Big Bend Gazette :: Owner of Cibolo Creek Ranch Resort Eyes Christmas Mountains

John Poindexter of Houston has told The Big Bend Gazette that he is interested in acquiring the 9,869-acre Christmas Mountains Preserve located in Brewster County and currently owned by the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The property, which was deeded to the state by the Arlington, Virginia-based Conservation Fund (CF), carries numerous restrictions including the Conservation Fund’s approval of any sale of the property by the GLO.

Poindexter is one of several parties interested in acquiring the property. Last year, Poindexter, a successful Houston-based businessman, made a failed attempt to purchase a 46,000-acre parcel of Big Bend Ranch State Park. Poindexter currently owns the 30,000-acre Cibolo Creek Ranch in Presidio County where he operates the posh Cibolo Creek Ranch Resort.

The GLO had set the tract up for auction on February 7 of this year but pulled the property prior to the auction. Jim Suydam, Press Secretary for the GLO, said, “Commissioner [Jerry] Patterson wanted to make clear, however, that the Land Office no longer wants to hold Christmas Mountains, and is interested in selling the land to someone who will be able to maintain all of the existing conservation easements on the property. Land Office staff have spoken with several people interested in Christmas Mountains, and Mr. Poindexter is one of those people. Nothing, however, is final.”

Poindexter toured the Christmas Mountains on June 4 and 5 with Andy Jones of the Conservation Fund, David Riskind, a biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD), and three representatives of The Christmas Mountains Association (TCMA). TCMA is a non-profit organization composed of area residents that holds the lease on the Christmas Mountains Preserve and has been working to protect it by improving fences, adding signage, patrolling, and removing invasive plant species.

In a telephone interview with the Gazette, David Riskind made it clear that he was not representing TPWD, as it was his day off, and he went along merely as an opportunity to view a part of the desert he has not seen in 25 years. Commented Riskind, “If you want to look at a piece of Chihuahuan Desert grassland in excellent condition, look there. The grassland community is excellent.”

Poindexter made it clear that he became interested in the Christmas Mountains only after the GLO initially set the property for auction. During a telephone interview with the Gazette Poindexter said, “I called the Conservation Fund and made my interests known. The Conservation easements are far more severe than those of the proposed transfer to the park [Big Bend National Park] that did not go anywhere, so what will happen, who knows? I had a very pleasant tour with the Conservation Fund. At this point it is pretty darn iffy, except I had a very pleasant tour by the Conservation Fund.”

In the TCMA meeting minutes of June 14, the following concerns were raised:

“Basically the issues are that the GLO is considering filing a Quit Claim to turn the property back over to Conservation Fund and this has a tentative deadline of June 22. If GLO does file a Quit Claim, the Conservation Fund does not have the financial reserve to maintain ownership and would need to divest itself of the financial responsibility by selling to a willing buyer. CF would attempt to find a buyer that would be amenable to working with TCMA.

'Once sold, the only purview the Conservation Fund would have would be over the deed restrictions. If the buyer chose to ignore those restrictions, the CF would have to take them to court to resolve the problem and the CF has limited financial resources for that kind of suit. Obviously, CF is actively trying to solicit buyers that would be interested in favorable land management and that would be amenable to working with TCMA.”

The GLO has stated that the only meeting scheduled for June 22 will be for GLO staff and attorneys to review the Public Information Act request filed by the Gazette.

No Resort Planned, No Buffalo

Regarding the possibility that he might acquire the Christmas Mountains, buy adjacent land, and build a resort, Poindexter said, “No, not at all, I’m a one-resort kind of guy. One resort is a great challenge; the idea of having two is incomprehensible. This is a rest-of-your-life property conservation opportunity.” Referring to the numerous restrictions, Poindexter added, “All anyone can do is own it and brag about owning it, it gives you Texas bragging rights, there are no commercial purposes.” He added the road access to it is very limited and all traverse Terlingua Ranch.

The Christmas Mountains, prominent landmark and natural treasure of south Brewster County in far west Texas (Dave Mattson).

Terry Ervin, President of TCMA said, “Poindexter was considering introducing buffalo and elk to the property and attracting high-dollar hunters.” In an email Poindexter said, “Terry and a friend gave us the tour and I mentioned that I thought it a good habitat for elk and buffalo. Since then I've changed my mind and dropped buffalo as too troublesome to manage from long distance and a risk for the local inhabitants if the animals break down any restraints erected in the future to contain them.” When asked if he is ruling out hunting entirely, he responded, “Not necessarily, but there is nothing to hunt that I saw.”

“Not Trying to Renew Park Deal”

When asked if he planed to renew his bid to obtain the 46,000-acre tract of Big Bend Ranch State Park that he sought last year, Poindexter said, “I’m not trying to renew the park deal. The commission was very firm; that deal is dead unless they take action. I was very willing in the past, it remains their imitative.” This is a departure from statements he made last year after his bid fell through. Several months after the debacle, Poindexter told newspapers that he was still interested in the deal. At the time, Poindexter attributed the deal’s demise to gubernatorial politics when Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn criticized Governor Rick Perry and Texas Parks and Wildlife on the eve of the vote. In a statement to the Austin American-Statesman last November Poindexter said, "Political forces that I have no knowledge of forced commissioners to reject the offer.”

The deal, which had been in the works for four years, came to light two days before the State Parks Commission was set to vote on the proposed deal. Regarding that event, Poindexter said, “The real bottom line is I got a lot of bad p.r.” He added, “I have been inviting environmental and historical experts to Cibolo Creek to see the great work we have done.” Poindexter has invited this reporter to meet with him this summer for a eco-tour of the property. As a resort, Cibolo Creek Ranch has won critical acclaim from The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and in 2002, Town and Country noted, “One of the most beautiful hideaways in America is 30,000-acre Cibolo Creek, in the wilds of west Texas.”

At the conclusion of the interview Poindexter stressed, “This was a casual visit courtesy of the Conservation Fund, the original donor of the property,” and the fate of the deal is in the hands of the Conservation Fund and the General Land Office.