The United Nations and its agencies cannot in any way control or even influence the management or ownership of the Caddo Lake wetlands due to the Ramsar Convention.

 During the last election, some charged that the treaty made Caddo Lake — about 8,000 wetland acres of which are covered by the Ramsar treaty — vulnerable to United Nations control.

 Even the Republican Party of Texas and of Harrison County linked Caddo Lake and the U.N. in a recently adopted platform and resolution, respectively.

 A March, 2004, handbill advertising a Tarrant County Republican Assembly meeting said "Why is the U.N. in Texas? Why do they want Texas water?

 The assembly is a Fort Worth-based private political organization.

 But the Ramsar convention and the U.N. are totally unrelated and it is impossible for the U.N. to control a Ramsar site in any way, either directly or through other organizations, according to U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Environment Claudia McMurry.

 The Ramsar conventions are "completely independent of the U.N. There is no connection or relationship. Ramsar is independent and is funded by parties" meaning countries that signed the Ramsar treaty, McMurry said.