Heads-Up: School Land Board to Meet on X-Mas Mountains
February 4th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
The three-member School Land Board is scheduled to meet tomorrow at 10am on the Christmas Mountains. On their agenda is “consideration and possible action” on the two private bids for control of the 9,270 acre wilderness. The National Park Service proposal is not on the agenda. That means the Land Board can accept one of the bid proposals, turn them both down, or delay action. (I suspect the latter.)
You can watch tomorrow’s proceedings here.
Land Commish Jerry Patterson, the chair of the Land Board, has given no indication of what he may do. Keep in mind, however, that the other two members were responsible for temporarily halting Patterson’s privatization gambit. That gave the Park Service time to draft its proposal, and time for conservation groups, citizens, and editorial boards to light into Patterson.
Meanwhile, environmental groups have commented on the Park Service proposal to incorporate the mountains into Big Bend National Park. “It’s great,” said Luke Metzger, of Environment Texas. “It’s definitely the best proposal, public or private.”
Big Benders seem excited too.
And, finally, from the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club:
“The Sierra Club has reviewed the NPS proposal closely. We find that the proposal lays out a future scenario for the Christmas Mountains that provides sound conservation management of the property while also giving the public the chance to access and enjoy this rugged property through appropriate recreational activities,” said Kramer. “We agree with the NPS
conclusion that providing hunting opportunities in the Christmas Mountains would be too costly and of limited public benefit.”“The Sierra Club believes that the State of Texas should donate the property to NPS just as the original establishment of Big Bend National Park was through a donation from the State. However, if it is necessary that arrangements be made for the purchase of the property - either directly by NPS or via a third party and donation to NPS - then we will support that. Preservation of the Christmas Mountains is worth the price,” concluded Kramer.
