The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the alleged sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and arson that took place in Terlingua on December 6, as a possible hate-crime. The hate-crime provision may be invoked given that the attack seems to have been motivated by perceived sexual orientation of the victim. By John Waters    more »

Not a comprehensive history of the region, this is the sort of book that will appeal to lovers of Big Bend, admirers of tenacious spirits, and anyone enchanted by ephemeral faces suspended in old photographs. by Megan Wilde    more »

And perhaps best of all, staff levels have never been better; the organization now has three paid medics and fifteen volunteer firefighters, plus a group of almost a dozen newly-trained first responders, in addition to already on board stalwart volunteer ECAs and drivers. by John Waters    more »

When asked for details on the resignation, Liz Demetri, POATRI board president told the Gazette, “As I stated at the [April 25] meeting, we, the board have no announcement to make at this time. Whatever conversation you and Alida had is between the two of you.”   more »

D.B. Smith was funny, salty, and very warm behind the gruff exterior. He was such a fiercely independent, can-do kind of West Texan, emblematic of a passing era of “folks” (as he would say) who first re-settled Terlingua in the ‘60’s & 70’s. Plus he was full of great anecdotes and great lines. by Marlys Hersey    more »

South Brewster County residents awoke to no electricity on the morning of Wednesday, July 30 in what was to be the start of almost 2 days without power. Power was lost on Wednesday morning at about 2:30am and restored at 11:20 am. Power was again lost at about 4:30 in the afternoon and restored on Thursday at about 1 pm. A third interruption of power occurred Saturday, Aug. 2. by John Waters    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 »

Attendance was notably lower than at some other annual meetings, and the number of ballots cast for new directors decreased from last year’s elections, perhaps more fallout from a lawsuit that has hobbled the association for a year and half. The lawsuit, instigiated by a collection of property owners against others on the board at the time the legal petition was filed, stems from the core allegation that... by Marlys Hersey    more »

In the coming months you will see many changes at Lajitas, the first of which will be making the resort a public resort not only for the benefit of everyone in Texas, but also everyone in the community.   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 »

The land sale had proceeded with scant notice outside the Big Bend until mid-September when the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle reported that the original donors on the land, the Mellon Foundation and the Conservation Fund, had communicated to the GLO their opposition of the sale. by John Waters    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 »

When I moved to South County to make my fortune with the Roadhouse, one of the major plans was to provide local music on as regular of basis as I could. From previous visits I knew this resource was available. What I didn’t realize and was thrilled to discover was that the music scene “back then” was as much a part of our community as the tortured landscape and muddy brown river. Music was everywhere, running the scale from the phenomenal, to the awful, to the bizarre. It was in the bars, on the porches, around campfires and liable to strike up anywhere. by Don McDowell    more »

It's been an unusually cold & wet & SNOWY winter in the Big Bend. Here are some glimpses from the beginning of the season....   more »

Then I’d go to bed, listen for the wind and the sounds of birds settling in for the night, bands of javelina roaming through my camp, and I’d smell the occasional skunk or fox. Many nights I would wake up – sometime around 2 am – and watch the stars and the moon, pick out the constellations that I know, and very often see shooting stars streak across the night sky. I wondered why parents don’t teach their children to live like this for a while. by Dori Ramsay    more »