July 2010

{FMWC} E-Newsletter July 2010

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


Next Meeting: July 21, 2010
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
ATTENTION - NEW MEETING LOCATION:
Our meeting will be held at The Garden Center, Memorial Park, 3105 Grant from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Map:
http://www.cichlidpress.com/elpasocactusclub/graphics/gardencenter.jpg

We can always use volunteers: you can help man our booth at an event; meet with elected officials or attend civic meetings; coordinate outreach to community organizations; distribute our rack cards; contribute to our bi-monthly newsletters. Please contact Judy at 755-7371 or Kathy at 227-5330 if you are interested in volunteering.

Time again for Farmers Market at Ardovino’s Saturdays. We can use volunteers for our booth. Call Judy, it’s fun!

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,
SCOTT CUTLER

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition continues to work on two important issues: Castner Range and the Mountains to River Trail. The Coalition, in partnership with The Frontera Land Alliance, will soon have all the pieces in place to begin working on its study forging guidelines that the military can use to apply conservation conveyances to properties it no longer needs for its mission, as part of Castner Range preservation. Additionally, the Coalition held a stakeholders meeting on July 12 for corporations and governmental agencies with some connection to the Mountains to River Trail (MRT) system. It was attended by over 30 people from a wide array of agencies with presentations on the history of the Mountains to River Trail concept, conservation options, and design techniques that could be used to preserve the integrity of the MRT as it was envisioned.Your support of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition is greatly appreciated and provides us with the means to continue working on these issues that are so important to the community.Thank you.

NEWS

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance is pleased to offer a limited edition of the first Conservation Wolf Stamp sold in the United States. The 2011 stamp pictured here is not a postage stamp, and is the first in a series of annual wolf stamps offered to collectors.

The Mexican wolf is the most endangered wolf in the world, with a total population of less than 50 in the wild in 2009.

The Mexican Wolf Stamp is a conservation project created by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. The concept is similar to the Duck Stamp sold by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, except no hunting will be related to the sale of the Mexican Wolf Stamp.

Instead a Wolf Conservation Fund, administered by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, will raise money for the conservation of the Mexican wolf by funding projects in the U.S. and Mexico for Mexican Wolf Recovery.

The cost is $20 (+$2 for S/H) for a 3x5 inch stamp, designed by New Mexico artist, Virginia Maria Romero. Stamps can be ordered online by going to http://www.nmwild.org/. For further information: contact Trisha London at (505)843-8696 or trisha@nmwild.org.


PARK NEWS
From John Nunez:

We would like to welcome Park Intern Jacob Bilbo to our staff. Jacob is a UTEP student studying Environmental Science. Jacob has been assisting park staff from office to field work and has been quite helpful.

These past two months have been just as busy as ever. Park rangers have been busy with all sorts of activities and projects here at the park. Park Rangers Felipe Camacho and Alvaro Garcia have successfully repaired two of the park vehicles. Since the park's budget is tight, park staff has to do its best to keep the work trucks running. Thankfully, they have the skills needed to properly maintain our vehicles.

Park Rangers John Nunez, Alvaro Garcia and Jesse Kapenga have been busy replacing and installing new signage throughout the park. We’re about half way done with the first batch and are anticipating the arrival of another sixty or so new signs. We have been utilizing help from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice work crews and El Paso County Community Service. We’ve also been busy making repairs at the campsites at the Tom Mays Unit and ongoing trail work. Lead Ranger Robert Pichardo, along with Ranger Garcia have been working on repairs of the park facilities. Rangers Garcia and Nunez have been installing gabian baskets throughout the Ron Coleman Trail to prevent erosion and to deter hikers from cutting across switchbacks. Ranger Kapenga has been working with Park Volunteer Robert Newman on the mountain bike trails on the west side of the park. Trail work is a big part of what we do at the park and we enjoy making the park more accessible to park visitors.

Park Interpreter Kelly Serio and Volunteer George Murray have been hosting Moonlight Hikes at the Tom Mays Unit. These hikes have become very popular and we are seeing an increasing number of participants. The next Moonlight Hike will be on the 24th of July. We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the park in a different "light." Along with the Moonlight Hikes, park staff have been busy with hosting tours throughout the summer months. These tours have been great opportunities to introduce the park to a large number of new visitors. It has been rewarding to see the looks on people's faces when they walk a trail for the first time in our amazing mountains! We also utilize these opportunities to educate the public of the importance of preserving the Franklin Mountains and about the history of our park and our mountains.

On June 13th, FMSP hosted the El Paso Rattler Outdoor Challenge. This was a race for mountain bikers and runners that began at the Tom Mays Unit and ended with a canoeing race on the Rio Grande near the Borderland region of the Upper Valley. It was a successful first time venture and plans are being made for another race in the future. This year’s race involved approximately 80 participants. The course include several miles of the mountain bike trails in the Tom Mays Unit with a major part of the course being right through the arroyo that is part of the proposed Mountain to River Trail. This was another opportunity for visitors to realize the importance of preserving this arroyo.

During the summer months we encourage all park visitors to be safe on the trails and come prepared. We constantly remind visitors to bring plenty of water and to wear the proper clothing for hiking in this season. Yet there have been several instances where park visitors have come without enough water or have found themselves off trail and in dangerous parts of the mountain. Please be careful out there!

The coming months will be just as busy and exciting as we see increasing numbers of people at the park, especially new visitors. It is great to see people enjoying our mountains and we encourage everyone to come out and explore the Franklin Mountains State Park!


FROM PARK VOLUNTEER, Richard Love:

It has been a short summer so far. The hot dry weather has been hard on the bird population. Some of last year’s birds haven't made it back yet. A couple of new birds came around, but were just traveling through. We had a beautiful western tanager come through and a bronzed cowbird. The hummingbirds were late arriving, but are here in numbers right now. In fact until October will be fun hummer watching. The resident quail covies hatched several broods of little ones. The fall quail population should be amazing this year. After finding several signs that we had a nocturnal animal visiting the Wildlife Viewing Area we did some stealth photography and found we had a rather large skunk visiting nightly. He has been a model neighbor so far. The rain finally came on July 12th - early in the AM about 2 inches fell. The ground was so dry and the rain spread out most of the night no damage was done at the park. The rains came in time and enough that we should have another round of blooms before fall. Start planning now for the big doings on September 18th. Let’s make this festival the best one yet.

gambles quail

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

El Paso Zoo: Frog Fest, Saturday, July 17Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit! Our El Paso Zoo is jumping in again to join other Association of Zoos and Aquarium zoos nationwide to celebrate frogs and bring awareness of man-made problems for all amphibians. So, hop on down to the El Paso Zoo to find out how you can help frogs. Ribbit! Frog Fest at the Zoo will be from 10 am to 4 pm where Zoo staff and volunteers will host a variety of frog discovery stations in and around the El Paso Water Utilities Discovery Center. Zoo visitors will also be able to see a variety of live frogs including a number of species native to El Paso. Everyone will be invited to help frogs by learning how to create safe places for them in El Paso in our backyards and by helping to protect local desert and wetland habitats where frogs breed and lay their eggs after summer rains.
For more info: http://www.elpasozoo.org/Press-Release-5.php


El Paso Museum of Archaeology:

Unknown México: On view July 20 through September 12, 2010, Free Admission - - Dr. Richard Durschlag, Curator of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, will present three Zip Tours of the temporary exhibit, Unknown México, at 2:00 pm on the following dates: Saturday, July 24, 2010; Wednesday, August 11, 2010; and Saturday, September 4, 2010. A Zip Tour is a brief informal introduction to an exhibit.

Exhibit Description: The photo-text panel exhibit, Unknown México, is panorama of the peoples of ancient West México whose cultures were markedly different from the more well-known Aztec and Maya civilizations. The West Mexico cultures included in this exhibit, located in the current Méxican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima, span several time periods from 500 BC to Twentieth Century folk art of the Cora and Huichol Indians. This exhibit was organized by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is based on an original exhibition of artifacts at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

A Musical Journey into Ancient and Modern Latin America A Family Workshop by Ceiba: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 2:00 to 4:00 pm; No Reservations Needed; Free Admission - - Families with children age six years and up are invited to participate in a creative exploration of music and art inspired by ancient and modern Latin America, from México to the Andes, led by the El Paso musical group Ceiba. This program is being held in conjunction with the museum’s temporary exhibit Unknown México, about ancient and contemporary West Mexico.

Adults and children will listen and respond to music and create together, speaking and writing in small groups and making art in response to the music they hear. Ceiba will play a variety of musical pieces and ask participants to respond to questions such as what did you hear, where did you go in your mind while listening, what did you feel, and how would you draw that music. Children will take home the art they make. Both English and Spanish will be spoken during this workshop.

Ceiba musicians perform on a variety of instruments from indigenous cultures of Latin America such as the charango, rain stick, various flutes of wood, ceramic, and bamboo, percussion instruments made of turtle shell and gourd, as well as the guitar and a variety of drums.


8th Annual Butterfly Flutterby at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park - - The Asombro Institute for Science Education invites you to celebrate butterflies at the 8th Annual Butterfly Flutterby at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park on Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 9 am to noon. Butterflies are delicate creatures that grace our world and delight people of all ages. Learn all about butterflies at the park! For the kids there will be arts and crafts, butterfly sponge toss, and face painting. Make a butterfly watering plate to attract these dainty creatures to your yard. Families can enjoy strolling along the Desert Discovery Trail or browsing our bucket auction (tons of great items up for grabs). All proceeds from the bucket auction benefit the Asombro Institute’s education programs and site development. Admission is $2.

The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park is located northeast of Las Cruces. From I-25 in Las Cruces, head east on Highway 70. Take the Mesa Grande Road exit (at Oñate High School). Make a U-turn under the highway to head west and stay in the right lane. Turn right (north) on Jornada Road. Follow Jornada Road for 6.4 miles and turn left at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park sign. Follow the entrance road to the parking area and trailhead.

The Asombro Institute for Science Education is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing scientific literacy by fostering an understanding of the Chihuahuan Desert. The Asombro Institute provides hands-on science education programs for more than 12,000 students throughout southern New Mexico and west Texas each year. Anyone interested in learning more about the Asombro Institute for Science Education, membership, and volunteer opportunities should call the Institute office at 575-524-3334 or check our web site at http://www.asombro.org/ .


FMWC BOARD

President: Scott Cutler

Vice President: Jane Fowler

Secretary: Judy Ackerman

Treasurer: Pat White

At Large Members: Matt Carroll and Jim Tolbert


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: Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund, c/o Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, 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 • Eco-Club EPCC • El Paso Archaeological Society • El Paso Cactus And Rock Club • El Paso County Master Gardeners • El Paso Native Plant Society • El Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra Club • El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society • El Paso Youth Symphony • El Paso Zoo • Environmental Advocates at UTEP • Friends of the Arroyo • 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 • Southwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master Naturalists • Vista Hills Rotary Club • Voter Education Project, Inc •