Monday, September 16, 2013

El Paso Water Utility and Sound Land Management

John E. Balliew, President & CEO of EPWU / PSB for EPWU provided us with the following quote regarding the water utility’s view on water conservation and long term sustainability.

“Sound land management is a huge part of the El Paso Water Utilities/Public Service Board’s water resources strategy that ensures a sustainable water supply for El Paso. EPWU master plans all PSB managed land prior to sale to ensure open space is protected, while still allowing for responsible development to take place.

While some PSB land should be preserved to aid in the efforts to conserve water, the community needs to strike a balance between many competing needs and interests. Rather than just setting aside more land as open space we advocate for a deliberate effort to determine how much land should be set aside and where. That deliberation needs to include a planning process involving the City of El Paso and stakeholders.”

Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta Celebrates the Natural Wonders of the Franklin Mountains

Houdini the Harris Hawk, Agostini-Justiniani the Hermit tours, and a full slate of local entertainment promises to make the 9th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta a fun day for all.  The free event at the Tom Mays section of Franklin Mountains State Park on Saturday, September 21, from 9am to 3pm is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with the help of volunteers from the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition. Every year the event attracts hundreds of people to the desert mountain park in northwest El Paso.

The outdoor venue celebrates the natural wonders of the Chihuahuan desert and Franklin Mountains State Park. Local environmental education groups will be on hand to offer free demonstrations, guided tours, guest speakers and informational booths  designed to introduce the curious to the wonders of our fascinating desert.

Houdini is a 12 year old Harris Hawk that came to the El Paso Zoo in August 2012. Harris Hawks hunt in packs earning them the nickname “Wolves of the Sky”. This year from 10am to 3pm Kent Fisher from Fisher Brothers Climbing and Gear will be teaching his class all day at Sneed’s Cory along the roadway up to the West Cottonwood Springs trailhead.

The Serna Ranch Serna Ranch Youth Leadership will offer free horse rides, hay rides including a shuttle to various sites in the park plus a food booth selling Navajo Fry Tacos, Chili Beans, Nachos, Chips, Water, and sodas.

A number of other activities including a presentation of desert snakes, Folklorico dancing, and Tezcatloc Aztec Drums will make this a fun filled afternoon for the whole family.

For more information, contact the Franklin Mountains State Park at (915) 566-6441, or read more online at www.chihuahuandesert.org.


You can help preserve the City of El Paso’s Public Land surrounding our Franklin Mountains

Conservation organizations and groups announce that they have begun collecting signatures on a new initiative petition. The petition calls for the preservation in its natural state and in perpetuity of all City owned land (even if managed by the PSB) north of Transmountain and east of Interstate 10 and west of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Organizers say that there are several good reasons for all El Pasoans to sign the petition whether they live near or faraway from the mountains. Preserving all of this land on both sides of the mountain will benefit El Paso in several ways: preservation will help us sustain the scarce resource of water - an effort which includes all El Pasoans not just those living closer to the mountains; continued enjoyment of hiking and biking trails already in existence and utilized by the public; improvement of our quality of life especially as El Paso seeks to reach its goal of decreasing obesity and diabetes; protecting wildlife and making sure that they have adequate habitat and range in order to survive; and, ensuring that millions of dollars annually will come into El Paso through ecotourism as more and more people enjoy mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking and other recreational activities in our mountains and the surrounding region.

Members of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, El Paso CAN (Conservation Action Network), El Paso Conservation Leadership Institute, iloveparks.com, elpasonaturally seek a minimum of 2,310 signatures of persons residing in El Paso and registered to vote.  Even if someone did not vote in the previous city elections, as long as they are registered and living in the city, they may sign the petition. (Persons not living in the city limits but in the County of El Paso are not eligible.) The El Paso City Charter requires that 5 percent of the total number of voters in the previous general city election (in this case, May 2013) must sign a petition before it can be validated and presented to City Council. Should City Council fail to pass the ordinance, then petitioners may gather the same number of signatures again in order to require the matter to be voted on at the next city election.

But we need your help.

FMWC has added a new page for the 2013 Initiative Petition on the website. The page has the petition, instructions for signing and/or gathering signatures, reasons to sign and maps of the affected areas.

To access all of the materials visit www.franklinmountains.org, or visit the Franklin Mountain Wilderness Coalition on Facebook and Twitter.

You can help determine the future of the Castner Range.

The Castner Range is made up of 7,081 acres of Fort Bliss land between the US 54 freeway and the Franklin Mountains State Park. This beautiful range in our Franklin Mountains is currently off limits to the public .

You can research and find more information with the following resources:

1. Fort Bliss has their own reports. Both the Wide Area Assessment and the Incremental Sampling reports are available here:

    https://www.bliss.army.mil/dpw/Environmental/EISDocuments2.html

2.  Thr Fontera Land Alliance has established a land use plan and is seeking your feedback. It can be accessed here:

http://fronteralandalliance.org/castner/

Additional resources are available by contacting Janae Reneaud Field, Executive Director of The Frontera Land Alliance, at 915-351-8352 or Janae@FronteraLandAlliance.org, or mail to 3800 N. Mesa St., A2-258. El Paso, Texas 79902.