Christmas Mountains, Texas: Big Daddy Business Gone A Huntin' For Water That Belongs to Us?

[McCamy Taylor]

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson wants to sell pristine mountain land adjacent to the pristine Big Bend National Park to private owners, and he is rejecting an offer by the National Park service to buy the land, because he wants to property to be available to hunters. Jerry Patterson claims this is a second amendment issue.

Here is an article about the original sale which had to be canceled because of a survey error:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/us/19mountains.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The high bidder of six on Tuesday was Louis A. Waters, retired founding chairman of Browning-Ferris Industries, who offered $652,000, or about $70 an acre. He pledged to keep the property wild for study and research, and added in his proposal: “Under no circumstances would we open the Christmas Mountains to the public.”

I don't know about you, but having a waste treatment guy own those mountains would have made me feel so good. However, that sale was voided and now a new one is planned--even though the National Park Service offer is now on the table.

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/271900.html

The property was donated to the state 16 years ago by the Virginia-based Conservation Fund and the Pennsylvania-based Richard King Mellon Foundation on the condition that it remains protected from development. It is now in the inventory of the Permanent School Fund, with state-enforced development prohibitions that will remain no matter who acquires the property.

Then-Land Commissioner Garry Mauro told the donors that the state would allow the transfer of the land only to the National Park Service or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. But for financial reasons, both agencies declined the property.

On Oct. 12, however, Big Bend National Park Superintendent William Wellman told Patterson in a letter that the National Park Service wanted to re-evaluate its position and called on the land commissioner to delay the sale. Patterson declined the request, explaining that it is his belief that the National Park Service enforces unconstitutional restrictions on firearms in national parks.

I think Jerry Patterson is full of shit. Southwest Texas has plenty of wide open spaces for hunting. There is one thing it lacks, however, and that is water. Good old H2O. My gut tells me that this is a simple case of some private business interest trying to buy up a lot of the most important natural resource that the Rio Grande Valley lacks. And I am sure they will let some of their business buddies shoot for quail and dove and deer around their water pumps.

I must apologize in advance. I am not a geologist. Most of this I learned the new fashioned way, from Google. There are several aquifers in west Texas, but the one that underlies the Big Bend region is the Igneous Aquifer. Scroll down to the second half of this report:

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/GroundWaterReports/GWReports/Report%20356/Chapter12_13.pdf

to learn that the Igneous Aquifer has water that is much purer than most other Texas aquifers. Here are the results of in depth study conducted by the state about how to draw water from the various aquifers in the region.

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/gam/bol_ig/bol_ig.htm

Interesting note: if I am reading this right, water is found in pockets 3000 feet above sea level or higher so you will not get it if you drill flat ground, you have to start on hills or mountains.

If is pretty common knowledge to everyone in the southwest that the Rio Grande Valley is in desperate need of water all the time, so I am not going to cite any references. Just Google it if you want to learn more. I was interested to learn that developers are starting to do to the once sparsely populated area around Marfa, Alpine and Big Bend what Bugsy Siegle did to Las Vegas. Check out this ad:

http://texaslandco.com/landforsale/tx/brewster/terlingua.html

Then, there is the Bush administration's plan to build a great big fat highway corridor through beautiful quiet Marfa/Alpine/Big Bend, which has already seen housing prices rise and new development because of an influx of artists and the wealthy:

http://recenter.tamu.edu/Tgrande/vol14-3/1819.html

On one side, residents primarily from the Alpine and Marfa areas are fighting to stop what they consider a threat to their pristine Big Bend environment and serene quality of life. On the other side is MOTRAN, the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance. Together with a number of other communities in the region, MOTRAN is attempting to diversify and expand the West Texas economic base beyond agriculture and oil and gas into trade and transportation.

No matter what kind if growth the area sees---more Santa Fe style mansions or more truck stops and motels---if someone lucks into a bunch of water, they are sitting on a west Texas gold mine.

The Texas Land Commissioner, Jerry Patterson says that the land is being sold to private interests who never intend to develop it, just hunt it. If you believe this, I have some other west Texas mountain land to sell you. Private developers buy land for one reason. Though Patterson says that the land can never be developed, if the new home owners and businesses of the Alpine/Marfa area are desperate for water, and if there is water to be had and someone is willing to drill for it, the water will be exploited, even if it does terrible damage to the environment of the Christmas Mountains and Big Bend National Park. And if a private developer owns the land, he or she will make a big profit.

This is just a hunch. If there are any geologists, especially with an interest in environmental issues would you please comment? Maybe there is no way to get at the water under the Christmas Mountains. However, something tells me that there is, and that this is the real reason why Patterson is braving the scorn and derision that is being heaped upon him, even from Texas hunters, most of whom can not understand why he is not letting the National Park Service fold the Christmas Mountains into Big Bend, our most beloved state park.

One last point. How on earth can turning the Christmas Mountain into one great big hunting range preserve it in its natural pristine (favorite word of everyone for the Big Bend area) state? Patterson has a screw loose. Or else, someone is doing someone else a Texas sized favor.

[Didereaux]

1. Patterson is one of the crookedest politicians in the...

crookedest state in the union. Not the most corrupt state, Louisianna owns us there, Texas sends its wannabe pols there for pre-schooling.

[McCamy Taylor]

3. At least in Lousianna you can get some good boudin and gumbo

to console yourself after you been screwed by the government.

[Didereaux]

12. yeppers...I likes Boudin! heh

you realize 99% of DU is gonna scratch their noggins wonderin' jes what the hell is boydin! its boo-dan folks! an it's larrupin' good too!

;)

[TomInTib]

2. This is extremely important. And it is becoming very evident that the State...

is getting into the sale of aquifer water.

The State of Texas has been sending "Windmill Inspectors" to ranches in Texas for the last few years.

We are convinced that the State will begin metering our windmills.

As if ranchers are water-wasters.

KnR

[codjh9]

4. Thanks for trying to bring attention to this. I'm a TX native, and (not really by choice)

living in TX again (long story). But I care DEEPLY about Big Bend NP and west TX in general (Davis Mts., Guadalupe Mts. NP, etc.). I really, really, REALLY hope the NPS ends up with this property, but I ain't holdin' my breath.

[cosmik debris]

5. This doesn't make sense:

"Interesting note: if I am reading this right, water is found in pockets 3000 feet above sea level or higher so you will not get it if you drill flat ground, you have to start on hills or mountains."

Flat or hilly has nothing to do with it. If the water is 3000 ft above sea level, any place at 3001 feet above sea level will do. Much of west Texas is above 3000 feet. For example Lubbock is at 3240 feet. And it is flatter than Kansas.

Perhaps I misunderstood you intent.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Like I said, I'm not a geologist, Lajitas in Brewster Co. is 2400 feet.

Same for Presidio, so border towns would be too low to drill (assuming I am interpreting the document correctly). This is why I would loooove to have someone from Sierra Club comment. It also just seems intuitively obvious that you would want to drill on a mountain, because then gravity would help your water flow where ever it needs to go, but again I am no geologist.

[cosmik debris]

11. Your intuition is just screwy.

If you drill on top of a mountain, you have to drill further. That means more expense.

Then you have to pump the water further up to the top of the mountain. That means more expense.

And all that extra expense saves you from the expense of pumping the water after you pump it to the surface at the top of a mountain?

I don't see anything intuitively obvious about it. Except that if you are drilling a very expensive hole, you need to get as close to the target as you can, vertically as well as horizontally.

I think you are throughly confused. And geology has nothing to do with it.

[McCamy Taylor]

13. Mountains have canyons and rivers in addition to peaks. They also have lots of other resources

They have the possibility of geothermal energy:

http://www.stpns.net/view_article.html?articleId=21246523219782639

There is the possibility of methane (as there was in this report about the Rocky Mountains)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002492,00.html

the drilling for which would deplete the water under the Christmas mountains--right now Texas is in a frenzy of natural gas drilling, with drills going up everywhere, even in people's back yards and churches.

However, I still suspect this is about water, because water is the only thing that would make the citizens of this part of Texas relent when it comes to the no development restrictions, and someone plans to make some $$$ off this land.

[cosmik debris]

14. I'm sorry I wasted my time reading your post

but this made it all worthwhile: "with drills going up everywhere, even in people's back yards and churches." :rofl:

[McCamy Taylor]

16. You don't live in Fort Worth, do you?

http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/regionalnews/20050504-gold.html

"There are now 90 natural-gas drilling rigs poking holes in and around Fort Worth."




Be sure to check out the picture of the track home with the attached gas well towering above it. Next time, you might reconsider laughing at what you do not know, cosmik debris. The world is a weirder place than you can imagine.

[cosmik debris]

17. I was laughing at drilling in Churches.

And Ft. Worth is not the Christmas Mts. They are about 400 miles apart.

You are showing all this mock outrage when you can't make a rational argument. For example you imply that the people of this area might allow development for water. But the people of this area don't get to make that choice. It is a ridiculous idea. It is a condition of the deed that there will be no development. it is not a matter of local option.

You should learn about it before you rant about it. You just look silly when you do this kind of stuff.

[McCamy Taylor]

18. The deed is being violated right now. So much for the deed. Someone thinks

that they are going to win the inevitable court challenge about whether or not a private owner can buy this land, so why not other court challenge, assuming that they are brought?

Anyway, I have already said I do not know that it is water. I just know that it is something crooked. Water is my best guess at the moment. I am wide open for other suggestions.

http://www.austinexplorer.com/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=547

The TX General Land Office is set to do something silly. They're attempting to sell land contrary to the contract that they signed to get it donated to the state.

The Christmas Mountains lie near Big Bend. Several years ago the Mellon Foundation donated more than 9,000 acres to the state. The deed to the property said that the state could sell the property only if it first offers it to Texas Parks and Wildlife or the National Parks Service, but to no one without the approval of the Conservation Fund.

One problem, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson admits to the provisions of the deed, but is moving ahead with a sale to private owners (many whom have indicated that they will NOT allow for public access) because he terms that part of the deed "unenforceable". No dispute as to the intent or clarity of the deed restriction. He just thinks the state should do whatever it wants. The Mellon Foundation has apparently unofficially told the state to never expect any additional help from it again.

Silly is in the eye of the beholder. Or, do you have a personal interest in this issue?

"The questioner who sits so sly, shall never know how to reply

He who replies to words of doubt, doth put the light of knowledge out." William Blake

[cosmik debris]

19. Do you understand the difference between future tense and

present tense? You are acting as if they are the same.

[McCamy Taylor]

20. I understand that you are scraping the bottom of the barrel for thread disruption tactics.

I have encouraged you for a bit to see what you would produce. Let's see what arguments you have made.

"Screwy", "ridiculous", "confused", "doesn't make sense", "silly", rofl", "Ft. Worth is not the Christmas Mts. They are about 400 miles apart." "If you drill on top of a mountain, you have to drill further" "If the water is 3000 ft above sea level, any place at 3001 feet above sea level will do. Much of west Texas is above 3000 feet. For example Lubbock is at 3240 feet."

That last one almost had me rofl since Lubbock is almost 300 miles from Alpine. A bit farther from the Rio Grande Valley. And if there is water under Lubbock, the good folks there are gonna lay first claim to it.

Just as Jerry Patterson wants the Christmas Mountains in private hands and all his talk about saving the deer and saving the 2nd amendment is just talk, so your arguments strike me as "just talk" and I suspect that your real purpose is opposition to this thread.

Your opposition has been noted.

I believe our discussion is over.

Be sure to visit Big Bend National Park. It is beautiful.

[cosmik debris]

21. So I guess you don't understand the difference. Oh well.

Thanks for playing.

[Ilsa]

6. When is someone in the media finally going to mention one

of the primary causes of water issues: overpopulation.

[acmavm]

7. Never. That would naturally lead into birth control. And we all

know we can't have that.

[McCamy Taylor]

9. Unless you are white folks without insurance--then you should use birth control.

Sorry, I know I am deflecting the conversation in my own thread, but I could not resist that one, not with what the National Review said about the family with that little girl who got heart surgery on SCHIP. The right wing jumps up and down and screams about how immoral birth control is, but then the National Review says that a married couple should (thwart God's will) and use birth control if they do not have health insurance. That is some kind of messed up logic. Still waiting for O'Donohoe or whatever his name is from the Catholic Police to show some kind of consistency.

[codjh9]

10. Actually, it's one of the primary causes of just about EVERY major environmental problem,

which is why it's astounding to me how few people think about it, how few organizations and/or politicians ever even mention it, even environmental orgs (save for PopConn & NPG)... but yeah, I know why - 'it's political suicide'. So what, 'political suicide' is worse than the end of the world? Talk about misplaced priorities!!! :^)

[McCamy Taylor]

15. Jerry Patterson writes that he wants to save the Mule Deer. That is why hunters must be allowed?

I am not kidding. I found this editorial by Jerry Patterson in the Houston Chronicle. If I had seen it earlier, I would have put it in the main article.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5195494.html

The Christmas Mountains were never meant to be and never will be a public park. They are surrounded by privately owned land, and the only access is via privately owned roads.Both the National Park Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department declined to accept title to the Christmas Mountains.

<snip>

Consider the mule deer. Despite Brinkley's mellifluous prose, there are no "herds of deer grazing the high chaparral" on the Christmas Mountains.

<snip>

Unless something is done to improve water resources, manage the invasive plant species and stop poachers, the Christmas Mountain mule deer population will not recover. A private interest will have the financial ability to act.

There you have it. Before the National Park service made its offer, it was all about protecting the mule deer. Now, it is all about protecting the hunter.

Jerry Patterson, from tree hugging hippie to gun toting 2nd amendment protector in a single month. Maybe he does not know that deer is the favorite prey of choice among Texas hunters.

[McCamy Taylor]

22. One other (remote) possible use for land: fail safe nuclear dump if Yucca falls through.

There are concerns about seismic activity now in Yucca. Plus, Nevada is mad, and if the state were to threaten to go blue over the nuclear waste issue, I could see the GOP dumping the waste in a firmly red state like Texas.

When the National Park Service was acting uninterested in the land, this was a real concern. Now that they want the land, I am pretty sure that means the feds do not plan to dump any nuclear waste there. Unless someone at the National Park Service is making a rogue offer. If top brass at the National Park Service gets fired, then I will have to reconsider.