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.