November 2008

{FMWC} E-Newsletter -- November 2008
FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/


NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The next meeting of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition is Wednesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. The meeting takes place in Room 411 Burges Hall on the UTEP campus. Burges Hall is at the intersection of Sun Bowl Drive and University Ave. on the west side of campus. Please be prompt. The building entrance locks automatically in the evenings. If you arrive late and no one is at the door to let you in, call 861-4361 and someone will come to let you in. For more information, contact Scott Cutler (581-6071).


Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition at 30
by Scott Cutler, President

FMWC turned thirty this year. Quite a remarkable feat for a local organization whose beginnings were galvanized by the desire to preserve the natural grandeur of the Franklin Mountains and resulted in the formation of Franklin Mountains State Park.

Since its inception, the Coalition has been a strong supporter of the Park. We have provided financial support through donations to the Park's Lone Star Legacy endowment and have been staunch advocates for the preservation of Castner Range and its eventual inclusion in the park. These will remain the focus of FMWC in the years to come. Your continued support, both financially and through active participation in the group, will insure that the Franklin Mountains and the state park named for them remain vital open space.

In recognition of this thirty year milestone, what has been accomplished, what remains to be achieved, and to honor one of the original founders and longtime member, John Sproul, FMWC will be holding an Annual Meeting in January, 2009. The date, time and place are still to be arranged and will be announced as soon as possible. We hope you will be able to attend. Planning for this event, as well as other important topics, will be discussed at the upcoming general meeting on the 19th. Please try to attend.

If you have any questions, please call me at 581-6071. Hope to see you at the meeting...


Planning Poppies 2009

It's time to start planning for our 2009 Franklin Mountains Poppies Celebration on Castner Range March 14, 2009. We need your ideas and expertise. Please join us for our first planning meeting 9 AM, Thursday, December 4, 2008, at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain Rd. Their phone number is 915-755-4332.


Speaking of Castner Range...
by Judy Ackerman

The Fort Bliss Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meetings often include interesting revelations, especially when Castner Range is on the Agenda. Add your name to the distribution list for RAB by contacting John Knopp at 915-568-1455 or john.p.knopp@us.army.mil with your information as follows: name, address, phone(s), email, elected office (if any), organization represented (if any). We strongly encourage FMWC members to take advantage of this opportunity to be in the RAB loop and on top of developments concerning the Range.

Castner Range is on the minds of many concerned citizens, including members of the Stormwater Committee. At the Stormwater Master Plan Community Advisory Committee meeting October 29, 2008, Rick French (Stormwater Master Plan Project Manager URS Corporation) explained the technical criteria for ranking alternative solutions. The example he used was the “Electric Ditch” in the northeast and the map of the alternatives centered on the intersection of 54 and Transmountain Rd. ALL the example alternatives included building sediment/debris retention basins on Castner Range. A committee member pointed out that proposed solutions “blew off” a major goal of the committee: leaving Castner undeveloped. Several committee members expressed concern about preserving Castner Range. Matt Carroll said that FMWC should have a seat on the committee and stated that FMWC, a coalition of many organizations, has a goal to keep Castner Range in its natural state. One committee member adroitly pointed out that an alternative to additional retention dams on Castner would be removal of existing residences west of 54 and construction of pumping stations, at huge expense. Discussion about the Range continued after the meeting adjourned, demonstrating that El Pasoans care deeply about this critical open space – the crown jewel in the heart of our Franklin Mountains.


Franklin Mountains State Park News

A recent agenda item for Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission concerned an addition to Franklin Mountains State Park. The El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board (PSB) has offered to sell TPWD a 1673.5 acre tract adjacent to the Park and TPWD plans to take the steps necessary to obtain the addition. For more information, including detailed maps showing the exact location of the acreage, please go to:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/meetings/2009/1106/agenda/item_15/

All the latest news and information about upcoming events at the Park are available at the Park’s great website. Check it out!!


Lone Star Legacy

You can make a lasting contribution to the future of Franklin Mountains State Park with your tax-deductible donation to the Lone Star Legacy Endowment Fund. Checks, payable to "Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation" can be sent to: Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Attention: Lone Star Legacy, P.O. Box 191207, Dallas, TX, 75219. Mark your donation to the endowment fund for Franklin Mountains State Park.


Volunteers Needed for Mule Deer Surveys

Our friend, Lois Balin, TPWD Urban Wildlife Biologist is looking for volunteers to conduct mule deer surveys in the Franklin Mountains. Volunteers must be hearty enough to withstand very rough roads, cold weather and late nights.

The Franklin Mountains contain important deer habitat. Mule deer surveys provide important information about the number of deer occupying a range and the trends in deer numbers over a period of years. Deer surveys are conducted using helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft or spotlight surveys. TPWD usually uses helicopters to determine appropriate harvest intensity during hunting season. The mountainous terrain of FMSP, coupled with a desert climate present some survey challenges. Vehicle access is mainly limited to 4-wheel drive.

Surveys are conducted in the Franklin Mountains (even though hunting is prohibited there) to determine a reasonable scientific estimate of relative abundance, monitor population changes, estimate sex-ratios, evaluate impacts of habitat and land-use changes, obtain information on status and health, and to obtain incidental scientific estimation of fur-bearing animals (mountain lion, bobcat, gray fox, ringtail, etc.).

Volunteers will be involved in spotlight surveys sampling a portion of an area to produce an estimate of the deer density on the entire acreage of that land area. The route is driven after dark and involves counting deer from the bed of a pickup (or elevated seat) using spotlights. Two or more observers shine the lights from either side of the truck while the driver maintains a speed of 3 – 10 mph. Surveys are limited to 3 hours. Total numbers of observed deer are recorded while binoculars are used to identify bucks, does and fawns within 150-175 yards of the truck. Because of variability in deer movements, spotlight surveys are usually conducted on 3 separate nights to develop an average. The most effective time to conduct spotlight surveys is during September through early November, when bucks have hardened antlers and fawns are old enough to be following does. Spotlight surveys will be conducted for a minimum of 5 years.

If you are interested in assisting with this project please contact Lois Balin at 915-774-9603 or Lois.balin@tpwd.state.tx.us


Please Welcome Two New Organizational Members to FMWC!

EL PASO YOUTH SYMPHONY (2008), http://www.epsyos.org/

VISTA HILLS ROTARY CLUB (2008), http://rotary5520.org/index.html

If you know an organization that might join FMWC or that would like a speaker, contact judy Ackerman, 915-755-7371, j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.


FMWC In Cyberspace

This is the electronic version of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition newsletter. To be added to or removed from the distribution list, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.
Many of you also receive the paper version of this newsletter. If you wish to help us save paper and postage by receiving the e-newsletter only, contact: j.p.ackerman@sbcglobal.net.

The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition

Borderland Mountain Bike Association * Border Toasters, Toastmasters International * Celebration of Our Mountains * Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition * Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue * El Paso Archaeological Society * El Paso Cactus and Rock Club * El Paso Native Plant Society * El Paso Regional Group of the Sierra Club * El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society *El Paso Youth Symphony * Friends of the Rio Bosque *Jolly Elders * League of Women Voters of El Paso * Mesilla Valley Audubon Society * Mountain Park Community Association * Photography Enthusiasts of El Paso * Southern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club * Southwestern Environmental Center * Skyline Optimist Club of El Paso * Trans Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists * Vista Hills Rotary Club