OUR MISSION
Friends of Lydia Ann Channel provides advocacy and resources to conserve the historic recreational use and ecological importance of the Lydia Ann Channel, the adjacent Lighthouse Lakes Marsh, St. Joe Island, and related bays, marshes, and bodies of water.
We are fighting to stop a massive petrochemical storage area for 100 barges next to the Port Aransas Lighthouse and the National Estuarine Research Reserve in the Lydia Ann Channel.
FLAC BOARD
James King
James King is a six generation direct decedent of Captain Richard King growing up in Corpus Christi with a second home in Port Aransas. As a teenager, James explored the coastal bend marshes, bays and estuaries hunting, fishing, and just observing the amazing diversity of wildlife. After graduating in 1981 from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Rangeland Ecology, James started a career in Natural Resource Conservation and Real Estate. Working for 19 years with The Nature Conservancy as part of the statewide senior management team and head of real estate, James lead the efforts to protect over 500,000 acres of our states most important conservation lands and waters, including Shamrock Island, Hoskins Mound, South Padre Island, Lower Rio Grande River, Barton Creek Preserve, Dolan Falls Preserve, James River Bat Cave, Independence Creek Preserve, David Mountains Preserve, Diamond Y Springs, Balcones Canyonlands, and many more.
James left The Nature Conservancy in 2008 to start his own statewide conservation real estate business, King Land & Water LLC with his wife Tammy and is active today in many major conservation projects across the state, such as establishing the new Devils River State Natural Area, Powderhorn Ranch State Park, and Eagle Nest Lake as an addition to Columbia Bottomlands National Wildlife Refuge. This 30 year career has developed a broad understanding and insight of Natural Resource Agencies and NGO’s across Texas and relationships with many of their key staff members.
James lives in in Ft Davis and Port Aransas and currently serves on the Executive Committee of McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors and enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, seeing new country, and traveling with his family.
Will Myers
Will Myers is an avid recreational angler and coastal conservationist who has fished the Texas Gulf Coast bay waters for the last 45 years. His conservation interests include coastal development impacts, seagrass bed protection, aquaculture regulation, freshwater inflows, and proper dredge material placement.
He currently serves on the advisory board of the angling organization Texas Wade Paddle & Pole and is a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Resources Advisory Committee. His work toward protecting seagrass beds in Redfish Bay was recognized in 2001 by the Nature Conservancy (Conservation Leadership Award), Texas Parks & Wildlife Department ( Lone Star Legend Award), and the Environmental Protection Agency (Gulf Guardian Award).
Ben Frishman
Ben Frishman grew up in Port Aransas, spending as much of his time as possible on the water. His parents started the local newspaper and his father became active in protecting the local environment when the massive “Deep Port” development threatened to bury much of Harbor Island, its flats and mangroves, under twenty feet of dredge spoil.
Ben moved to Austin to attend High School and the University of Texas before a career in banking, business and technology. He has been active in a variety of conservation organizations since his teens. He served as President of CCA Austin, the Port Aransas Rod and Reel Club and is a Founding Board Member of Texas Wade Paddle and Pole and Friends of Lydia Ann Channel. He and his family own a home in Port Aransas and spend much of their available time there on the water.
Tammy King
Tammy King is a native of Castroville, Texas and a 1984 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and has worked as an educator in San Antonio for 11 years. In 1998, Tammy and her husband James moved to the Davis Mountains in Fort Davis, Texas to raise their two children, Haley and Harrison. The Kings also spend time at their home in Port Aransas where they enjoy the ecological and recreational offerings of coastal life. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the UT Marine Science Institute.
Tammy is broker and co-owner of King Land & Water LLC, a ranch real estate company. She and her staff have extensive communications, marketing, financial, and administrative skills. These assets are crucial to voluntarily aid the Friends of Lydia Ann Channel LLC. She serves as secretary-treasurer of the Friends of Lydia Ann Channel, a position from which she passionately works to protect the unique environment of the Port Aransas area for the enjoyment of all Texans.