FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION

http://www.franklinmountains.org/ 

NEXT MEETING:  May 21, 2008

The next meeting of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition is Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m.   The meeting takes place in Room 411 Burges Hall on the UTEP campus.  Burges Hall is at the intersection of Sun Bowl Drive and University Ave. on the west side of campus.  Please be prompt.  The building entrance locks automatically in the evenings.  If you arrive late and no one is at the door to let you in, call 861-4361 and someone will come to let you in.  For more information, contact Scott Cutler (581-6071).

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES UPDATE

Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition members have been meeting with our elected officials and key community leaders, including candidates for State Representative District 78 Dee Margo and Joseph Moody, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner Robert Brown, and City Council Representative Rachel Quintana.  Rachel joined FMWC as an individual member!   All of our community leaders have been supportive of preserving Castner Range and ask us how they can help.  These meetings are fun and informative.  If you would like to attend, please let us know.

We enjoyed perfect weather for the Keystone Heritage Park’s Feather Fest where Nora Butler and judy Ackerman set up our FMWC display, sold postcards and T-shirts, distributed literature, and received great response from the public.  The grand opening of El Paso Water Utilities’ new Carlos M. Ramirez TecH2O Water Resources Learning Center gave us another opportunity to talk about FMWC and make contacts for future outreach.

Our newest organizational member is the Jolly Elders, a non-denominational group that meets at Trinity First United Methodist Church.  Judy Ackerman gave a presentation at their March meeting where she made many new friends, sold postcards and had a great lunch in the bargain. 

We continue to look for venues to expand our membership and spread the word about preserving Castner Range.  If you know of an organization that might be interested in a guest speaker, please contact judy Ackerman, 755-7371, j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.

FORT BLISS RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARD

We had a wonderful show of public support to preserve Castner Range at the Fort Bliss Restoration Advisory Board meeting on 23 April 2008.  About 50 people attended (maybe 10 Fort Bliss employees) – a GREAT turnout.  Prioritization for cleaning Castner Range was the topic, and Travis R. McCoun gave a PowerPoint presentation on how Fort Bliss has applied the Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol (MRSPP), particularly at Castner Range.  On a scale of 1 to 8 (1 is highest priority), Castner is a 3 priority for clean-up, and the 2007 report is available to the public.  They expect to do a detailed Site Inventory in FY08 and a Remedial Investigation in FY10.  They have 10,000 trespassers on Castner every year and plan to put up fences in response. 

Travis mentioned $2 billion as possible cost for clean-up.  There was a question on how to get the money for the clean-up and how to let Fort Bliss leadership know El Pasoans want Castner preserved.  Answer:  Contact Fort Bliss Public Affairs and your elected officials.

FMWC’s priority for Castner Range is FIRST to ensure preservation in its natural state with a Conservation Conveyance.  Our end goal is for Castner Range to become part of Franklin Mountains State Park – which cannot happen until it is clean of unexploded ordnance.  We appreciate your support for these efforts.

DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN/EIS RELEASED FOR GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

As large natural areas covering West Texas mountain ranges, Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GMNP) and Franklin Mountains State Park have much in common.  The National Park Service recently released a Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for GMNP.  Aimed at guiding management of GMNP for the next 15-20 years, the draft document looks at 4 different alternatives for future management and use of the park.  You can download the document and submit comments on it at http://parkplanning.nps.gov.  The 60-day comment period ends June 16. 

The National Park Service has scheduled a series of public meetings to introduce the public to the planning process and the draft plan, to answer questions and to receive comments.  One of these meetings will take place in El Paso on Thursday, May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial Street.  Questions?  Contact Park Superintendent John Lujan at 915-828-3251 or GUMO_Superintendent@nps.gov. 

JUST SAY “NO!” TO THE BORDER FENCE

Adam Guss of FMWC member organization Southwest Environmental Center has provided us with an alert mailed to SWEC members concerning the proposed border fence.  This may seem like a peripheral issue to our Franklin Mountains mission but there are compelling reasons to be wary of the fence -- the disastrous effect it will have on border wildlife and ecosystems and the extraordinary precedent being set by far-reaching waivers of environmental and public safety laws.

On April 1, for the 4^th time in the past 2 years, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff waived more than 30 environmental laws (including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act) to expedite building 370 miles worth of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, including 57 miles of continuous wire mesh fencing and 21 miles of high-powered lighting from El Paso downstream along the Rio Grande.   DHS is hurriedly proceeding on this path despite growing and unexpectedly fierce opposition from private landowners, towns, cities and environmental organizations. 

If DHS moves forward with fence construction before proper environmental analysis is completed, there will be serious impacts to wildlife and their habitats in the borderland region, including areas such as Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park and the Rio Grande itself.  Within these areas live a number of endangered and threatened species, including jaguar, ocelot, Gila monster, and Sonoran pronghorn. The Rio Grande is an extraordinarily important area for wildlife in the Chihuahuan Desert and an important migratory flyway for birds.  The proposed fence will block wildlife access and passage, and the proposed lights could adversely affect migratory birds.

It would be ideal if DHS would come up with a comprehensive approach to border security that addresses root causes, is effective, and does not harm border wildlife and ecosystems.  But a change in course by DHS or significant action by Congress in an election year do not seem likely to happen without significant outside pressure.  Construction of a border fence is also a states’ rights issue.  No matter how one feels about illegal immigration, it cannot hurt to slow down and properly assess the probable impact, in all its complexity, of this wall on our borderland.  Contacting our governors is a crucial first step. 

Please take the time to call your governor and urge him/her to call on Congress to implement a moratorium on additional fence building along the U.S./Mexico border until DHS conducts proper environmental analysis and allows for orderly public input. 

NM Governor Bill Richardson at 505-476-2200

TX Governor Rick Perry at 512-463-1782

AZ Governor Janet Napolitano at 602-542-1318

CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at 916-445-2841

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS

All the latest news and information about upcoming events at the Park are available at the Park’s great website.  Check it out!!

LONE STAR LEGACY

You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219.  Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park. 

FMWC IN CYBERSPACE

This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter.  To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact:  j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.

Many of you also receive the paper version of this newsletter.  If you wish to help us save paper and postage by receiving the e-newsletter only, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net. 

 

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition

Borderland Mountain Bike Association * Border Toasters, Toastmasters International * Celebration of Our Mountains * Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition * Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue * El Paso Archaeological Society * El Paso Cactus and Rock Club * El Paso Native Plant Society * El Paso Regional Group of the Sierra Club * El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society * Friends of the Rio Bosque * Jolly Elders * League of Women Voters of El Paso * Mesilla Valley Audubon Society * Mountain Park Community Association * Photography Enthusiasts of El Paso * Skyline Optimist Club of El Paso * Southern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club * Southwest Environmental Center * Trans-Pecos Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists