Sunday, November 17, 2013

The Franklin mountain State Park hosts 2nd Annual Happy Tails N’ Trails Event for El Paso Outdoorsy Animal Lovers

Franklin Mountains State Park has been busy this year. In the past few months the park has been affected by heavy rain falls that reshaped the landscapes; staff members have obtained and continue to earn certifications and training and our rangers have been involved with both locally and nationally recognized search and rescue efforts.

High rainfall amounts in September brought flash flooding to a variety of areas within the park resulting in trail and signage damage. However, the outdoors community ultimately answered the call and assisted the park rangers by doing both individual volunteer trail repairs as well as joined us on our “National Make A Difference” day for which we hosted a specific trail rebuilding project for the Mundy’s Gap trail. The focus was on the section which saw an annihilation of the bridge and narrow pathway.

Avid hikers who frequent the park weekly shared their accolades with staff members and remarked on the caliber of work and repair of that section of trail. We are very grateful to all of the volunteers who were a part of the concerted efforts of providing some much needed TLC to our park.

The 2nd Annual Happy Tails n’ Happy Trails event on November 2nd  was a tail waggin' success. This adoption fair/doggie play day in the park saw almost 50 dogs including 6 dogs that are up for adoption from the Animal Rescue League. One of the highlights of the day was that Bender, one of the adoption
dogs, may have gotten a new forever home!

Over 35 people came out with their pooches big and small to enjoy a beautiful day out in the Franklin Mountains State Park. With ranger led presentations on hiking safety, free dog obedience courses and training tips, free treats, ranger led "Bark in the Park" hike, raffles and much more, everyone gained some valuable information and prizes and left with wonderful memories. Thanks to all of the organizations who joined us for the event and offered prizes for the raffle.

The park events schedule is available on: The TPWD calendar of events under Franklin Mountains State Park; the Franklin Mountains SP Facebook page; the El Paso Hikers Group on Meetup.com; and in the El Paso Scene.

Upcoming events to look forward to in December include: Christmas Hikes to the Mines, Womens Only hikes, Peak Fitness challenge hikes, and more. Remember New Years is just around the corner, too, and we’ll be hosting our popular New Years Day hike again on January 1st.

We look forward to seeing you out on the trails!

Volunteer Coordinator Positions Now Open for the 2014 Poppies Fest

The Poppies Fest is a celebration of not only the beautiful poppies that bloom in Northeast El Paso in the spring, but also the wonderful open landscape and views of the Franklin Mountains in the Northeast.  Currently this land is being kept in its natural state because it is part of the Fort Bliss Castner Range – but that might not last forever.

The Poppies Fest is a reminder to our community to work together to keep the beautiful open views and natural habitat of Castner Range - now and forever.

The Poppies Fest date will be sometime in either March or April 2014. It takes place on the grounds of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.  Volunteer and be part of the decision on the date and the plans for this great community event. The following positions are available:

 - Transportation Coordinator
 - Parking Coordinator
 - Exhibitor/Vendor Coordinator
 - Social Media Coordinator
 - Volunteer Coordinator
 - Recycling & Trash Coordinator

If you can make a commitment to take on one of these volunteer coordinator positions, or if you want to volunteer for the event in some other way, please contact Marilyn Guida at GuidaMR@elpasotexas.gov or by calling 915-755-4332.




Public Meetings for Projects that have Important Implications for Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

In May, the Texas Department of Transportation began its Border Highway East Study, intended to look at transportation improvements along the border in southeast El Paso County.  The most significant facility being looked at in this study is a proposed new highway extending from the Zaragoza International Port of Entry to the Tornillo-Guadalupe International Port of Entry.
Initially, four alternative alignments have been presented for this highway.  They are displayed on the attached “BHE Constraints north” map.  Immediately east of Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, all four alignments are identical:  They parallel the Riverside Canal on the opposite side of the canal from the park. 

From the inception of the wetlands project at Rio Bosque, one of our main goals has been to establish a new entrance to the park from Socorro Road.  It would be at the park’s southeast corner, where the visitor center is located.  The planned new entrance would provide direct, convenient access off Socorro Road and directly link Rio Bosque with the Mission Trail.  Over the past several years, working in coordination with El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, we have been finalizing plans for the new entrance.  It would include:


  • A short entrance road from Socorro Road
  • Parking area
  • New footbridge crossing the Riverside Canal, and
  • Walkways leading from the parking area to the footbridge and from the footbridge to the park’s   existing Bosque Trail and visitor center. 

The four alternative alignments for the highway all go right through the area proposed for this new entrance.

The upcoming meetings will be in an open-house, come-and-go format.  You’ll have a chance to view the maps, discuss the study with project planners, and offer you views, ideas and concerns. 

Tues. 19 November (
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
Socorro High School Cafeteria
10150 Alameda Ave., Socorro, TX

or

Wed. 20 November (4 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
Rio Valle Women’s Club
521 Mike Maros, Fabens, TX