Sunday, November 1, 2009

November 2009

{FMWC} E-Newsletter November 2009


FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS COALITION
http://www.franklinmountains.org/

NEXT MEETING: November 18, 2009


Our meeting this month will be held from 6 - 8 p.m. at the El Paso Public Library’s Richard Burges Branch located in Northeast El Paso at 9600 Dyer St.

Map available at:
http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/ourlibraries/our_libraries.asp

You might notice the e-news looks different this month. Well, Judy's out of town so I'm in charge. Sorry, folks, but I'm not as techno-savvy as she is, so there's no contents with links and all that "fancy" stuff this month. Richard Love's photos of the park visiting birds are attached to this email as are BMBA's trailblazing photos. My apologies that the photos are not next to the text. Please check them out anyway and please read on because there's some important and interesting news in here. Thanks, Kathy McConaghie, Newsletter Editor

Please try to attend the meeting but, if you can’t, please make use of the contact information in this newsletter and volunteer to help in the Coalition’s efforts. There are plenty of areas to choose from:

Help Man the Booth: We set up the FMWC display board and literature at various events such as Ardovino’s Farmers Market, the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta, and the Environmental Summit. It is great fun to talk to people about our Franklin Mountains and FMWC.

Politics: We meet with our elected officials to tell them about FMWC and the work we do.

Poppies Planning: The Franklin Mountains Poppies Preservation Celebration on Castner Range 2010 will be March 20, 2010, but planning is underway now. We need volunteers to help coordinate: Transportation, Parking, Exhibitors, Vendors, Education, Media and VIPs, Information Booth, Event Day Troubleshooter, Equipment/Furniture Coordinator, Sound systems, Photography, Video, Testimonials, Food, Set-up, and Clean-up. For more info call 915-755-4332 or write lobellorl@elpasotexas.gov

Outreach: Do you know an organization that needs a speaker or might join FMWC? Give us an introduction! Do you have a place to display or distribute our rack cards? Ask and we will send you some.

Newsletter: Articles, photos and stories are accepted for our bimonthly newsletter any time – please email to Kathy McConaghie at kmcconaghie@gmail.com, call me for pickup at 915-227-5330, or postal mail to 272 Shadow Mountain, Apt. 12, El Paso, Texas 79912. We’d love to share your mountain news, memories and stories!

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,
SCOTT CUTLER

Protecting anything of value often entails challenges. The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition has recently taken on a new challenge: an effort to generate public awareness of the proposed Mountain to River Trail on the west side of the mountain and threats to its integrity. This multi-use trail is to occupy the last unobstructed arroyo going from its mountain source within the State Park to the Rio Grande. Quarry operations on leased General Land Office property adjacent to the trail will negatively impact this trail. The Coalition is working to insure this unique arroyo and planned trail system are not altered by the quarry.

At the same time, we are maintaining our long standing efforts to have Castner Range protected as open space and see it added to the Franklin Mountains State Park. Discussions with Congressional representatives are ongoing for funding to create a conservation conveyance that would secure the land as open space. The Coalition is also working with its partner organizations to produce the 4th Annual Poppies Celebration on Castner Range at the Museum of Archaeology.
These are busy times for the Coalition. A dedicated cadre of volunteers is giving their all to further these projects, efforts that will protect and enhance the quality of visitors’ experiences with the Franklin Mountains. If you would like to get involved with either of these projects, please contact me at 581-6071.

Thank you for your support of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition.

PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION NOW AT
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/help-save-el-pasos-franklin-mountains

FMWC ELECTION 2009 RESULTS
Thanks to all members who voted in our recent election and congratulations to the members who were elected to our Board of Directors. President: Scott CutlerVice President: Jane FowlerSecretary: Judy AckermanTreasurer: Pat WhiteAt Large Members: Matt Carroll Jim Tolbert

PARK NEWS
Park Volunteer Richard Love writes:
“Well, here we are in the fall season, the first freeze and the first snowfall in the park have come and gone. The Volunteers from the park, the Master Naturalists and our Urban Biologist are in the middle of the annual deer survey. It has been very productive. The park had a fine festival and Chili Cook-off in September. The numbers of guests were up this year and we hope will continue to rise. The fall migration of birds was high this year: we spotted several Warblers, a Scrub Jay, and several Red Shafted Northern Flickers visiting the Wildlife Viewing Area. The winter birds are here now and visiting daily. A great opportunity for the photographers to get super shots of Gamble's Quail, Scaled Quail, and with a little patience our Cactus Wren and Lesser Gold Finches. For the next few days some of the shrubs along the trail to Cottonwood Springs, and up several of the canyons are dressed out in fall colors. From now until Thanksgiving is forecast as nearly perfect weather for hiking, biking or bird watching. Now is the time to plan a picnic and outing in the mountains. See you soon.” (Please see photo attachments)













































OTHER NEWS:

Mountain to River Trail (Kathy McConaghie): The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition took the unprecedented step of holding two emergency meetings in October to address the issue of a quarry operation gearing up on the western slope of the Franklins below Tom Mays Park. Members had alerted FMWC when the quarry operator bulldozed across Lower Sunset Trail in mid-October and we learned at the October meetings that the planned quarry will directly impact the proposed Mountain to River Trail in the City’s Open Spaces Plan. Hence the emergency meetings and the formation of the Mountain to River Trail Committee.
The committee is comprised of Jim Tolbert, Rick LoBello, Kevin von Finger, Ursula Sherrill, Heather McMurray and Bill Addington. I was honored to be voted chairperson of this fine group of dedicated volunteers. We have worked many hours so far on several aspects of the issue and there is much more to be done. The primary impetus of the committee is organizing a public relations campaign. We will soon have more information available for you but you can start right now at http://www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com/ or check out recent articles in El Paso, Inc.* and El Diario**

It is inconceivable to me that a 480 acre quarry is about to be dug and blasted across the virtually unspoiled face of an area adjacent to the Tom Mays section of our State Park. A stunning view now visible from major highways, upscale developments, and Upper Valley communities of the unbroken side of our mountain range will be destroyed. The last remaining natural corridor linking the mountains to the river will be forever disrupted, impacting wildlife, watershed, hikers, bikers, etc. I sure am hoping that these things are not inevitable and that our members will feel as compelled to work on this campaign as they were on Castner Range.
We are pleased to announce a petition drive as the first step of many in our campaign. The drive will be very similar to our efforts on behalf of Castner Range. Hard copy petitions, issue information and volunteer signup sheets will be available very soon on our website for you to download. You may also request these documents by contacting me at 915-227-5330 or kmcconaghie@gmail.com. We will be happy to provide copies to individuals or organizations, arrange drop off or pickups, etc.

An online petition link is already available for those of you who would like to sign it. Please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/help-save-el-pasos-franklin-mountains to sign the petition and forward to your family and friends. The link will be available on our website and we encourage member organizations to share the link with their membership. I’m looking forward to working with you all and making this campaign a resounding success.

*El Paso Inc. article
http://elpasoinc.com/readArticle.aspx?issueid=256&xrec=4586
**El Diario article (in Spanish)
http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=f40efb232a656bd0a1b0dcf8d2674583

Castner Range (Judy Ackerman):
After two years of no comment from the Army on Castner Range, October brought three public meetings. First was the Restoration Authority Board (RAB) meeting on 14 Oct 2009 which outlined two projects: The Wide Area Assessment on the Range and a remediation project the Army will conduct near Hueco Tanks. El Pasoans demonstrated their dedication to preserving Castner – about 60 people attended.

The critical topic was the Wide Area Assessment (WAA) to Characterize Munitions Density at Closed Castner Firing Range. This project started in Oct 2009 and data collection will continue until Apr 2010. On 16 Oct, the Army conducted a more detailed public meeting on the WAA. Due to public comments at the RAB two days before, the Army changed their plans and eliminated an assessment method that would have caused significant environmental damage by using vehicles to tow sensor equipment across Castner Range. Public involvement makes a difference!

The WAA is a demonstration (test) of known technologies to see if they will work to identify positions of munitions on terrain such as Castner. They will collect data about where munitions are located (and not located) for future use in the congressionally mandated process called Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Data analysis and report writing is scheduled to be complete in May 2011. At that time, the Army will have the most accurate information possible on the location of munitions on Castner, but there are no plans to do the next step – the clean up. We want to ensure that Castner Range is locked into a preservation status with a conservation conveyance BEFORE there is any clean up of unexploded ordnance.

Do you want more information? Get on the Army’s distribution lists for information on Castner Range. For RAB announcements, contact the new Ft Bliss RAB coordinator: Patricia A. Rice, President, Scientific Research & Technology, Inc., (SRT, Inc. Cage Code 1YV11), P.O. Box 13208, El Paso, Texas 79913-3208, (915) 373-2446 (cell), (915) 581-0853 (FAX) Rwrice@aol.com . For WAA information, contact the Project Manager: Ms. Kimberly Watts, U.S. Army Environmental Command, at (410) 436-6843, kimberly.watts@us.army.mil .

Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (Rick LoBello): Our website, http://www.chihuahuandesert.org/ has some interesting news on wild birds reported from the El Paso Zoo plus information on how you can now easily renew your membership or become a member online using PayPal.

Please remember to send us your news items and events using guidelines shown on our calendar page.

El Paso Archaeological Society (Kay Luther): In compliance with the city’s requests, EPAS has changed its monthly lectures to the 3rd Sunday of every month at 3:00 PM at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain Rd. This month on 11-15-09 The El Paso Archaeological Society presents David H. Greenwald, Director of Research at DMG Four Corners Research, Inc. He will be speaking on The Forgotten Few - Looting and Recovery within the Fort Craig Military Post Cemetery, Socorro County, New Mexico. Results of the archival research, excavation & recovery of human remains will be presented in this talk. This is a free presentation. Join us.

Borderland Mountain Bike Association (David Wilson):
New Trail to Complete Huge Loop Around Franklins
Members of the BMBA have begun scraping out the new trail in Hitt Canyon that will soon make it possible to complete a loop around the north Franklin range without having to leave the State Park. Robert Newman received approval for construction a couple of months ago and was the first to start scratching in a path. Five BMBA members met for the first official trail building day on November 8th and cut a significant portion of trail through what is considered to be the most difficult section. The section consisted of long sections of jagged Franklin red granite, huge lechuguilla patches, and plenty of cat claw bushes. Once completely out of that area, trail construction should move quickly.

This trail is going to be a magnificent trail for both bikers and hikers. The views in upper Hitt Canyon are beautiful and the trail winds its way up into some neat side canyons. The BMBA is hoping to have the trail finished by the New Year as they are hosting the 3rd Annual El Paso Puzzler endurance mountain bike race on Martin Luther King weekend (January 17th). The goal is to keep the race out of the BLM land to the north due to excessive amounts of target shooting in that area.

If you would like to contribute some sweat equity to this trail or you know of others that are looking for a good volunteer service project, please contact BMBA President David Wilson at bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com. More trail days are planned for the next few Sundays and can be scheduled for other days if you have a group that wants to help. If you can trim shrubs or wield a garden rake, the BMBA can use you. The club is also offering BMBA Bucks for your efforts. One hour of trail work will earn you $1 in BMBA Bucks which are redeemable at supporting bike shops. (Please see photo attachments)

New Mexico Wilderness Alliance: Sportsmen, business owners, conservationists, local elected officials and other community members hailed the introduction Thursday of The Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, by Senator Jeff Bingaman and Senator Tom Udall. The measure will protect nearly 400,000 acres of public land in Doña Ana County, by designating 271,050 acres as wilderness and creating a 109,600-acre National Conservation Area around the Organ and Doña Ana Mtns. and parts of Broad Canyon.

“We applaud Senators Bingaman and Udall for helping ensure that more of New Mexico’s spectacular natural lands will be around for our children’s children to use and enjoy,” said Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima. “This legislation follows years of discussion and collaboration with community members with many different interests and concerns.”

Bonnie Burn, President of the League of Women Voters, added, “We all share the goal of protecting Doña Ana County’s unique and precious open areas which are key to our quality of life.”

“This important conservation bill comes as the nation celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the development of the nation’s wilderness preservation system,” said Stephen Capra, executive director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.
More information at:
http://bingaman.senate.gov/news/20090917-01.cfm

EDITOR’S COMMENT: Why aren’t communities, organizations and elected officials in the El Paso area banding together like these folks in New Mexico to protect our remaining wild areas?

FMWC on Facebook: Apologies to those of you who might have been looking for us on Facebook. We’ve been diverted by some pressing issues but plan to get our account up and running soon. Hope to see you there!

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS STATE PARK NEWS
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.
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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 AssociationBorder Toasters, Toastmasters International BordersensesCelebration Of Our MountainsCentro San VicenteChihuahuan Desert Education CoalitionChihuahuan Desert Wildlife RescueEl Paso Archaeological SocietyEl Paso Cactus And Rock ClubEl Paso County Master GardenersEl Paso Native Plant SocietyEl Paso Regional Group Of The Sierra ClubEl Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon SocietyEl Paso Youth SymphonyEl Paso ZooFriends Of The Rio Bosque • Jolly Elders • League Of Women Voters Of El PasoMesilla Valley Audubon SocietyMountain Park Community AssociationPhotography Enthusiasts Of El PasoSouthern New Mexico Group Of The Sierra ClubSouthwest Environmental Center • Skyline Optimist Club Of El Paso • Trans Pecos Chapter Of The Texas Master NaturalistsVista Hills Rotary ClubVoter Education Project, Inc
Welcome to new members: EcoClub EPCC -- Environmental Advocates at UTEP -- Friends of the Arroyo