Boycott the Border Highway Toll Road

Boycott the Border Highway toll road and contact members of the Board of the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority.

What follows is the letter that I just submitted online to the El Paso Times. I have added links to the Times stories in this post.

I was dismayed when I read in the Times this morning that ACE Cash Express is selling toll tags for the new toll lanes on the Cesar Chavez Border Highway. This story follows Sunday's story about Gov. Perry's appointment of William White of Cash America as Chairman of the Texas Finance Commission. 

There is nothing different between the ethics of a payday lender and a crack cocaine dealer. And now, the the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority is, in effect, introducing people - many who are the most financially vulnerable in our society - to the "drug" dealer. The excuse given by Mr. Telles the Chairman of the CRRMA for using payday bloodsuckers as toll tag agents: they can take payments in cash. Well, so can grocery and convenience stores.

Let's all boycott the Border Highway Toll Road. Contact CRRMA Board members and tell them you will not support the road until a new toll tag agent is selected. Their contact information can be found at http://www.crrma.org/contact.asp#Board. The CRRMA Board meets next on January 8, 2014 at 9:00 am in the El Paso City Council Chambers on the 1st Floor of City Hall, 300 N. Campbell. Let's be there to voice our disgust.

The Photography of Benny Pol: Discovering the Natural Beauty of the El Paso Region

Texas Antelope Squirrel at the Nature Trail. Photo by Benny Pol reprinted without any permission whatsoever. (Thanks Benny. I'll send you royalties from elpasonaturally.)

Benny Pol is an electronics technician, an American citizen from Holland, retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer, a Master Naturalist (Grand Master would be the more appropriate title) and one helluva photographer. 

If you are a part of the Facebook community, get to know his work. He posts frequently on the Nature Walk Trail, an area (middle of this map) in the Tom Mays Unit of the Franklin Mountains State Park recently upgraded by the Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists.

You can see many of his nature albums HERE including photos taken in the Franklin Mountains, the Organ Mountains and on the Otero Mesa.

Benny was one of the event leaders for this year's very successful Celebration of Our Mountains.

What Benny is doing sui generis is documenting the abundant wildlife of our region of the Chihuahuan Desert. As you look at his photos of plant and animal life, you realize that what we have here is worth conserving and preserving. As more El Pasoans see the beauty and value of and in our natural open spaces, they will be less in favor of scraping the earth and sprawling the City. Master Plans such as Plan El Paso will make much more sense.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Benny!

By the way, the next Master Naturalist class is scheduled to start January 29, 2014. Information is below:

Click on image to enlarge.

Cool Poster:

Click on image to enlarge.

Also . . . a good reason to plant more trees (native) even in El Paso, Texas.

The Friday Video: Mine Exploration Hike at Tom Mays Unit of the FMSP

Always watch for opportunities to explore the mine on the Cottonwood Springs Trail at the Tom Mays Unit of the FMSP. Here is a video of a mine hike led by renowned geologist, Eric Kappus, and FMSP Interpretive Ranger, Adrianna Weickhardt. 


The January 2014 Franklin Mountain State Park Hiking and Event schedule is posted on our Volunteering and Events page.

Get outdoors. There's so much to see and do in our region. Become a member of the El Paso Hiking Group and the Jornada Hiking & Outdoor Club.

Green Tree and Child Worship

If not in the mad rush to prepare for it, then certainly on Christmas morning, many wonder what the heck Christmas is all about. We are exhausted by our worship at our secular temples, the mega malls, and Christmas Eve Bacchanalias. Facebook bombards us with images of and links to "the true meaning of Christmas". Television has its unctuous ads, shows and news stories.

I like Linus' soliloquy in Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. Even better is just to read the first eighteen verses of the first chapter of the Gospel according to John particularly the first and the start of the fourteenth verse (the zinger): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh . . ." Christmas, after all, is not about a birthday as some modern believers have trivialized it. Christmas is about the Incarnation - God becoming human - a baby pooping in a manger, a man enjoying a woman's foot massage, a radical Rabbi writhing in agonizing pain, fighting for breath, then dying on a cross. 

That's what it is all about. But, on this day, I also enjoy re-reading what Donald Culross Peattie wrote in An Almanac for Moderns. Peattie was a naturalist and a botanist and became one of the most widely read nature writers in America. An Almanac for Moderns was first published in 1935 with an entry for each day of the year. Here is what Peattie wrote for December Twenty-Fifth:

"It was Francis of Assisi, I believe, the man who called the wind his brother and the birds his sisters, who gave the world the custom of exhibiting the creche in church, where barn and hay, soft-breathing beasts, flowing breast and hungry babe, shepherd and star are elevated for delight. One who has spent a Christmas in some southern country, where an early Christianity still reigns, will understand how all else that to us means the holy festival is quite lacking there. It was originally, and still sometimes is, no more than a special Mass, scarcely as significant as Assumption, much less so than Easter. Out of the North the barbarian mind, forest born, brought tree worship, whether of fir or holly or yule log. It took mistletoe from the druids, stripped present-giving from New Year (where in Latin lands it still so largely stays) and made of Christmas a children's festival, set to the tune of the beloved joyful carols. It glorified woman and child and the brotherhood of men in a way that the Church in, let us say, the second century, dreamed not on.

"You will search the four Gospels in vain for a hint of the day or the month when Christ was born. December twenty-fifth was already being celebrated in the ancient world as the birthdate of the sun god Mithras, who came out of a rock three days after the darkest of the year. His birth was foretold of a star that shepherds and magi beheld. The ancient Angles had long been wont to hold this day sacred as Modranecht or Mother Night. Thus still do we flout old winter with green tree, and old mortality with child worship."

Today I will share in a Serbian Christmas feast. In that spirit, I greet each and all of you, my readers:

Mir Bozji, Hristos se Rodi! (Peace of God, Christ is born!)

And, yes, let us flout.

KVIA and Jackson Polk Lead the Way with Conservation and History Coverage

This is a follow-up to my post yesterday about the lack of coverage of conservation and heritage stories by the El Paso Times. I was specifically talking about the non-coverage by the Times of the recent commemoration of the B-36 crash of December 11, 1953. I reprinted Terry Sunday's excellent letter to the editor. To be fair to the Times, they apparently weren't even told about the event. Elpasonaturally is offering to do publicity for conservation, outdoors recreation and heritage organizations and events in El Paso. As Marshall Carter-Tripp said in an email to me: "You are right, we don't do PR very well…did you see anything in the Times about the 3M award to Keystone?" (The Times did run the story online. I don't recall seeing it in print.)

One of El Paso's TV news stations leads the way in coverage about environmental, outdoors recreation and heritage stories. KVIA-TV News seemingly produces more stories about these events than any other news media. This may be largely due to the fact that General Manager Kevin Lovell is an avid hiker who cares about our environment. After he read my post yesterday, he emailed me the following:

"KVIA devoted extraordinary resources to the crash site anniversary.  Reporter Matt Dougherty traveled to the site on the day before the anniversary.  He discovered a woman who visits the site every year, bringing flowers from Juarez even though she has no personal connection to the plane crash.  Later in the week we covered the dedication."

On December 12th, KVIA-TV did this story. Then again on December 15th they ran this story about the commemoration event. It is very touching. I hope both stories can be uploaded to a history site of some sort - perhaps along with other KVIA stories on YouTube.

Of course, when it comes to the history and lore of El Paso, no one tells it better than Documentary Filmmaker, Jackson Polk. You can watch the entire
B-36 Crash Site Historic Marker Dedication by going to EPHistory.com. There is a link to the video. Later, when appropriate, I may put an embedded copy on elpasonaturally as well. 

Be sure to listen to El Paso History Radio Show with Jackson and Melissa Sargent on KTSM-690 AM on Saturday mornings from 10 to Noon. Polk has begun archiving previous broadcasts. You can see a list with links HERE.

Get KVIA news alerts in your email by going HERE.

View of the Chisos Mountains from the proposed site for the new Fossil Bone Exhibit at Tornillo Flat

Fossil Bone Comment Period ends soon, Change.org petition will continue as long as needed.

The deadline to comment on the Fossil Bone Environmental Assessment is 11:00pm Mountain Time on Monday, December 23. If you read this in time you can post your own comments by going to this link on the NPS Planning website.

I just finished my comments which included comments from the change.org petition. I hope what I and others have said can make an impact in convincing the National Park Service to hit the reset button on this project at Big Bend National Park.

Comments sent on December 23, 2013

After careful review of the Big Bend National Park "Construct Fossil Discovery Trail Exhibit Environmental Assessment" I have come to the conclusion that the proposed project design and size is totally inappropriate for the current location and would be out of place anywhere else in the park. I am convinced that the entire project should be re-visited and that a "No Action" determination be made. I support the park upgrading the current footprint for Fossil Bone to reflect some of the new paleo discoveries, but do not support expanding the exhibit foot print in any way that would impair the wilderness aspect of the visitor experience and scenic vistas. As a result of talking to people associated with the project, I am very concerned that this project may be driven by donors who are more interested in dinosaurs than they are in protecting the natural resource and scenic vistas at Tornillo Flat. I am also concerned that the park is not living up to its mission and is not using its resources wisely when considering all the other park priorities that need to be addressed in protecting the resource. If after hearing from people who are for and against the project the park determines that it has no choice, but to move forward with the current approach, I strongly suggest that a citizen review committee made up of people who represent different views, be organized before the project moves forward. The park should weigh carefully where the support for the project is coming from. If it is coming largely from private donors and local businesses who would benefit financially from increased park travel related to the exhibit, the public perception could come back and hurt the park and the Service in the future.

In my opinion the park has created a big negative for itself by the overall way it has handled this project. During a time in our country's history when so many people are not happy with our government and when considering the strong approval ratings for the NPS in recent years, the last thing that Big Bend National Park needs is to have the general public angry over how the park is managed.

My review communicating with staff, members of the Friends of Big Bend and other concerned individuals revealed a number of problems in how the project was presented to the public. These findings resulted in a new effort protesting the project that began on December 12, 2013. People across the country are now signing on a change.org petition asking the NPS to cancel plans to build a new and larger Fossil Bone Exhibit and to seek an alternative site in an area that has already been developed such as Panther Junction or Persimmon Gap. I have six major objections at this time to the Fossil Bone EA. They are listed below. Additional comments from some of the 132 people who signed the change.org petition are also included.

SUMMARY OF OBJECTIONS TO THE PROJECT.

1. The EA does not present convincing evidence that the park would be able to do a better job in living up the NPS mission by expanding the footprint of the exhibit and including large shade structures. The current fossil bone exhibit, while not as modernistic as the one proposed, did a good job of telling the story of the parks paleontology. The footprint was small enough to fit into the scenery and overall was unobtrusive and in line with the NPS long standing message of encouraging visitors to take only memories and leave only footprints. Graphics helped to tell the story and the exhibit illustrated what a fossil dig was like. Visitors could then see more exhibits featuring other stories about the park's paleontology when they visited Panther Junction Park Headquarters and other exhibits in and outside the park like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Barton Warnock Center in Lajitas and the Big Bend Museum in Alpine.

2. The EA does not present convincing evidence that displaying plastic replicas of dinosaur bones in a largely undeveloped area of the park would not detract from the overall visitor experience. Have similar efforts been tried in other wilderness parks? What were the results?

3. The current fossil bone picnic area and wayside exhibit offers amazing vistas of the Chisos Mountains to the south and the Sierra del Carmen to the east. These vistas would be obstructed in part by the construction of a large interpretive exhibit in this largely undeveloped area. Has the park measured the value of these vistas by asking park visitors currently visiting the Fossil Bone site how they would feel about these vistas being impacted by a large structure displaying replica dinosaur bones? If so, what was the survey's measure of confidence?

4. The EA does not offer any logical summary describing how the park decided that a larger exhibit at this location would be a better approach than using other less unobtrusive methods such as improved graphics, adding a self-guided tour booklet like at Dagger Flat and the Lost Mine Trail, and improving the current exhibit.

5. The logic presented in the EA connecting a larger Fossil Bone Exhibit to trails planned for Lone Mountain, the new Boquillas Crossing and Panther Junction Visitor Center improvements does not provide a sound justification for building a new structure in a largely undeveloped area of the park.

6. The proposed structure is very futuristic and does not match any other developments in the park and is totally out of place in that location.

MORE BACKGROUND, CONCERNS AND COMMENTS FROM CHANGE.ORG PETITION

I first learned of the new Fossil Bone Exhibit project in November 2013 and soon thereafter notified the NPS by way of a comment on the Planning website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov of my disappointment in learning that the EA did not include illustrations that would help the reviewer better understand what the park had in mine at Fossil Bone. The lack of good illustrations raised a red flag. On November 27 Don Corrick, the park geologist, wrote me about my comment stating "Thank you for your comment regarding the EA. The design is still being edited (and was very preliminary at the time of EA release), so we did not want to create a false impression with the public by including a design in the EA that was subject to big changes. However, the design is a little firmer now and I feel more comfortable with sharing the current design with you. I am attaching the architect's rendering of the current design for your review. We are taking pains to keep the profile as low as possible, which will hide the structure behind the ridge for people traveling on Hwy 385. The highest point of the roof top will probably be visible only within a few hundred yards of the turnoff to the Fossil Exhibit spur road.

When I saw the drawing that Corrick sent me I responded back to him asking that the illustration be included on the EA and that the comment period be extended. In my request I copied the media from the park's email list which I am a part of because of how I promote the park with press releases on various websites and blogs. The park decided to respond to the request by extending the comment period from December 5 to December 23, 2013 with the addition of a new file on the planning website document section entitled "schematic drawings." I was happy to see the drawings included, but soon saw another red flag when I realized that the only people notified of the comment period extension were those associated with the fund raising arm of the park called the Friends of Big Bend. There was a notice of the extension on the Friend's facebook page on December 11 stating "The Review Period for the Environmental Assessment for the Fossil Bone Discovery Trail, including the drawings, has been extended to Monday, December 23, 2013." The post was soon hidden within the facebook wall by numerous pictures added to the page by others. In contrast a Friends facebook post on December 2 asking people to respond to a survey was posted in such a way as to remain at the top of the wall for all to see up until at least December 23.

I contacted the parks Information Officer David Elkowitz about my concern with how the NPS was not promoting the extended comment period and he confirmed what I had originally suspected in my belief and the belief of others, that the park was not concerned about the general public learning about the project. When the comment period was extended a press release was not sent to the media or an announcement made on the park's website. From David Elkowitz email December 19, 2013 - "The notification of the extension of the comment period was not a press release. The public site allowed the comment period to be extended."

Petitioning The President of the United States This petition will be delivered to:

The President of the United States The U.S. Senate The U.S. House of Representatives The Governor of TX The TX State Senate The TX State House National Park Service

National Park Service: Cancel plans to build a new and larger Fossil Bone Exhibit and seek an alternative site in an area that has already been developed such as Panther Junction or Persimmon Gap. Learn more at www.iloveparks.com

Marsha Koepp AUSTIN, TX I agree with every word written on this petition!

Chuck Turvey CRYSTLA FALLS, MI This will degrade the existing site.

Brandt Mannchen HOUSTON, TX Big Bend National Park should reduce development footprints and cluster them so that the views, vegetation, wildlife, and potential wilderness will be least affected and the costs will be reduced.

Robert Wallace RIPON, WI It is important to keep the land in Big Bend National Park as natural as possible. Using land at as site already with construction is best for this facility.

Lone Star HOUSTON, TX This construction will put more human weight on this fragile land and encourage more human traffic with more negative impact!

Elizabeth DeMoultrie EL PASO, TX The National Park Service is "Charged with the trust of preserving the natural resources of America". Scraping the natural landscape to build a new building is not a form of preserving the natural resources. There is a limited supply of Natural resources and by using an existing building there is no energy spent to scrape, grade and destroy a natural landscape. By not building a new building there will be less construction and demolition debris and less need for new materials. The environmentally responsible thing to do is place the exhibit in an area already developed.

Phil Koepp AUSTIN, TX Once again, as with an airport in designated wilderness, NPS wants to screw up what it is there to protect and conserve.

Craig Weisbart LAS CRUCES, NM It is not necessary to go in and destroy a national park's wilderness area in the middle of the park. This could be easily placed at the entrance visitor's center with minimal impact to the park

Jorge Saenz STUDIO CITY, CA We have Disneyland in California and Florida. We don't need the National Park Service to build one in Big Bend. Gilbert Talamantes EL PASO, TX My family and friends love to go on hikes and see all the beautiful scenery in Texas. Don't mess with Texas. Put your plastic dinosaur bones somewhere else!

Barbara Nehring EL PASO, TX There is far too little wilderness left in this country and especially in Texas

Rose Janice HORIZON, CITY, TX Keep the park the way it is!!!

Janae Reneaud Field EL PASO, TX Big Bend is beautiful place and an area that has very little disturbance, lets keep it that way!

Gary Nakovic EL PASO, TX Maintain Big Bend National Park experience with minimal developement especially in remote areas of the park. Marshall Carter Tripp EL PASO, TX Big Bend is a beautiful area that can best be left alone! Build new displays where there is already disturbance...and why on earth put up fake dinosaur bones?

Constance Woodman CLARENCE, NY One can always build a new building but one cannot build new wilderness. If you really want to show off dinosaur fossil history, use an "augmented reality" app. along a self guided trail so dinosaurs and fossils come to life without large cash investment and development.

Marilyn Guida EL PASO, TX The first choice should always be not to disturb the wilderness. Plastic dinosaur bones can be displayed in an area already developed and impacted.

Gary Roemer LAS CRUCES, NM Big Bend NP is one of the most remote regions in the continental US with incredible wilderness. This wilderness should be preserved at all costs. Please build your exhibit in an already disturbed area.

Jim Hatcher FORT STOCKTON, TX I am a longtime visitor to BBNP since '77, I live in the vicinity and I enjoy the long unimpeded vistas the Park has. I can see very little about this structure and the infrastructure that would surround it that would improve any view. Spend money on improving existing infrastructure but please don't build more.

Charles McCullough HOUSTON, TX Because a good friend endorsed it and that's good enough for me

Cheryl Hanna EL PASO, TX Cancel plans to build a new and larger Fossil Bone Exhibit and seek an alternative site in an area that has already been developed such as Panther Junction or Persimmon Gap.

Frederick Zink FERNLEY, NV This country can not afford anymore stupid, wasteful spending on rediculous projects such as this! My guess is....someone stands to gain monetarely from this, so their pushing it......unbelievable!

Debby Price EDGEWOOD, NM I don't think more land needs to be developed when a site is available

Mark Kirtley ALPINE, TX Having worked as a volunteer at Persimmon Gap Visitor Center for many years, I've listened to thousands of visitors talk about why they love Big Bend. They often speak of a peace engendered by the wide-open spaces, a quality that the Park Service normally fiercely protects and a quality that buildings impact. Driving the gravel Old Ore Road or even the paved park road from Persimmon Gap to Panther Junction can feel like paradise, but a large exhibit at Fossil Bone, even a lovely one, would somewhat spoil the experience. Doesn't the Organic Act mandate that we preserve the scenery? And cannot education at a national park occur without compromising its beauty? Visitors do like wayside exhibits, but my impression is that they prefer the intimate and personal feel of the small ones, like the one at Anna Hannold's grave.

Roger Siglin ALPINE, TX My experiences in Big Bend go back to 1966 when I was a ranger there. The existing exhibit is a disgrace and should be removed. I was therefore pleased when I heard the park was planning a new one. But the proposed structure to house exhibits is ugly beyond anything I might have imagined. I have frequently hiked in the hills across Tornillo Creek and this structure will impact the wilderness experience because it will be highly visible for hiking off of the Old Ore Road.

SALVADOR GONZALEZ EL PASO, TX CONSERVATION

Lois Balin EL PASO, TX degradation of sensitive natural landscapes

Virginia Morris EL PASO, TX Keep the Park natural.

Sharon Miles-Bonart EL PASO, TX More is not always better. This appears to be the case here.

Jim Tolbert EL PASO, TX Building is in the heart of a wilderness area. There are better places to put replicas.

Elva Diaz EDMOND, OK As a descendant of Leondro Silvas and other relatives that lived in Big Bend.before it was a National Park, do not build this. IF I cannot find my relative's burial site in Castolon because the crosses are no longer there we certainly do not need an infrastructure honoring dinosaurs. No.

Levi Constancio EL PASO, TX Keep it wild.

Robert Diaz EDMOND, OK I love Big Bend (it is where I met my wife). Do not destroy it by misplacing the exhibit in an undeveloped area.

Dianne DeVine EL PASO, TX BBNP already has visitor centers capable of housing displays; current staffing patterns will be stressed to cover additonal exhibit, but lack of staffing could create safety issues. Have use statistics justified a need for a new exhibit?

Ad Konings EL PASO, TX There are already enough structures in the park spoiling some of the views.

Carlos Lujan MEXICO Is is a subject that include us us!!!

Daniel Wright WALHALLA, SC As a former employee and resident of BBNP (1978-1981) I love the wilderness aspect and don't feel there is substantive value in 'another' building. Leave the desert alone. LEAVE it WILD. Make a smaller exhibit at PJ headquarters.

Rick LoBello EL PASO, TX The proposed new Fossil Bone Exhibit at Big Bend National Park totally out of place and will it degrade the viewshed from the wilderness/background.

Heritage and Conservation News Needs Better Exposure

Yesterday the Times printed this letter to the editor:

Editor,

The El Paso Times’ headlong plunge into irrelevancy continues. Apparently you feel no need to provide useful information to the community. You print page after color page of pictures of people standing around doing nothing, and waste space on mazes, horoscopes and religion. When an event happens that brings El Paso positive attention, I would think you would cover it. But no. I guess you’re too busy looking up bible quotes.

On Saturday, December 14, a ceremony took place to dedicate the official historical marker commemorating the 1953 crash of a B-36 bomber in the Franklin Mountains. The El Paso Community Foundation, El Paso County Historical Society, Texas Parks and Wildlife, other organizations and many volunteers worked for months planning this event. The families of three of the nine airmen killed in the crash attended. Some came from as far away as Pennsylvania. The families were overwhelmed by the way El Paso honored their loved ones who died here 60 years ago. This was a heartwarming human-interest story that would surely have garnered national attention. But did the Times cover it? No. There was not an article, a paragraph, a sentence, or a word. NOTHING!

All of you on the Times staff should be ashamed of yourselves for completely ignoring this important, historic event that would have shown El Paso in an extremely positive light.

Terry Sunday

West El Paso   

Terry and I are members of some of the same Meet-up Groups here in El Paso. He's right on point. Like him, I get tired of the wasted pages of space in the Times. (I also get tired of some of the useless fillers on Television news.) I have only kept the subscription to the Times going because of my habit of reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. My tablet may very soon make the printed paper unnecessary. Besides, the El Paso Times never lasts beyond one cup of coffee!

On the other hand, and in their defense, it is hard to cover a story if you don't know about it. Terry's letter was the first time that Editor Bob Moore heard about the event. If our heritage, environmental, conservation and outdoors recreation communities are going to go mainstream in El Paso, they need to get coverage by going after it. 

Elpasonaturally will begin (for a nominal fee) issuing press releases and calling members of the press for these groups.

Email me or call me at 915-525-7364 and let's get the good news published!

More on Park Ponds

Charlie Wakeem once again emailed me some information about ordinances concerning the design and payment of park ponds. Here is what he wrote:

"When there is conversion of detention/retention ponds to parks, they should be designed to have a 'more natural appearance' as 'wetlands and passive parks'.  The important sentences are highlighted with the key phrases underlined.  Converting ponds to park ponds is still the city's responsibility, and supposedly cannot be paid for by the 10% open space money from the Stormwater Utility by ordinance." 

Keep in mind that EPWU CEO John Balliew emailed me after a recent post on this subject and said this: 

"My comment about not spending any money on the park ponds was simply to convey that we have not been billed for any park pond projects as of today. I did fail to mention the one exception which is the Saipan/Ledo pond where I think we were billed."

Here is the rest of Charlie's message with highlighting:

OPEN SPACE MASER PLANCHAPTER 5 – OPEN SPACE MASER PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS18.  Citywide - Detention Ponds and Linear Park Corridors
Detention Ponds throughout El Paso offer enormous opportunities for open space. The prototype is Feather Lake in the Mission Valley area, which has become a renowned bird watching location, but which still functions as a viable detention basin. El Paso has more than 100 existing detention ponds totaling more than 1,000 acres, and in many cases these are the only open undeveloped areas in the neighborhood that surrounds them.As the city re-considers its drainage master plan, these areas should be adapted to serve multiple purposes. They can readily continue to serve as detention areas in times of extreme floods such as the events of August 2006, but at the same time can be converted into wetlands and passive parks with additional landscaping, trees, walking trails and shade pavilions. The practice of “walling off” these areas from the neighborhoods around them should be discontinued. Instead, the ponds should be refitted with gentler side slopes that do not exceed a 4:1 ratio (slope to rise). Pilot channels and lower areas at the bottom of ponds can contain periodic normal rainfall events and leave the remainder of the pond as usable area. Even if the bottom is not accessible, the perimeter access drive should be configured to be park-like in appearance and in use.
The updated drainage master plan should not be looked on as a way to further limit the use of drainage channels and detention ponds as open space assets. El Paso cannot afford to revert to techniques that have been abandoned in other cities in favor of more attractive uses. If some additional detention areas are required to permit the introduction of wetlands and passive parks into the existing detention areas, then the tradeoff in cost is still much more efficient and helpful in creating a better El Paso for the future.  CHAPTER 6 – IMPLEMENTATIONA-4. Making Drainage and Ponding an Integral Part of the Open Space Plan
Through changes to both zoning and subdivision regulations, require that drainage and pond features be designed to have a much more natural appearance. These features are required in every development. Why then not make them an integral part of the development, rather than an afterthought or features to be hidden away as unusable space while the remainder of the development has no other open areas? While this may require some additional land, the resultant benefits to the appearance of the city as a whole are far greater.

National Park Service makes plans to the build 4000 square foot exhibit to display plastic dinosaur bones in undeveloped area

I was glad to see the El Paso Times publish today's story about the new Fossil Bone Exhibit planned in Big Bend National Park. There is a lot I can say about the article and petition, but for the time being I want to share with you some of the comments that Mr. Corrick of the National Park Service appears not to be aware of or acknowledge. In his interview with María Cortés González he states that he " was surprised by LoBello's negative response, saying that the majority of people who have commented on the project are enthusiastic." Below are some of the comments from people who signed the change.org petition that would no doubt take issue with Mr. Corrick's statement.

National Park Service: Cancel plans to build a new and larger Fossil Bone Exhibit and seek an alternative site in an area that has already been developed such as Panther Junction or Persimmon Gap. Learn more at www.iloveparks.com

· Marsha Koepp AUSTIN, TX 

I agree with every word written on this petition!

· Chuck Turvey CRYSTLA FALLS, MI 

This will degrade the existing site.

· Brandt Mannchen HOUSTON, TX 

Big Bend National Park should reduce development footprints and cluster them so that the views, vegetation, wildlife, and potential wilderness will be least affected and the costs will be reduced.

· Robert Wallace RIPON, WI 

It is important to keep the land in Big Bend National Park as natural as possible. Using land at as site already with construction is best for this facility.

· Lone Star HOUSTON, TX 

This construction will put more human weight on this fragile land and encourage more human traffic with more negative impact!

· Elizabeth DeMoultrie EL PASO, TX 

The National Park Service is "Charged with the trust of preserving the natural resources of America". Scraping the natural landscape to build a new building is not a form of preserving the natural resources. There is a limited supply of Natural resources and by using an existing building there is no energy spent to scrape, grade and destroy a natural landscape. By not building a new building there will be less construction and demolition debris and less need for new materials. The environmentally responsible thing to do is place the exhibit in an area already developed.

· Phil Koepp AUSTIN, TX 

Once again, as with an airport in designated wilderness, NPS wants to screw up what it is there to protect and conserve.

· Craig Weisbart LAS CRUCES, NM 

It is not necessary to go in and destroy a national park's wilderness area in the middle of the park. This could be easily placed at the entrance visitor's center with minimal impact to the park

· jorge saenz STUDIO CITY, CA 

We have Disneyland in California and Florida. We don't need the National Park Service to build one in Big Bend.

· Barbara Nehring EL PASO, TX 

There is far too little wilderness left in this country and especially in Texas

· Rose Janice HORIZON, CITY, TX 

Keep the park the way it is!!!

· Janae Reneaud Field EL PASO, TX 

Big Bend is beautiful place and an area that has very little disturbance, lets keep it that way!

· Gary Nakovic EL PASO, TX 

Maintain Big Bend National Park experience with minimal developement especially in remote areas of the park.

· Marshall Carter Tripp EL PASO, TX 

Big Bend is a beautiful area that can best be left alone! Build new displays where there is already disturbance...and why on earth put up fake dinosaur bones?

· Constance Woodman CLARENCE, NY 

One can always build a new building but one cannot build new wilderness. If you really want to show off dinosaur fossil history, use an "augmented reality" app. along a self guided trail so dinosaurs and fossils come to life without large cash investment and development.

· Marilyn Guida EL PASO, TX 

The first choice should always be not to disturb the wilderness. Plastic dinosaur bones can be displayed in an area already developed and impacted.

· Gary Roemer LAS CRUCES, NM 

Big Bend NP is one of the most remote regions in the continental US with incredible wilderness. This wilderness should be preserved at all costs. Please build your exhibit in an already disturbed area.

· Jim Hatcher FORT STOCKTON, TX 

I am a longtime visitor to BBNP since '77, I live in the vicinity and I enjoy the long unimpeded vistas the Park has. I can see very little about this structure and the infrastructure that would surround it that would improve any view. Spend money on improving existing infrastructure but please don't build more.

· Charles McCullough HOUSTON, TX 

Because a good friend endorsed it and that's good enough for me

· Cheryl Hanna EL PASO, TX 

Cancel plans to build a new and larger Fossil Bone Exhibit and seek an alternative site in an area that has already been developed such as Panther Junction or Persimmon Gap.

· Frederick Zink FERNLEY, NV 

This country can not afford anymore stupid, wasteful spending on rediculous projects such as this! My guess is....someone stands to gain monetarely from this, so their pushing it......unbelievable!

· Debby Price EDGEWOOD, NM
I don't think more land needs to be developed when a site is available

· Mark Kirtley ALPINE, TX 

Having worked as a volunteer at Persimmon Gap Visitor Center for many years, I've listened to thousands of visitors talk about why they love Big Bend. They often speak of a peace engendered by the wide-open spaces, a quality that the Park Service normally fiercely protects and a quality that buildings impact. Driving the gravel Old Ore Road or even the paved park road from Persimmon Gap to Panther Junction can feel like paradise, but a large exhibit at Fossil Bone, even a lovely one, would somewhat spoil the experience. Doesn't the Organic Act mandate that we preserve the scenery? And cannot education at a national park occur without compromising its beauty? Visitors do like wayside exhibits, but my impression is that they prefer the intimate and personal feel of the small ones, like the one at Anna Hannold's grave.

· Roger Siglin ALPINE, TX 

My experiences in Big Bend go back to 1966 when I was a ranger there. The existing exhibit is a disgrace and should be removed. I was therefore pleased when I heard the park was planning a new one. But the proposed structure to house exhibits is ugly beyond anything I might have imagined. I have frequently hiked in the hills across Tornillo Creek and this structure will impact the wilderness experience because it will be highly visible for hiking off of the Old Ore Road.

· SALVADOR GONZALEZ EL PASO, TX 

CONSERVATION

· Lois Balin EL PASO, TX 

degradation of sensitive natural landscapes

· Virginia Morris EL PASO, TX 

Keep the Park natural.

· Sharon Miles-Bonart EL PASO, TX 

More is not always better. This appears to be the case here.

· Jim Tolbert EL PASO, TX 

Building is in the heart of a wilderness area. There are better places to put replicas.

· Elva Diaz EDMOND, OK 

As a descendant of Leondro Silvas and other relatives that lived in Big Bend.before it was a National Park, do not build this. IF I cannot find my relative's burial site in Castolon because the crosses are no longer there we certainly do not need an infrastructure honoring dinosaurs. No.

· Levi Constancio EL PASO, TX 

Keep it wild.

· Robert Diaz EDMOND, OK 

I love Big Bend (it is where I met my wife). Do not destroy it by misplacing the exhibit in an undeveloped area.

· Dianne DeVine EL PASO, TX 

BBNP already has visitor centers capable of housing displays; current staffing patterns will be stressed to cover additonal exhibit, but lack of staffing could create safety issues. Have use statistics justified a need for a new exhibit?

· Ad Konings EL PASO, TX 

There are already enough structures in the park spoiling some of the views.

· Carlos Lujan MEXICO 

Is is a subject that include us us!!!

· Daniel Wright WALHALLA, SC 

As a former employee and resident of BBNP (1978-1981) I love the wilderness aspect and don't feel there is substantive value in 'another' building. Leave the desert alone. LEAVE it WILD. Make a smaller exhibit at PJ headquarters.

Awash in Plastics

Click on image to enlarge.

Maybe I'll start a graphic of the week as I do with the video. Here's one from Upworthy posted originally HERE.

It was a Scientific American story about micro-plastic beads in our grooming products that sounded the RED ALERT for me. Read the story HERE. The SA story and the Upworthy graphic will make you wonder just how much awash we are in toxic plastics.

A good read on this whole subject is What's Gotten Into Us?:Staying Healthy in a Toxic World by Mckay Jenkins. Grist interviews the author HERE.

In the 1967 classic, The Graduate, Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) was much better off escaping in the end with Elaine Robinson (Katherine Ross) then taking this advice:


But that's hindsight and it may be too late.

The Friday Video: Karl Crossing the Knife Edge in El Paso's Franklin Mountains

There are a lot of great places and great people in El Paso, Texas and the region. There are so many good places to hike, bike, rock climb, bird watch and more in our Franklin Mountains and beyond. One of the more adventurous as well as dangerous places is the Knife Edge along the ridge of the southern Franklin Mountains. This video shows ace hiker and climber, Karl Putnam, navigating the knife.

What is great about Karl is the fact that he so unselfishly guides others on difficult adventures in the mountains. His strong arm once pulled me up and onto a ledge during a climb up the rhyolite cliffs of the Thunderbird. He has talked many a hiker down the infamous "Corkscrew of Death" in the Kenyon Joyce arroyo.

Of course, there are much easier and safer hikes throughout the mountains. Whether you are a beginning, intermediate or advanced hiker, you can find lots of good outings for any skill level by joining the El Paso Hiking Group, the brainchild of Michael Romero. Another great group is Samat Jain's Jornada Hiking & Outdoor Club. Although the club's page is headlined "Welcome Las Cruces Hikers", it is open to everyone and many of the hikes take place in the El Paso area such as a Christmas Eve 1,000 Step Hike. Samat is putting together hikes and events for just about everyone with any skill level. He's one of the region's leaders in getting people out into the beautiful and adventurous places of our part of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Keep an eye out for Putnam hikes in the El Paso Hiking Group. He is truly King of our Franklin Mountains. By the way, Karl just had a birthday. Happy Birthday, King Karl!

Vote for Your Favorite Heritage and Outdoors Spots on the EP Times Ballot

Once again the El Paso Times is conducting their Reader's Favorites poll. Categories include Home Services, Entertainment, Groceries, Automotive, Eating Out and Financial. (There's also a "General" category for things like best service and best employer.)

Under "Entertainment" there are museums and art galleries and campgrounds among other "places". El Paso County Historical Commission Chairman, Bernie Sargent, recommends that people use the "Museum" spot under "Entertainment" to write in places that get overlooked since they aren't museums. Examples could be the Magoffin Home or Keystone Heritage Park. 

Expanding on Bernie's great idea, some of you might want to vote for your favorite hiking or birding or rock climbing spot by using the "Museum" or "Campground" space on the EP Times ballot.

Bernie Sargent raises a good point. We think about favorites under a narrow set of categories. However, what about our favorite heritage site in El Paso? What about our favorite place to go hiking, bicycling, rock climbing, strolling and/or birding? You can write in Franklin Mountains State Park or a specific spot like the Schaffer Shuffle or the Nature Trail that the El Paso Master Naturalists have worked so diligently on to make attractive. You may want to specify the B-36 crash site or the knife edge on the ridge or even Scenic Drive on Scenic Sunday. Birders also have favorite spots in the upper and lower valleys. 

Heritage and eco/outdoors tourism is big business in other places. Sure wouldn't hurt to tout these places in El Paso. Big dollar opportunity or not - it makes sense to get others interested in our history and our great outdoors.

Go HERE for the poll. Use one of the slots under entertainment to vote for your favorite heritage and outdoors spot.

Thank you, Bernie Sargent!

 

Park Ponds? Really?

After my last post, I got this message from Charlie Wakeem who was the Chairman of the Open Space Board for the past 3 or 4 years and one of the architects of the open space and stormwater policies in El Paso - in fact he could be called the Dean of Conservation in our city - i.e., the man has mucho gravitas:


Hi Jim,

Once again, another good post.  I'd like to clarify something from it for you. Nowhere in the Municipal Drainage System Ordinance does it state that the 10% Open Space money could be used for the purchase of ponds or for park improvements (e.g. sod, turf & shrubs) to ponds.  I've read the ordinance over and over and over, and there's no other way to interpret it.  I admit I'm one of those who succumbed to city council's pork by not opposing the use of the 10% money for park ponds in their districts.  The following is a cut and paste of the actual ordinance.  I highlighted the important phrases and highlighted the most important phrases.  Show me, if you can, anywhere where it authorizes the use of the 10% money for the purchase of or improvements to park ponds.

Charlie

ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM

 ORDINANCE  #O16668 - JUNE 19, 2007

     WHEREAS, the City has adopted an Open Space Master Plan which emphasizes open spaces and natural areas as a possible method to help manage storm water, reduce flooding risk and improve water quality;                                                                                    

SECTION III.
ESTABLISHING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE SYSTEM

B.  The Board [PSB] shall cause to be prepared a Master Stormwater Management Plan (“Stormwater Plan”) which shall be approved by the City Council.  In developing the Stormwater Plan the Board shall take into account the use of open space as natural drainage and to extent reasonably possible preserve the City’s open spaces, greenways, arroyos and wilderness areas in their natural state as a means to assist in the management of storm water and in accordance with the City’s Open Space Master Plan.

C.  Notwithstanding anything herein to be contrary and even to the extent such operation may constitute storm water maintenance, the City shall continue to be responsible for … (iv) parks.


D.  The General Manager shall bring to the Board annually a Stormwater Capital Improvement Plan (the “Capital Plan”) for approval which shall include both short and long term objectives.  To assure compliance with the Stormwater Plan the City’s Flood Plain Administrator shall review the proposed Capital Plan prior to its presentation to the board.  The Capital Plan shall, to the extent reasonably possible, include the use and maintenance of arroyos and other natural drainage drainage systems as a means to manage stormwater and otherwise take into account environmental best practices in the construction of any stormwater infrastructure.  The Capital Plan shall identify stormwater infrastructure projects (including land acquisitions) which have the potential dual purposes of stormwater management and preservation of the City’s open spaces, greenways, arroyos and wilderness areas in their natural state in accordance with the City’s Open Space Master Plan and the City’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan (“Green Projects”).  The Board shall allocate an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the System’s annual drainage utility revenues for such Green Projects. 

Good News on Open Space Acquisitions

There was one good piece of news that came as a result of last week's PSB meeting. During the discussion on stormwater and other budgets, I addressed the board and pointed out that, with the exception of the Palisades and a couple of other minor purchases, the portion of the stormwater fee set aside to purchase open space was being used for parks and ponds - shrubs and sod was the way I put it. (I had previously blogged about the issue HERE.) Having been on the Open Space committee and then Board for 5 years, I am well aware of this issue. The EPWU spokesperson would come to OSAB meetings and discuss EPWU interest in a piece of land - but it was always just talk. (That person btw was Rudy Valdez. He's a great guy and was only passing on information. My mentioning a spokesperson to the Board was not meant to be a criticism of that person just of the emptiness of the EPWU's message over 5 years.)

It turns out that the new person in charge of acquisitions at the EPWU is none other than Lupe Cuellar.  Now that's the good news! The conservation community can have confidence that Ms. Cuellar will be more diligent and focused on open space purchases.

There is a caveat of course. The mere announcement of interest in a section of private land can drive up the price. There not only has to be a willing seller but a seller willing to be reasonable and even civic-minded. 

When I voiced my concern/criticism at the PSB meeting, CEO Balliew did point out that negotiations in the past had not worked out not because of the EPWU but because of unwilling or unreasonable sellers. I'm sure that has been the case in many instances. However, five years of nothing except the Palisades and parks and ponds tells me that there has been a lack of focus and willingness on the part of the EPWU. After all, the political will in the City has been biased toward park ponds. The purchase of parks and ponds is something City reps can point to proudly. It's pork in El Paso. That money included shrubs and sod although Balliew mistakenly told the Board otherwise. I'm afraid that he left the impression with some of the more reactionary members that the EPWU was innocent regarding the slow pace of purchasing open space. On the other hand, the fact that some members wanted to know the reason for the slow pace reveals that they do want to see natural open space purchased. It will be helpful to keep asking the question. The proof, as I told John Balliew after the meeting, is in the pudding - with open space, with pipelines to the Rio Bosque and so forth. Talk is cheap.

It is true that the ordinance which created the 10% of stormwater money to buy natural open space (which has stormwater function) included the purchase of park ponds. It was the only way politically to pass the measure. However, it seems that reps continue to find ways to spend that money for park ponds. El Paso Engineer Alan Shubert let slip at a Council meeting not long ago that the City was looking at more land for park ponds. That was before he found himself overseeing the stadium project on behalf of the City. Of course, there was the Johnson Basin boondoggle - the purchase with open space money of a vacant lot with a paved asphalt parking lot. It has been decades since any natural arroyo existed in the area. It has long been residential land dominated by William Beaumont Hospital below a busy thoroughfare, Alabama Street. (Pacemaker bioengineer and PSB Chairman Schoephoerster [PSB has something to do with water not hearts - right?] said, you will recall, that it looked like natural open space to him. (See video HERE and more HERE and HERE.) God I hope Dean Schoephoerster had nothing to do with the pacemaker inside of me!)

Anyway - good news. Lupe Cuellar is in charge of open space acquisitions at the EPWU.

More Disturbing News from Big Bend

Today I learned some very disturbing news from Big Bend National Park. Apparently the Friends of the Big Bend group, organized years ago to support the National Park and its programs, has become somewhat political in that they have been occasionally pressuring the NPS to follow their agenda rather than the parks.  Friends groups have benefited our National Parks for many years in numerous ways, but like any other organization there can be problems with people bringing their own personal agendas to the table, especially when they control large sums of money.   If you have not read the two articles on my website about this please do so soon. The Environmental Assessment public comment period ends December 23.

To sum it all up for you a growing number of people are speaking out against a National Park Service proposal to build a large Fossil Bone exhibit in the heart of a wilderness area. The entire project is very bad news plus the dinosaur bones they plan to use will be replicas that could be displayed in areas already developed. You can sign the change.org petition and ask your friends to join you at http://chn.ge/1faXugM

I have written about what is happening on my website at www.iloveparks.com.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Rick LoBello
Working to help conserve and protect Big Bend National Park since 1974

Serve Not Control: Some Thoughts on Recent Events at the PSB

I have never used a blog post to debate another blogger. In fact, I can't remember ever even responding to someone else except to cite something said whether I agreed or disagreed. I'm not going to start now. However, I do want to share some things that I've thought about as a result of reading  David K's post on Refuse the Juice HERE. (By the way, I join David in welcoming Anson Mills to the El Paso blog scene. Check him out. Bookmark him. You will find him refreshing.)

Before responding somewhat to David, here's a disclaimer some of which I've shared before. David K is a friend. I like him a lot. More to the point, his parents have been dear friends since my boyhood and youth. I grew up with David's Dad. We hiked in the Franklins together, our families went to the same Episcopalian parish, we played soldiers and told tall but very important tales. David K's Mom's Dad (following this?) ran the appraisal office at my father's insurance adjusting agency, TBL Adjusters. I've known her since her first year out of high school when she joined the employees of TBL - a company that was proud of its tradition of nepotism. (I worked there for summer after summer beginning with my Junior year in high school and stretching through college.) When I returned to El Paso in 2006 after 36 years away, it was a delightful serendipity to find John and Eileen. I say all of this so you understand that I know David K and his family well and know them to be ethical, honest and highly intelligent without being conceited or rude. They're genuine, down to earth, good people. I listen to them. I respect and value their opinions. My affection for them runs deep. We go back.

What follows, then, is not really a debate but some thoughts I want to contribute to this discussion. I've exchanged email with David and have a better understanding of his wisdom and opinions. I'm grateful to him for sharing his thoughts.

The Bonart un-appointment is a dead horse and I don't wish to beat it. You can see KVIA's video on Bonart's last meeting on the PSB when the communications policy that he fought was "torn up" and reactions (including mine) were voiced regarding his not being reappointed. See it HERE. David Crowder's story about the Bonart outster is HERE. Maria Garcia interviewed both Bonart and Crowder along with a member of the Canutillo ISD Board on ABC-7 Xtra regarding communication policies and free speech. Watch the video HERE. Ms. Garcia makes the excellent point that there are boards such as the PSB that make huge decisions that impact us and our wallets and yet are not obligated to answer to the public. It is this obligation and our obligation as citizens to make ourselves informed that matters most to me. Even though we have (thankfully) a representative form of government, it is still our obligation as citizens (our privilege, our duty, our joy) to know what the heck is going on and to hold those in government responsible and be willing to serve if need be. I differ from some of the things David K wrote in his post; but I think that he and I and most of us share a common value. He can correct me if I am wrong.

I'm not going to debate David's practical politics. There is no doubt that Bonart's forum hurt him and David's advice would have been well heeded. However, I don't believe that the forum was the reason that ignited Acosta or why some on Council "switched" their votes. The die was cast. Acosta's feigned indignation about the forum was a pretext for Council members to unseat an incumbent. Behind it was the turning and grinding of wheels in the bowels of the PSB/EPWU and City government. Those wheels were oiled by a Brutus, a Quisling, a Benedict Arnold from among the environmental group -someone who maintains his support for Bonart but who drove the dagger of assassination. He knows who he is. I will say no more.

I also doubt whether Bonart organized the forum of candidates for two PSB positions for his own self-interests. In fairness to those who insist that he did, I admit that I'm a proud friend and a biased one at that. You can read my comment on the subject of this forum and Dr. Bonart's motivations HERE. I don't believe that Bonart dominated that forum. The facilitator, Susie Byrd, wouldn't let him and, in fact, shut him down and gave equal time to all.

Again, the real issue is that of our officials being obligated to us and our being obligated to be - that's right - CITIZENS. There are constitutional issues and issues that go to the very core principals of our democracy within a Republic. I speak about IRS and Attorney General rulings in a previous post HERE. If someday a City Board (PSB or whatever) censures a member based on something he/she said, expect a civil rights lawsuit based on the First Amendment. I can't disagree with the wisdom of David K's practical politics. I do believe that Constitutional issues are indeed involved and involved whenever any of us serves in government as someone elected, appointed or hired or whenever any of us assumes our duty and privilege of a Citizen involved in government.

There is another issue and a value that I bet all of us can agree upon. We hate dictatorship - whether it is the control by an oligarchy working behind closed doors or an unruly mob or an overbearing person. There must always be checks and balances. Most of us know how to speak and to listen to others. We have such things as Roberts Rules of Order and we can agree to a process. The only time when someone should challenge the process is when the oligarchy uses the process to prevent her/him from doing her duty which includes homework. Bonart really wasn't the person to do a candidate's forum but then the PSB and City Council weren't going to do it. In fact, the resumes of the people to be appointed to this most important board weren't even shared with the public on any official web page. "Trust us," those in power say. I believe in representative government but I believe that is exactly where Reagan's Dictum best applies: Trust But Verify. How incestuous it is that the PSB members themselves have a vote when it comes to ranking the candidates! That's exactly how you perpetuate good ol' boy and girl clubs. That's exactly how you stifle variation and evolution. That's exactly how you get to a point that a single board member is told that he or she can't see this or that document or talk to this or that person and public relations pieces can be created to prop up the misinformation of CEOs and others in power.

By the way, I never observed Bonart as a PSB member disrespecting another person. He was never confrontational nor abrasive as Dr. No of City Council expressed. Dr. Rick Bonart was, as CEO John Balliew stated "the most conscientious board member".

It is more difficult to have checks and balances when it comes to government and other institutions. We do have the Constitutional checks and balances of tri-partite government: executive, legislative and judicial. We also have the very important balance created with the freedom of the press. We ensure that mobs cannot rule nor that majorities can legislate against our civil rights. David K and I probably firmly agree (and commiserate) on the balances created between the states and the federal government but I, too, digress.

Many are very concerned and rightfully so with the control by a mob or a person by their violence or their arrogance. Many of us are concerned and rightfully so with the control of those in power either because of their secrecy or because the press fails or citizens fail to keep vigilance. We don't like being controlled or having the processes which govern our lives being controlled by anyone, any mob or any institution. We don't like the arrogance and paternalism of those who use power for their own ends and not the public good. We want fairness. Quite frankly, I like representative government for the very reason that, as a citizen in a free society, I don't have to worry about the daily affairs of government and find things quite satisfactory most of the time. I like to be free to pursue my own happiness. But when I see attempts by government to control information, processes or persons, then as a citizen I have a right and an obligation to become informed and to speak out. And so do each and every appointed and elected citizen.

Elpasonaturally will continue to investigate and be a voice. I do intend to be more informative and less polemic because I realize now more than ever that honest people on boards or Councils can sometimes go asleep in the comfort of the easiness of oligarchy. They too are citizens and all of us and each of us want what is best for our community. The only persons whose whims and policies that we need to confront are those whose pursuits have been grotesquely deformed by greed and the pursuit of power or prestige for its own sake. Behind closed doors or with flamboyance and surely by our complacence they have become tyrants. 

I am aware that the recent issues and events at the PSB may have widened the chasm between the environmental community and others. I am painfully aware that these events and several incidents in recent years have widened the chasm between those in the environmental community itself. There is reason for distrust but that distrust can be overcome by information and bridging the abyss created by polemic - my own included. Shouldn't we all be - aren't we all - people who care about the world we live in and the health and happiness of all?

Let's seek to serve not to control and do so while respecting the rights of others. Transparent government and processes make innovation and sustainability possible. That transparency often requires someone to buck the system especially when the system is efficiently stagnant and unimaginative and unresponsive and unaccountable to you and to me. Such bucking is a check and a balance that those who would have a free society need.

The Friday Video: Dear Motorist

Take the PLEDGE at dearmotorist.com.

See TxDOT Drawings of State Park Connectivity Project

TxDOT has published drawings of the connectivity project at the entrance to the Franklin Mountain State Park HERE.

Email and Facebook posts continue to be hugely positive. The only question seems to be whether there is a way to move the project along faster. I got this email from Terri Garcia's favorite EX-PSB member:

"One of the things that doesn't compute is not being able to use discretionary funds to build this feature ( either in whole or part ). After all, what monies were used to build the wildlife tunnel between Paseo and Plexxar?

"Why is there a distinction?

"I really like the design, it's very thoughtful, and needs to be expedited or risk being shelved.

"I'm glad the current Transmountain project is ahead of schedule, so any delays caused by doing this now probably would have little net effect on that benchmark.

"The public was promised by TxDOT, as a condition of approval by City Council to not only  look at but resolve these issues.

"TxDOT just issued a $3.5M change order at the City's request for cosmetic enhancements. If that's doable, then $1.5M for functional and safety improvements should not only be possible but a priority.

"Finally, this project is one of only a handful at most through out the entire country. It's a huge PR opportunity!"

Bob Bielek did say the other evening that the "cosmetic enhancements" were done at the request of the City. 

It's always good to see City leadership get their priorities straight.