Dwight Shellman

Region: Piney Woods

Topics: Water, Wetland, Pollution, Science, Non-Profit, Caddo Lake

From 1993 through 2006, Dwight Shellman served as the president of the Caddo Lake Institute, which encourages interdisciplinary work towards preservation of the ecological and cultural integrity of Caddo Lake, reputed to be the only natural lake in Texas, noted for its cypress-dominated wetlands. Mr. Shellman and the Institute have been successful in getting designation of the Lake as a wetland of international signification under the RAMSAR Treaty, in setting up cooperative lake research and monitoring programs at local colleges and high schools, in creating a new National Wildlife Refuge adjoining the Lake, and in finding sustainable uses for the nearby Longhorn Ammunition Plant. Mr. Shellman has also been active with the East Texas Communities Network which has sought to locate and interconnect conservationists in small northeast Texas towns, and organize them around local environmental problems, ranging from chicken processing wastewater to dam construction to water quality downgrades to air quality issues.

Interviewed

October 23, 2000
Uncertain, Texas
Reels 2121 and 2122