A large portion of Wellman’s talk ended up being about, well, preventing Big Bend NP from becoming another Organ Pipe NM in Arizona, where Wellman was Superintendent when the tides turned, so to speak, and within just a few years, the park was ravaged by illegal immigration. Organ Pipe became, Wellman told the group, “a war zone between two drug lord factions.” The “hundreds of miles of illegal roads in the park” and some 200,000 migrants coming though a park half the size of Big Bend took a huge toll on the park’s natural and human resources and forced the closure of 90% of the park to public access. by Marlys Hersey    more »

In response to Congressional pressure, the Department of the Interior is proposing new regulations allowing park visitors to carry guns in areas managed by the National Park Service and/or the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuges. While there has been no groundswell of park goers seeking a right to carry concealed weapons in those management areas, the new regulations in this election year would allow concealed weapons. by Fran Sage    more »

exas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson has responded to the National Park Service’s proposal to acquire the Christmas Mountains in Brewster County. His answer: No guns, no deal: create a National Preserve and we can talk. by John Waters    more »

On a stunningly clear mid-January afternoon Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson pilots his 90-horsepower Citabria aircraft from San Marcos to land at Terlingua Ranch’s 4,000-foot dirt runway, at 1:30 pm. On board with Patterson is a chilled Sam Gwynne, writer from Texas Monthly, who has endured the three-hour flight in the back of the small aircraft, sitting behind Patterson where the aircraft’s heat does not reach. Patterson is in Brewster County to explore the Christmas Mountains and Big Bend National Park by air, foot, truck and all-terrain vehicle. by John Waters    more »

The Texas General Land Office has made public the National Park Service’s proposed management plan for the Christmas Mountains. Under the proposal, the Christmas Mountains would be added to Big Bend National Park and managed as a backcountry area of the park. The Park Service proposal cites several advantages of NPS management including permanent protection and preservation, public access and participation in the planning process, NPS expertise in management of backcountry environments.   more »

The National Park Service has submitted a management plan to the Texas General Land Office for the Christmas Mountains. The Park Service is proposing it acquire the Christmas Mountains and incorporate it into the park. It is an excellent plan.   more »

I thought about your request for improvements to the Gazette [“On celebrating 4 years of publication,” October 2007] and could think of nothing. It seemed as if nothing should be changed…and then suddenly   more »

WHERE: South steps of Texas Capitol, Austin, Texas WHEN: Monday, November 5, Noon VISUALS: Large color photos of the Christmas Mountains. Also, the delivery of thousands of petition signatures to Gov. Perry's office.   more »

Selling our Christmas Mountains (and reneging on Texas’ promise to the Mellon Foundation) is scandalous, something akin to chiseling the Alamo or the San Jacinto Monument for profit. Essentially, Patterson has told Texas hunters and bird-watchers and heritage lovers to buzz off. If he goes through with the brazen act, using legal loopholes as his fig leaf, he will forever be remembered in the annals of land management as an untrustworthy double dealer. by Douglas Brinkley    more »

Brinkley should re-read his Reagan Diaries. More than any other American, Reagan understood that government is not the solution to the problem – in many cases, it is the problem. The Christmas Mountains are no exception. The Land Office has neither the authority nor the funding to restore the land to its natural state. by Jerry Patterson    more »

During a regularly scheduled meeting of the Big Bend Ranch Advisory Committee in Lajitas on August 7, Poindexter outlined his proposal whereby he would buy land from Lajitas Resort in Brewster County that may be of interest to Texas Parks and Wildlife. That land would be appraised, then offered as a swap to TPWD in exchange for land of equal value for part of BBRSP land near Cienega Creek that adjoins Poindexter’s Cibolo Creek Ranch in Presidio County. by John Waters    more »

While I sat in the shade, I dug a lechuguilla thorn from my leg and tried to judge how long the ladder had stood below the beehive, protected from the rain and sun by the shadow of a bend in the canyon wall. It couldn’t be prehistoric since it was tied with wire, but it may have stood there since there were ranchers in the area and the wagon traffic on the nearby Ore Road was flourishing in the early 1900’s. by John Forsythe    more »

Confrontation is not our style, nor is it the right thing to do, but neither is poaching cactus from the desert. I’d been ovulating for 2 days and I would like to believe natural instincts were kicking in. Just like a mama bear protecting her young, I had a maternal feeling to protect what I love – in this case, the desert. Off we went chasing the poachers down the road. by Kym Flippo    more »

“It’s the true believers who want to do this,” says Mindy Hamlett, one of the handful of volunteers who make recycling work for the Big Bend’s residents and visitors. “We want to see recycling work in this area, but sometimes when you show up on a Saturday to make sure everything is sorted properly for delivery to the recycling center in the National Park and you discover that people have just left all their garbage in bags by our trailer, well, you’d like to strangle somebody.” by Andy Byrnes    more »

We expect intense thunder and lightning and monsoon rains in July, August, and September. But May? by Marlys Hersey    more »

It seemed like a good idea at the time. The largest flying reptile ever unearthed came from the Big Bend. The scientific name is Quetzalcoatlus northropi and it is a species of Pterosaur, or flying reptile. Pterosaur literally means “flying lizard.” But don’t ever call it a dinosaur. I made that mistake. by Larry Francell    more »

The women’s efforts evolved from those humble beginnings, however, and they were soon a familiar sight, running in groups along Routes 118 and 170 and in the national park itself. Marcy, Pam and Martha were joined by Kassi Williams, Carin Taylor and Jennifer Peña, who would eventually participate in the Austin race, and Dede Granado, Bobbie Jones, Ellen Quigg, Debbie Willoford, Nicole Killingsworth and Noemi Aviles, who would run their race in the park in support of their fellow ‘Turtles.' by Andy Byrnes    more »

A public service announcement...   more »

Big Bend High School students competed at District University Insterscholastic League (UIL) Academic Meet.   more »