The Brazos River, which in the past has been something of a dividing line in Fort Bend County, is now on the brink of becoming a recreational focal point bringing together residents throughout Fort Bend County as well as Brazoria County.

The Brazos River Project, unveiled in 2008 by county and local officials and Houston Wilderness, in its first phase is focusing on developing a series of canoe launches and take-out sites along the river.

"The Brazos River Corridor is not very accessible and has not been utilized much," said Jeff Wiley, president of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council. “The project is to build boat launches throughout the corridor and to have them close enough together — 10 to 12 miles — so that they are logistically convenient for people to use."

The city of Sugar Land, which has already done a lot of park and recreational facility development along its portion of the river, plans to build a couple of canoe launches. In addition, Missouri City, Sienna Plantation and Brazos Bend State Park have plans to build launches, Wiley said.

And KBR has agreed to fund two launches in the Simonton area in northern Fort Bend County, said John Van de Wiele, chairman of the board of Fort Bend Green Initiative, a nonprofit organization created to facilitate recreational development projects along the river corridor.

Fort Bend Green Initiative is in the process of identifying potential launch sites, said Wiley. Issues that must be considered include the fluctuating levels of the river and the need for parking on the banks.

Cities along the river in Fort Bend County besides Sugar Land, Missouri City and Simonton include Rosenberg, Richmond and Fulshear. In addition, there are considerable stretches of rural areas toward Brazoria County. In that county, the river traverses the Columbia Bottomlands, part of a critical wildlife habitat and conservation priority.

The Brazos River Project is a link in the Sam Houston Trails and Wilderness Preserve, a system of trails, parks and natural habitats throughout 11 counties surrounding Houston.

That project is the brainchild of Rosie Zamora, president and co-founder of Houston Wilderness, who in October was one of three recipients nationally of the American Greenways Award presented by Eastman Kodak Co., National Geographic Society and The Conservation Fund for outstanding achievement in greenways preservation.

As a result of Zamora’s prodding, Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert and Brazoria County Judge Joe King last year committed their counties to the Brazos River Project.

Fort Bend County Commissioners’ Court in late October budgeted $75,000 for Fort Bend Green Initiative to hire staff. The organization has so far been operated by volunteers.

Meanwhile, Houston Wilderness has been working to get the Brazos River Project officially designated by Texas Parks and Wildlife, which would bring in state funding, support and visibility, says Zamora.

“We’re on the way to making that happen.”

She also said the Brazos River Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Houston Wilderness concerning the development of trails along the river.

But, said Wiley, “this won’t happen in six months. It’s a long-term forward-looking project.”

He said Fort Bend County needed to focus on green development because it is below the standard for greenways in relation to the booming population in the county.

“There’s no magic button to a high quality life,” said Hebert. “This is one of the steps that will improve the quality of life for Fort Bend County residents.”

He said the county’s funding of Green Initiative is intended to “speed up the process.”

And that progress is going well, said Van de Wiele. A meeting of Green Initiative’s board with representatives of the cities along the Brazos River is slated for Dec. 2. At that time cities will share their plans for river development projects and learn more about Green Initiative.