Fishing Pier Could Close if Vandalism at Cranes Mill Crappie Dock Continues

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) warned today it will close Canyon Lake’s popular crappie fishing dock if vandalism continues.

The dock’s gate was vandalized Wednesday night and required extensive repair, USACE said in a statement. The crappie fishing dock, located in Cranes Mill Park, is the only public fishing pier on Canyon Lake.

“This is the second occurrence in the last three months,” the Corps said. “The gate is there for your safety and to reduce problems at night. The vandals causing the repeat, costly damage jeopardize public access to the facility. The fishing pier may become permanently closed to the general public if vandalism continues.”

USACE said the person who vandalized the dock on Dec. 30 broke a headlight in the process.

Anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to contact USACE at 830-964-3341. All tips are anonymous.

“Please help,” the statement continued. “If you know something, say something. This should not stand in our community.”

On Facebook, USACE Forth Worth District’s Timothy MacAllister, acting deputy district engineer for Programs and Project Management, said the Corps is seeing a significant increase in vandalism to its gates, fences, picnic tables, shelter tops, grills and security fencing at locations throughout the state.

Security fencing at Canyon Lake alone has been damaged “multiple times.”

The vandalism is so extensive USACE doesn’t have the funding nor the budget to “essentially rebuild areas multiple times each year.

“We are doing what we can to address these issues, but at some point, if the increase in vandalism continues, we will simply have to close areas due to safety and security concerns.”

USACE’s Fort Worth District, which oversees Canyon Lake, was established in 1950 after disastrous floods in the area, It is responsible for water-resources development in two-thirds of Texas, and for military design-and-construction in Texas and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico.