Sunday, November 1, 2009

November 2009

{FMWC} E-Newsletter November 2009


FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/

NEXT MEETING: November 18, 2009


Our meeting this month will be held from 6 - 8 p.m. at the El Paso Public Library’s Richard Burges Branch located in Northeast El Paso at 9600 Dyer St.

Map available at:
http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/ourlibraries/our_libraries.asp

You might notice the e-news looks different this month. Well, Judy's out of town so I'm in charge. Sorry, folks, but I'm not as techno-savvy as she is, so there's no contents with links and all that "fancy" stuff this month. Richard Love's photos of the park visiting birds are attached to this email as are BMBA's trailblazing photos. My apologies that the photos are not next to the text. Please check them out anyway and please read on because there's some important and interesting news in here. Thanks, Kathy McConaghie, Newsletter Editor

Please try to attend the meeting but, if you can’t, please make use of the contact information in this newsletter and volunteer to help in the Coalition’s efforts. There are plenty of areas to choose from:

Help Man the Booth: We set up the FMWC display board and literature at various events such as Ardovino’s Farmers Market, the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta, and the Environmental Summit. It is great fun to talk to people about our Franklin Mountains and FMWC.

Politics: We meet with our elected officials to tell them about FMWC and the work we do.

Poppies Planning: The Franklin Mountains Poppies Preservation Celebration on Castner Range 2010 will be March 20, 2010, but planning is underway now. We need volunteers to help coordinate: Transportation, Parking, Exhibitors, Vendors, Education, Media and VIPs, Information Booth, Event Day Troubleshooter, Equipment/Furniture Coordinator, Sound systems, Photography, Video, Testimonials, Food, Set-up, and Clean-up. For more info call 915-755-4332 or write lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov

Outreach: Do you know an organization that needs a speaker or might join FMWC? Give us an introduction! Do you have a place to display or distribute our rack cards? Ask and we will send you some.

Newsletter: Articles, photos and stories are accepted for our bimonthly newsletter any time – please email to Kathy McConaghie at kmcconaghie@gmail.com, call me for pickup at 915-227-5330, or postal mail to 272 Shadow Mountain, Apt. 12, El Paso, Texas 79912. We’d love to share your mountain news, memories and stories!

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,
SCOTT CUTLER

Protecting anything of value often entails challenges. The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition has recently taken on a new challenge: an effort to generate public awareness of the proposed Mountain to River Trail on the west side of the mountain and threats to its integrity. This multi-use trail is to occupy the last unobstructed arroyo going from its mountain source within the State Park to the Rio Grande. Quarry operations on leased General Land Office property adjacent to the trail will negatively impact this trail. The Coalition is working to insure this unique arroyo and planned trail system are not altered by the quarry.

At the same time, we are maintaining our long standing efforts to have Castner Range protected as open space and see it added to the Franklin Mountains State Park. Discussions with Congressional representatives are ongoing for funding to create a conservation conveyance that would secure the land as open space. The Coalition is also working with its partner organizations to produce the 4th Annual Poppies Celebration on Castner Range at the Museum of Archaeology.
These are busy times for the Coalition. A dedicated cadre of volunteers is giving their all to further these projects, efforts that will protect and enhance the quality of visitors’ experiences with the Franklin Mountains. If you would like to get involved with either of these projects, please contact me at 581-6071.

Thank you for your support of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition.

PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION NOW AT
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/help-save-el-pasos-franklin-mountains

FMWC ELECTION 2009 RESULTS
Thanks to all members who voted in our recent election and congratulations to the members who were elected to our Board of Directors. President: Scott CutlerVice President: Jane FowlerSecretary: Judy AckermanTreasurer: Pat WhiteAt Large Members: Matt Carroll Jim Tolbert

PARK NEWS
Park Volunteer Richard Love writes:
“Well, here we are in the fall season, the first freeze and the first snowfall in the park have come and gone. The Volunteers from the park, the Master Naturalists and our Urban Biologist are in the middle of the annual deer survey. It has been very productive. The park had a fine festival and Chili Cook-off in September. The numbers of guests were up this year and we hope will continue to rise. The fall migration of birds was high this year: we spotted several Warblers, a Scrub Jay, and several Red Shafted Northern Flickers visiting the Wildlife Viewing Area. The winter birds are here now and visiting daily. A great opportunity for the photographers to get super shots of Gamble's Quail, Scaled Quail, and with a little patience our Cactus Wren and Lesser Gold Finches. For the next few days some of the shrubs along the trail to Cottonwood Springs, and up several of the canyons are dressed out in fall colors. From now until Thanksgiving is forecast as nearly perfect weather for hiking, biking or bird watching. Now is the time to plan a picnic and outing in the mountains. See you soon.” (Please see photo attachments)













































OTHER NEWS:

Mountain to River Trail (Kathy McConaghie): The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition took the unprecedented step of holding two emergency meetings in October to address the issue of a quarry operation gearing up on the western slope of the Franklins below Tom Mays Park. Members had alerted FMWC when the quarry operator bulldozed across Lower Sunset Trail in mid-October and we learned at the October meetings that the planned quarry will directly impact the proposed Mountain to River Trail in the City’s Open Spaces Plan. Hence the emergency meetings and the formation of the Mountain to River Trail Committee.
The committee is comprised of Jim Tolbert, Rick LoBello, Kevin von Finger, Ursula Sherrill, Heather McMurray and Bill Addington. I was honored to be voted chairperson of this fine group of dedicated volunteers. We have worked many hours so far on several aspects of the issue and there is much more to be done. The primary impetus of the committee is organizing a public relations campaign. We will soon have more information available for you but you can start right now at http://www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com/ or check out recent articles in El Paso, Inc.* and El Diario**

It is inconceivable to me that a 480 acre quarry is about to be dug and blasted across the virtually unspoiled face of an area adjacent to the Tom Mays section of our State Park. A stunning view now visible from major highways, upscale developments, and Upper Valley communities of the unbroken side of our mountain range will be destroyed. The last remaining natural corridor linking the mountains to the river will be forever disrupted, impacting wildlife, watershed, hikers, bikers, etc. I sure am hoping that these things are not inevitable and that our members will feel as compelled to work on this campaign as they were on Castner Range.
We are pleased to announce a petition drive as the first step of many in our campaign. The drive will be very similar to our efforts on behalf of Castner Range. Hard copy petitions, issue information and volunteer signup sheets will be available very soon on our website for you to download. You may also request these documents by contacting me at 915-227-5330 or kmcconaghie@gmail.com. We will be happy to provide copies to individuals or organizations, arrange drop off or pickups, etc.

An online petition link is already available for those of you who would like to sign it. Please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/help-save-el-pasos-franklin-mountains to sign the petition and forward to your family and friends. The link will be available on our website and we encourage member organizations to share the link with their membership. I’m looking forward to working with you all and making this campaign a resounding success.

*El Paso Inc. article
http://elpasoinc.com/readArticle.aspx?issueid=256&xrec=4586
**El Diario article (in Spanish)
http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=f40efb232a656bd0a1b0dcf8d2674583

Castner Range (Judy Ackerman):
After two years of no comment from the Army on Castner Range, October brought three public meetings. First was the Restoration Authority Board (RAB) meeting on 14 Oct 2009 which outlined two projects: The Wide Area Assessment on the Range and a remediation project the Army will conduct near Hueco Tanks. El Pasoans demonstrated their dedication to preserving Castner – about 60 people attended.

The critical topic was the Wide Area Assessment (WAA) to Characterize Munitions Density at Closed Castner Firing Range. This project started in Oct 2009 and data collection will continue until Apr 2010. On 16 Oct, the Army conducted a more detailed public meeting on the WAA. Due to public comments at the RAB two days before, the Army changed their plans and eliminated an assessment method that would have caused significant environmental damage by using vehicles to tow sensor equipment across Castner Range. Public involvement makes a difference!

The WAA is a demonstration (test) of known technologies to see if they will work to identify positions of munitions on terrain such as Castner. They will collect data about where munitions are located (and not located) for future use in the congressionally mandated process called Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Data analysis and report writing is scheduled to be complete in May 2011. At that time, the Army will have the most accurate information possible on the location of munitions on Castner, but there are no plans to do the next step – the clean up. We want to ensure that Castner Range is locked into a preservation status with a conservation conveyance BEFORE there is any clean up of unexploded ordnance.

Do you want more information? Get on the Army’s distribution lists for information on Castner Range. For RAB announcements, contact the new Ft Bliss RAB coordinator: Patricia A. Rice, President, Scientific Research & Technology, Inc., (SRT, Inc. Cage Code 1YV11), P.O. Box 13208, El Paso, Texas 79913-3208, (915) 373-2446 (cell), (915) 581-0853 (FAX) Rwrice@aol.com . For WAA information, contact the Project Manager: Ms. Kimberly Watts, U.S. Army Environmental Command, at (410) 436-6843, kimberly.watts@us.army.mil .

Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (Rick LoBello): Our website, http://www.chihuahuandesert.org/ has some interesting news on wild birds reported from the El Paso Zoo plus information on how you can now easily renew your membership or become a member online using PayPal.

Please remember to send us your news items and events using guidelines shown on our calendar page.

El Paso Archaeological Society (Kay Luther): In compliance with the city’s requests, EPAS has changed its monthly lectures to the 3rd Sunday of every month at 3:00 PM at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain Rd. This month on 11-15-09 The El Paso Archaeological Society presents David H. Greenwald, Director of Research at DMG Four Corners Research, Inc. He will be speaking on The Forgotten Few - Looting and Recovery within the Fort Craig Military Post Cemetery, Socorro County, New Mexico. Results of the archival research, excavation & recovery of human remains will be presented in this talk. This is a free presentation. Join us.

Borderland Mountain Bike Association (David Wilson):
New Trail to Complete Huge Loop Around Franklins
Members of the BMBA have begun scraping out the new trail in Hitt Canyon that will soon make it possible to complete a loop around the north Franklin range without having to leave the State Park. Robert Newman received approval for construction a couple of months ago and was the first to start scratching in a path. Five BMBA members met for the first official trail building day on November 8th and cut a significant portion of trail through what is considered to be the most difficult section. The section consisted of long sections of jagged Franklin red granite, huge lechuguilla patches, and plenty of cat claw bushes. Once completely out of that area, trail construction should move quickly.

This trail is going to be a magnificent trail for both bikers and hikers. The views in upper Hitt Canyon are beautiful and the trail winds its way up into some neat side canyons. The BMBA is hoping to have the trail finished by the New Year as they are hosting the 3rd Annual El Paso Puzzler endurance mountain bike race on Martin Luther King weekend (January 17th). The goal is to keep the race out of the BLM land to the north due to excessive amounts of target shooting in that area.

If you would like to contribute some sweat equity to this trail or you know of others that are looking for a good volunteer service project, please contact BMBA President David Wilson at bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com. More trail days are planned for the next few Sundays and can be scheduled for other days if you have a group that wants to help. If you can trim shrubs or wield a garden rake, the BMBA can use you. The club is also offering BMBA Bucks for your efforts. One hour of trail work will earn you $1 in BMBA Bucks which are redeemable at supporting bike shops. (Please see photo attachments)

New Mexico Wilderness Alliance: Sportsmen, business owners, conservationists, local elected officials and other community members hailed the introduction Thursday of The Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, by Senator Jeff Bingaman and Senator Tom Udall. The measure will protect nearly 400,000 acres of public land in Doña Ana County, by designating 271,050 acres as wilderness and creating a 109,600-acre National Conservation Area around the Organ and Doña Ana Mtns. and parts of Broad Canyon.

“We applaud Senators Bingaman and Udall for helping ensure that more of New Mexico’s spectacular natural lands will be around for our children’s children to use and enjoy,” said Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima. “This legislation follows years of discussion and collaboration with community members with many different interests and concerns.”

Bonnie Burn, President of the League of Women Voters, added, “We all share the goal of protecting Doña Ana County’s unique and precious open areas which are key to our quality of life.”

“This important conservation bill comes as the nation celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the development of the nation’s wilderness preservation system,” said Stephen Capra, executive director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.
More information at:
http://bingaman.senate.gov/news/20090917-01.cfm

EDITOR’S COMMENT: Why aren’t communities, organizations and elected officials in the El Paso area banding together like these folks in New Mexico to protect our remaining wild areas?

FMWC on Facebook: Apologies to those of you who might have been looking for us on Facebook. We’ve been diverted by some pressing issues but plan to get our account up and running soon. Hope to see you there!

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS
All the latest news and information about upcoming events at the Park are available at the Park’s great website. Check it out!!

LONE STAR LEGACY
You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.
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FMWC IN CYBERSPACE
This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.
Many of you also receive the paper version of this newsletter. If you wish to help us save paper and postage by receiving the e-newsletter only, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.


The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition
Borderland Mountain Bike AssociationBorder Toasters, Toastmasters International BordersensesCelebration Of Our MountainsCentro San VicenteChihuahuan Desert Education CoalitionChihuahuan Desert Wildlife RescueEl Paso Archaeological SocietyEl Paso Cactus And Rock ClubEl Paso County Master GardenersEl Paso Native Plant SocietyEl Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra ClubEl Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon SocietyEl Paso Youth SymphonyEl Paso ZooFriends Of The Rio Bosque • Jolly Elders • League Of Women Voters Of El PasoMesilla Valley Audubon SocietyMountain Park Community AssociationPhotography Enthusiasts Of El PasoSouthern New Mexico Group Of The Sierra ClubSouthwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master NaturalistsVista Hills Rotary ClubVoter Education Project, Inc
Welcome to new members: EcoClub EPCC -- Environmental Advocates at UTEP -- Friends of the Arroyo

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

September 2009

{FMWC} E-Newsletter September 2009

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/

NEXT MEETING: September 16, 2009

Our meeting will be held at the El Paso Public Library’s Main Branch located downtown at 501 N. Oregon St. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Maud Sullivan Gallery. The main branch’s location map and parking information are available online at:
http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/ourlibraries/main_library/main_library.asp


Please try to attend the meeting but, if you can’t, please make use of the contact information in this newsletter and volunteer to help in the Coalition’s efforts. There are plenty of areas to choose from:

Help Man the Booth: We set up the FMWC display board and literature at various events such as Ardovino’s Farmers Market, the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta, and the Environmental Summit. It is great fun to talk to people about our Franklin Mountains and FMWC.

Politics: We meet with our elected officials to tell them about FMWC and the work we do.

Poppies Planning: The Franklin Mountains Poppies Preservation Celebration on Castner Range 2010 will be March 20, 2010, but planning is underway now. We need volunteers to help coordinate: Transportation, Parking, Exhibitors, Vendors, Education, Media and VIPs, Information Booth, Event Day Troubleshooter, Equipment/Furniture Coordinator, Sound systems, Photography, Video, Testimonials, Food, Set-up, and Clean-up. For more info call 915-755-4332 or write lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov

Outreach: Do you know an organization that needs a speaker or might join FMWC? Give us an introduction! Do you have a place to display or distribute our rack cards? Ask and we will send you some.

NEWS FLASHES

Preserving Castner Range:

El Pasoans care deeply about Castner Range, the crown jewel of the Franklin Mountains, where, weather permitting, poppies bloom in the spring. Preserving Castner Range is a top priority for FMWC and, thanks to Congressman Silvestre Reyes, we have some progress on this project. Since January 2008, FMWC has been working with the Congressman Reyes’ staff to determine the best way to permanently preserve Castner Range as natural open space. The end goal is to make Castner Range part of the Franklin Mountains State Park, however, the park cannot accept any land that remains contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

We have a new tool to preserve Department of Defense (DOD) land (like Castner Range) – a Conservation Conveyance. The Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act, passed in 2002, authorizes a Conservation Conveyance to transfer contaminated DOD land to a non-profit conservation organization. The land would be preserved in its natural state until it can be cleaned of contaminants (unexploded ordnance in the case of Castner). Once cleaned, the land would be transferred to the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Congressman Reyes included language in the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act regarding Castner Range Complex at Fort Bliss and expressing interest “[I]n maintaining this land for a conservation purpose.” Congressman Reyes included money for a Castner Range Conservation Conveyance Study in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.
(Mike Gaglio, Congressman Reyes, judy Ackerman)
In July, Congressman Reyes’ staff invited Mike Gaglio (The Frontera Land Alliance) and judy Ackerman (FMWC) to D.C. to talk about Castner Range. They met with Assistant Deputy Secretaries of the Army in the Pentagon, senior House Armed Service Committee staff, and Legislative Assistants of Senators Hutchison and Cornyn. Everyone they met was supportive of preserving Castner Range.

We anticipate more information from our new DC contacts after the August Congressional recess. Congressman Reyes and his staff deserve our thanks for their proactive efforts to preserve Castner Range – a natural treasure. You can contact him at 310 N. Mesa, Suite 400, El Paso, Texas 79901, Phone: (915) 534-4400.

Contact Kathy if you’re interested in having more Castner info e-mailed to you.


FMWC on Facebook:

Coalition members recently attended the Social Media workshop hosted by Nonprofit Enterprise Center at the El Paso Community College, perfect timing for our upcoming project to dip our toes into social networking with a Facebook page! Kathy McConaghie will be working on and editing this project – anyone interested in helping maintain the page, submitting photos, essays, etc. please contact her by email kmcconaghie@gmail.com or phone 915-227-5330.


City Sustainability Plan will go before Council on September 15th. Please contact Kathy by email if you would like a copy of the plan emailed to you. Thanks to Jim Tolbert for supplying this information to us. Jim has good blogs at www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com and www.newmanpark.blogspot.com .


International Park:

Rick LoBello has a story at iloveparks.com summarizing renewed efforts to move the long proposed US Mexico International Park Proposal forward. Rick also has a summary of recent developments, including a new map and historical timeline, at iloveparks.com/peaceparks . We encourage everyone to learn more about this great project. Rick has also recommended two recent articles by Bonnie McKinley about the bears of the international park area - “If there ever was a symbol for this giant park I would say it was the Mexican black bear.” Read more at http://www.bigbendgazette.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/3/4044427.html &http://www.bigbendgazette.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/3/4120740.html


MARK YOUR CALENDARS !

5th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta:

September 19, at Tom Mays Park in El Paso. FREE entry to Franklin Mountains State Park Tom Mays section all day as members of the community come together to celebrate the Chihuahuan Desert (www.chihuahuandesert.org).

Special presentations at the last picnic area on the left right before the end of the loop road:
10am Kevin von Finger – The Chihuahuan Desert Past and Future
11am Rose Janice – All about the State Reptile of Texas, Texas Horned Lizards
Noon Virginia Morris – Plants of the Franklin Mountains
1pm Rick LoBello – Wildlife of the Franklin Mountains
2pm Cesar Mendez – Franklin Mountains State Park Update

Franklin Mountains State Park will also be hosting a Chili Cook-off sanctioned by the Chili Appreciation Society International. The judged competition will include a public tasting and a “showmanship” category.
The Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition will be giving free tutorials on climbing basics. Join Park Ranger, Kelly Serio for an interpretive presentation on birds. There will be an outdoor equipment and basic skills presentation given by Park Rangers.

Park volunteers will sell donated items at the Fiesta from 9 to 3. PLEASE DONATE your good, clean, used hiking/camping/biking equipment and clothing to support your Franklin Mountains State Park.
Proceeds will go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s Lone Star Legacy endowment fund to be used exclusively for the programs and conservation of our beautiful Franklin Mountains State Park. If you have items to donate, please call Jim Tolbert at 915-613-4902 (leave your name and number if nobody answers); or email him at jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

If you would like to make a cash donation, please write a check to “Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation” and in the memo put “Franklin Mountains State Park”. Please mail your check to: Franklin Mountains State Park/1331 McKelligon Canyon Rd/El Paso, TX 79930-2649.


Friends of the Arroyo:

September 19th: Before you head up to the Fiesta, Friends of the Arroyo is having a workday the morning of Saturday, Sept. 19. Meet at the bench at the bottom of Virginia St. below Robinson, the Tennis Club parking lot. If you have garden tools such as hedge clippers, pruning shears, hoes or rakes, please bring them, as the supply of tools is limited. Many thanks from Matt Carroll, Senior Leader.


Celebration of our Mountains:.

September 19 through November 8, Get involved in this year's events. Learn more at www.celebrationofourmountains.org


El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society:

September 21, Monthly Public Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Rio Grande Campus of El Paso Community College, 100 W. Rio Grande, Bldg 4010, Room 119. “Rio Bosque Birdlife: Thirty Years of Change.” John Sproul, with UTEP’s Center for Environmental Resource Management, will speak on the changes in the birdlife at El Paso’s Rio Bosque Wetlands Park over the past 30 years. The public is welcome. Refreshments will be served.


El Paso Pride Environmental Summit:

September 25 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Camino Real Hotel, 101 S. El Paso, TX. Cost: Free. Information: the Summit brings together government agencies, local companies, high school students, environmental experts, and El Paso residents to discuss the different environmental issues in the community, find possible solutions, and implement the solutions. There will be continental breakfast and sit down lunch at no charge. Topic: “A New Day in the Sun”, to include renewable energy, solar, city of El Paso sustainability, tires and rubber pavement, and illegal dumping. RSVP REQUIRED: Grace Terrazas 834-4970 –FMWC will have a booth there (thanks, Judy!)


On the River, For the River:

September 26: Southwest Environmental Center's 13th annual On the River, For the River gala fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 5-10:30 pm. You won't want to miss this event. Chef Brian Curry and Andele Restaurant have teamed up to create a gourmet menu to rival the finest restaurants. And don't worry about food lines this year--there will be servers and multiple serving stations along with great music, High Desert Brews, fine wines, silent auction, and mingling with some of the friendliest and most interesting people around, all under the stars at the beautiful Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. Local NPR radio host Carrie Hamblen will preside over the festivities. Governor Richardson has been invited as the keynote speaker. Guided tours of the park will be offered between 4:30 and 6 pm on the half hour. Tickets are $50 in advance, $55 after 9/23. ($25 is tax-deductible). Tickets are available at SWEC's office, Mountainview Market, Malooly's Flooring Company, Andele Restaurant, Las Cosas Kitchen Shoppe, and Milagro Coffee y Espresso. Great food, great fun, a great cause--it's a winning combination! Get your tickets today! For more info, call (575) 522-5552.


8th Annual Elephant Festival:

September 26, 27 The El Paso Zoo highlights our city’s favorite pachyderms Savannah and Juno in a celebration of elephants worldwide. Go to www.elpasozoo.org/adventure for more information about this delightful and educational event.


Teaching Ecological Complexity Through Field Science Inquiry (Ecoplexity):

September 26, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Location: Carlos M. Ramirez Tech2o Learning Center, 10751 Montana, El Paso, TX 79935. Cost: No charge. Teachers must make reservations. Contact Diane Perez willie@epwu.org. The Ecoplexity Project is a four-year project funded by the National Science Foundation. The purpose of the project is to provide resources and training for upper middle and high school teachers that will allow them to engage in authentic field research studies with their students. Training emphasizes the use of conceptual models and authentic field research skills.


El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society:

September 26, Field Trip - “Birds of Keystone Heritage Park.” 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Since Keystone opened in 1997, over 200 species of migratory and local birds and 22 rare birds have been found in this 52-acre permanent wetland. Keystone attracts a variety of ducks and shorebirds, plus other birds that are passing through. Young and beginner birders are welcome. Bring binoculars, although a few pairs will be available to loan. Call Ursula at 526-7725 for more info.


El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society:

September 27, Field Trip - “Day Trip to Otero Mesa, NM”. The public is welcome. Call Ursula at 526-7725 for more info.


Meet Your Neighbors – Animals and Plants of the Chihuahuan Desert Lecture Series:

October 8, 15, 22, 29, 7pm to 8pm. Meeting Place: El Paso Zoo in the El Paso Water Utilities Discovery Center, Meet at the Front Gate at 6:45 pm. Leader(s) name(s): Rick LoBello, Education Curator. 915-521-1881, lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov. This four part free lecture series is designed to introduce teens on up to the animals and plants of the Chihuahuan Desert with a focus on those species found within City limits and in local State Parks and wildlife refuges. Session 1 on Thursday October 8 will include an overview of the Chihuahuan Desert and places to explore the desert here in El Paso and the surrounding region. Session 2 on Thursday October 15 will focus on the plant life of the Chihuahuan Desert. Session 3 on Thursday, October 22 will focus on the invertebrates and reptiles and amphibians of the Chihuahuan Desert. Session 4 on October 29 will focus on the birds and mammals of the Chihuahuan Desert.


BOO at the ZOO:

October 24, 25, 31, It's merry not scary - kooky not spooky! It’s the largest outdoor, safe trick or treat event in El Paso! Pumpkin Bowling, Kiddie Mazes, Costumes Galore, Candy at Treat Stations sponsored by local businesses. We invite you to bring the kids to our fun, candy-filled zoo! Watch different animals eat, smoosh or play with pumpkins! Your kids will go away with a full bag of treats and a smile on their faces – you’ll leave with great photos and warm memories of your adorable little ones. (Call 521-1899 for event & booth sponsor info).


Schools Only: TecH2O Water Festival

October 29-30, Time: 9:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Location: Carlos M. Ramirez Tech2o Learning Center, 10751 Montana, El Paso, TX 79935.Cost: No charge. Information: Water Festival is a fun hands-on event to promote water awareness and education that will lead to understanding of the regional water resources and to help protect it through conservation and pollution prevention, by inspiring thoughtful and proactive stewardship throughout the community.


Public: TecH2O Water Festival:
October 31, Time: 9:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Location: Carlos M. Ramirez Tech2o Learning Center, 10751 Montana, El Paso, TX 79935. Cost: No charge. Information: Water Festival is a fun hands-on event to promote water awareness and education that will lead to understanding of the regional water resources and to help protect it through conservation and pollution prevention, by inspiring thoughtful and proactive stewardship throughout the community. Children wearing Halloween costumes will receive a prize.


Park News
John Moses would like us to pass along these tidbits:

“Franklin summit hikers who want to walk the ridge south of Ranger Peak onto Comanche Peak need to remember that this is private property and the tower operator there will enforce trespass. The state park boundary ends roughly at the 3 utility poles in the saddle where Thousand Steps Trail heads down to the NW.

Dr. Marc Thompson has retired as Director of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology. He served in that capacity since 1998. It is not known if the city plans to seek replace- ment for him immediately.

If you missed the cover of the August issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine and the accompanying article entitled "No Hike for Old Men -- Hiking the Spine of the Franklin Mountains" see: http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/aug/ed_1/

Thanks to the Master Naturalists for passing another great article along: http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/jan/getaways1/

And thanks again to Park volunteer, Richard Love, who writes: “Well Summer is winding down and the mornings are a lot cooler up on the mountain. The fall migration is under way and we are seeing new birds every day. The hummingbirds’ migration started real early. The resident Black-chinned hummers were joined by the Rufous hummingbirds. The first part of this month we were visited by the smallest hummingbird in the United States. The Calliope, who usually calls the North Western states and Canada home, visited our feeders for about 5 days before he moved on. Some of the other hummingbirds that visited our feeders are the Broad-tailed ,and Ruby-throated and possibly an Allens hummingbird as the last two are very hard to tell apart. The bird blind has been renamed. It is now officially called The Wildlife Viewing Area. We have a much better water feature with a solar powered water recirculation pump. The water is much cleaner and is a lot more photogenic. Some of the other animals seen recently: Rock Squirrel, Texas Antelope Squirrels and Cotton-tailed Rabbits. In the near future we will be doing some stealth photos to see what might be coming to water at night. There are still early morning hikes that can be scheduled - call Kelly for details. See you all at the Festival on the 19th. “
(Check out Richard’s photos in our e-newsletter - this month features Black-chinned, Broad-tailed and Calliope hummingbirds.)


MORE ZOO NEWS

From Rick LoBello:

Have you seen our javelinas? Are they pigs?
Meet the javelina, one of the newest animals at the Zoo. Javelinas, also called collared peccaries, are related to pigs, but actually are in a family of their own called Tayassuidae. Pigs are in the family Suidae.

Javelina are found throughout much of the tropical and subtropical Americas, ranging from the Southwestern United States to northern Argentina in South America. They feed on fruits, roots, tubers, palm nuts, grasses, invertebrates and small vertebrates. Javelinas live in the desert around the Franklin Mountains but are rarely seen.


New Interpretive Aide Training Program
October 10, 2009 to January 30, 2010
The El Paso Zoo Education Department is happy to announce a new training program for current and new Zoo Volunteers wanting to help with Education Programs in 2010. A new Interpretive Aide volunteer position has been created for those with a passion to help others better understand animals and the natural world at the El Paso Zoo. This training opportunity is free to anyone who is at least 18 years old and is able to meet the qualifications to become an El Paso Zoological Society Volunteer. Interpretation is defined as a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and meanings inherent in the resource. Here at the Zoo our mission is to celebrate the value of animals and natural resources and create opportunities for people to rediscover their connection with nature. Interpretive Aides will help the Education Team at the Zoo accomplish that mission.

Twelve new Interpretive Aide training days are planned on Saturdays from October 10, 17, 24, 31, November 7 & 14, December 5 & 12, 2009 and January 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2010. Those completing requirements for Certified Interpreter, Animal Handling, America’s Interpretive Program, Asia Interpretive Program and Africa Interpretive Program will receive special patches signifying that they have completed all the Zoo requirements for each qualification. From October, 2009 to January 2010 volunteers are asked to attend at least 6 of the 12 sessions. The number of sessions you complete will determine what areas of the Zoo you are qualified to volunteer in, whether it is in the Americas Area, Asia or Africa. Education staff will offer a limited number of make-up sessions whenever possible during the 2010 calendar year for those who can not attend all the sessions they wish to attend. Each applicant accepted into the program will be asked to volunteer at least 8 hours a month helping with the Zoo’s education program or 96 hours from February 2010 to January 2011. To apply to be a candidate for the upcoming training program please contact Education Curator Rick LoBello at lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov by October 2, 2009. For more information call 915-521-1881.


FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS
All the latest news and information about upcoming events at the Park are available at the Park’s great website. Check it out!!

LONE STAR LEGACY
You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.

FMWC IN CYBERSPACE
This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.
Many of you also receive the paper version of this newsletter. If you wish to help us save paper and postage by receiving the e-newsletter only, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.


The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition
Borderland Mountain Bike AssociationBorder Toasters, Toastmasters International BordersensesCelebration Of Our MountainsCentro San VicenteChihuahuan Desert Education CoalitionChihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue • Eco-Club EPCC • El Paso Archaeological SocietyEl Paso Cactus And Rock ClubEl Paso County Master GardenersEl Paso Native Plant SocietyEl Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra ClubEl Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon SocietyEl Paso Youth SymphonyEl Paso ZooEnvironmental Advocates at UTEPFriends of the Arroyo Friends Of The Rio Bosque • Jolly Elders • League Of Women Voters Of El PasoMesilla Valley Audubon SocietyMountain Park Community AssociationPhotography Enthusiasts Of El PasoSouthern New Mexico Group Of The Sierra ClubSouthwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master NaturalistsVista Hills Rotary ClubVoter Education Project, Inc

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

July 2009

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
JULY 2009
http://www.franklinmountains.org/

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, July 15, 2009
6:00 p.m. in the Maud Sullivan Gallery at the El Paso Public Library’s Main Branch located downtown at 501 N. Oregon St. The main branch’s location map and parking information are available online at:
http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/ourlibraries/main_library/main_library.asp

Our Coalition’s continued vitality, efficacy and strength depend upon membership participation. Individual member or representative of a member organization - we hope to see you at the meeting!


WELCOME!

Speaking of members: a belated welcome to our new member organizations: Bordersenses, Centro San Vicente, El Paso County Master Gardeners, El Paso Zoo and Voter Education Project, Inc. We also have numerous new individual members but space does not permit welcoming each of you by name. Please know how much we value your commitment.

RECENT EVENTS

Castner Range: Congressman Sylvester Reyes included the following critical policy language in the National Defense Authorization Act.

The committee understands that the Department of Defense ceased operations at the Castner Range Complex at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1971. In testimony, the Army indicated that Castner Range is “wholly impractical to use for any range activity.”
The committee is interested in maintaining this land for a conservation purpose. The committee encourages the Department to enter into an agreement in furtherance of conveyance with eligible conservation entities.
If you haven’t already, please send Congressman Reyes your thanks: 310 North Mesa, Suite 400, El Paso, TX 79901, 915-534-4400, or e-mail: http://reyes.house.gov/Contact/vyo.htm
And a big thank you to Sito Negron at Newspaper Tree for his article “Incrementally Preserving the Castner Range Status Quo” – check it out at: http://newspapertree.com/news/3983

New Garden: Kudos to the volunteers from El Paso Cactus and Rock Club, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and the Native Plant Society for their hard work this spring creating a new cactus garden for the Lee and Beulah Moor Children’s Home.


MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Sunrise Hikes: Did you know that there’s a hiking group that hikes various trails on the Franklin Mountains at sunrise several days a week? The group includes Park volunteers, trail experts and generic citizens and hikes from 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. Interested in learning more about Franklin Mountains hiking trails or joining the group, email Jim Tolbert @ jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com

Farmer’s Market: at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing continues every Saturday through mid October from 7:30 AM–12:00PM: http://www.ardovinos.com/farmersmarket.html for more information, including directions.

Poppies Celebration 2010: The Fourth Annual Franklin Mountains Poppies Celebration at Castner Range – a FREE Family Fun Day – is planned for Saturday, March 20 at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain Road and will include a full program of nature talks, wildlife displays, educational exhibits, demonstrations, vendors, music and refreshments.
El Pasoans care deeply about the Franklin Mountains – one of our area’s greatest assets. We are frequently blessed with a stunning wildflower display on particular parts of the Franklin Mountains when the Mexican golden poppies burst forth on Castner Range.

Sponsors include El Paso Archaeological Society, El Paso Museum of Archaeology, Franklin Mountains State Park, and Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition.
For more information: 915-755-4332 or lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov.
Exhibitors are invited to join in planning the event.

As last year, we will charge a small fee for exhibitor organizations but the fee will be waived for those organizations who are actively involved in planning the event.

Please attend the next planning meeting: Wednesday, 5 Aug 09, at 0900, at the Museum of Archaeology. See you then!

PARK NEWS

Franklin Mountains State Park volunteer, Richard Love, writes: “Well, summer is in full swing, and things are hopping around the bird blind. The hummingbird count is up to ten. They recently had a shock when they came in to eat. The feeder was occupied by a female Ladder-back Wood Pecker. At first I thought she was robbing a drink of nectar, but after watching her for a while I discovered she was moving hole to hole eating the bees and ants that come in. The very next day an Ash-throated Flycatcher was on the Hummingbird feeder after the sweet Bees. With the recent rains and the few flowers that have already opened there have been a large number of Butterflies. I have seen four different butterflies mostly at the End Loop. There was a good year for the different lizards in the park. I have seen lots of juveniles, and they are healthy and colorful. We have had a couple of twilight hikes and have had very good feedback. Weekends and holidays there are guided hikes and tours, and lots of campers using the facilities. In the next few weeks there will be some great additions to the park so keeping track of upcoming events will be easier. In September there will be a CASI Chili Cook Off in conjunction with the Celebration of the Mountains. We’re looking for judges so, if you or a friend have a very high tolerance for hot and spicy food, please call Kelly at 566-6441. Right now after the rains it is a photographers dream - almost any time of day you can find willing (some not so willing) subjects to photograph. Each day that goes by more flowers open. One staple of nature photography is to shoot right after a rain. The colors and the landscape are like no other time. See you soon...” Thank you, Richard, for news of the Park.

Borderlands Photography Exhibit in Las Cruces

Member organization Southwest Environmental Center is hosting a stunning photo exhibit through the end of July at the Center’s Cottonwood Gallery in Las Cruces. On loan from the International League of Conservation Photographers, the 30 photograph exhibit entitled Continental Divide: Borderlands, Wildlife, People and the WALL, shows the diversity of wildlife, cultures and communities that exists in the fragile borderlands, but is now jeopardized by the 630 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing dividing the U.S. from Mexico.

The border wall has drawn heavy criticism from conservation organizations including the Southwest Environmental Center, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club, civil-rights groups, private landowners, tribes and communities along the border for reasons as varied as habitat destruction, infringement on property rights, and damage to historic and cultural sites.

Documenting the region’s wildlife and ecology, the photographs were taken earlier this year by world-renowned ILCP photographers who had visited the borderlands along with a team of writers, filmmakers and scientists to highlight the effects of the wall.

“We hope the exhibit will provide viewers with a more intimate connection to the people and wildlife of the borderlands,” said Krista Schlyer, ILCP exhibit coordinator and expedition leader. “The photographers involved in the expedition saw first hand the damage that border wall and other infrastructure are doing to borderlands communities.”

The Department of Homeland Security – the federal agency tasked with building the wall – waived some 36 laws during its construction, including measures protecting the environment and religious freedoms.

In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act, giving the former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff the authority to waive laws that slowed new walls and infrastructure – a move which is still being challenged in the courts as a constitutional violation.

Today, some 50 miles of wall continue to be built without the guidance of environmental laws, scientific study or public input. Some segments of wall will cut landowners off from their own property, and place some US homes south of the border wall.

The resulting damage to the region’s fragile ecosystem has not been fully documented, but the ILCP’s photographs and multimedia presentation taken over a two-month period show that the destruction is extensive.

Meanwhile, construction continues.

“In west Texas, the wall was recently built along nearly 90 miles of the Rio Grande, blocking access by mountain lions, bobcats, deer, javelina, pronghorn and many other wildlife species to this critically important resource,” said Kevin Bixby, Executive Director of the Southwest Environmental Center. “This is how animals go extinct—by fragmenting larger populations into smaller ones, and by destroying habitat. We need to find better ways to secure our borders that are not environmentally destructive.”

In late April, U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalava (AZ) introduced legislation aimed at improving border security, while also helping to restore the natural environment. The Border Security and Responsibility Act (HR 2076) includes provisions that would require environmental studies to review the impacts the wall has had on wildlife and the environment, and to identify ways to mitigate the damage that’s already been done.

The exhibit is cosponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies at New Mexico State University, and City of Artists Promotional Association. Later this year Borderlands will travel to Berlin, Germany, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

For more information contact Roger Turner, SWEC, (575) 522-5552 or roger@wildmesquite.org



FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS

All the latest news and information about upcoming events at the Park are available at the Park’s great website. Check it out!!



LONE STAR LEGACY
You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.

FMWC IN CYBERSPACE
This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.
Many of you also receive the paper version of this newsletter. If you wish to help us save paper and postage by receiving the e-newsletter only, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.


The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition
Borderland Mountain Bike AssociationBorder Toasters, Toastmasters International BordersensesCelebration Of Our MountainsCentro San VicenteChihuahuan Desert Education CoalitionChihuahuan Desert Wildlife RescueEl Paso Archaeological SocietyEl Paso Cactus And Rock ClubEl Paso County Master GardenersEl Paso Native Plant SocietyEl Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra ClubEl Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon SocietyEl Paso Youth SymphonyEl Paso ZooFriends Of The Rio Bosque • Jolly Elders • League Of Women Voters Of El PasoMesilla Valley Audubon SocietyMountain Park Community AssociationPhotography Enthusiasts Of El PasoSouthern New Mexico Group Of The Sierra ClubSouthwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master NaturalistsVista Hills Rotary ClubVoter Education Project, Inc

Friday, May 1, 2009

May 2009

{FMWC} E-Newsletter – May 2009

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/


Next Meeting:
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

New Meeting Place and Time

Our meeting this month will be held at the El Paso Public Library’s Main Branch located downtown at 501 N. Oregon St. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Maud Sullivan Gallery. The main branch’s location map and parking information are available online at:
http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/ourlibraries/main_library/main_library.asp

This meeting’s agenda concerns important issues, such as the status of the preservation of Castner Range, conservation conveyance and funding, about which critical decisions must be made. We strongly encourage individual members to attend and for each member organization to send at least one representative. We hope and need to see you there!


Recent Events

Land Transfer: A Land Transfer Ceremony was held in April in Northeast El Paso to mark the transfer of 1,659 acres of PSB land to Texas Parks and Wildlife to expand Franklin Mountains State Park. Great news!

Earth Day: On April 22nd, FMWC participated in the first Earth Day event sponsored by the Eco-Club at El Paso Community College Rio Grande Campus. The event was well organized and many students and staff attended. We sold T-shirts, postcards and signed up many potential members. Our e-mail distribution list now has over 400 members! Please let us know if you hear of future events where we can set up our display.

Loop 375 Underpass: Our thanks to Rick Bonart, et.al. for their work on drainage erosion control leading to cooperation between TxDOT and TPWD on an agreement for a future park trail following completion of construction of the TxDOT project. Construction is anticipated late this calendar year or possibly spring next year. As Charlie Wakeem puts it, “Rick accomplished this project ... through persistence and dedication to quality open space and recreation for our community. He was able to bring TexDOT and TPWD together to make it happen. We all should learn from him. “


Cactus Rustling: Rick LoBello recently traveled to Austin at Senator Shapleigh’s request to testify in support of the Senator’s Plant Protection Bill, SB212, which was approved by committee and is now progressing through the Legislature. Show your support to Senator Shapleigh on this matter by contacting him at http://shapleigh.org/ . More information about this issue can be found at www.chihuahuandesert.org. Another good article, John Pickrell’s “Cactus Smugglers Threatening Desert Ecosystems” can be found at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0421_030421_cactus.html

There was initially some confusion as to whether Rich would be able to testify before the committee. He was eventually able to and has been kind enough to supply us with the gist of it. His words about desert plants and wildlife touch us all and provide good talking points should you wish to contact your elected representatives:

“I would like to offer my full support for SB 212 relating to the sale or transport of certain desert plants in Texas. I came today with the support of many people who care about our desert including members of the Native Plant Society of El Paso, the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition, the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, Frontera Land Alliance and the El Paso Zoo Conservation Committee.

I believe that it is critical to the future of Texas in protecting our natural environment that SB 212 be passed into law. To illustrate the urgency of this legislation I am attaching pictures of a truck recently seen near Sierra Blanca, Texas that was loaded with ocotillo plants headed for Arizona. The people who are involved with this industry are clear cutting our desert and removing large areas of ocotillo and yucca forests as well as the microbial crust layer of soil so important to plant regeneration. In some areas the damage to our desert is so severe that it may never be able to recover back to its natural state and when the soil is removed with the plants, many other species of animals and plants are severely impacted.

Over the past 35 years I have been actively working as an educator, park ranger, researcher and park administrator in the Chihuahuan Desert region of West Texas. Most of my time has been spent living in our national parks where I spent 17 years living in Big Bend National Park and 8 years working at Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks. During this time I have come to know this important eco-region which has been recognized internationally as a hotspot for conservation.

One of the greatest threats to the natural history of Texas and to our environment in West Texas is the growing impact on the land from those who are destroying the desert for commercial interests centered on the sale of desert plants like yucca and ocotillo. On numerous occasions over the past 20 years I have seen a growing number of trucks on Texas highways hauling these plants to out of state retail establishments where the plants are used for landscaping. While I support the use of native plants for landscaping, I believe that the plants needed for this industry should come largely from nurseries.
Having spent most of my career working in national parks I can assure this committee that no park is an island and without the presence of intact ecosystems on private and public lands outside the parks, the parks themselves are threatened.

Here in West Texas we are experiencing a big problem in protecting the Chihuahuan Desert and our parks when people who gather these plants for the retail industry take plants illegally from public and private lands. SB 212 will give us a regulatory mechanism to help prevent the illegal taking of these plants and is an important step in protecting our natural heritage for future generations.

I urge you to support the passage of this important piece of legislation. As I am sure you are well aware if our world becomes unsafe for native plants and animals it certainly will not be a safe place for people. We are all connected to the natural world and what happens to it ultimately affects our own well being. “


Mark Your Calendars!

The El Paso Zoo will observe national Endangered Species Day on Tuesday May 19th and will offer workshops and presentations about endangered species and how individuals can help. For more information on this event call the Zoo at 915-521-1850 or go to www.elpasozoo.org .

Ardovino’s Desert Crossing opens its 8th Annual Farmers’ Market on May 23rd, 2009. We will have a booth (set up is 6 AM) for Opening Day. Please call Judy at 915-755-7371 if you can help for even 30 minutes. This event is really fun. The Market is open every Saturday through mid October from 7:30 AM – 12:00PM. Go to http://www.ardovinos.com/farmersmarket.html for more information, including directions.


Summer Birds at the Park

Franklin Mountains State Park volunteer, Richard Love, writes: “Well, summer is just around the corner and the birds of summer are arriving daily. This week an Ash-Throated Flycatcher, a pair of Say's Phoebes and a Black-headed Grosbeak female came into the bird blind. Haven't seen the male yet but he will be around. The Scaled Quail have paired off and are no longer running in coveys. We aren't seeing large numbers at one time but a steady stream of pairs are coming in. Other birds are still coming in large numbers.

I mentioned the bird blind earlier and I just supposed that everyone knows about it. We (The Volunteers and Rangers) have built a brand new bird blind that will be officially put into service next week or so. The finishing touches are going on daily. When it is officially opened it will be a great place for research on the birds of the Franklins and to sit in out of the sun enjoying the birds and the antics of the local Texas Antelope Squirrels. Local photographers can use the blind to get really good shots of some hard-to-find birds.

I will try to keep abreast of what birds are coming in and the best way to see them, and keep people notified by news letters and on the bulletin boards at the entrance and booth in the Park. For instructions to find the bird blind ask any Ranger. If you have a small group that wants to bird watch or study the birds call the park office and reserve it for your time frame. Small groups of 4 to 6 people are best - larger groups tend to keep the birds just out of range. Small groups who book the blind can call Erica or Kelly at 566-6441 to arrange to use our binoculars.

Of course, if you are in the park and just want to drop in with your binos or camera, that's fine, too. Here’s some info for photographers: birds and squirrels come in to about 25 feet and closer. Longer lenses (300 to 400 MM) work best if you have them but the 200 MM will work with a little patience.

A word of caution in closing: there are birds and small game around most of the time with a water source nearby so there will be rattlesnakes come to visit. Do not molest the snakes - if you see one report it to a Ranger. The park and the mountains are home to many kinds of wildlife. The snakes are as much a vital part of the system as any of the other wildlife.”

Thanks to Richard for the lovely article and the wonderful photo. The new bird blind sounds like a fantastic addition to the Park.


Stunning Victory for Otero Mesa

Kevin Bixby, Executive Director of our member organization, Southwest Environmental Center, has shared wonderful news: “the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued a decision April 28th invalidating the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas drilling plan for New Mexico’s Otero Mesa. The court ruled that the BLM’s original Resource Management Plan Amendment, which opened the vast majority of Otero Mesa to oil and gas leasing and limited protection for the desert grasslands, was fatally flawed due to its failure to consider protection for Otero Mesa and the Salt Basin Aquifer. Essentially the BLM has to return to the drawing board, and fix the original Amendment before it can do anything further. The decision was a stunning vindication for the Southwest Environmental Center and other conservation groups that have been fighting to protect the grasslands, wildlife and water of Otero Mesa for the past 7 years.”

SWEC’s article appears below. You can also check out their website at http://www.wildmesquite.org/index.htm for more information. As Kevin points out, “The decision reaffirms the significance of Otero Mesa and reaffirms the case for its permanent protection from oil and gas drilling. The momentum has shifted in our favor, but we need to make sure the victory is permanent. Contact your Congressman (NM and TX). Tell them the Court got it right. Tell them it’s time to introduce and support legislation for permanent protection.”

Anyone who may doubt the importance of banning oil and gas drilling close to important water sources such as the Salt Basin Aquifer should check out this link for a report on contamination of public and private water sources by high pressure natural gas mining in Ohio, Pa. and Colorado:
http://www.propublica.org/feature/officials-in-three-states-pin-water-woes-on-gas-drilling-426


Huge Victory in Battle for Otero Mesa
reprinted by SWEC permission

Court invalidates BLM drilling plan; momentum shifts towards protection
In a stunning victory for the Southwest Environmental Center and other conservation groups that have been fighting to protect the grasslands, wildlife and water of Otero Mesa for the past 7 years, the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on April 28 invalidating the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas drilling plan for New Mexico’s Otero Mesa.

The court ruled that the BLM’s original Resource Management Plan Amendment, which opened the vast majority of Otero Mesa to oil and gas leasing and limited protection for the desert grasslands, was fatally flawed due to its failure to consider protection for Otero Mesa and the Salt Basin Aquifer.

The ruling came in connection with a lawsuit filed by a coalition of conservation organizations including SWEC, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, the New Mexico and National Wildlife Federations, and WildEarth Guardians, and a lawsuit filed by the State of New Mexico.

“This is a major boost in our fight to protect one of New Mexico’s most ecologically valuable and unique places,” Governor Bill Richardson said. “I am pleased that the courts share our steadfast position that the public must have a voice in decisions affecting oil and gas leasing on Otero Mesa.”

The court ruled that the BLM had to consider an alternative that closed Otero Mesa to oil and gas leasing, admonishing the agency that “[d]evelopment is a possible use, which BLM must weigh against other possible uses—including conservation to protect environmental values, which are best assessed through the NEPA process.”

The court went on to write that, “applying the rule of reason, we [the court] agree...that analysis of an alternative closing the Mesa to development is compelled.”

The court also rejected the BLM’s position that there were no significant risks to the Salt Basin Aquifer, which contains millions of acre-feet of potable water, from oil and gas, noting that the agency had not reviewed “relevant data” and characterized the information included in the agency’s own documentation as “point[ing] uniformly in the opposite direction from the agency’s determination, we cannot defer to that determination.”

Perhaps most sigificant was the court’s rejection of BLM’s argument that prohibiting development of Otero Mesa would violate its mandate under federal law to manage for “multiple use.” The court ruled that the multiple use concept “does not mandate that every use be accommoCdated on every piece of land; rather, delicate balancing is required.”

In an Associated Press story, New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Joanna Prukop was quoted as saying she was pleased with the ruling’s strong language regarding compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act.

“In additional to protecting the fragile ecosystem of the Chihuahan Desert, this decision will apply to development of all kinds on federal lands throughout the 10th Circuit and help assure that environmental impacts are appropriately considered,” she said.


FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS

For the latest news and information about the Park, visit their great website:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/franklin/

MEMBER WEBSITES:
Up to date information on some of our member organizations can be found at:
http://bmba.wordpress.com/ for Borderland Mountain Bike Association

www.trans-pecos-audubon.org for El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society's newsletter, The Roadrunner.

www.lwvep.org for League of Women Voters in El Paso

Members, we’d love to get the word out about all your websites – please email Kathy at kmcconaghie@gmail.com .


FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS

For the latest news and information about the Park, visit their great website:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/franklin/


Lone Star Legacy

You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.


FMWC In Cyberspace

This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition

Borderland Mountain Bike Association * Border Toasters, Toastmasters International * BorderSenses * Celebration of Our Mountains * Centro San Vicente * Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition * Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue * El Paso Archaeological Society * El Paso Cactus and Rock Club * El Paso Native Plant Society * El Paso Regional Group of the Sierra Club * El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society *El Paso Youth Symphony * Friends of the Rio Bosque *Jolly Elders * League of Women Voters of El Paso * Mesilla Valley Audubon Society * Mountain Park Community Association * Photography Enthusiasts of El Paso * Southern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club * Southwestern Environmental Center * Skyline Optimist Club of El Paso * Trans Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists * Vista Hills Rotary Club * Voter Education Project, Inc

Sunday, March 1, 2009

March 2009

{FMWC} E-Newsletter – March 2009

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/


Annual Meeting: March 25, 2009

It has been a number of years since the Coalition has put on an annual meeting. So much has happened this past year, especially the 30th anniversary of FMWC, that it’s time to get together and celebrate. Consequently, the March meeting will be a time to honor our past and look to our future. We are inviting founding members of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition to attend so all may celebrate their early work to save the mountains.

The event will take place at Jaxon’s Restaurant on Airway Blvd. There will be a no-host bar. Dinner will be a fajita buffet costing $16.00 per person. We will need to have a final count by Monday, March 16 so please make your reservation by then. Unfortunately, no tickets will be available at the door. You’re welcome to attend even if you don’t plan to eat.

When: March 25, 2009
6:00 PM Meet and Greet
6:30 PM Dinner
7:30 PM Meeting
Place: Jaxon’s Restaurant, 1135 Airway Blvd.

Please contact Scott Cutler at 915-581-6071 to make reservations.


“Those Were the Days, My Friends”
by Kathy Kennedy McConaghie

Way back when I attended UTEP (1972 – 1976) a crazy little thing called Crazy Cat happened to the Franklin Mountains. Many of my fellow students and some faculty members joined together in a petition drive to try to stop the planned residential development on the tail end of our beautiful mountains. I remember innocently bopping into Chicano Brown Beret, Vietnam Vets Against the War, American Friends Service Committee and other group “headquarters” and asking for help gathering signatures on our petitions to stop the City of El Paso from allowing the development. Some of the conversations were along the lines of: “If you will take some of these petitions and get them signed, we will march alongside you in your endeavors.” This led to some pretty interesting collaborations and we spent hours accosting potential signers outside of drugstores, grocery stores, and nightclubs; getting our siblings and parents to take petitions to work; walking door to door in our neighborhoods. We talked ourselves hoarse and we gathered thousands of signatures.

When the petitions were invalidated by the city “fathers” due to technicalities (well, we were young and naïve), I grew so disgusted with local politics and my hometown that I left, pretty much in a huff, to pursue graduate studies back east (I thought happiness was El Paso, Texas in my rearview mirror). Crazy Cat happened and that piece of our beloved mountains was gone.

I lived far away from the rugged Franklins for over two decades. There were tears of joy and relief every time I drove home to visit – blasting down that long last stretch on the Carlsbad Highway or War Highway or, in later years, whisking in on I-10 – when those familiar peaks rose up from the desert and I knew that I was almost home.

The point of this personal recollection is that some people stayed here, founded a Coalition, and became sentinels dedicated to protecting the Franklin Mountains from further encroachment. Their efforts were successful beyond my wildest dreams: an entire mountain range became a state park in the middle of a desert city! Thank you, founding members of FMWC and all those who have continued the good fight to this day. Hope to see you at Jaxon’s on the 25th!


Trail Building Crews Needed!
by Dave Wilson, BMBA President

The Borderland Mountain Bike Association, a non-profit dedicated to improving mountain biking in El Paso, is seeking volunteers and new members to help build trails in both the Franklin Mountain State Park and in several city parks.

The city park’s department wants to build a complete mountain bike center at the Westside Recreation Center off High Ridge. There are plans for beginner level single track trails and a skills park with ladders, bridges, teeter-totters, pump track, table tops, and much more. Trail builders and flagging crews are needed for this project. There is potential to put in more than 10 miles of high quality single track at the park. No experience is necessary.

Club rides take place the first Sunday of every month with the next ride (April 5th) meeting at 9 am in the upper parking lot of the Tom Mays Unit of the FMSP. Food is served around noon. Club membership is $25 per year.

For more information, contact the BMBA at bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com, or check the club’s website at www.bmba.wordpress.com .



HEY, FOLKS, TAKE A LOOK AT RICK LOBELLO’S COOL BLOG AT http://iloveparks.blogspot.com/


Why Should We Care About Saving The Poppies and the Castner Range?
by Rick LoBello (from his blog, with permission)
Posted on March 2, 2009

For me this is an easy question to answer. Prior to moving to El Paso I spent seventeen years working at Big Bend National Park, the world’s largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert. It was there working as a park ranger and on a variety of research projects that I came to know this desert ecosystem so well. Today I am very concerned about its future and the threats of development that endanger the desert on both sides of the border. Since the first day I put on a park ranger badge in 1975 I have dedicated my life to helping people connect with and understand this amazing land.

We need the poppies and the adjoining Castner Range like we need water flowing into our homes and food in our stomachs. Nature is life and without it we simply cannot survive. Imagine what our world would be like if all we knew were buildings, super highways and concrete. Ever try eating a rock? Do you think you could live very long without water? All of the natural resources that we need to survive are limited. Unfortunately for our children and their children’s children many if not most of the decision makers approving plans for urban sprawl, one of the main threats to the desert, have little understanding of why keeping the desert ecosystem intact is so important to our future. Still others have some understanding, but do not know how to stop the wave of development currently underway. As a result thousands of species of animals and plants here and around the world have gone extinct or are on the road to extinction.

Most of the animals that live in the Castner Range are valuable in helping to maintain the desert’s complex biodiversity. For example, the foraging behavior of mule deer, small mammals and birds helps to disperse seeds of numerous plants important to their own survival and the survival of countless other species. Writing for the US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Bulletin, Jim Lyzer brings this important understanding into focus: “We are destroying or wiping out species before we know what their value might be. That in itself should justify the time and expense that it takes to help them avert extinction. Beyond that we have an ethical obligation to all the species that share this planet. When we lose anything, we’re really losing a figurative encyclopedia. And we might be losing a page with enormous benefits to mankind. Unfortunately, today most people around the world either are unaware or unconcerned about the consequences that will surely affect the survival of our own species in the near future.”

Looking at the “big picture for El Paso’s future” the most valuable resource we have is not anything we have built or we are about to build, it is the people who live here and the natural ecosystem with its complex biodiversity. The Castner Range helps to protect that biodiversity and the last thing we need to do is to allow the current threat of urban sprawl to spread any further into the Franklins. Already we can see that we are about to lose the magnificent wilderness vistas on the west side to the developers who have recently announced the coming of their army of bulldozers to begin another chapter of destruction along Trans Mountain Road.

The Castners offer hope for our community and the Chihuahuan Desert is this part of North America. Can’t we learn to share the earth with native animals and plants?

I encourage you to learn more about efforts to protect the Castner Range by attending the Poppies Celebration, visiting franklinmountains.org and by becoming a member of the Franklin Mountains Coalition.

Our thanks to you, Rick, for all your help!



Castner Range History Project
by Scott Cutler

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition would like to gather information about the history of Castner Range from its beginnings in the 1920’s until it closed in the 1960s. Much information may be available in the older editions of the El Paso Times and the Herald Post, both archived on microfilm.

We would like to ask people to volunteer to go through a few years worth of these older records and make note of articles mentioning Castner Range. If you have time to help with this project, please contact Scott Cutler at 581-6071 to find out which years still need to be reviewed and details about what to look for. Thanks.


Poppies Celebration on Saturday,
March 14
FREE Event with Free Parking and shuttle at Cohen Stadium

The Franklin Mountains Poppies Celebration on Castner Range is being planned again this year on Saturday March 14 from 10 am to 6 pm at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain Road. The day's activities will include nature talks, wildlife displays, educational exhibits, demonstrations, crafts, music and refreshments. Educational Speakers will be in the Gazebo from 10 am to 3 pm and there will be music, entertainment and tequila tasting from 3 - 6 pm. Please note that even if the poppies do not bloom this year, we celebrate the only place in El Paso where poppies can bloom.

Speakers at the Gazebo
10am - John Kiseda, Birds of the Franklin Mountains
11am - John White, Plants of the Franklin Mountains
Noon - Rick LoBello, Mammals of the Franklin Mountains
1pm - Sal Quintanilla, Venomous Animals of the Desert
2pm - Leon Metz, History of El Paso

The Celebration will also include Leyton Cougar with Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in Ramah, New Mexico and a socialized live wolf, videos by local documentarian and producer Jackson Polk, puppet shows, a magician, and raffle prizes. Everyone is welcome to come out and enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the poppies during this FREE Family Fun event.

Capstone Productions Inc. will show many of their El Paso Gold Heritage TV series films FOR FREE at this year's Poppy Festival in the auditorium at the Museum of Archaeology. It is called Poppy Fest Film Fest and will feature ten years of videos that El Paso TV producer Jackson Polk has produced about the history and heritage of the El Paso area.

Poppy Film Festival schedule of films for March 14, 2009 at the Museum of Archaeology
10:00am El Paso’s Magoffin Home Update 2008
11:00am El Paso’s Historic Sites and MarkersNoon Mexican Revolution Sites in El Paso
1:00pm Legends of El Paso’s Mountains
2:00pm Gunfights of the Old West
2:45pm El Paso’s Mount Cristo Rey
3:45pm Ghost Stories of El Paso Vol.1
The Poppy Film Fest ENDS at 5:00pm

Sponsored by The El Paso Times, Cohen Stadium, REDCo and Project Amistad, LULAC
Organizing Sponsors include El Paso Archaeological Society, http://epas.com/ , El Paso Museum of Archeology, http://www.elpasotexas.gov/arch_museum/ , Franklin Mountains State Park, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/franklin/ , and Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, http://franklinmountains.org/



FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS

For the latest news and information about the Park, visit their great website:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/franklin/


Lone Star Legacy

You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.



FMWC In Cyberspace

This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition

Borderland Mountain Bike AssociationBorder Toasters, Toastmasters International BordersensesCelebration Of Our MountainsCentro San VicenteChihuahuan Desert Education CoalitionChihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue • Eco-Club EPCC • El Paso Archaeological SocietyEl Paso Cactus And Rock ClubEl Paso County Master GardenersEl Paso Native Plant SocietyEl Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra ClubEl Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon SocietyEl Paso Youth SymphonyEl Paso ZooEnvironmental Advocates at UTEPFriends of the Arroyo Friends Of The Rio Bosque • Jolly Elders • League Of Women Voters Of El PasoMesilla Valley Audubon SocietyMountain Park Community AssociationPhotography Enthusiasts Of El PasoSouthern New Mexico Group Of The Sierra ClubSouthwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master NaturalistsVista Hills Rotary ClubVoter Education Project, Inc