Once established, the saltcedar is a tenacious tenant. Its root system is substantial with a tap root sometime reaching 15 feet deep and secondary surface roots which soak up rainfall. It tolerates drought, heat, cold, salinity, fire and flooding. But this is not the worst part.... by Jim Glendinning    more »

"Operation Wrangler" is a coordinated interagency law enforcement surge effort intended to prevent and disrupt all crime and illegal international drug and human trafficking. Operation Wrangler will involve federal, state and local ground, air and water-borne assets, including more than 6,800 personnel, 2,200 vehicles, 48 helicopters, 33 fixed wing aircraft and 35 patrol ships.   more »

Rarely does a wildlife species reestablish a population without human intervention. Yet the black bears from the Maderas del Carmen did this themselves. It is a wildlife success story that we can’t take credit for, a remarkable occurrence, and from a species that was extirpated from many states in Mexico about the same time they were extirpated from Texas. by Bonnie McKinney    more »

There is still time to be part of the great success story of how women of Boquillas, Coahuila, Mexico with help from women of Terlingua and Alpine, Texas raised $15,000 by selling quilts. by Dallas Baxter    more »

Throughout the summer, numerous hikers to Boot Canyon in the Chisos Mountains have have seen a mother bear with two cubs. More recently, bears have been sighted near Cattail Falls, the Oak Springs trail, and the popular Window trail, prompting officials to temporarily close those trails to the public. by John Waters    more »

How is it possible to dedicate megabucks to making the border’s biological situation worse instead of to cleaning up shared binational water sheds, airsheds, and landscapes to improve the habitat for humans and other living things? by Talli Nauman    more »

Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (James Evans)
Senator Elliott Shapleigh (D-El Paso) has demanded the Texas General Land Office cease land swaps in the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, and elsewhere in the state. Shapleigh, who introduced legislation in 1997 to allow swaps from the GLO to Parks and Wildlife, told The Gazette, “We put a section in the bill that mandates the GLO to provide preference to Texas State Parks on adjoining land. Our intent was to increase beautiful Texas State Parks for the people of Texas, not take it away from them." by John Waters    more »

The synopsis does not reveal the film’s ending but leaves off with the terrorist being ordered to return to Mexico after being contacted by his handlers via satellite phone. Due to resistance from citizens, the terrorist is ordered to abort his mission, and receive codes to disarm the bomb upon his return to Mexico. If he is killed before he receives the disarm codes the nuclear bomb will go off. Far fetched? Maybe not.... by John Waters    more »

It is often said that one function of government is to protect the poor from the rich. Since our present rulers (government) have consistently done the opposite, I agree with Mr. Briggs that we should do away with them, that no government (in this specific case) is better than horribly bad government. But what the Norquist crowd really means is to do away with government except where it benefits the military-industrial complex.   more »

"The sister park initiative is a good example of how Mexico and the U.S. can create synergies and opportunities of mutual benefit by working collaboratively in the management of natural resources along the border and in other natural protected areas beyond." The seven parks designated under the Declaration of Sister Park Partnerships include: * Big Bend National Park with Maderas del Carmen & Cañón de Santa Elena Flora and Fauna Protected Areas...    more »

You won’t see many people wearing Chico Cano T-Shirts. The Mexican revolutionary figure is not as well known as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, two of his early 20th century contemporaries.... But Chico Cano, in his own way, lived up to the revolutionary image of fighter, hero – even bandit – as much or mores than other more celebrated figures. And because he occasionally redistributed the wealth of the more fortunate, Cano has also been described as a Mexican Robin Hood. by Sam Richardson    more »

Just occasionally, people transcend geopolitical, sector and other boundaries to make good news for habitat restoration. When this happens it is something worth celebrating. A case in point is the vast but heretofore little-known El Carmen Corridor on the U.S.-Mexico border. by Talli Nauman    more »

The northern end of the Sierra del Carmen, located at the international border between Mexico and the United States, is a spectacular, pristine environment with deep canyons and great walls that connect it to the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River and Big Bend National Park. This area is home to more than 500 plant species, 400 bird species, 70 mammal species, and 50 types of reptiles and amphibians.   more »

I appreciate your interest in and the obvious passion you feel for having the border crossings reopened in Big Bend NP. However, the conclusions that you have reached and the assertions that you make in your article are fundamentally flawed and beg to be corrected.   more »

"That's Texas, and that's Mexico." A friend and former river guide says she used to have to clarify this all day for her passengers while canoeing or rafting the Rio Grande. Looking across the narrow and relatively shallow river, I have to remind myself the same thing. by John Waters and Marlys Hersey    more »

Not only would the trip take us to the mountains and the abandoned mines, but on the way we’d ride our bikes through the isolated, end-of-the-road Mexican village of Boquillas and past the Terminál, the anchor point for a miles-long cable which had been used to carry buckets laden with ore from the mines in Mexico across the river to Texas. After watching the limestone cliffs turn rosy pink and fade into darkness at sunset nearly every day for several years, we were very curious to see the del Carmens up close. by John Forsythe    more »

Though she knew very little Spanish when she started, Danielle Gallo is now “more or less fluent…. Submersion is a good way to learn.” After several months on and off of living in Boquillas and teaching, her plans have changed. “It became clear there was a lot more I could do on this side…. [People in Boquillas] have no economy, no food, no medical services.”   more »

The agent approached my vehicle and asked for identification, which I gave him. After checking my ID, he said, “Ma’am, the reason I pulled you over was that I didn’t recognize your vehicle.” I started laughing. He told me he didn’t think his comment was that funny. I said, “It’s funny because I’m an attorney, and you not only just violated my constitutional rights, but then admitted it to me.” by Patricia Kerns    more »

This region has long been called “La Frontera,” an area encompassing both sides of the river that was in a true sense a frontier to local residents, a border to those in Washington, D.C. and Mexico City. by John Waters    more »