Neches River

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The KCS Railway bridge over the Neches River in Beaumont is a major transportation link for the region.

Map of the Neches River and associated watershed

The Neches River (pronounced "NAI ches") flows for 416 miles through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and Lake B. A. Steinhagen are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee, Beaumont, Vidor, Port Neches, Nederland, Groves, and Port Arthur.

From Lake B.A. Steinhagen down to Beaumont, the Neches River flows through the 97,000-acre Big Thicket National Preserve. This important ecosphere preserves the area where several eco-systems converge -- an event that harkens back to the last Ice age. The Big Thicket Visitor Center is off U.S. Highway 69 several miles north of Kountze.

The Lower Neches Valley Authority is the river authority which oversees the Neches River in Tyler County, Hardin County, Liberty County, Chambers County, and Jefferson County counties of Texas.

A new national wildlife refuge was purchased on the Neches River in 2006(Neches River National Wildlife Refuge). It currently covers 1 acre but is proposed for 16,000 acres. This site where the new wildlife refuge is is a proposed dam site for the city of Dallas and its suburbs. The acquisition of one acre by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was at one time enough to stop the proposed dam from being erected, but now the acquisition has to go through the governor of Texas to stop the dam.