Positives from PSB's Strategic Planning Meetings

From the environmentalist/conservationist perspective, the PSB’s Strategic Planning sessions this year were quite positive. Here’s why:

1.       The debate over water for the Rio Bosque has dramatically shifted. The discussion is no longer about should it get water but rather how should it get water. Even in email chat yesterday and today over the central El Paso retention pond (some suggesting that water from there go to the Bosque), EPWU VP John Balliew was part of the discussion. (More on the new El Paso hole below.) The pond isn’t a solution as it is too far from the Bosque – but Mr. Balliew related that there may be ways to harvest that stormwater closer to the Bosque. Remember: the Rio Bosque is potentially an $18 million source for eco-tourist revenue for  El Paso.  It’s not just a “tree hugger” issue.

By the way, John Sproul, Director of the Bosque, wrote a white paper which included suggestions for storm water usage for the Bosque. Read Meeting Water Needs at Rio Bosque Wetlands Park: Strategies Involving El Paso Water Utilities. See items 4 and 5 on page 9:

Meeting Water Needs at Rio Bosque: Strategies Involving EPWU

Click on title or icon in bottom right corner to enlarge.

2.       It was suggested that the PSB swap the Palisades for the Rio Bosque. Indeed a motion passed authorizing Mr. Archuleta to begin a discussion with Joyce Wilson.  But why the swap? Perhaps because the City purchased a piece of the Palisades from the PSB at one time? Perhaps because the PSB failed to buy enough land with open space funds to begin with? No matter. Swapping land is akin to having an equal amount of money in two banks and writing a check from each account to the other for the same amount. It is all City land and which ledger for accounting and management purposes, doesn’t matter. What does matter, from my perspective as a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, is that El Paso’s Parks and Rec department doesn’t have the soul, the skill set, or the value system to manage open space. One will have to see a huge mindset change (perhaps in the next P&R Master Plan) before one can see P&R do more than plant and water sod in retention ponds.  The Open Space Advisory Board at its November meeting will consider whether the City should just turn over the Bosque to the PSB.

3.       Mr. Archuleta proposed last year and the idea got traction this year for a Water Smart Home and a public working committee of El Pasoans to look at more ways to conserve water. Making positive changes to building codes, the City’s design manual, and doing more with Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Development are all part of the mix. In short, rain water harvesting not just flood control have become part of the vocabulary, part of the strategic planning.

4.       Dr. Bonart has raised the issue of a water use budget. The idea is that only so much water can be allocated for certain uses. For example, the City’s Parks and Rec department gulps down nearly a fifth of the City’s allocation of river water each year. Certainly they will slurp down more now that they have instigated an over-seeding program during the winter. However, most on the PSB don’t think that, as sellers of water, they can regulate how much water a customer can purchase. This may be a good objection to implementing a water use budget from the supply side. However, implementing such a budget from the consumer side is not such a bad idea. It is time that the PSB, County, City, school districts, etc., sit down at a water summit/powwow and come to an agreement on values and policies regarding water use.  Somebody call Mayor Bloomberg. Not only would we be getting a 16 oz. cup, we won’t be able to super-size by buying two or three more cups.

Some quick thoughts about El Paso’s newest hole: the central retention pond at Luna and Gateway West built for flood control and touted by the EP Times as Beautifying Flood Control. No doubt it is a solution to all that storm water rushing off the southeast slopes of the mountain (my neighborhood). I just wonder this: instead of one more hole in El Paso, why wasn’t the money spent doing some green infrastructure/low impact development up and down Copia and Piedras and beautifying those increasingly busy thoroughfares? In other words: keep the water where it falls or first runs off the mountains. Think of all the trees and landscape improvements which could have beautified central El Paso homes, businesses and streets. Think of all the contractors, landscapers and engineering firms who could have benefited and provided more jobs if the storm water solution had been green infrastructure and not just another hole in the ground.

There are too many holes in El Paso. In fact, I think that we can declare El Paso the hole capitol of the world where the wind flies our City’s flag, the plastic bag, in every ugly chain link fence surrounding these holes which are too often lined and filled with rock gouged from our gorgeous mountain. (Stand at the far north end of the Wyler Tramway parking lot or hike the Directissimo and see the CEMEX quarry devour the Franklins.)

The Frontera Land Alliance, the El Paso area’s only non-profit 501 c (3) land trust organization, is hosting a Conservation Workshop on November 2 at the downtown El Paso Doubletree Hotel, 600 N. El Paso Street, just south of I-10.  This is a great opportunity for advisors, landowners and anyone else interested in getting up-to-the-minute information on various ways to conserve land. Please join their guest speakers—several attorneys from Braun and Gresham, PLLC and Robertson/Smith Attorneys at Law—to hear all about the many conservation tools that are available.  More information online here and here.

Speaking about Frontera: congratulations to the newest Frontera Board member, Eileen Karlsruher. She is a tremendous asset on whatever board or in whatever capacity she serves. Super choice, Frontera!

Also speaking about Frontera, there will be a guided walk through the Wakeem/Teschner Nature Preserve at Resler canyon this Sunday morning beginning at 8 a.m. Information including where to meet-up can be found here.

Finally, multi-kudos for the Guru of Geology, Dr. Phil Goodell, Professor at UTEP since 1975. He and his lovely wife, Kathy, just donated $1million to the University for a new Center of Entrepreneurial Geosciences at UTEP.  The Executive Summary reads in part: “Exploration for natural resources, oil/gas and minerals, is a unique activity. Success means discovery.”