CDEC to Re-Landscape City Hall

Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition to launch Healthy Families Live Outside the Box education initiative with wildscape project at El Paso City Hall

Volunteers needed Friday and Saturday May 11 and 12

The Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC) is in need of dozens of volunteers to help with a new native plant wildscape at El Paso City Hall. (Map) CDEC Director Dr. Gertrud Konings has been working with a small committee and city officials in planning the wildscape since late 2011. The project is part of a City of El Paso’s Think Tank project called "Healthy Families Live Outside the Box" presented to the City Manager by El Paso Zoo Education Curator Rick LoBello in March of 2011. 

This educational initiative is designed to get people outside while encouraging them to help restore wildlife habitat loss by development.  The idea is to get people outside planting backyard desert landscapes in hopes that in doing so they will connect with our desert by learning about plants that use little water and provide habitat for wildlife.  People who invest in a few desert plants will help (1) to provide habitat for wildlife like birds and butterflies that have displaced by development, (2) experience lower water bills and (3) hopefully become more active outdoors by discovering natural areas like Franklin Mountains State Park and Rio Bosque.

The first step in launching this important community project is putting in a demonstration habitat on the front steps of El Paso City Hall.  What a great idea thanks to the input from one of our education partners.  He said to me that if you want the community to get on board with this effort you need to start in the heart of the city where our elected representatives work.  I hope you will agree that this effort is an important step in helping our community become more aware of our natural environment.  We need your help in volunteering on Friday and Saturday morning, May 11 and 12.   You can learn more online at www.chihuahuandesert.org. 

Volunteers are needed for two hour shifts on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 to help replace non-native plants in the current landscape with native plants of the Chihuahuan Desert. Details for the two day project are below.

Friday and Saturday, May 11-12, 2012
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Volunteers will remove shrubs and weeds and replant some plants in a different area. Soil and rocks will be moved to a cactus garden.

Volunteers need to bring shovels or a pickax, knippers, gloves, plastic bags, buckets and have a hat and water.  Volunteers who can provide a pickup truck are also needed to go to the plant recycling location on Doniphan Drive and pick up plants at a local nursery.

Once the landscape has been completed, plant ID graphics will be added and a new webpage will be launched with information on how residents can landscape their front and back yards with drought-tolerant native plants. For more information and to sign up to volunteer, contact Rick LoBello at lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov or by phone at 915-217-4233. 

Sierra Club Needs Your Help Fighting TxDOT

Here is an update on the TxDOT lawsuit from Laurence Gibson, the Chair of the El Paso Group of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter:

Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter El Paso Groupnmsierraclub.org/elpasoDear El Paso Sierrans, For over a year now most of your Executive Committee’s energy has gone into fighting Texas Department of Transportation’s overblown plan for Transmountain Road. We regard the planned expansion as the linchpin that will release a flood of development on the western slopes of our beloved Franklin Mountains, labeling El Paso forever as a second-rate city that values the short-term gains of sprawl over respect for our natural heritage. We have a vision for El Paso that would put us in a class with Tucson or Boulder, or even Austin! First, we hired Texas’ foremost environmental law firm, Lowerre, Frederick, Perales, Allmon and Rockwell, for an unsuccessful protest of the TxDot plan where we asked for a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) instead of their “quick and dirty” Environmental Analysis. This is the same firm that brought our ASARCO suit to a successful end. We do not often seek legal help. Then, we filed suit against TxDot and the Federal Highway Administration in hopes of forcing that EIS. In the meantime, the contractor has begun work down by I-10. By the time you read this, we may have an injunction in force to halt construction while the court rules on our case. As you know, lawyers do not work gratis. The final bill for this effort could reach $75,000! Your response to our financial pleas has been remarkable: Our environmental partners have really “stepped up” with large commitments, like Franklin Mountain Wilderness Coalition’s $3,000, the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter’s $2,700 and your El Paso Group treasury’s $4,000. The fight for clean energy is taking almost all of the national club’s legal resources, so we have nothing there. Individual donations have ranged all the way from $25 to $1,000, for a total now of around $2,500. We need your gift to reach our goal. We’d be happy to add your name to the list or respect your desire to remain anonymous. Just mail your check in the enclosed envelope. [See mailing address below.] Your donation could mean the difference between endless sprawl and an El Paso future generations can be proud of. Thank you,Laurence GibsonChair, El Paso Group of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
P.S.: Please be generous. Your gift might determine what El Paso looks like next year and in 100 years!

Send $ to:

El Paso Group, Sierra Club

PO Box 9191 El Paso 79995

FMSP May 2012 Hiking Schedule

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Castner Range: Two Important Meetings

Judy Ackerman sent me this very important reminder:

CASTNER RANGE: TWO IMPORTANT MEETINGS
Please plan to attend.  It is crucial to show visible public concern about Castner Range. The final meeting  for the Castner Range Wide Area Assessment Technical Project Planning (WAA TPP) will take place on Wednesday, 25 April 2012 at 9:00AM, at the Marriott Hotel, 1600 Airway Blvd., near the El Paso International Airport.  (Map)  This project deals with assessing the hazards on Castner Range.
The next Ft Bliss Restoration Authority Board (RAB) meeting will take place on April 25th, 6:30PM at the Chaparral Community Center, which is located at 132 County Line Road. (More information)

The Wide Area Assessment Technical Project Planning is more important than the RAB meeting because it is sponsored by the U.S. Army and not just Fort Bliss. It is also the more convenient of the two meetings to make unless you are only available in the evening.

FloraFEST Speaker April 27 with Native Plant Sale April 28 and 29

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

18 April 2012

Museum Contact: John White, Curator

Email: jmwhite@utep.edu

Phone: 915-747-5335

Dr. David Anderson to Speak at Annual Native Plant Sale, FloraFEST

El Paso, Texas – Area gardeners are awaiting the chance to purchase plants for desert landscaping naturally.  FloraFEST, the annual plant sale, features hundreds of plants native to the Chihuahuan Desert or plants that are desert adapted.  Proceeds from the annual sale support the operation of the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens.  This botanic collection, displaying some 700 different species and horticultural cultivars, is dedicated to the flora of the Chihuahuan Desert region.  The collection represents the largest public assemblage of Chihuahuan desert plants in the world.

Guest speaker, Dr. David Anderson will be featured at this year’s FloraFEST Lecture Series.  David Lee Anderson is Land Manager and botanist at White Sands Missile Range since 1990.  He completed his PhD in Range Ecology in 1989 at New Mexico State University.  Prior to that, he worked in Argentina as national coordinator of range research for 20 years. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho, Utah and New Mexico on and off between 1956 and 1963.

Dr. Anderson will speak on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 7 pm in Room 116 of the Undergraduate Learning Center on the University of Texas at El Paso campus.  A reception will follow at the Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens located at the corner of University Ave. and Wiggins Rd. on the UTEP campus.  The El Paso Native Plant Society, The West Texas Urban Forestry Council, and the Centennial Museum sponsor this event.

Regular museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm. For more information, contact the Centennial Museum at 915-747-5565 or www.museum.utep.edu.

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UTEP Campus Map

Caring for the Environment and Conservation is Personal with Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke with friend, David Guinn, on a hike 

at Smuggler's Gap in the Franklins

(Click on each image to enlarge.)

Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate, Beto O'Rourke, has always been one of the great heroes to El Paso's conservation and environmental community. As he says below, "I understand at a personal level that these issues are deeply connected to quality of life for me, my family and this community."

Here is Beto O'Rourke on his love and work for conservation in the El Paso region:

"As a life-long El Pasoan I've spent countless hours hiking and walking in the Franklin Mountain State Park as well as in the arroyos, levees and open desert areas around town. I'm an avid back-packer and regularly take trips into the Gila and the Lincoln National Forest. Conservation and environment protection are not abstractions and working on these issues is not political gesture; I understand at a personal level that these issues are deeply connected to quality of life for me, my family and this community.

Beto and Amy with children 

at Celebration of Our Mountains Scenic Sunday event

Before I was elected to Council I joined neighborhood and community efforts to stop the re-permitting of ASARCO, and once I was on Council I did everything in my power to ensure that the smelter did not re-open. 

On Council I was the beneficiary of time spent with people like Charlie Wakeem and Rick Bonart who made sure I understood the importance of preserving arroyos, of favoring natural irrigation channels vs. concrete, and of preserving the greatest natural assets this community has. 

Conservation and environment protection are not abstractions and working on these issues is not political gesture; I understand at a personal level that these issues are deeply connected to quality of life for me, my family and this community.

I worked with them and others to preserve arroyos, protect important natural open space and push the envelope in the planning and development process to stop sprawl development. I also did my best to make sure that the Open Space Advisory Board kept its power to influence the direction that development took in El Paso in a positive way.

When the Chamber of Commerce and REDCO floated an idea to develop Castner Range, I helped ensure that the Council came out strongly against the proposal and strongly for preserving Castner in its entirety. 

I worked with Steve Ortega to write into ordinance that a percentage of all revenues from Stormwater fees were dedicated to open space preservation. This helped lead to the purchase of the Palisades trail system in the Crazy Cat area of the Franklins. 

I did my best to work with John Sproul and others who were trying to get additional water resources for Rio Bosque, even though it was not in my Council district. 

My dedication to open space preservation, to encouraging sustainable development, to protecting and promoting our natural assets will continue if I am elected to represent El Paso in the U.S. Congress." 

Backpacking to Hillsboro Peak in the Gila Wilderness

 Visit BetoforCongress.com. 

My dedication to open space preservation, to encouraging sustainable development, to protecting and promoting our natural assets will continue if I am elected to represent El Paso in the U.S. Congress." - Beto O'Rourke

May 9 Water Quality Program to Focus on Paso del Norte Watershed

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May 9, 2012 water quality training in El Paso to focus on the Paso del Norte Watershed

Training to address issues of water quality

Galen Roberts, 979-862-8070 or groberts@ag.tamu.edu

Brian Hanson, 575-646-2642 or BHanson@nmda.nmsu.edu

EL PASO – A free Texas-New Mexico Watershed Steward Workshop on water quality issues related to the Paso del Norte watershed will be held from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. May 9 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1380 A&M Circle in El Paso.

The training is open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the Paso del Norte region, said program coordinators. Participants are encouraged to pre-register at http://tws.tamu.edu

The workshop is sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board as part of the Texas Watershed Steward program. It is being held in coordination with the New Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico Cooperative Extension, and the Paso del Norte Watershed Council.

“The workshop is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources and gain a better understanding of how water quality  in the Rio Grande is managed in Texas and New Mexico,” said Galen Roberts, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward Program.

Roberts said the workshop will include an overview of water quality and watershed management in both states, but primarily will focus on water quality issues relating to the Paso del Norte watershed, including current efforts to help improve and protect this important water body.

“The Paso del Norte watershed extends from Elephant Butte Reservoir in southern New Mexico about 340 miles along the Rio Grande to Presidio, Texas,” said Dr. Conrad Keyes, Jr., Chair of the Paso del Norte Watershed Council . “The Rio Grande is a source for irrigation and municipal drinking water, as well as  wildlife habitat for many species.”

The training will include a discussion of watershed systems, types and sources of water pollution, and ways to improve and protect water quality. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management.

This workshop is being held in conjunction with ongoing protection efforts in the Paso del Norte watershed. In 2006, the Paso del Norte Watershed Council, in coordination with the New Mexico Environment Department, initiated development of a watershed-based plan.
“In New Mexico, the Rio Grande from the international boundary with Mexico upstream to just above the city of Las Cruces was listed as impaired in 2004,” said Chris Canavan, Project Officer for the New Mexico Environment Department. “The plan being developed for the Paso del Norte will outline a strategy for reducing pollutant levels in the river.”

Canavan encourages stakeholders to attend the Texas-New Mexico Watershed Steward Workshop and to become more engaged in these efforts.

Along with the free training, participants receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and a certificate of completion. The program also offers seven continuing education units in soil and water management for certified crop advisors, seven units for professional engineers and certified planners, and seven continuing education credits for certified teachers.

It also offers three general continuing education units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders, seven for certified landscape architects and three for certified floodplain managers.

Pre-registration is open through the Texas Watershed Steward website, http://tws.tamu.edu.

“Participating in the Texas-New Mexico Watershed Steward training is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed,” Roberts said.

For more information and to pre-register, go to http://tws.tamu.edu or contact Galen Roberts at 979-862-8070, groberts@ag.tamu.edu.

For more information about the Paso del Norte watershed and the watershed restoration efforts, contact Brian Hanson at 575-646-2642, BHanson@nmda.nmsu.edu.

The Texas Watershed Steward program is funded through a Clean Water Act §319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Here is the flier for the program:
Texas Watershed Steward Program

Keep El Paso Beautiful Earth Day Event

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TxDOT Plans Animal Corridor Not Meant for Animals

Party for the Planet at the El Paso Zoo this Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22. (Map)

Want to see what a TxDOT wildlife corridor looks like? I’ve posted the plan. It’s 600 feet in length and I have it on so many good authorities that no animal is going to traverse this tunnel. Of course, I’m talking about the corridor which is going underneath their Transmountain Freeway. TxDOT did tell the public that they had communicated with the Texas Parks and Wildlife. However, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist for El Paso, Lois Balin, said: "I have never seen this design before nor discussed anything even close to a 600 foot culvert." Another wildlife expert told me: “TxDOT is only trying to placate outraged citizenry who do not know much about wildlife and might think that a tunnel is a good faith effort to show that they care about our wildlife.” What is the tunnel for really? Really?

Many of you have noticed how quickly contractors are obliterating a wide swath of natural landscape on both sides of Transmountain on the west side of the mountain. Keep in mind that the Sierra Club is suing TxDOT and asking the court to order a more thorough environmental study. In fact, last week Sierra Club asked the court for an injunction to stop the work and we are still waiting for that result. The faster the land can be cleared, the more an injunction or the study becomes moot. In fact, the easier it becomes for TxDOT to argue that too much has been done already and too much money has been spent. A threat of a counter suit by the contractor, Sundt Construction, becomes a greater possibility as well. Their argument will be that they have too much time and money into the project now. The genii, as they say, is out of the bottle. Stay tuned.

On the other side of the mountain on both sides of Transmountain is Castner Range. Attempts to preserve it have been going on for a much longer time than efforts to save the Scenic Transmountain Corridor on the west. The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition has been working for a long time with elected officials and Fort Bliss to save the Range as natural open space. Many of you are most familiar with Castner Range during the annual Poppy Fest. This year the poppies were more dazzling than troupes of edelweiss in the Austrian Alps. (El Paso didn’t have Maria von Trapp but we sure had our Native American drummers.) You can see at today’s elpasonaturally post pictures of this year’s poppies along with information and background about the Range and why it is critical that it be preserved. There is also an announcement of an upcoming meeting on Wednesday, April 25^th, of the Fort Bliss Restoration Advisory Board at 6:30 p.m. in Chaparral, NM just off the tip of NE El Paso. RAB needs to see more and more and more El Pasoans who want to see Castner Range preserved as natural open space once it is wiped clean of any still unexploded ordnance (the reason for all those “No Trespassing” signs around the perimeter of the range).

UTEP Engineering Professor, Dr. John Walton, gave a presentation about passive rainwater harvesting in the El Paso region to members of the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board last week. You can see the slide show from that presentation.

Speaking about water, you are probably keeping up with the serious situation regarding the early release of large amounts of water from the Rio Grande to Mexico meaning less water now for Texas farmers. “State officials are taking a stand against the binational International Boundary and Water Commission over the release of Rio Grande water to Mexico. They say the water payments will cause substantial losses to U.S. crops and run counter to the 1906 pact governing water shares in the West Texas and New Mexico region.” Read more from MySanAntonio.com: Tempers boil over border water battle.

It’s not just nations vying over water: stakeholders along three Texas rivers are unhappy with a TCEQ ruling.

Get used to water wars but know that the public needs to have a greater voice about its water. That is why the Rodriguez bill last year was so egregious. You can get more background from three El Paso Times stories from earlier years here, here and here.

Finally, want to find out how walkable your neighborhood is? Go to walkscore.com.  Be sure to read what makes a neighborhood walkable and the benefits of living in such a neighborhood.

RAB Meeting Gives Opportunity to Support Preservation of Casner Range

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Elpasonaturally has focused primarily on the preservation of land in the Scenic Transmountain Corridor on the west side of the Franklins. The effort to preserve Castner Range on the east side has been going on for a much longer period of time. It involves cleaning up unexploded ordnance since the Range which is still property of the U.S. Army was used for many years for artillery practice. Once that "cleaning up" has occurred, then the land could be transferred to the State Park and preserved in its natural state. Cleaning it up is ongoing. Transferring is still not a done deal. That is why it is so important for all of us who want to see our natural treasures preserved begin to be seen by the Fort Bliss Restoration Advisory Board. Enlarge the image above for more information about their next meeting in Chaparral, NM. (Map)


Here is a publication by the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition which is valuable reading. Along with information and background about the Range, it states the reasons for preserving Castner in its natural state:
Castner Range Educational Flier

Castner Range is the area where the Mexican Poppies have become prolific. I even saw poppies grow on Knapp property just south of the range on the other side of Hondo Pass. Some plants have now been found on the west side of the mountain. Here are three pics from this year's Poppy Fest which is held at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology which is surrounded by Castner Range:

Bullwinkle Formation in background

 Maggie, Phaedra & Finn Moses

TxDOT's "Wildlife Corridor"

You will recall that TxDOT said that it would construct a wildlife corridor to provide safe passage for animals underneath the Transmountain West Freeway that they are now plowing ahead with in spite of a lawsuit in court by the Sierra Club. Never mind the fact that the corridor was to be west of the Paseo del Norte interchange so that animals would have to walk through developments to find the corridor to begin with. Well, never mind the corridor because, the 600 foot long culvert that they are constructing, no animal will ever traverse.  The diagram for the corridor came to light from the court hearing. Here it is:


Wildlife Corridor Excerpt From 2552-01-033 Contract

Of course TxDOT officials have claimed working with Texas Parks and Wildlife. However, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist for El Paso, Lois Balin, said: "I have never seen this design before nor discussed anything even close to a 600 foot culvert."


The maximum length for non-predatory species is 120 feet.


This isn't a culvert. So, what is it? It would seem that it functions best for stormwater and nothing else. 


TxDOT is noly trying to placate outraged citizenry who do not know much about wildlife and might think that a tunnel is a good faith effort to show that they care about our wildlife.


They don't.

Bulldozing.

Working as fast as they can.

Can't get much wider.

3 images above by permission of Bob Geyer, Vice-Chair, 

El Paso Sierra Club

Rainwater Harvesting in the El Paso Region of the Chihuahuan Desert

Rainwater Harvesting in the Chihuahuan Desert

Copyright 2012, John Walton, UTEP. Presentation given to the City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on April 9, 2012

Cactus and Rock Club Garden Tour

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The Sun Magazine | The Butterfly Effect

The Sun Magazine | The Butterfly Effect

Video of the Day: Disposability Consciousness

When you throw something away, where is 'away?'" - Julia Butterfly Hill

Conservation Easement?

Last letter I reported a timeline for completing the necessary ordinance work for the NW Master Plan including the preservation of the Scenic Corridor. This followed the March 20^th City Council decision to select the Dover Kohl scenario that included development on both sides of Transmountain while preserving 837 acres which is slightly more than the 780 called for in the petition. The plan, however, did extend Paseo del Norte across Transmountain which is congruent with TxDOT’s plan to build an interchange at that intersection but not in keeping with the petition language. The timeline quickly evaporated.  Planning  tells me that it will take more time to review the smart code application before that application goes to CPC and, one would hope, OSAB. This may take up to 4 or 6 more weeks. Parallel to the smart code application is the City’s legal department’s drafting ordinance language that includes the conservation. Nothing devious here by the way and a good reason for delay. A smart code application does take time.  A conservation easement requires a correct metes and bounds survey.  Planning wants to hold stakeholder meetings to review that language and that may take time to be done right. Certainly information about stakeholder meeting will be something many of you will want.

The biggest concern is the conservation easement piece.  As of now the EPWU’s hired attorney, Risher Gilbert, is working with City attorneys to fashion some kind of in-house conservation strategy. At the special PSB meeting that considered the Dover Kohl proposals for the NW Master Plan, Ms. Gilbert made the following five points about conservation easements:

1.       Conservation easements were created by the IRS in the 1980s to provide tax incentives for private property owners.

2.       Conservation easements are for private property only.

3.       Land trusts cannot hold conservation easements on public land.

4.       Conservation easements are inflexible and the land being preserved cannot be altered or used in any way.

5.       A “Conservation Covenant” is a different mechanism than CEs that can be used to preserve public land in perpetuity.  It would be an internal mechanism created by the City and/or PSB controlling the land. 

All of these statements are untrue except 5 and the proof is in the pudding on that one. Why re-invent the wheel unless you are adding a gear to control the wheel?

Also adding to the concern about how the City plans to conserve the land is this:  to my knowledge there has not been any communication between the City and Frontera Land Alliance, the only land trust organization in El Paso. This lack of communication has not been because City officials are unaware of Frontera. The Vice-President of that organization, Richard Teschner, first publically mentioned Frontera 18 months ago at a City Council meeting where Planning brass was present.  Teschner then and subsequently has mentioned to City Council Frontera’s willingness and ability as the El Paso area’s only 501(c)3 land trust organization to deploy and then manage a conservation easement on whatever acreage Council voted to conserve.   I have also raised the matter time and again with Planning staff.

In terms of a timeline, know that City Council at their last regular meeting (April 3^rd) postponed action on the actual language of the petition for eight weeks.  So stay tuned.

From the grapevine there is talk about a new petition to preserve all of the City land on the west side including the land in the NW Master Plan and everything north of it. We are also keeping an eye on efforts to get National Monument status for the Organ Mountains.

Here’s big news and an event a number of you may want to attend: A Texas-New Mexico Watershed Steward Workshop on water quality issues related to the Paso del Norte watershed will be held from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on May 9 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1380 A&M Circle in El Paso.  (Map)

“The training is free and open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the Paso del Norte region, said program coordinators. Participants are encouraged to preregister at http://tws.tamu.edu.  The workshop is sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board as part of the Texas Watershed Steward program. It is being held in conjunction with the New Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico Cooperative Extension and Paso del Norte Watershed Council.

‘The workshop is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources and gain a better understanding of how water quality in the Rio Grande is managed in Texas and New Mexico,’ said Galen Roberts, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward Program.”

Read the full press release about the workshop.

You also may be interested in the efforts of Wild Earth Guardians for the Rio Grande.

Big issue: crops that consume lots of water such as alfalfa, cotton and pecans. Are large growers more interested in water rights with the aim of eventually “cornering the market” by controlling the supply of this precious commodity? This seems to be the motive behind the policy of Chuy Reyes, the General Manager of El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, his brother, Rep. Silvestre Reyes with the unwitting help of Senator Rodriguez of El Paso – the forces behind a new Texas State law that disenfranchised 75,000 voters, and made voter registration in the water district more onerous than many laws that once sought or now seek to deprive people of their civil right to vote.

Finally, Rick Lobello, the Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo, gave a talk recently to the new class of Texas Master Naturalists. One concept that is critical to urban planning is that of ecosystems services – the benefits that we derive from the ecosystem in which we live such as cleaner air, healthier soil, carbon sequestration, etc.. Learn more about it. Also, read a primer about ecosystem services from the United Nations Environment Program.

Franklin Mountains State Park Presentation Thursday at 6 p.m.

Our next Chapter meeting will be tomorrow evening, April 5^th beginning at 6 p.m. We will have a very special presentation: “Flora, Fauna and Recreation at the Franklin Mountains State Park”.  Many of you know Richard Love, a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park in the Tom Mays Unit. If you don’t know Richard, you may have come across the bird blind on one of your trips to the park. Richard helped design and build the blind and has done some extraordinary photography there and at other locations in the park. He has been a photographer for over 30 years now and has made a study of the wildlife of the Chihuahuan Desert. (See some photos from Tom Mays.) Along with Richard, FMSP volunteers Heath Shawhart and George Murray will also be speaking.  Richard Love will discuss birds and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert and Franklin Mountains and include his personal photography. Heath Shawhart will talk about the recreational and hiking activities in the park and include tips on desert survival skills and desert plants. George Murray will speak about reptiles, plants and blooms.  Our Chapter meetings continue to be held at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Avenue. (Map)

Stay tuned for more information about volunteer training for the Franklin Mountains State Park on April 14^th or contact Adrianna Weickhardt now at Adrianna.Weickhardt@tpwd.state.tx.us.

There will be another Transmountain cleanup/volunteer opportunity and continuing ed class this coming Saturday (April 7^th).  The cleanup will be from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Meet for the cleanup at the pull-out just past the Adopt a Highway sign on the right-hand side of westbound lane on Transmountain Rd, west of the Gateway South intersection.  Call 915-525-7723 for information.  Then, Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners are sponsoring a continuing ed presentation at 11:00 a.m. at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology: “West Texas Wildlife & Birding Trails”.  The speaker, Beth Nobles, Executive Director of the Texas Mountain Trail organization, helps visitors and residents enjoy the great outdoors through the Far West Texas trail system.  This is a cooperative program with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and includes ten driving loops and 57 sites in Far West Texas.  El Paso hosts two of these loops, the El Paso Uplands from Franklin Mountains State Park to Hueco Tanks State Park and the El Paso Rio from Keystone Heritage Park to Rio Bosque Wetlands.  The public is invited and the event is free.

Also this Saturday, April 7^th, the El Paso Cactus and Rock Club will be fieldtripping to the Jarilla Mountains of Orogrande, NM to look for early-blooming cactus hybrids. Carpools will form at 8:30 a.m. at the Wal-Mart parking lot at Transmountain and Hwy 54 near the nursery.  (Map)  Be sure to take a hat, sunscreen, lunch and water. Walking sticks and sturdy walking shoes are suggested. If you have a high clearance vehicle, please consider bringing it. Remember your camera. For more information call 915-833-7637 or 915-383-3006. For a calendar of upcoming Rock and Cactus Club events, go here.

Here’s a program that is worth the drive to Las Cruces next Tuesday evening.  On April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m., the Southwest Environmental Center is presenting two intriguing and important talks. Both will stress the importance of advocating for the most endangered mammal in North America, New Mexico's own Mexican wolf (Lobo). The Center is located at 275 North Downtown Mall in Las Cruces.  (Map)

The Southwest Environmental Center also seeks your help to preserve the Otero Mesa from exploratory drilling for rare earth metals. The hunt for rare earths is also on Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County near Sierra Blanca, Texas (just down the road from us a tad). Why rare earths? Because all of us consumers like iPads and smart phones and things that glow in the dark.

On April 13, 14 and 15, 2012 the El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society will be visiting the Lesser Prairie-Chickens of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Bottomless Lakes State Park.  April is the peak time for Lesser Prairie Chickens’ famous displays in their mating areas called booming grounds.  If you can, make motel reservations for Friday in Roswell and do some local birding.  Saturday morning tour Bitter Lake NWR.  Bring lunch and drinks for this all day affair.  Saturday afternoon bird and tour Bottomless Lakes State Park and on Sunday morning get a very early start to view the Lesser Prairie Chickens.  If you want more information or if you plan to go please contact Mark Perkins at 637-3521 or mperkins4@elp.rr.com.

The April 2012 Rio Bosque newsletter is now available. To volunteer at the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, contact John Sproul at 915-861-4361 or jsproul@utep.edu.

You can also volunteer at the El Paso Zoo. They have a new Volunteer Coordinator, Sherri Reneau, who can be reached at 915-351-5340 or reneausl@elpasotexas.gov.

Finally, Rick Lobello, the Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo, talked to our new class of Master Naturalists last week. One concept that is critical to urban planning is that of ecosystems services – the benefits that we derive from the ecosystem in which we live such as cleaner air, healthier soil, carbon sequestration, etc.. Learn more about it. Also, read a primer about ecosystem services from the United Nations Environment Program. This is good stuff.

The Master Naturalist© is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

This is Volume 1 and Number 5 published on April 4, 2012

May 9 training to focus on Paso del Norte watershed

May 9 training to focus on Paso del Norte watershed

Flora, Fauna and Recreation at Franklin Mountains State Park

Many of you are familiar with Richard Love, a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park in the Tom Mays Unit. If you don’t know Richard, you may have come across the bird blind on one of your trips to the park. Richard helped design and build the blind and has done some extraordinary photography there and at other locations in the park. He has been a photographer for over 30 years now and has made a study of the wildlife of the Chihuahuan Desert. 

Along with Richard, FMSP volunteers Heath Shawhart and George Murray will be speaking  this Thursday, April 5^th at the El Paso Garden Center, 3201 Grant Avenue. (Map). The Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists are sponsoring this presentation, “Flora, Fauna and Recreation at the Franklin Mountains State Park”.  

Richard Love will discuss birds and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert and Franklin Mountains and include his personal photography. Heath Shawhart will talk about the recreational and hiking activities in the park and include tips on desert survival skills and desert plants. George Murray will speak about reptiles, plants and blooms.

Here are just a few of Richard's photographs of animals at Tom Mays:

 All photos are courtesy of Richard Love. Copyright 2012.