Contact: Ken Kramer , 512-477-1729 or 512-476-6962
Donna Hoffman, 512-477-1729 or 512-299-5776
The
Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club consists of over 25,000 members.
The Chapter spans the entire state of Texas, excepting El Paso, which
is part of the Rio Grande Chapter.
Located in Austin, the Lone Star Chapter's State Conservation Office
serves Sierrans as their grassroots communications center. We also provide
Sierrans with a full time professional activist staff employed to represent
Sierrans as we fight at the state level to protect and conserve Texas'
diverse and valuable natural heritage.
August 23, 2005
The Honorable Joseph Fitzsimons, Chairman
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744 VIA FAX
Dear Chairman Fitzsimons:
I am very concerned about the news that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission may take action this week to sell a large portion of Big Bend Ranch State Park to a private businessman and that this action may take place without adequate public debate about the pros and cons of making this sale. Big Bend Ranch is one of the crown jewels of the Texas state park system, an ecological treasure that represents some of the most unique parts of the natural heritage of West Texas. It is extremely important to exercise caution in making any decision affecting the future of the state park.
Big Bend Ranch was acquired with great public fanfare by the state in 1988. The management plan for this state natural area was the result of an extensive public review and comment process by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in which hundreds of people submitted comments. Most of those comments argued for maintaining the area in as natural a state as possible.
With all of the historic public interest and attention to the Big Bend Ranch area, it is very disturbing that the Commission is contemplating the sale of some of that property in such a short time frame and without initiating a wide-ranging public dialogue about the wisdom of taking such an action. Moreover, there was no indication during the recent development of the agencys Land & Water Resources Conservation Plan that any part of Big Bend Ranch might be considered for sale.
At the very least please delay any action this week to approve this sale. If you feel that the sale is in the public interest, lay out the facts for the public to see and give all of us the opportunity to express our opinions before you take any further action. We all owe that to future generations of Texans.
