by the Port Arthur Police Department due to problems with acts of vandalism like burning some of the fishing piers. Also, officials with the Army Corps of Engineers who have control over those areas have hinted in the past they might be closed to access altogether if changes aren’t made for the positive.

   To get beyond these troubles there will have to be efforts made from anglers using the area, law enforcement, the Corps and those in the community interested in keeping an extremely important area accessible to the public.

    And that importance is what I want to address here.

    There is no area more widely used, productive and easy to access as those levees. Many areas of the state offer bank fishing but none of this caliber and trust me I have been to every single bay system and beach in the state. Not even the famed Texas City Dike can hold a candle to the north and south levees at Pleasure Island and that’s a fact.

    The crabbing, flounder, speckled trout and redfish action there is second to none for those who fish from the bank.

    Growing up my mother and father would take me fishing at Pleasure Island several times a year before we could afford a boat and many of my fondest memories hail from fishing on the rocks and catching redfish and croaker. I remember seeing my Dad catch several huge garfish there and it is the place I saw my first shark landed.

    Thousands of other local anglers have these same kinds of memories and there are young anglers right now forging them at this very time. If for whatever reason we lose access to these areas then we are taking away a wonderful, inexpensive means of enjoying the wonders of Sabine Lake.

    Other than the Walter Umphrey Pier and a couple of spots on Lake Road on the north end of the lake, the levees are literally the only bank fishing access to this valuable estuary. Our greatest single angling resource for low-income and retired anglers would disappear if access ended.

    And this is not just something important for Port Arthur anglers. I live in Orange and have fished there at some level my whole life. I know some who drive in from Jasper to fish there and have even heard of people coming from Houston when the fishing is hot.

    We must as a community of Southeast Texas do what we can to keep this valuable resource open to the public.

    This article is not meant to point fingers at anyone or lay the blame at any involved entity’s feet. It is however a call for people, agencies and businesses to step up to the plate to do whatever it takes to keep the levees at Pleasure Island open for fishing and other outdoors activities.

    Problems in this area are nothing new but it looks like things could get worse if a variety of actions are not taken.

    The bottom line is those levees are too valuable an asset for Southeast Texas to lose whether the reason is crime, apathy or politics.