Dr. Richard Teschner Receives Star on the Mountain Award

Dr. Richard Teschner, recipient of the Star on the Mountain Award

At today's El Paso City Council meeting, the Mayor and Council presented the Star on the Mountain Award to Dr. Richard V. Teschner. The inscription reads:

Star on the Mountain Award

Presented to

Dr. Richard Teschner

The City of El Paso applauds your advocacy and

commitment to build the Franklin Mountains

State Park Headquarters and Visitor Center.

Your contributions and generosity continue to improve

the quality of life for the El Paso community.

Mayor Oscar Leeser - September 15, 2015

Charlie Wakeem and Richard Teschner at Resler Canyon

Dr. Teschner, Professor-Emeritus of Linguistics at the University of Texas at El Paso, has been a preeminent figure in the conservation community. Because of his generosity and the efforts of fellow preservationist, Charlie Wakeem, a beautiful arroyo known as Resler Canyon was preserved in 2005. He is a current member of the Open Space Advisory Board, President of the Friends of the Rio Bosque, a member and past chair of State Senator Rodriguez's Environmental Commitee and a Legacy member of the Nature Conservancy. Recipient of other environmental awards, he is also a Rim Road neighborhood leader and the newly elected President of the El Paso Neighborhood Coalition.

Dr. Teschner advocating for the preservation of Castner Range

Probably his biggest quest is still to be realized: the preservation of Castner Range for which Dr. Teschner has made multiple trips to Washington D.C., spent hours on a conservation committee, given public talks and pursued avidly for years.

To say that he is an extraordinary conservationist is quite the understatement. Congratulations, Dr. Teschner.

Resler Canyon Needs Your Help!

Click to enlarge image.

The Frontera Land Alliance needs wattles and seeds to prevent erosion on the site of recent improvements to stormwater infrastructure in the Wakeem/Teschner Nature Preserve at Resler Canyon in El Paso.

Wattles are straw-filled, biodegradable net tubes staked out across areas subject to erosion. You see them next to highways. They’ll be used in t he Canyon to slow down rain runoff and let water slowly soak into the soil. The wetter the soil, the better the chance that seeds can germinate and hold the soil in place. And when plants take hold and grow, the leaves reduce the impact of raindrops, further cutting back on erosion. The wattles come in 100 foot lengths; we need over 5,000 feet to adequately protect the site. We’ll be gathering surplus seeds from Canyon shrubs, but we must also buy about 80 pounds of fast-growing, native grass seed to quickly generate ground cover. The cost of the erosion control and reseeding is $25,000.

You can help by sponsoring a wattle or a 10-pound bag of seed. Each wattle length costs $100. The seed is $200 per bag. Even smaller contributions will help. Your sponsorship is tax deductible. Your name will appear on a marker to celebrate your contribution.

Want more info about contributing to this important conservation project contact Janaé Renaud Field, Frontera's Executive Director, at (915) 351-8352 or janae@FronteraLandAlliance.org.  

Give at:  http://fronteralandalliance.org/site/how-to-help/donate 

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Guided Hikes

Take your friends and family on a guided hike at the Wakeem/Teschner Nature Preserve at Resler Canyon this Sunday, June 24^th, at 8 a.m.  Meet where Cadiz Street dead ends at the Canyon. (Map) Take the Sunland Park exit, turn right onto Sunland Park, then left at Cadiz Street. Follow Cadiz all the way to the end. Although the hike will take an hour or a bit longer, take plenty of water, use sunscreen and wear a hat. You’ll learn about the plants and animals in this conserved natural arroyo. You also will learn how arroyos work. Your guide will be Scott Cutler, exhibits curator at UTEP’s Centennial Museum.  Scott also serves on the Board of the Frontera Land Alliance which manages the nature preserve.

Remember that Scenic Drive is closed every Sunday morning from 6 to 11 a.m.  It’s a 4.1 mile hike from one side to the other and back. This walk takes in a dazzling panorama of El Paso and Juarez and a display of 500 million year old fossils! It’s a good recreational walk and can be done in an hour and a half. Join me at 7 a.m. this coming Sunday at the west entrance to the Drive (the intersection of Robinson, Rim and Scenic). Rumor has it that there will be some geology talk as we walk.

Peak Fitness Challenge is off the ground!  Check out great hikes and prizes.  Information and sign up is available at GeoBetty.com/Peak. Get more information and like Challenge on Facebook.  Do visit the blog, One Foot in Front of the Other.

Franklin Mountains State Park Ranger Extraordinaire Adrianna Weickhardt sent out word about some very special guided hikes that are by reservation only. Experts on various natural history subjects will accompany you. All guided hikes are $3.00 in addition to the park entrance fee of $5.00 for adults 13 & over. Guided hikes for ages 5-12 is $1.00.  Contact Adrianna Weickhardt at 915-566-6441 ext. 224 or email adrianna.weickhardt@tpwd.state.tx.us or Erika Rubio at 915-566-6441 ext. 221 or email erika.rubio@tpwd.state.tx.us.

JULY -- The guided hikes for July are as follows:

Saturday, July 7, 2012 @ 7:30 pm – Guided night hike Nature Walk/Explore the Arroyo (1 – 1.5 hours)

Sunday, July 8, 2012 @ 6:30 am – Guided hike Schaeffer Shuffle (1.5 - 2 hours)

Thursday, July 12 @ 9:00 a.m. – Nature Walk, 25 kids (7 – 12 year olds)  (1-2 hours)

Saturday, July 21, 2012 @ 7:30 pm – Guided night hike Nature Walk/Explore the Arroyo (1 – 1.5 hours)

Sunday, July 22, 2012 @ 6:30 Ron Coleman/Smugglers Pass (1.5 – 3 hours)

Friday, July 27, 2012 @ 6:15 am – (Women’s Only Hike) Lower Sunset Trail (1.5 – 2 hours)

Sunday, July 29 - @ 6:30 am (Peak Fitness Challenge Hike) Aztec Caves (1 – 2 hours)

We also have the hikes continuing through the rest of the month of June:

Friday, June 22, 2012 – Lazy Cow Trail @ 8:00 a.m.  and again @ 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 23, 2012 – Lazy Cow Trail @ 8:00 a.m.  and again @ 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 24, 2012 – Mine Shaft Tour @ 8:00 a.m.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 – Women’s Hike on Upper Sunset Trail @ 8:00 a.m.

Excelsior!

October 1 at Keystone Don't Miss It

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Map to Keystone Heritage Park

FeatherFest Saturday!

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Take a Lesson from Hunt Communities Marketing of Resler Ridge

Bird of paradise and yucca are in bloom now in Resler Canyon

Several of us hiked through Resler Canyon this morning. Scott Cutler, the manager of the Wakeem Teschner Nature Preserve, guided us. (Scott is also the Curator of Exhibits and Events at UTEP's Centennial Museum and the President of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition.) We saw Swifts, Quail, Mockingbirds and Pyrrhuloxia. Yucca, Western Bird of Paradise, White Thorn Acacia and Palo Verde were in full bloom.

Of course, it would not have been so beautiful if several years ago Hunt had succeeded in their plans to develop the canyon. That effort met resistance from the likes of Charlie Wakeem and his neighbors who really began the present day efforts to conserve open space in and around El Paso. Thanks to the generosity of UTEP renowned linguist and UTEP professor (now retired), Richard Teschner, Resler was purchased from Hunt Communities.

Since then, Hunt has developed an area on the north rim of the canyon, known as Resler Ridge. They now market that development as "an open, 45-lot residential community situated on a stately southwestern desert ridge. It overlooks more than 12 acres of gently sloping hillsides and a naturally-preserved arroyo, with the upper Rio Grande valley in the distance." [Emphases mine.]

Hunt now employs scenes of open space and concepts such as sustainability and smart growth as part of their advertising. Indeed they should. Natural open space adds to the value of neighborhoods and homes.

Now if only the owners and developers of Enchanted Hills and Desert Springs north of Transmountain would get the message! Indeed, it seems that some are already. Stanley Jobe preserved Arroyo 41A in his neck of the woods. How about preserving that arroyo as it goes downstream and other natural arroyos as they flow from the beautiful Franklin Mountains.

41A need not be radically reduced and dalloed as City engineers claim. The channel as it passes under the freeway was designed by TxDOT to manage much more flow. Retention pond or more homes and a preserved arroyo? Take a lesson from Hunt. Add value to homes that overlook "gently sloping hillsides and a naturally-preserved arroyo. . . "

PSB to Vote on Purchase of Palisades

If you can make the Public Service Board meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 1154 Hawkins, do so. It is important to support the purchase of the Palisades property. It is also important the the PSB/EPWU sees a large contingency of the public behind conservation and preservation.

Here's what is up:

The El Paso Times has already announced the pending sale of the Palisades by the Public Service Board. The Times has also endorsed the purchase in an editorial in this morning's edition. [I can't help this aside: the Times can mention the Palisades purchase but has never said anything about the Jobe quarry at Avispa Canyon. El Paso, Inc. even had the story about Mr. Jobe's granting easement to the PSB regarding Arroyo 41A. If I owned a canary, the Times would have some value. Enough of my aside.]

The proposed purchase of the sale is item 5 on the agenda. The supporting document is also valuable to read. Especially look at the maps.

Click to enlarge

In an email Attorney, Risher Gilbert, stresses the importance of coming to the meeting:

Fellow Hikers and Lovers of our Mountain: We have WONDERFUL news . . . Ed Archuleta has notified me that based on the appraisal of the property the EPWU has negotiated a price with the sellers for $2.465 million and the Palisades JV has accepted the price. This will be voted on by the newly expanded Public Service Board next Wednesday, January 13^th. The meeting starts at 9am and is at 1154 Hawkins which is a building across Hawkins from the Cielo Vista Mall. It is very important that as many of us attend as possible to show our support for the Board approving this purchase. If you have contacts with others-like the Frontera Group-and the Sierra Club Group-please encourage them to also attend. In my opinion, if the Board approves this purchase it will be a HUGE victory for our Mountain and for our State Park! Thanks so much for your part in working together as a great team to make this happen. I want to especially thank:

Jack Maxon who went with me to many, many meetings over the last 5 years with just about everyone we could collectively think of that might help us with this project, and who participated in the El Paso Inc. article that got this issue onto the communities radar screen;

Rosario who encouraged me to take Ed Archuleta on a hike through this 200 acres and was ever persistent in preserving this 200 acres;

Richard Teschner who set the example for all of us about making personal sacrifices of our time, treasure and talent to preserve our beautiful Franklins and their arroyos; and to

John Moses for being so supportive and hiking with us and other Austin Texas Parks folks as a way to tell our story of the importance of preserving this 200 acres, and for all his great efforts related to trails in the Franklin State Park.

Richard Teshner also encouraged others to attend for an additional reason: to let the Board see the support and strength of the environmental/conservation community. Such a showing may have an impact on another issue: the failure by the EPWU to pay for the damage it caused to Resler Canyon when it dumped tons of dirt in an effort to do some flood control. At first the EPWU said that they would mitigate at their expense. Then, they reneged. The matter has been in discussion ever since. The EPWU should be able to imagine the kind of turnout there will be if they fail to take care of the damage they caused at Resler.

El Paso Water Utilities' refusal to take responsibility reminds me of this great music video:

Open Space Advisory Board Chairman, Charlie Wakeem, does have this concern:

"I also understand that there may just be $3.1M in the budget for Open Space until 2011. If so, $2.45M from $3.1, leaves only $6.5K for open space acquisition for at least a year. Not Good!! Tomorrow I will ask the PSB that if the seller agrees to it, that the $2.45M be made in payments over the next few years so that other critical open space can be protected. The argument for paying in one lump sum is saving interest. However, the advantages of payments would be in time value and preservation of more open space."

Resler Canyon Update

UTEP Engineering Professor John Walton recently gave a report to the Frontera Land Alliance regarding the erosion problems at Resler Canyon (the Wakeem-Teschner Nature Preserve). On September 7, Professor Walton wrote:

"I went to Resler Canyon this evening and looked over the status of the drainage coming into the upper portion of the canyon. This is a summary of my observations and recommendations.

The upper portion of the canyon is in a highly unnatural state. Storm runoff from developed portions of El Paso comes in at two major areas on the southeast and at least one location in the northwest. These areas are marked by enhanced, ugly, erosion of the arroyo sides. The enhanced erosion extends ¼ to ½ mile down the canyon until equilibrium is established. The damage is not limited to the edges of the property but rather is visible deep inside.

Development in the absence of proper engineering standards that are rigorously enforced causes an increase in peak and total storm discharge. Peak discharge rather than the total volume of water is usually what causes most erosional damage. The storm runoff coming into the canyon also has a low content of suspended sediments. In a natural system there is a dynamic balance between sediment load and erosion. Water with low sediment content is “hungry” and tends to pick up sediments (causes erosion) until a new equilibrium is established. An additional problem is that the slopes in the upper portion of the canyon are steeper than natural slopes because the tops of the arroyo were scraped and pushed off.

The multiple problems (unnaturally steep slopes, unnatural peak discharge, and unnaturally low sediment content) mean that a wholly natural solution will not work. A natural solution will mean essentially sacrificing the upper ¼ or ½ mile of the canyon. Left alone the arroyo will continue to erode at the edges and far into the interior of the property.

An engineering solution of some type will have to be applied at several locations. Given the high peak discharge and low sediment content the water must be slowed while coming into the canyon, the peak discharge will have to be lowered, and sediment will need to be trapped.

Ideally detention ponds would be built on the property of the upstream developments that have caused the problem. Unfortunately this is not feasible.

A realistic solution is:

• At (at least) the two major water inputs: Ugly engineered structures with energy dissipation above and small, decent looking, detention ponds below. They would have to be better built than the previous attempts.
• A series of rip rap erosion control structures (leaky check dams) extending ¼ mile or more down the channel to trap sediments and reduce peak discharge to a more natural level."

Slope Stabilization

Below are pictures of local examples of slope stabilization projects using erosion control blankets and/or turf reinforcement mats along Schuster and Camelot Heights Roads. This kind of slope stabilization would be good for remediating and restoring the slope at Resler Canyon while securing an easement bench road for utilities. Propex Geosynthetics makes products that are useful for stabilization of the kind of steep slopes at Resler Canyon closest to Mesa Street and the Café Italia.

Erosion control blanket being rolled out at Camelot Heights

Desert marigold (dyssodia) growing through blanket

Schuster Street slope after 5 years

EPWU Will More Than Remediate at Their Expense

The beautiful Wakeem/Teschner Nature Preserve (Resler Canyon)

Mike Gaglio set the tone from the beginning of Frontera Land Alliance meeting with the El Paso Water Utilities. As board President of Frontera, he stressed partnership, opportunity and creativity with the EPWU. Gonzalo Cedillos, the Stormwater Division Manager, chimed in. After an early meeting which included seven Frontera board members or advisors and EPWU's Mr. Cedillos and Mr. Jose Luis Sierra and a follow-up meeting at Resler Canyon, it was plain to see that EPWU fully intended to do more than just mere remediation.

It was also clear that some surveying to determine utility easement would be required. The question of easement was raised by Mr. Sierra and all agreed that he was on the right track.

Water Utilities officials volunteered to do some temporary sandbagging at points of water spill from storm runoff as a temporary first step. They also agreed to pay for the surveying to determine utility easement. They will work with Frontera to stabilize the slopes in question in an environmentally sensitive fashion. The restoration and stabilization of the slope will be done in consultation with Frontera and consultants it recommends and it will be done by a contractor approved by Frontera.

In short, EPWU showed once again that they are a solution-oriented organization that is willing to work with the public.

Some personal observations: Every time that I have had any involvement with the EPWU/PSB, they have exceeded my expectations. They have shown repeatedly that they want to be good stewards of our environment. One of the difficulties that Mr. Sierra ran into was lack of information from the City of El Paso. That didn't surprise me. One board member suggested that the City has not handled matters properly for many years and, therefore, a relationship with EPWU is welcomed as a means to do things in an environmentally responsible manner. Whereas City engineers and others too often take the stance of "our way or the highway", EPWU and its engineers (including Mr. Cedillos) always are open to new ideas, better solutions and environmental care.

Resler Canyon Nature Preserve Violated by El Paso Water Utilities

Palo Verde uprooted by EPWU's "erosion control"

Resler Canyon between Mesa Street and I-10 is a nature preserve of the Frontera Land Alliance. Recently, following a complaint about erosion by Café Italia, the El Paso Water Utilities apparently violated an easement agreement with the Land Alliance and illegally dumped dirt into the canyon in an effort to stop the erosion. In fact, the effort is much like doing a year of chemo treatment for a toothache. The lose soil dumped down the side of the canyon will eventually avalanche down the hill taking out more trees as it slides. Frontera Board member, Charlie Wakeem, called it a "major encroachment".

Another Frontera board member expressed his disgust:

"The damage by EPWU I saw yesterday; growing trees, one a 20 to 30 year old paloverde, an allepo pine, and a honey mesquite uprooted and laying on their sides made me sick. All this damage done just so the EPWU maintenance crew could show that they can move dirt. We can't allow this kind of activity to continue."

Aleppo pine buried by EPWU

Recently the Board has been contemplating signs at key drains into the canyon in an effort to stop illegal dumping. Drywall, concrete slabs and other contractor's materials join furniture and trash. The destruction of an area around Drain #1 (closest to Mesa and the restaurant) has given new impetus to the board's taking action on signs.

Frontera will probably ask for remediation at EPWU's expense at an upcoming meeting.