To join a network of people working to support the designation of the international park, contact Rick LoBello in El Paso, Texas at 915-474-1456 or write rickllobello@cs.com or  fill out an online form and write in how you want to help.

To see a historical timeline and for more information on this effort visit http://www.iloveparks.com/peaceparks. 

The Missing Piece: Big Bend National Park was never meant to stand alone

by Rick LoBello,8/9/2009

"I do not believe that this undertaking in the Big Bend (referring to the establishment of Big Bend National Park) will be complete until the entire park area in this region on both sides of the Rio Grande forms one great international park."   President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a letter General Manual Avila Camacho, President of Mexico, October 24, 1944

Living and working in Big Bend National Park gave me a unique opportunity to get to know and study one of the crown jewels of our National Parks.  Nearly every day I gazed towards the northern frontier of Coahuila, Mexico, in line sight from my home at Panther Junction.  Less than twelve airline miles away the towering cliffs of the Sierra del Carmen created the perfect wilderness backdrop for daily life in the park.  Huge layers of limestone overshadowed the vista as the Mexican mountains rose more than 5000 feet above the banks of the Rio Grande.  I could not escape the view.  The ever changing light created wonderful sunrises and sunsets.  Photographers try to capture the mood, but it’s too glorious to confine within the lens of a camera.

I always think of these mountains as part of the Big Bend, but in reality they are part of another country.  Mexico is divided from the United States by not only the Rio Grande, but also by a culture where life is often much slower and where the economy is rarely supported by ecotourism. 

An old man living in the tiny village of Boquillas in Coahuila, just across the river from the park’s Rio Grande Village Campground, once said that the Rio Grande is a very special river, for as it divides it also joins.   This reflection perfectly characterizes the Big Bend we see today, for if it were not for political boundary lines drawn across the map, most visitors would be hard pressed to know just where the United States ends and Mexico begins.

The entire Big Bend National Park area combined with the adjacent mountains in Mexico plays an important role in maintaining the balance of nature on both sides of the border.  For example, the Sierra del Carmen is home to a significant population of black bears that is important to maintaining a sustainable population of bears in the park’s Chisos Mountains.  Other animals cross the border back and forth and find both habitats important to their survival.  To mountain lions and rare bird species like the Zone-tailed Hawk, Gray Hawk and Peregrine Falcon, international boundaries are meaningless.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the proposed International Peace Park a “meeting ground for the people of both countries” he helped to define a now 74-year-old dream.  If realized, the dream of a vast international protected area will help to ensure the survival of a significant intermountain desert wilderness and will enhance the tourism economies on both sides of the Rio Grande.

On October 14, 1988 I joined a small group of Big Bend staff on a trip into the Maderas del Carmen section of the Sierra del Carmens as guests of the Governor of Coahuila, Lic. Eliseo Mendoza Berrueto.  Governor Mendoza had been in contact with Big Bend officials on several occasions during the year and was very enthusiastic in his desire to rekindle the dream of an international park.  Meetings between Mendoza and Big Bend National Park Superintendent Jim Carrico had paved the way for a visit to one of the most spectacular wilderness areas left in northern Mexico.  Little did we know at the time, six years later Mexico would designate the area the Maderas del Carmen Flora and Fauna Protection Area on November 7, 1994.

After driving about 40 miles along rough roads we gathered at an airstrip south of Rio Grande Village and Boquillas.  There we joined the Governor and his staff plus other officials and businessman from throughout Coahuila.

The road up into the Maderas del Carmen demands 4-wheel drive vehicles.  It rapidly ascends the steep southern edge of the range where some peaks reach to nearly 9,000 feet.  Our caravan of ten jeeps and pick-ups slowly made its way to the top where we abruptly entered a forest more typical of a forest you would see in Colorado.

To our delight the Governor was accompanied by his private chef who prepared a classic Mexican barbecue complete with fresh corn and flower tortillas, beans and salad.  After dinner everyone gathered around the campfire to become better acquainted as a cassette player filled the air with Mexican tunes.  Sitting by a propane lantern, the Governor enjoyed a game of dominos with Jim Carrico.

The next day more than 40 people gathered among the tall Arizona cypress, yellow pine, and Douglas fir trees.  It was an occasion with a telling parallel: the Governor was visiting the area for the first time and the scene was reminiscent of the 1870 meeting near the mouth of Wyoming’s Madison River where the idea of creating Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, was seriously considered.   As topographical maps were unfolded onto a long wooden table, the group gathered around to answer the Governor’s questions about the best black bear habitat and to discuss ideas about the most logical boundaries for a protected area.

In Northern Mexico the Maderas del Carmen mountain range is one of the most remote and unexplored areas in Coahuila.  Now that protected status for the area was declared in 1994 and renewed efforts to create an international park with Big Bend are underway, the region may soon receive long overdue international recognition as one of the last great wilderness areas in North America (see map). 

From 1975-1992 and almost every year since I have enjoyed thousands of sunrises and sunsets over the magnificent Sierra del Carmens.  I am continually inspired by the shifting hues of red, pink, purple, crimson and blue on the massive limestone cliffs and have admired countless thunderstorms building above its heights. 

I used to wonder about the high mountain forests and have always looked at the magnificent Sierra del Carmen vista as if it were actually a part of Big Bend.   Now that I have been to the area several times I realize that Big Bend National Park is actually a smaller part of something much bigger, a mountain range that President Roosevelt referred to as the “missing piece” needed to make the Big Bend park idea complete.

The dream lives and those of us who have discovered the wonders of this special corner of the earth will continue to look to the day when the dream of a US Mexico International Park finally becomes a reality. 

To join a network of people working to support the designation of the international park, contact Rick LoBello in El Paso, Texas at 915-474-1456 or write rickllobello@cs.com or  fill out an online form and write in how you want to help.

Dream of a Giant Park on the US Mexico border breathes new life 

by Rick LoBello 8/2/2009

A giant international park project first proposed in the 1930s and last endorsed by high level officials in Washington, D.C. in 1946, received a hopeful sign of new life last week when Congressman Ciro Rodriquez of Texas introduced H.Res.695 – “supporting an international park between Big Bend National Park in the United States and the protected areas of the Coahuila and Chihuahua States across the border in Mexico.”  The non-binding resolution resolves, ”that the House of Representatives supports an international park between Bend National Park in the United States and the protected areas of the Coahuila and Chihuahua States across the border in Mexico; and Requests that the President in conjunction with the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Interior, and State discuss with Mexico and study the probability of designating an international park.”

On a visit to the proposed park area in 1936 then Assistant Director of the National Park Service Conrad Wither said that the proposed Big Bend International Park would be one of the biggest developments ever undertaken by the National Park Service and would be “one of the greatest recreational and educational ventures ever undertaken by the National Park Service. The benefits to the people of Mexico and the United States will be almost unlimited." 

In a letter to General Manual Avila Camacho, President of the United Mexican States President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote that "I do not believe that this undertaking in the Big Bend (referring to the establishment of Big Bend National Park in 1944) will be complete until the entire park area in this region on both sides of the Rio Grande forms one great international park."   When in 1946 following the death of Roosevelt, President Truman tried to move the project forward in his own letter to President Camacho, support for the project in Washington soon faded when Camacho’s term ended later that same year. 

Much has happened since 1946, but nothing as significant as Congressman’s Rodriquez’s first step to get the project back on the national agenda in Congress last week.  Earlier this year iloveparks.com reported on recent efforts in Mexico to restore the project back on to the agenda when President Obama visited President Calderon in April.  How this new chapter plays out in the days ahead will be determined by not only by President Obama, Congress and the Mexican government, but also by the people of both countries who come forward in support of the effort.  To join a network of people working to support the designation of the international park, contact Rick LoBello in El Paso, Texas at 915-474-1456 or write rickllobello@cs.com or you can also fill out a online form and write in how you want to help.

To see a historical timeline and for more information on this effort visit http://www.iloveparks.com/peaceparks. 

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 695

Supporting an international park between Big Bend National Park in the United States and the protected areas of the Coahuila and Chihuahua States across the border in Mexico.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 29, 2009

Mr. RODRIGUEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

RESOLUTION

Supporting an international park between Big Bend National Park in the United States and the protected areas of the Coahuila and Chihuahua States across the border in Mexico.

Whereas the United States and Mexico share a common border, natural and cultural resources, and histories;

Whereas the Chihuahuan Desert region provides an opportunity for the two nations to share research and experience in managing a protected area in this unique ecosystem;

Whereas there is a desire to conserve and educate others about the significant natural and cultural resources that span the border of the United States and Mexico;

Whereas the concept is based on the existing international park at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park between the United States and Canada;

Whereas beginning in 1935 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, meetings and discussions have been held to explore an international park in the Big Bend National Park of Texas and the Coahuila and Chihuahua States of Mexico;

Whereas, on August 14, 1983, an agreement between the United Mexican States and the United States of America on Cooperation for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area was signed;

Whereas in October of 1988, an agreement of understanding between the National Park Service and the State of Coahuila was signed by Coahuila Governor Eliseo Mendoza Beurrueto, National Park Service Regional Director John Cook, and Big Bend National Park Superintendent Jim Carrico for cooperation between the two countries in research and preservation of the shared environment along the border;

Whereas a similar agreement of understanding was later signed with the State of Chihuahua; and

Whereas, on March 27, 2006, the United States and Mexico sign non-binding Joint Declaration of Sister Park Partnerships between Big Bend National Park in Texas, Maderas del Carmen (Coahuila), and Canon de Santa Elena (Chihuahua) Flora and Fauna Protected Areas: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) supports an international park between Big Bend National Park in the United States and the protected areas of the Coahuila and Chihuahua States across the border in Mexico; and

(2) requests that the President, in conjunction with Secretaries of Homeland Security, Interior, and State, discuss with Mexico and study the probability of designating an international park.

Will the dream of a giant park on the border be revived after Obama’s visit to Mexico?    
by Rick LoBello, iloveparks.com

El Paso, Texas, April 19, 2009.  Earlier this month we learned that a new effort is underway in Mexico that could re-open US/Mexico talks on the long proposed international park in the Big Bend National Park region of West Texas.   Two sources in Acuna, Coahuila and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon confirm that the Governor of Coahuila was working on a presentation for President Obama and President Calderon proposing that Mexico and the US once again seriously consider the creation of what once was reported on in El Paso as the “Giant Park Proposal.”

It is unclear at this time if the park proposal was discussed. An article posted on yesterday's El Universal.com indicates that the two presidents did discuss numerous projects on the border that could help with Mexico's economy opening that the possibility the park was discussed as a ecotourism initiative. 

You can see an historical timeline about the proposal going back to 1935 by clicking here.  During the late 1930s meetings were held about the park in El Paso, Texas, but the international park was never realized even though Big Bend National Park was established nine years later in 1944.  Today the park is well known in the Southwest as one of the crown jewels of the National Park System, but what most people do not know is that half of the original proposed park is missing. 

The originally proposed international park needs to be completed and I hope that President Obama and President Calderon found time to discuss the proposal. 

An international park combining Big Bend National Park with protected areas across the border in Coahuila and Chihuahua will:

(1) help to call international attention to the transboundary protected areas and the need to promote the long term protection of the region's fascinating flora and fauna including a number of rare and endangered species,

(2) become a permanent monument and symbol of peace between the US and Mexico, one that President Roosevelt said would celebrate the friendship between the two countries and be a meeting ground where the people of both countries and citizens from all parts of the world could come together to learn about each other’s culture while coming to better understand the natural world that they all share.

(3) help to call the region's attention to the needs of people living in rural areas without adequate running water, electricity, sanitation and educational opportunities. The people living in the area cannot be expected to support the long term protection of the region if their needs are not also taken care of.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Harry Truman were strong advocates of the US/Mexico international park and Roosevelt proclaimed six months before his death that “"I do not believe that this undertaking in the Big Bend will be complete until the entire park area in this region on both sides of the Rio Grande forms one great international park."     
 

Read the Story from the El Paso Herald Post in 1936

 
Will Discuss Big Bend Park

Arno M. Cammerer, director of the National Park Service, will be in El Paso, Sunday, to discuss with Mexican officials boundaries of a proposed International Park, the American half which would be in Brewster County.   El Paso Herald Post, November 6, 1936

PROPOSED PARK GIANT PROJECT

Officials Will Arrive Here Sunday for Parley On Recreation Site. The proposed Big Bend International Park will be one of the biggest developments ever undertaken by the National Park Service, according to Assistant Director Conrad L. Wirth, who is enroute here with other Washington officials of the National Park Service to attend a two-day conference opening Sunday with representatives of the Mexican government. 'Boundaries of the park will be discussed.

In my opinion," said Mr. Wirth, "the Big Bend International Park will be one of the greatest recreational and educational ventures ever undertaken by the National Park Service. The benefits to the people of Mexico and the United States will be almost unlimited."

Director Arno B. Cammerer and Assistant Directors Wirth and G. A. Moskey will arrive here Sunday morning with Herbert Maier of Oklahoma City, regional officer of the National Park Service, in charge of cooperative development of state parks in Texas. and other Southwestern States.

They will be met here by representatives of the U. S. Biological Survey and the International Boundary Commission, to confer with Daniel F. Galicia and other from the. Department of Forestry; Fish and Game of Mexico.

Tentative boundaries have been agreed upon at previous joint meetings of the two commissions.

The sessions here are expected to result in final determination for presentation to the respective governments. It is probable these boundaries will include about 788,000 acres for the Big Bend National Park of Texas—all in Brewster County- and approximately 400,000 acres for the Mexican National Park in the States of Chihuahua and Coahuila.

The two-parks would be linked by a bridge across the Rio Grande at Boquillas.

NEW LINKS:
-Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands Map
-Big Bend Borderlands Map
-Check out the I Love Parks Community Blog and register your support in our online poll

Rotary Districts 5520/4110 U.S.-Mexico 
International Park Initiative

Rotary Update  by Rick LoBello

August 9, 2009:  Many people are wondering what happened to the Rotary US/Mexico International Park Proposal.  Over the past ten years Rotary District 5520 (United States) and District 4110 (Mexico) have communicated with both federal and state government officials in support of the establishment of the park.  In 1998 over 400 of our members gathered at Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso for a bi-district conference where we celebrated our commitment to Rotary and international conservation efforts in a special ceremony dedicated to the establishment of the park.  In attendance were representatives of both governments and Rotary International President Jim Lacey.  Our members came from New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes.  Prior to the event we had received letters of support from government officials in Mexico and the US including President Ernesto Zedillo, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, Friends of Big Bend National Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the National Park Service.  As was the unfortunate situation when the original international park project was derailed by World War II, Rotary efforts were derailed by the events of 911.  We have been trying to get the project back on track ever since.

During the last year that Frank Deckert was Superintendent of Big Bend in 2002 we tried to organize an international conference in El Paso at the University of Texas.  We had staff members from UTEP involved, park managers from Mexico and the US attended the meetings and I was invited to speak to UTEP students at a peace conference. When Deckert retired the new Superintendent of Big Bend, John King, moved on to other priorities and the conference idea died for lack of NPS support.  King made some communications to his superiors and even spoke to Texas Governor Perry’s staff in Austin.  When he told me that Governor Perry’s staff felt that they could not support an international park because Mexico was holding back water from Texas, I could see support for the project from Big Bend fade quickly. 

Recently I learned that Big Bend has expanded the 1997 Letter of Intent with Mexico into sister park relationships with the two Mexico protected areas across the border.  I applaud efforts like this that help to maintain communications between the two countries, but feel that international park status is still an important goal.  With all of the immigration problems between the US and Mexico I see the International Peace Park that President Roosevelt promoted being more important than ever. 

John King left Big Bend in 2006 was replaced by Bill Wellman who recently wrote the following message in 2007:

Big Bend National Park
Subj: Re: US/International Peace Park Project
Date: 7/9/2007 3:52:24 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Bill_Wellman@nps.gov
To: RickLLoBello@cs.com

Mr. LoBello:

An international park is certainly a good idea. As you well know, it has been discussed for many years and most likely will one day be a reality.  It is a concept that the National Park Service continues to support. However, with the current national debate over border security and immigration, I fear you may have a difficult task resurrecting the project at this time. We do wish you well with your efforts.

Sincerely,
Bill Wellman

Rotarian Support Remains Strong

Rotarians are still very supportive of the International Park concept and frequently express their support to other members of the community and to their government representatives on both sides of the border.  Rotarians involved with continuing efforts to support the Waterton-Glacier International Park on the US-Canada border are also very supportive of the US Mexico International Park initiative.   On October 1, 2009 I spoke to the Downtown Rotary Club of El Paso and was well received.  Please contact me if you would like a presentation for your club or group.  

Rick LoBello  915-474-1456, rickllobello@cs.com

Background Information
Latest News: US/Mexico Park

Peace Park Links:
Peace Park Foundation
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, U.S. and Canada
Glacier-Waterton National Parks Visitors Association

Proposed U.S.-Mexico International Park
Big Bend National Park, United States
Overview: Maderas del Carmen and Canon de Santa Elena, Mexico

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Assembly

Interestingly, two countries, Canada and the USA, have been doing this for over 74 years. Back in 1931, Rotarians from Montana and Alberta came together in Waterton Lakes Park for the first annual international goodwill meeting. Rotarians worked at getting both the Canadian Parliament and the U.S. Congress to pass laws to set aside Waterton-Glacier as an international peace park. In 1932, the world’s first peace park, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was established. The Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1995. The two parks cooperate and collaborate on many things while maintaining fiscal independence and administrative autonomy - flora and fauna of the region know no boundaries.

The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Assembly meets every year for three days - even years in the USA and odd years in Canada, to celebrate the peace and friendship shared by these nations. Rotarians and their guests can play golf, hike, take a bus tour, attend a peace seminar or just enjoy the wonderful scenery. The Saturday evening banquet usually has a speaker of some note. The Peace Park Association has helped the parks by erecting symbolic artifacts, conducting ceremonies, and purchasing defibrillators, and even tried to stop the clear cutting along the border. Because of space limitations, the assembly is restricted to 300 people.

For several years, a small number of Texas and New Mexico Rotarians have been trying to form the same type of park between Mexico and the US. They have called for Big Bend National Park to join with the Maderas del Carmen and Santa Elena Protected Areas to form a park that was first called for by President Roosevelt in 1935. In 1997, both Governments signed a Letter of Intent for increased cooperation. But both nations have done little to bring this park to a reality - there are no “champions” in the political arena. For further information on Peace Parks, look at the web site, Iloveparks.com.

For several years when I lived in Montana, I went to the Peace Park Assembly. In fact I was a Board member for two years (you must be a member of District 5360, 5370 - Alberta, Canada, or 5390 - Montana, USA to be a Board member).

All who are trying to set up some type of “Park” between the USA and Mexico are looking forward to the day when we can meet in a place where the mountains, flowers and animals flow freely from one side of the border to the other - where we can join hands over the border and say to the Mexican Rotarians as I did at Waterton-Glacier to the Canadian Rotarians “….we will work for peace, maintain liberty, strive for freedom and demand equal opportunities for all mankind….”

Jerry Channell, Rockport Rotary Club, Texas

Mission Statement:

These web pages are dedicated to the promotion of international peace parks around the world.  They were inspired by the efforts of Rotarians in the United States, Canada and Mexico for helping to establish the world's first international peace park between the US and Canada and for recent efforts to rekindle the dream of a US/Mexico Park. 

For more information write Rick LoBello at rickllobello@cs.com
or call 915-474-1456.