Newsletter
Word from the President
Dear Friends of the Franklin Mountains,
The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition has worked diligently over the years to protect the Franklin Mountains and support the Franklin Mountains State Park. At the next meeting we will be discussing how we, as a group, might best continue helping the park. One idea is to have FMWC take a more active role in supporting the Park by transitioning into a Friends of the Park type of organization. This, and other ideas, will be discussed at our upcoming meeting. We would very much like your input and hope you will be able to attend.
The Franklin Mountains will always be the main focus of the Coalition. Now seems an opportune time to find new ways to protect the mountains and help the park that is a vital tool in that preservation effort.
Sincerely yours,
Scott Cutler
President, Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition
Transmountain: Done
by Laurence Gibson,chair
El Paso Group, Sierra Club
On October 23 the Environmental Law Office of Sierra Club national in San Francisco finally recommended dismissal of El Paso Group’s lawsuit against TxDot and the Federal Highway Administration over their overblown plans to expand Transmountain Road in Northwest El Paso. If approved as expected by SC leadership, this would mark the end of a 20-month effort by El Paso’s environmental community to get back to TxDot’s original 4-lanes-at-grade road improvement plan for this once-pristine drive past Franklin Mountains State Park and over the crest of the mighty Franklins.
The Executive Committee of your El Paso Group, already $38K in debt to its lawyers, decided in July to pull the plug on the lawsuit. The litigation has been fraught with delays, taking almost two months for approval in San Francisco to begin, with a three month delay by the Austin judge on our motion for a temporary injunction to halt construction, and finally another three-month delay in granting our wishes to halt legal action.
Fortunately, Lowerre, Frederick, et al;, our Austin lawyers, agreed to “stop the clock” in July after your Excom, intimidated by a debt that might take 15 or 20 years to pay off, felt it was hopeless to continue after the judge denied our request for an injunction to stop construction.
In retrospect (Hindsight is always perfect, yes?) we can say, even the lawyers say, that we got a “bad” judge, one unlikely to go up against the development community. Of course, the idea of filing in Austin was in hopes of getting our case heard in a more environmentally sensitive court
There were several good things to come of this debilitating lawsuit effort. We actually did a terrific job of fundraising! For the first time the Rio Grande Chapter did a special fundraising mailing targeted just to El Paso. This netted over 30 donations, some for hundreds of dollars. Unfortunately they averaged about $20; not nearly enough to cover our five-figure debt.
We also inadvertently discovered a “high-value” donor in El Paso committed to the Lone Star Chapter (That’s the rest of Texas, folks). This person, a non-member, gave our top gift of $5000 and has promised to change donations to El Paso. We also were heartened by major gifts from our coalition partner Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition and our Rio Grande Chapter overseers.
The national Sierra Club was, unfortunately for El Paso, MIA on this lawsuit, which was of course a civic effort. Its Bloomberg millions are committed to the transition away from coal. Efforts are already underway to find ways to replace that money when it is “used up.”
Franklin Mountains State Park Update
by: Adrianna Weickhardt
Park Interpreter/Ranger/Volunteer Coordinator
Fall is in the air and it’s a great time to visit the park. We’ve been seeing the critters on the move from Sandhill Cranes flying over McKelligon Canyon during their migration, to a herd of Mule Deer sited in various units of the park and to the Great Horned Owl hoots and Coyote yips heard echoing throughout the east and the west sides of the Franklin Mountains.
Our rangers have been busy conducting general maintenance to the grounds at Tom Mays Unit and McKelligon Canyon HQ. TXDOT continues to work on Trans Mountain Road and they will work on the reconfiguration of the Tom Mays Unit entrance. Park staff and community service cleaned Clivus restrooms at Tom Mays Unit. Fort Bliss Personnel helped with an erosion control project at Mundy’s Gap. Additionally, Fort Bliss personnel offered help with equipment and labor to breach the Knapp Dam as recommended by TECQ in 2010. Officer Rincon coordinated a cleanup event at McKelligon Canyon with staff from DHL Global Forwarding.
We had the great privilege of a visit from Dr. Goodell, Eric Kappus and Ramon Llavona one Saturday morning for a coordinated training session on geology for park staff and volunteers, which included a tour within the West Cottonwood Mine – Thank you from all of us for an incredible geology filled morning! In September, the park held and hosted two of its annual events, the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta and the Chihuahuan Chili Challenge – both family friendly, fun events were enjoyed by many annual goers as well as some first time park visitors. Jacob Barton helped orchestrate and present two highly requested Geocaching 101 Workshops and was able to inspire some youngsters to pursue this activity beyond the programs.
Adrianna Weickhardt (FMSP Park Interpreter) and Jane McFarland (Hueco Tanks SP & HS Park Interpreter) collaborated during the summer months to develop a new astronomy program that was offered at the end of September – the reservations were filled a week in advance, we had 15 astronomers and telescopes involved, and concluded with a positive response after the program that will lead to developing new programs unique to both FMSP and HTSP&HS. One of the greatest outcomes from the program development was a new partnership with the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces as well as with the Sun City Astronomy Club from El Paso. Upcoming: “Melodies Under the Milky Way” will be held at FMSP on November 17th from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (The program will be a mix of musical entertainment and sun, moon, and light pollution power point presentations/activities). In October, FMSP also attended the TecH20 Water Festival and Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site Interpretive Fair, and organized “Coffee Time with Archaeologists” at McKelligon Canyon HQ.
We want to congratulate Raul Gomez who was appointed to Maintenance Specialist V! Also, It is bittersweet that we say goodbye to Officer Jacob Barton ~ we all wish you success and happiness during your next adventures and chapter in life as the new Park Superintendant at Balmorhea State Park.
The schedule for the Franklin Mountain SP monthly hikes and events are now posted on Facebook, Meetup.com, Celebmtns.org, TPWD Calendar of events online, and the El Paso Scene. Stop by the office, park or call us at (915) 566-6441 if you ever have any questions or just want to talk to the rangers. Happy Trails!
You can Help Preserve Critical Natural Open Space
The “Friends of the Arroyo” has long been an organizational member of FMWC. Now, they are seeking assistance from like-minded organizations and individuals. See Matt Carroll’s letter below and learn more HERE. If you can help, please contact Matt: 2friendsofthearroyo@gmail.com .
From Friends of the Arroyo by Matt Carroll:
Billy Rogers Arroyo Park consists of about 75 acres along about a mile of the arroyo that drains part of the south Franklin Mountains and then flows through the UTEP campus to the Rio Grande. Friends of the Arroyo was the name coined by the late artist Steve Edwards, a founder of the ad-hoc association of neighboring residents and concerned citizens that arose in reaction to development proposals, Our effort culminated in a City Council decision to confer nature preserve status on this area. I assumed responsibility for the densely vegetated lower section, and the late Dr. Billy Rogers partnered the larger, more open upper section. We co-operated fully in advocacy, protection and clean-up activities.
Since the tragic and untimely death of Dr. Rogers, I have given much thought to how we can best assure the preservation of this natural treasure for future generations. If an established environmentally-oriented organization can take over partnership for the entire park, I would be happy to continue my customary stewardship of the lower portion as long as I am able. I would hope that the partnership would keep the name “Friends of the Arroyo” and its affiliation with the FMWC.
Sincerely,
Matt Carroll,
Senior Leader, Friends of the Arroyo.
