On the Right Track

The Preservation Committee met again last Thursday morning at the El Paso Water Utilities building. That committee was put together in response to the very popular "We the People" petition calling for more preservation of natural open space on both sides of the Franklin Mountains. The text of the petition reads: 

"WE THE PEOPLE want preserved, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso on the western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain Road, east of the EPNG Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary and on the eastern side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary."

The petition was sponsored by Elpasonaturally, the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coaltion and the El Paso Chapter of the Sierra Club.

I had approached Lupe Cuellar, the Attorney for the PSB/EPWU, about a solution that would help implement the intent of the petition. Remember that it is the PSB that manages undeveloped city owned land that they have not declared inexpedient for their needs. We agreed that land that can be preserved should be preserved and land that can be developed should be developed. Ms.Cuellar suggested a "preservation plan" and I suggested forming a committee. Six of the thirteen people invited to join that committee were named by me: Rick LoBello, Lois Balin, Joseph Nester, Laura Foster, Janae' Reneaud Field and Robert Ardovino. In addition to Lupe Cuellar and myself, we have Mr. Tracy Novak, the Director of Parks and Recreation, Cynthia Osborn, the land attorney for the PSB/EPWU, Carlos Gallinar from Planning and Nicole Ferrini and Lauren Baldwin from the City's Office of Resilency although both were absent for this last meeting.

Mr. Novak guided us through the creation of a purpose statement. There was full participation and ownership and the group is quite grateful to Tracy Novak for his guidance. As a result of this process all agreed that the group should be called the Preservation and Conservation Plan Group. Here is the purpose statement: 

"The purpose of the Preservation and Conservation Plan Group is to develop the criteria to identify which specific City owned lands mentioned in the petition should be preserved, which lands can be developed, and establish conservation standards for the development, to ensure a high quality of life for present and future generations.

• A plan that can be approved by all stakeholder agencies (PSB, City…
• Establish the value of preserving land compared to developing (formula)
• Benefits of having a plan, including economic, quality of life
• Goal is to have the plan guide future development, including conditions of sale
• Can be used as a model for future land development for all undeveloped land"

A discussion about the value of keeping land natural because of ecosystem services opened the minds of all at the table.

We are on the right track.

You can still sign the online petition and show your support for preservation. Go HERE to preserve our Franklin Mountains from further development.

Where Are We with the Petition to Preserve Land?

What's going on with the efforts to preserve land on both sides of the Franklin Mountains? A petition sponsored by Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coaltion, elpasonaturally and others drew more than 6,000 signatures. I personally presented the results to City Council and to the Public Service Board. Since then members of FMWC have spoken with City Council members and other local officials. 

A very significant step in determining what can (and cannot) be preserved was taken this morning. Twelve people gathered at the El Paso Water Utilities to begin discussing a "preservation plan". PSB/EPWU Attorney Lupe Cuellar chaired the meeting. Besides myself, there were representatives from city planning and parks departments, the building and development community, a conservation educator, a wildlife expert, a licensed architect experienced in urban planning, two representatives from the city's resiliency and sustainability office, a land conservation expert along with two attorneys (including Ms. Cuellar) from EPWU.

As the land in question is managed by the PSB, it is appropriate that the conversation begin there and a preservation plan originate there.  The group will work with two foundational principles in mind: there is land that can and should be preserved and there is land that can and should be developed. 

There was some initial discussion about criteria for preserving the land such as ecosystem services. The conservation educator, the wildlife expert and the land conservation expert mentioned ways to quantify those services. The architect hit a homerun when she said that we identify ecologies that we should preserve. 

The group will continue to meet monthly.

I'm excited. Stay tuned. - Jim Tolbert

P.S. You can still sign the petition online.


Please visit www.celebmtns.org for information about 2015 Celebration of Our Mountains events.

Contrast Desert Beauty with Sprawl

[What I like about Rick LoBello's video below is that it provides a stark contrast between the beauty of the Franklin Mountains in the Chihuahuan Desert and urban sprawl. Rick has stopped at the top of Smuggler's Gap at the top of Transmountain Rd. He does a bit of a ramble along the Ron Coleman Trail and discusses some of the flora and fauna. He then vividly shows the affects of sprawl on the plant and animal life. Finally, on his way home, he stops at the entrance to the Tom Mays Unit again to inform us about some of the native Chihuahuan Desert plants. 

His video gives us a graphic reminder why we should sign the online save our mountains petition.

You can still sign that petition to save our mountains. Just go to https://www.change.org/p/the-people-of-el-paso-texas-preserve-our-franklin-mountains-from-further-development. Be sure to tell your friends and family members.

If you receive elpasonaturally by email, the video will not display. Go to elpasonaturally.com to see it.]

The Pope's Encyclical, the Petition and Friday's Videos

[The following videos will help to summarize the Pope's environmental Encyclical, Laudato Si. If you get elpasonaturally via email, the videos will not be embedded. Go to elpasonaturally.com to view them.]








Read the Encyclical.

The Pope's practical tips for helping the environment

A chapter by chapter overview of the Encyclical

Pope Francis Drops the Hammer on Climate Change
In which Pope Francis calls out the world.

Pope’s climate views press Catholic candidates

To stay in touch with news about the Encyclical go to cruxnow.com or romereports.com. 

To say the least the Encyclical, Laudato Si, by Pope Francis should have a huge impact on the world and its future. Combined with other movements that place more emphasis on ecological living and cooperation rather than growth, greed and consumption, the Pope's message has the real ability to change the hearts and minds of Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Christians and non-Christians alike. Let us hope so. 

57.73% of the people in El Paso, TX are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 43.29% are Catholic. Groups such as Pax Christi and the Columban Mission Center are already leading the way not only for peace and border justice, but also for environmental care.

Yesterday's post discussed how the "We the People" petition that calls for preserving land on both sides of the Franklin Mountains is consistent with the city's strategic goals. That petition is also in harmony with the Encyclical of Pope Francis.

El Paso has vacant lots and vacant houses and buildings that sit abandoned. Yet developers sprawl farther and farther east, northeast and northwest. The argument is that people want a house with a backyard for their kids. What builders don't tell you is that people who end up buying these properties pay more to get to their jobs, go to the store and take children to their schools. Also, because most of these sprawl homes are cheaply built, the occupants will pay more to cool and heat those homes. We all pay more for services and maintenance caused by sprawl. Growth has not led to the prosperity of El Pasoans but to the pocketbooks of a few builders and developers, bankers and mortgage brokers. Communites such as Vinton and some colonias struggle for clean, affordable and available water.

The petition's call for checking sprawl is not just good economics, it's a good relationship with our natural environment. 

Please take time to study the Pope's Encyclical. We all can change our behavior so that we are in a right relationship with our world and all the species (animal and plant) with whom we share this world. We can all take political action and call politicians to accountability. Ethics is not just something we practice to be "good" persons; it's something we practice together in order to have more just and loving relationships, organizations, political entitites and communities. We cannot follow the advice of Jeb Bush who said, "I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm.” Better people want a better political realm and a better enviornment.

Laudato Si!

Petition Bolsters El Paso's Strategic Plan

Click on image to enlarge.

The recent petition to preserve land on both sides of the Franklin Mountains buttresses two of the City of El Paso's strategic goals. That petition garnered 6,638 signatures. 3,830 of those were hard copies; 2,830 were online. Here's what the petition says:

"WE THE PEOPLE want preserved, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso on the western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain Road, east of the EPNG Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary and on the eastern side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary."

The very first strategic goal is: "Create an Environment Conducive to Strong Sustainable Economic Development". Under it are "1.1 Stabilize and expand El Paso’s tax base" and "1.2 Enhance visitor revenue opportunities."

Preserving more land on both sides of the Franklins will increase opportunities for hiking, biking, camping and educational outings. All of these will promote ecotourism which will "enhance visitor revenue opportunities" and help to "expand El Paso's tax base". On the other hand, using all of this land for city sprawl will only increase the burden on taxpayers because of additional services (such as police and fire), infrastructure, maintenance and schools will come with an ongoing price tag that continues to increase with inflation.

On the other hand, ecotourism means a huge boom for the local economy. "Nationally, ecotourism encompasses a wide range of outdoor recreation activities with far reaching economic benefits. Outdoor recreation contributes $730 billion annually to the nation’s economy and supports nearly 6.5 million jobs across the United States." This according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. (See The Economic Benefit of Ecotourism.)

Strategic goal 4 is: "Enhance El Paso’s Quality of Life through Recreational, Cultural and Educational Environments". 4.2 of that goal states: "Create innovative recreational, educational and cultural programs."

As already mentioned preserving the land guarantees more recreational and educational opportunities and environments. Along with recreational opportunities, our city's students and visitors will have a rich "laboratory" for learning about plant and animal life, ecology and the environment, and ecosystem services.

Studies show that ecotourism provides more jobs and enhances businesses but it also encourages cultural exchanges that benefit host and visitor alike.

Implementing the petition would be a gigantic step in meeting our city's strategic plan.

Sprawl is Bad for Business and the Environment

[The following is a post by Rick LoBello also posted at ricklobello.wordpress.com. Rick has written several posts for elpasonaturally. Bookmark his site. It's an encyclopedia of conservation information.]

A new wave of development along Loop 375 in El Paso is destroying lower elevation habitats adjacent to Franklin Mountains State Park and much of the wilderness scenery El Pasoans have cherished for years.  Where once there was a feeling of remoteness and an overall wilderness experience, there is now a 4 lane highway, new bridges connecting the road to Interstate 10 plus a multitude of new residential and business developments.

The current wave of development in cities around the world threatens both businesses and quality of life.  Here in El Paso when two men spotted a bulldozer blading a road across a pristine part of the Franklin Mountains in 1978, they inspired citizens across the community to take action to help stop the ravenous rampage of suburbia.   Today, a new conservation effort is underway as new bridges are built, roads are widened and more developments break ground.  Many El Pasoans are saddened by what they see and feel hopeless in doing anything about it.  Not so fast says the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition.   A new citizen’s petition with over 6000 signatures calls upon the city to preserve undeveloped public lands on both sides of the mountains.

Earlier this year National Geographic magazine characterized similar business and environmental challenges asking this question – “why do many reasonable people doubt science?  We live in an age when all manner of scientific knowledge—from climate change to vaccinations—faces furious opposition. Some even have doubts about the moon landing.”

It is shocking to learn that most of the people responsible for mapping out our future have no clue as to the scientific value of protecting natural landscapes to local businesses and people.

Ecological services are free and include purification of the air we breathe and the water we drink, protecting wildlife biodiversity, soil and vegetation regeneration, seed dispersal, and pollination of crops and natural vegetation.  These services also help to sustain aesthetically pleasing landscapes important to enhancing our sense of wellbeing and fighting off nature deficit disorder.

When ecological services are lost, taxpayers, businesses and governments incur significant costs to replace these services. Some services can be only be partially replaced, and some can never be replaced by any amount of dollar investment.  

Here in El Paso one of the drivers of rising health care costs is the quality of the air we breathe.   Desert plants help to maintain our air quality by capturing dust particles during dust storms. When bulldozers destroy what nature has spent thousands of years creating, businesses have to incur rising health care costs when people get sick and can’t make it into work.  People suffering from respiratory problems also experience a lower quality of life.

Another example is how the Franklin Mountains landscape is a significant driver for ecotourism and in encouraging people to live here and move here.  The value of that driver may be very comparable if not higher than the ecotourism potential of the newly established Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument a few miles north in New Mexico.  The protected mountain range is now estimated to contribute more than $7.4 million in additional annual economic activity in Las Cruces.   Every day that development in El Paso continues at its current rate, the potential of ecotourism as an economic driver decreases. 

Perhaps the current movement to protect natural resources in El Paso will trigger a new way of thinking about our future.   Let’s hope that local businesses and the community will demand change.  For more information on how you help visit franklinmountains.org. 

PSB Gets Petition Report

[Today I spoke to the Public Service Board and gave them basically the same message that I gave City Council in May. Here is what I said:]

From March first until May first, Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, elpasonaturally and others circulated the following petition in person and online:

“WE THE PEOPLE want preserved, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso on the western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain Road, east of the EPNG Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary and on the eastern side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary.” 

For just two months of collection, we had a total of 6,638 signatures. 3,830 of those were hard copies; 2,830 were online. Signers came from all council districts of El Paso and most zip codes.  Many even took time to clip out an advertisement in the Times, El Diario and the Inc., address an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it to me.

One woman wrote: “I don’t want to see our beautiful mountains cluttered with houses.”

Another wrote: “The Franklin Mountains are what make El Paso different from any other city in Texas.”

Another wrote: “This is my heritage to my kids.”

The petition was not written in the form of an initiative. Thus, City Council is not compelled to do anything more.

But I hope that they along with the PSB do want to take action. I hope that we can find ways to preserve our mountain scenery, secure millions more each year in eco-tourism, control sprawl which will control our onerous property taxes, and help us manage our scarcest most precious resource – water.

We have accumulated the data from the petitions. We can begin again and in short order have an initiative petition for an ordinance. We’d rather work together.

So I urge you - please be proactive and not reactive. 

[I've heard from EPWU officials that City Council is expecting the PSB to bring the subject up again with them. The ball is rolling.]

6,638 Signatures!!!

After just over 2 months collecting signatures on the We the People/Save the Franklin Mountains petition, I reported the totals to City Council this morning. 6,638 people signed. 3,808 of those were hard copies; 2,830 were online. (The number now online is 2,837.)

Here is how the petition reads: 

"WE THE PEOPLE want preserved, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso on the western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain Road, east of the EPNG Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary and on the eastern side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary."

Because the petition was not an initiative petition, City Council is not compelled to do anything. The hope, of course, is that they will respond to this outpouring of popular support for the Franklins and against sprawl. elpasonaturally has learned that at least 2 city council members support the petition.

Should there be a need to gather signatures on an initiative petition, it would be easy as contact info for signers of the We the People petition has been collected. The number needed for an initiative petition would be about one-third of the 6,638 signatures collected so far.

If you haven't signed the petition (hard copy or online), you can still do so HERE.

The Friday Video on Monday: We the People Petition

Please do four things: 

Watch the video
Forward this link to your friends and ask them to watch the video.
Sign the petition.
Ask your friends to sign the petition.

This is a beautiful video by Rick LoBello on behalf of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition. To learn more about the petition and to download a copy to sign and get other signatures (if you can), go to franklinmountains.org.