It’s time to clean-up the river! Well, not all of the river
but a section along the Rio Grande. We will meet this Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and
pick up trash and debris along the Rio Grande. Plan to meet at West Borderland
Road at the river levee. (Map)
Bring gloves and wear sunscreen and a hat. Wear good hiking/walking shoes. Open
toed footwear may be dangerous to your health. Bring a grabber if you have one.
Bags will be provided. Remember water. The river is bone dry (and not for
long). It is a good time to look for the shells of Corbicula fluminea, the Asian Clam.
Shake, rattle and roll . . . or maybe just shake . . . just
a bit and softly. A magnitude
2.5 earthquake struck El Paso Monday night. There have been several
earthquakes in the past year in our region. Why? We live in the Rio Grande Rift
– a place where the earth’s crust is being pulled apart. We don’t really see
how deep the rift is. However, if you
started digging up the sand in east El Paso near the airport, for example, you
would go 10,000 feet before hitting bedrock! The highest peak in the Franklins
is just under 7,200 feet high. The Rio Grande Rift in our area is not visible
because sediment from the ancient Lake Cabeza de Vaca has filled it from rim to
rim. Sediment is clearly visible along I-10, the bluffs above El Paso
High and along Alabama Street.
The Rio Grande River did not create the rift. It’s the other way around. Because of the
rifting, a series of basins and low areas were formed from Colorado southward
through our region. The ancestral Rio Grande didn’t carve the flat valley
through which it now flows, it took advantage of the low areas created by the
Rift. In “modern” geological times the river’s flow has caused erosion: the Rio
Grande Gorge near Taos being the most obvious. However, the ancient river did
move back and forth between the Sierra de Las Uvas and the San Andres flowing
at least once through Fillmore Pass between the Organ and Franklin Mountains
into the Tularosa Basin where it emptied into a shallow lake which now accounts
for a large portion of the water supply of El Paso, Texas. About 2 million years ago a single river
formed from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico.
Last Thursday at our Chapter event many of you heard a super
presentation by Naima Montacer, Education Specialist and Zoo Adventure
Coordinator at the El Paso Zoo. Not
only did she talk about how our zoo is helping to educate people about
conservation measures, but she gave some very valuable information which requires
specific actions and change of behavior by all of us. Did you know that 30 to
50% of our household water usage comes from flushing the toilet? By merely
filling up a water bottle and adding it to the tank, we can cut down
consumption. Did you know that each hour Americans throw away about 2.5 million
plastic bottles or that one gallon of water goes to process a quarter pound of
hamburger? Just some food for thought . She told us about an exciting program called
Terracycle, a program that
recycles usually unrecyclable materials. The Zoo has a number of Action Items that any of us
can participate in to help conservation efforts around the world. Master Naturalists can volunteer for the
Spring Break Zoo Camp, March 12 – 16, from 9 to Noon each day. You can
volunteer for a specific day or for the whole week. Classes include Nature Art,
Geocaching, Nocturnal Animals, Backyard Wildlife and Tracks and Scat. Just
contact Naima at 915-521-1894 or montacernj@elpasotexas.gov.
Mark your calendars now for our next Chapter event – a presentation
by Franklin Mountains State Park Parks Interpreter, Adrianna Weickhardt, on
April 5 at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Avenue. (Map) Chapter meetings are the first Thursday of
each month at 6 p.m. with a focus on the presentation and your announcements.
All presentations count for advanced training.
Also, the new 2012 Training Class is in full session. Next
class is tomorrow evening from 6 to 9. Meteorologist, John Fausett (aka The
Singing Weatherman) will talk about the weather and climate of this region and
Dr. Ray Bader will discuss El Paso soils. All are invited to attend. Watch a KVIA interview of
Fausett with a focus on our windy season which is now getting underway again. Also
see and hear why John is called the Singing Weatherman. Visit his music store.
The Master
Naturalist© is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes
sole responsibility for the content of the letter.
"A million
tax-free dollars would probably tempt me to divulge your email address.
However, know that
your privacy is safe with me . . . Nobody has offered me the million
yet.”
Seriously, your
email address will not be shared or sold.
This is Volume 1
and Number 3 published on March 6, 2012
