Christmas Mountains tract could become part of Big Bend park [View All]

[sonias]

AAS article 2/2/08
Christmas Mountains tract could become part of Big Bend park
National Park Service proposal made public

By Asher Price
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, February 02, 2008

The Christmas Mountains, a rugged 9,000-plus-acre West Texas tract whose proposed sale by the state raised questions about public preservation of land, could be on the way to being incorporated into Big Bend National Park, bringing to a close the debate over its future.

On Friday, the General Land Office, which controls the land and had put it on the auction block, released a proposal by the National Park Service to take over the land, which is adjacent to Big Bend. The land board could decide as soon as Tuesday whether to go forward with the sale to private bidders or steer the property toward the National Park Service.

In its proposal, the park service said it hopes the land office donates the land. Otherwise, the park service says it would work with private conservation organizations to find a third party to buy the land and then donate it to the National Park Service.

(snip)
The proposal pays special attention to hunting, which it says would not be allowed on the land. Patterson, a supporter of gun rights, had said last year that he wanted hunting allowed on the land. But the park service proposal says hunting access is difficult and that the deer population is low. Herrmann said a prohibition on hunting on the property did not bother him.

This is good news and I hope that donors can be found to raise the money to buy the lands from the State of Texas.
:woohoo: :bounce: :woohoo:

Essentially the money to pay for the land has to be raised again since Texas can't (or won't) donate the land to the Federal Government. So the lesson to be learned here kiddies is never give the State of Texas any land you want to be conserved. You should give it to the National Park Service instead. Texas will just sell it anyway.

Sonia