Bill & Joyce Wilson
Northeast Texas is ripe with vast areas of countryside and thick woods as well as irreplaceable bottomland hardwood forests which provide habitat for native species and Texas wildlife. The land is nurtured by farmers, ranchers, and families who have owned property for generations, as well as some who have moved to the region in recent years to build a life and a home.
Bill and Joyce Wilson, the founders of Wilson Combat and owners of Lehigh Defense, fall into the latter category as they purchased 8,600 acres in the far-right corner of the Lone Star State and moved there from Arkansas. But the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir could force their plans to change unless lawmakers remove it from the State Water Plan.
The Wilsons named their large property Circle WC Ranch and use it for multiple purposes – including a personal airstrip where Joyce, who is a pilot, takes-off and lands regularly. “We live on it, but we also use it for a lot of business,” said Joyce. If Marvin Nichols is built as proposed, damming a stretch of the Sulphur River to create a reservoir to feed the DFW region’s insatiable water appetite, their property, their home and their world-class professional hunting lodge and related businesses would be under water.
Their livelihood would be impacted, and they could be forced to move their lives and their business elsewhere – potentially out of Texas.
Joyce Wilson stands next to her plane and hanger at the end of a grassy airstrip on Circle WC Ranch. She and her husband live and work in Northeast Texas, and their property is one of many threatened by the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir water project.
Ironically, the location along the Sulphur River was a driving factor in the Wilsons’ decision to move to Northeast Texas. “We met a nice old guy out in the middle of nowhere one time, and he said, ‘If you wanna hunt hogs, you wanna be on that Sulphur River,’” said Joyce. This was music to Bill Wilson’s ears as he loves to hunt hogs.
The couple ended up acquiring a large portion of land along that very river. “We use our land to live on, and we use it to play,” said Joyce. “We’ve got cattle, and we’ve got a few exotic animals. My husband only likes to hog hunt on days that end in Y, so that’s a few days a year,” Joyce added with a chuckle.
The Wilsons named their large property Circle WC Ranch and use it for multiple purposes – including a personal airstrip where Joyce, who is a pilot, takes-off and lands regularly. “We live on it, but we also use it for a lot of business,” said Joyce. If Marvin Nichols is built as proposed, damming a stretch of the Sulphur River to create a reservoir to feed the DFW region’s insatiable water appetite, their property, their home and their world-class professional hunting lodge and related businesses would be under water.
“We have customers that come in here, industry people, lots of use for gun writers and editors, and things like that for promotion of the companies. They just come from all over. We’ve had people here from South Africa, Zimbabwe … and all over the United States,” said Joyce.
Bill and Joyce Wilson own 8,600 acres in Northeast Texas. If water developers have their way, the Wilsons will be forced from their property via eminent domain, and their land will be flooded to create the Marvin Nichols Reservoir.
The Wilsons also help support a vibrant wildlife ecosystem in Northeast Texas. “We’re part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Management Program,” said Joyce. “So, we increase the habitat for deer, turkey and all other species.”
It is not only their livelihood at stake, but also for those who work for them on Circle WC Ranch. The Wilsons’ property contributes to what is already a very limited local economy in Northeast Texas. If water developers in DFW have their way, the Wilsons would be forced off their property by eminent domain. Their tax contributions, along with those of all others forced out, would cease, creating devastating ripple effects for the local economy.
In short, the Wilsons’ Northeast Texas property is valuable not only to them, but to the local wildlife, the local economy, and the region as a whole.
The Wilsons chose this area of Texas for a reason. It’s rural, it’s private and it has the natural environment fit for their business and their way of life. “We like it just like it is,” said Joyce.
The couple never anticipated facing something as devastatingly life changing as the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir which could literally wash away their dreams, livelihood, home, and property.