Canary in the Coal Mine

Sierra Club image

When prophet, seer, revelator and polygamist, Brigham Young, beheld the Great Salt Lake Valley, he proclaimed to his fellow Mormons (Latter Day Saints): "This is the place." The Mormons had treked nearly 1,300 miles from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Salt Lake to escape the persecution they had suffered at the hands of - well - some Christians. Of course, they would discover that the lake was not a fresh water lake but a salt water lake. Nevertheless, obedient to their prophet, they made do with the territory, thrived as a community, and extended their empire throughout the west and their religion throughout the world.

Today, the Great Salt Lake is drying up and it is not alone. Other saline lakes and the Colorado River Basin are doing so as well. (That Basin by the way is responsible for 15% of our food and $1.4 trillion of economic productivity.) It's not only the case of the mismanagement of water in the west, it's the result of the total contribution of principally industrial societies to global warming. 

Western yellow-billed cuckoo
Image from the Audubon Society

The drying up of these lakes is taking its toll on bird habitats. It's long but worth reading - the Audubon Society's Executive Summary—Water and Birds in the Arid West: Habitats in Decline. The online summary has great pictures, maps and charts.  The declining ecosystem and bird populations should be a warning to humans. It is, as Marshall Carter-Tripp informs us, a matter of the canary in the cage in the coal mine. An op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Saline lakes are drying up across the West — and putting birds at serious risk, is not just an aviary problem. It forebodes human problems. The Times piece puts it this way when looking at the decline of one species in particular, the western yellow-billed cuckoo:

"Why should we care about the western yellow-billed cuckoo? Well, for one thing, the effects of water loss on birds tell us a lot about how falling water levels will affect humans. Birds are highly sensitive to ecological changes, which makes them excellent indicators of environmental health. When colonial seabirds start abandoning nesting sites en masse because of dramatic drops in water levels, as occurred in the Salton Sea in 2013, or are forced to relocate because of toxic dust kicked up by winds blowing across dry lake beds, we know that humans soon will feel the effects of those changes."

John Fleck, a journalist who lives in New Mexico, says this in his blog post for today, birds and water in a changing West:

"This is a critical point in thinking about contemporary water/environmental politics. It's not enough to simply say "But the birds!" Environmentalists' greatest chance for success requires helping ensure reliable supplies for the people, because without that the environment will always take the hit."

John Sproul teaching students

It is encouraging to see the work of the Audubon Society and other "prophets and seers" to reclaim critical water features. Here in El Paso, we have the extraordinary work of John Sproul (the John Muir of El Paso) to revive the Rio Bosque Wetlands. He is assisted by the Friends of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. 

[Remember the birding trip hosted by our local Audubon Society this Saturday. More info in yesterday's blog post.]

Castner Range Conservation Clears First Hurdle

Please ask President Obama to designate Castner Range as a National Monument.

David Soules gives a presentation about the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
Photo by John R Miller, Happy Destiny Photography

Frontera Land Alliance Executive Director,  Janae' Reneaud-Field, announced at a joint annual dinner last evening that her office has now received well over 1,000 letters addressed to President Obama asking him to designate Castner Range as a National Monument. Of course, many more letters will need to be signed; but the first deadline has been reached.

The dinner at the elegant El Paso Club was a joint meeting of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition and the Friends of the Rio Bosque. Richard Teschner, President of the Friends of the Rio Bosque, made arrangements for the event. 

Scott Cutler, President of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coaltion, spoke about FMWC and Castner Range and introduced the guest-speaker, David Soules, who was instrumental in having the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks designated as a National Monument.

John Sproul, the Manager of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, then spoke about the huge difference that year-round water has made at the Rio Bosque. The park is truly beginning to be a sustainable wetland thanks to the PSB/EPWU which constructed a pipeline from its Bustamante Water Treatment Plant to the Bosque.

Scott Cutler speaks with Congressman (and future President) Beto O'Rourke.
Photo by John R Miller, Happy Destiny Photography

Of course, what really generated enthusiasm last evening was the buzz about Castner Range. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who has introduced legislation for its preservation, greeted members of both prominent El Paso environmental groups.

Again, more letters - many more letters - are needed. Please go HERE to download a letter to President Obama asking him to designate Castner Range as a National Monument. Then print and mail your letter to Janae' Reneaud-Field, Executive Director, Frontera Land Alliance, 3800 N. Mesa St., Suite A2-258. El Paso, TX 79902. You can also scan and email your letter to her at Janae@Fronteralandalliance.org. Don't mail your letter to President Obama. Janae' will do that.

Rio Bosque Wetlands Threatened - Again

Click image to enlarge.

Our Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is threatened once again. This in spite of new sources of water for almost the entire year. If done in its preferred route by TxDOT, the planned Border East Highway means bad news for the Bosque.

The El Paso Times reported recently: Officials: Border Highway East project to cost $711.6M. Item 7 on tomorrow's 9AM Transportation Policy Board for the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization (EPMPO) reads: "Discussion and action to allow the Transportation Policy Board Chairperson to execute a Resolution in support of the Border Highway East (BHE) Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study." Do see the full proposal and presentation HERE.

TxDOT's preferred route for the Border East Highway would go from the Zaragoza International Port of Entry to the future Tornillo-Guadalupe International Port of Entry following the Rio Grande. There would also be an extension from Tornillo to Interstate 10. 

The Rio Bosque hugs the Rio Grande on its western border. The Riverside Canal sets the eastern boundary of the park. The El Paso County Water Improvement District plans to cement the Riverside Canal. That by itself will negatively impact the wildlife at the Rio Bosque. A border highway hugging the concreted canal will certainly be harmful to the wildlife of the park according to John Sproul the park's manager.

In addition to threatening the Rio Bosque, the planned border highway will upset the primarily rural towns from Socorro through Clint and San Elizario to Tornillo. San Elizario and Clint already face having a dangerous pipeline running near homes and schools. For more, go HERE and HERE.

Now is a very good time to become a Friend of the Rio Bosque. Also visit and like The Friends of the Rio Bosque Facebook page.

The EPMPO meets tomorrow at 9AM at 211 N. Florence, Suite 103. MAP

Please support elpasonaturally©. Go HERE to donate and help turn El Paso 

"green".

So what happened with the EPCWID#1 Board Meeting?

Apparently the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park will get its water via a direct pipeline from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant. The EPWU's plan to build the pipeline had been delayed because that pipeline crossed a narrow section of abandoned land owned by the El Paso Water Improvement District #1. It took getting something in return to gain the easement.

John Sproul reported that, at the end of its open meeting yesterday, "the [EPCWID #1] Board discussed scheduling a special board meeting to take place in a week or so.  Board President  Johnny Stubbs said this will be the meeting at which the board takes action on Application 1683 for the Rio Bosque pipeline crossing."

At the beginning of yesterday's meeting, Board President Johnny Stubbs stood and addressed the seven or so members of the Friends of the Rio Bosque and explained that the Improvement District was their best friend and that they would soon grant the EPWU's request. He mentioned that they had concerns. What he didn't mention was their wanting something in return. Nevertheless, members of the Friends thanked him and, when I addressed them, said that I took them at their word.

Apparently the EPWU agreed to pay for some improvements to the drain downstream of the Bosque for a small sum. (Unknown what that is.) The EPWU has issued the Improvement District a check for the license fee and it should be issued within a day or two - perhaps after their special meeting. The date and time of that meeting has not been posted yet on their web site.

Good News for Now for the Rio Bosque

John Sproul, the Manager of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, is upbeat in the latest (January 2014) "Rio Bosque News". About winter water, Sproul reports:

"At Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, the wet season is here. Water is flowing the length of the old river channel in the park. The wetland areas are flooded. Over 2,500 waterfowl are present. It's a great time to visit Rio Bosque!

"On Nov 3, ElPaso Water Utilities (EPWU) began discharging treated water from the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Riverside Drain, through which El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 (El Paso No. 1) delivers it to the park. Then, on Nov 19, El Paso No. 1 opened the new turnout on the Riverside Canal, sending water fro the first time directly from the canal to the park. Thanks go to El Paso No. 1 and EPWU for making water from these sources available.

"Once the 2014 irrigation season begins, these flows will end; the park will again be largely dry. But as the year progresses, that could change. The new turnout is performing well. If we identify water rights holders willing to assign irrigation water to the park, the turnout makes delivery of that water possible. Also at its Nov 13 meeting, El Paso's Public Service Board gave EPWU the go-ahead to put the planned pipeline from the Bustamante Plan to the park out for bid. Once built, the pipeline will enable water deliveries to the park year-round."

To read all of the newsletter, go HERE. You will find information about events and volunteer opportunities at the park and how you can join and contribute to the Friends of the Rio Bosque.

One hopes that the news will continue to be rosy. There are some concerns:

One week until the next PSB meeting and there is still no bid out for the pipeline from the Bustamante plant to the Bosque. This means that PSB action may not come until February or March and construction 3 months after that. This could mean no water until August. Is there a backdoor deal between EPWU and El Paso No. 1 to stall construction until after the coming irrigation season in order for the El Paso No. 1 to continue to get the extra effluent this year as the drought continues - free of charge, of course.

The current TCEQ permit for the Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant expires in September of this year. Will the renewal contain the third outflow as needed for watering the Bosque?

"The proof is in the pudding." That's what I said to EPWU CEO John Balliew after the last PSB meeting. Let's hope that Mr. Sproul continues to get good news. A healthy, greening, wildlife abundant Bosque is good for our environment, our health and our economy.

TxDOT Strikes Again

You would think that there couldn't be another conservation/environmental project that TxDOT would want to destroy. It's excuse and delay when it comes to a wildlife corridor and safe passage to the Franklin Mountains State Park. They refuse to use federal money targeted for a bike share program. Now they are preparing to put it to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. Park manager, John Sproul, sent this message:


In May, the Texas Department of Transportation began its Border Highway East Study, intended to look at transportation improvements along the border in southeast El Paso County.  Attached is a Fact Sheet on the study. 

The most significant facility being looked at in this study is a proposed new highway extending from the Zaragoza International Port of Entry to the Tornillo-Guadalupe International Port of Entry.  Initially, four alternative alignments have been presented for this highway.  They are displayed on the attached “BHE Constraints north” map.  Immediately east of Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, all four alignments are identical:  They parallel the Riverside Canal on the opposite side of the canal from the park. 

From the inception of the wetlands project at Rio Bosque, one of our main goals has been to establish a new entrance to the park from Socorro Road.  It would be at the park’s southeast corner, where the visitor center is located.   The planned new entrance would provide direct, convenient access off Socorro Road and directly link Rio Bosque with the Mission Trail.  Over the past several years, working in coordination with El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, we have been finalizing plans for the new entrance.  It would include:

• a short entrance road from Socorro Road
• a parking area
• a new footbridge crossing the Riverside Canal
• walkways leading from the parking area to the footbridge and from the footbridge to the park's existing Bosque Trail and visitor center.

The four alternative alignments for the highway all go right through the area proposed for this new entrance. [Emphasis is mine.]


The upcoming meetings will be in an open-house, come-and-go format.  You’ll have a chance to view the maps, discuss the study with project planners, and offer you views, ideas and concerns. 


Public Meeting, Border Highway East Study

Tues. 19 November
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Socorro High School Cafeteria
10150 Alameda Ave., Socorro, TX

or

Wed. 20 November
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Rio Valle Women’s Club

521 Mike Maros, Fabens, TX 


Attachments:
Border Highway East Study Fact Sheet
BHE Constraints North Map

Rio Bosque Has Water!

From John Sproul:

Just before 9 a.m. this morning, staff at the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant switched the discharge of the plant’s effluent from the Riverside Canal to the Riverside Drain.  By 10 a.m., when my Introductory Tour group reached the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park inlet, water was just beginning to enter the park.  By 12:30 p.m., the water had advanced ~400 meters in the old river channel within the park, negotiating its way through piles of tumbleweeds deposited by yesterday’s windstorm. 

This is the first delivery of effluent to the park in 287 days. 

All of the Bustamante effluent is currently going to the Riverside Drain, and we are diverting as much as possible to the park.  A lot of the water is going to soak in initially, but some should start reaching the park’s wetland cells soon. 

Other Rio Bosque water news:

• On Tuesday 13 November, the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission is scheduled to begin construction of the short diversion channel needed to deliver water from the planned turnout on the Riverside Canal to the old river channel in the park.  Once the diversion channel is complete, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 will install the turnout. 

• On Wednesday 14 November, the City of El Paso’s Public Service Board will meet, starting at 9 a.m.  Item 9 on its agenda (attached) is:

9. Consider and adopt a Joint Resolution between the City of El Paso and the El Paso Water Utilities – Public

Service Board concerning the transfer of the Rio Bosque Park from the City to the management and control of

the Public Service Board and the assignment of the License Agreement between the City and the University of

Texas at El Paso to the Public Service Board.

If adopted by both the PSB and the City Council, the joint resolution (attached) would place Rio Bosque in the PSB’s land inventory.  El Paso Water Utilities could then deliver some water from the Bustamante Plant to the park year-round as part of EPWU operations and without cost to UTEP.  The management direction for the park would not change.  Rio Bosque would continue to be a public park, and UTEP would continue to be the site manager. 

John Sproul

Manager, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

Center for Environmental Resource Management

University of Texas at El Paso

500 West University Ave.

El Paso, TX  79968-0684

915-747-8663 office

915-861-4361 cell

jsproul@utep.edu

www.riobosque.org

How Much Water?

If you are able, there are 3 big reasons to attend tomorrow’s Public Service Board Meeting at the El Paso Water Utilities Building 1154 Hawkins Blvd. (Map) at 9 a.m. :

First there is Item 13 on the agenda.  Dr. Bill Hutchison will give a presentation on the El Paso Municipal Water Supply: Availability, Development and Management. Read the attachment to the agenda regarding his bio and background with the water utility and his expertise. (BTW, if you use Chrome as your web browser, you will not be able to open any EPWU attachment. You will have to switch to Internet Explorer. I do not know how well other browsers work with the site. EPWU staff does not seem willing to make their site more user friendly to all El Pasoans.) In May 2006, Dr. Hutchison published his doctoral dissertation written at UTEP under the guidance of Dr. John Walton. I understand that Dr. Walton will be in attendance at tomorrow’s PSB meeting.  CEO Archuleta has asked Hutchison to give an overview of regional water resources, groundwater modeling and interpretation, discuss the Far West Texas Water Plan, water districts and their authority, regional modeling and plans for our future.

The issues really are how much water do we have and how much can we count on in the future especially in the context of continuing drought, population growth, continuing sprawl and the impact of global warming and climate change. A good resource to understand the impact of climate change on El Paso is a presentation given by NOAA and National Weather Service meteorologist and forecaster, David Novlan, gave to the Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists last Thursday evening. You can view the slide show that accompanied his talk. Although you don’t have the advantage of his talk, you can learn much by carefully studying each frame.

Part of the EPWU strategy is to begin importation of water from areas east of El Paso in the near future. Because of water shortages all over the state, region, nation and world, pushback from local authorities is going to make importation harder not easier. At the last Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee, Ted Houghton made exactly that point. One hopes that he will be heard out about the matter. Witness the politics in Milam County, Texas.  The authority of water districts will trump water use plans. Witness the problem in Odessa, Texas.  Lawsuits to allow New Mexico farmers the right to pump  groundwater near the Rio Grande which will drain what comes to El Paso and the rest of Texas are making their way through the courts.  For its part, New Mexico is struggling with many of the same issues and water wars are shaping up over the Colorado River water. And, let’s not forget Chihuahua.

Bottom line: Dr. Hutchison is a must hear. Let’s hope that he talks straight and does not try to bend things for the EPWU official line. Water is scarce. That scarcity is growing. We need to speak openly and honestly.

Next on the agenda is Item 14, a presentation on the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park by John Sproul. The Bosque is a prime example of things just not making sense – a sign of back room deals and water arithmetic just not checking out.  Effluent is treated at the EPWU’s Bustamante plant.  About 7,800 acre feet of treated effluent water per year which could go to the Bosque gets dumped back into a drain controlled by the Water District and never makes it to the Bosque. (Once in a drain or canal of the Water District, the water belongs to the District.) Although the EPWU purchases river water from the Water District, this treated effluent (which is not river water of course) goes to the district as a freebie. And that’s just the start. The 7800 acre feet is what could go the Bosque.  The average output from Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant averages 28 MGD (Million Gallons per Day).  Purple pipe water goes for $.96 per Ccf (a Ccf is 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons).  (28,000,000 MGD/748 Gal) X $.96 = $35,935/day.  That’s quite a windfall that the Water District gets for free! Why?

Also to divert water from the Bustamante directly to the Bosque requires a modification of a permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). (To see the permit go to the Central Registry Query.  Type in Bustamante for Regulated Entity and select wastewater for the program.  Leave all other fields blank.  When the Bustamante WWTP's information comes up on the screen, scroll down to the link for permit number WQ0010408010.  This link will take you to a page from which View Permit allows you to download the permit.) Changing a permit may allow the TCEQ to add more requirements and the EPWU in the past has expressed that they don’t want the hassle.  Or is it a hassle? Many believe that simple political persuasion will make a change of the permit easy. So, why can’t the Bosque get water and why is there seemingly no effort to get water to them from the Bustamante and, instead, to dump water back into canals and drains controlled by the Water District as a free gift to the District?

Which brings us to the third  big reason to attend the PSB meeting tomorrow. Item 15 is a presentation by Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis on the feasibility of providing reclaimed water to Rio Bosque and on the potential for a potable reuse project using effluent from the Roberto R. Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Rio Bosque Wetlands. See the Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis presentation to OSAB in August. This presentation goes hand in hand with Item 14 and it and Item 14 are part of that place where the rubber hits the road when it comes to Item 13.

Tomorrow is a PSB not to miss.

Finally, another don’t miss meeting is next Monday’s (September 17) meeting of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee at 8 a.m. in the City Council chambers. The question was whether that Committee would do all that it was created to do. Read the blog post. It seemed that, now that the PSB control of land management is in the bag, other issues about water management, open space and a water use budget might be dropped. Again, TxDOT’s Ted Houghton was raising some powerful questions about water districts and water importation at the last meeting. Are we now going to just drop them? The Mayor’s new agenda may be giving more leeway for completing the Blue Ribbon’s tasks.

Must Read Rio Bosque White Paper

John Sproul wrote the following white paper for the Open Space Advisory Board which heard him and others yesterday regarding the Rio Bosque. The others included Chuy (Brother of Silvestre) Reyes who said that he loved the Bosque and took his children there. He also says that a turnout will be constructed for water to get from the Bustamante to the Drain to the Park and construction will just take days. He hedged on the exact date of the construction. Anyway, John's paper is a must read. In his introductory summary, he writes:

"This paper is divided into two sections. Section 1 summarizes the history of the wetlands project at Rio Bosque Park, which is helpful for understanding the gap between the original goals for the project and current conditions. Section 2 focuses on water at Rio Bosque. It discusses:

•water availability since the start of the project,

•projects underway to bring additional water to the park,

•volumes of water needed to achieve management goals at Rio Bosque, and

•five potential strategies for securing water during the critical growing season.

Other strategies exist as well, but the common feature of the five strategies discussed here is that El Paso Water Utilities would be an essential participant in each."

Please read the paper:

White Paper - Rio Bosque Water 11-10-25

Click on the first icon after the Scribd "S" on the left side of the tool bar for full screen.

The Rio Bosque Is Dying

Paired Images Riparian 11-07-09a

Program Coordinator/Manager of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, John Sproul, explained the pictures in the slide show above:

"The 3 photo pairs in the attached PowerPoint file compare some cottonwoods and willows in the southern part of the park. The first photo in each pair was taken last year in Sept or Oct. The second photo was taken this year in July.

"With the first two photo pairs, the trees are in worse shape today than they were back in July. A photo taken today would give a more dramatic comparison.

"With the third photo pair, the cottonwood featured was dead by mid-July. The clumps of green in the July photo are all mistletoe."

The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is dying. And, in spite of the drought, there is water available. In fact, Sproul and volunteers almost daily truck water from the Bustamante Plant, a wastewater treatment plant that delivers treated effluent to either the Riverside Canal or the Riverside Drain - both under the control of the El Paso County Water Improvement District #1. Chuy Reyes is the General Manager of the District. He is the brother of U.S. Representative, Silvestre Reyes of El Paso.

According to information on the El Paso Water Utilities web site, water from the Bustamante Plant is discharged either to the . . .

". . . Riverside Canal or the Riverside Drain. Discharges to the Riverside Canal are used chiefly for irrigation purposes. Discharges to the Riverside Drain go mainly to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Preserve where they help maintain and sustain the aquatic habitat required by the diverse animal and plant species present."

EPWU's statatement above may have been true when it was written and posted to their web site some time ago, it isn't true now. El Paso Water Utilities is obligated, under the Rio Grande Project 2001 Implementing Third-Party Contract, to deliver 13,333 acre-feet of the treated effluent from the Bustamante Plant to the Riverside Canal or the Riverside Drain each year between 15 Feb and 15 Oct. That leaves at least 7,800 acre-feet of Bustamante Plant effluent EPWU does not have to deliver to the irrigation district during that period.

"Some of that could potentially be delivered directly to Rio Bosque via pipeline," Sproul says. Unfortunately, the Water Improvement District owns both the canal and the drain and they make the call whether that extra water is delivered to the Bosque Wetlands Park or not. So, 7,800 acre-feet minus the pittance Sproul and friends can truck to the park in order to hand-water individual trees, is taken by the Water Improvement District.

To add insult to injury, careful (almost daily) monitoring of wells at the Bosque reveal that the groundwater in the park dramatically drops when one of the Improvement District's wells (CW-4) is on. Not only is the Improvement District denying water from the Bustamante Plant to the Bosque, it appears that they are draining the Bosque's groundwater!

Park volunteer, Judy Ackerman, reports:

"Most of the groundwater monitoring wells are lower than in 2006 drought. Seven out of the 13 wells are dry. Most groundwater levels are below 20 ft, while 5 ft is more normal. This is the driest year for rainfall on record for the park and we expect the driest year for surface water too."

On September 13th water distribution from the Elephant Butte reservoir stopped. That usually happens in mid-October and signals the end of the irrigation season and the start of water delivery to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park from the Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant. However, the El Paso Water Improvement District #1 says they need every drop they can get and the park might get water by Christmas.

The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is a 372-acre City of El Paso park that the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) manages through its Center for Environmental Resource Management. The City of El Paso's contribution to the Bosque is a mere $10,000/year. A recent meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board revealed that Parks and Recreation Director, Nanette Smejkal, has little interest in the Bosque.

At the recent PSB Strategic Planning meeting it was rumored that UTEP was not interested in continuing its committment to the Bosque. However, PSB/EPWU officials at yesterday's Open Space Advisory Board reported that Richard Adauto of UTEP had reaffirmed UTEP's committment to the management of the Park.

The City may show little interest in the Park. However, it has targeted $170,000 for a public arts project for a sculpture and new signage at the park. The slide show given by Public Art Program Coordinator Pat Dalbin to the Open Space Advisory Board yesterday describes the plans for the Bosque art and signs:

Rio Bosque Public Art Project

One wonders whether the sculpture and signage will preside over a dead park. There is $170,000 for public art but nothing to help with water especially to buy an $8-10,000 pump to replace a broken one so that the park might get to some needed groundwater.

Speaking about the forced water-shortage to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, Urban Biologist, Lois Balin, asks: "This is ridiculous. Enough is enough. What can we do to rectify this dismal situation."

Perhaps a first step is to join the Friends of the Rio Bosque. Beyond that talk to PSB and EPWU officials who have been important partners to the Park. Talk to your City Council Representative and to Parks and Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board members. Call members of the Board of Directors of the Water Improvement District. Email Chuy Reyes.

I have a few more questions myself especially about that 7,800 acre-feet of water that could go to the Park but is being swallowed by the Improvement District, Chuy Reyes (brother of Silvestre) General Manager.

"This is life. The river is life. But not the wall; the wall is death." - Judy Ackerman

Judy Ackerman was arrested yesterday for blocking the construction of the border wall behind the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in El Paso, Texas. She was charged with misdemeanor trespassing. Her attorneys alerted by Sierra Club official, Bill Addington, acted quickly and she was released last evening.

The story quickly hit the news wires via the AP. The Newspaper Tree also caught wind of it. Unfortunately live television media was not quick enough to respond. By the time of Ackerman's arrest, the Border Patrol had set up a block at the levee gate leading to the Bosque Visitor's Center. Another gate at the trailhead was locked. The El Paso Times buried the story on the back of Section B below the fold and below the weather charts.

This may seem like a strange first entry for a blog dedicated to sustainability, native food and environmentalism. However, the will do damage to the ecosystem of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. The work done by Park Manager and Program Coordinator, John Sproul, and hundreds of volunteers over the years will be put at jeopardy. Native plants are being re-established and bird, animal and insect species have returned to the park. (See pictures on Flickr.) In a recent Newspaper Tree editorial, Sproul lays out the negative impact that the wall will have on the park.

There is good reason to stop the building of the fence or hope that an Obama administration will tear it down if it is successfully completed by December 31 as reported by El Paso Times.

Sproul is now on vacation until December 30th. Speculation has already begun that construction on the wall behind the park had been scheduled to correspond with his absence. That construction is currently beginning behind the park on the downstream side of the Rio Grande. The rest of the wall (completed and under construction) is upstream from the park beyond the Zaragosa bridge and behind the Rogers and Bustamante Water Treatment plants.

Late afternoon yesterday Kiewit trucks sped down the levee as they called it a day. Sub-contractors ceased pouring cement poured by Jobe - a company that is showing total lack of environmental concern in the Hueco Mountains. (Cemex wanted nothing to do with the border wall.)

After Ackerman's arrest a small group of people were detained for questioning by Texas Ranger, Aaron Grigsby, and Texas DPS Officer Brandon "Bo" Speed. The group included John Sproul, Bill Addington, Maria Trunk and even City Councilman Eddie Holguin and his mother who had brought water to the site for the protesters. The law enforcement officers were particularly grilling Maria Saldana - possibly looking to arrest her as well. In the end, they did not.

About her protest, Judy reportedly said about the park, the river and the wall: "This is life. The river is life. But not the wall; the wall is death."