Sierra del Carmen white-tail , Chisos
Basin, Big Bend National Park by Rick LoBello
Obama and Calderon announce plan to recognize Big Bend – Rio Bravo
Map of area
July 28,
2010. Earlier this year on May 19 when they met in the White
House, President Barack Obama and President Felipe Calderón reaffirmed
the strategic partnership between the United States and Mexico and
underscored their commitment to improve the lives of all citizens in
both our countries, building upon our deep ties, and working with mutual
respect and mutual responsibility across a broad arc of issues.
The Presidents discussed a wide range of bilateral, hemispheric, and
global issues that affect our two countries and reaffirmed the shared
values that guide our approaches to economic competitiveness,
environmental conservation, clean energy, climate change, nuclear non
proliferation, and the safety, social and economic well-being, and
security of our citizens.
In noting the long history of bilateral cooperation in the conservation
of natural and cultural resources they recognized that Big Bend National
Park and Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River in the United States and the
Protected Areas of Maderas del Carmen, Cañon de Santa Elena, Ocampo, and
Río Bravo del Norte in Mexico together comprise one of the largest and
most significant ecological complexes in North America. In doing
so, they recognized that increased cooperation in these protected areas
would restrict development and enhance security in the region and within
this fragile desert ecosystem.
To preserve this region of extraordinary
biological diversity, they expressed their support for the United States
Department of Interior and the Secretariat of Environment and Natural
Resources of the United Mexican States to work through appropriate
national processes to recognize and designate Big Bend – Rio Bravo as a
natural area of binational interest. The Presidents underscored
their commitment to manage the region in a way that enhances security
and protects these areas for wildlife preservation, ecosystem
restoration, climate change adaptation, wildland fire management, and
invasive species control.
This historic step represents the first time in
nearly 66 years that the Presidents of both countries have publically
supported the original plan to establish a international protected area
on the border of the US and Mexico. The last time was on
October 24, 1944 when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote a letter to His Excellency General Manual
Avila Camacho, Presient of the United Mexican States stating that "I do
not believe that this undertaking in the Big Bend (referring to the
establishment of Big Bend National Park on June 12, 1944) will be
complete until the entire park area in this region on both sides of the
Rio Grande forms one great international park."
President Camacho responded a month later on November 30 to President
Roosevelt's letter stating that he agreed with Roosevelt and how he had
instructed the Department of Foreign Relations and that of Agriculture
and Formento to pursue as actively as is suitable studies that would
lead to the creation of the Mexican Section of the said Park.
Next Steps
Negotiations between the two countries at this
time are being held behind closed doors. Stay tuned for
more information on important next steps that will need to be taken to
see this dream finally come true. In the meantime contact your
representative in Congress in both the House of Representatives and the
Senate with phone calls and emails supporting this effort.
Rick LoBello,
rickllobello@cs.com
July 28, 2010
Friends of a US Mexico Giant Park in the
Big Bend Region of Texas & Mexico
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