Can we learn to share natural habitats with wild animals in El Paso?

By Rick LoBello, www.iloveparks.com/elpaso

Public Meeting planned on Wednesday, February 25 to discuss an Ordinance amending Title 20 (Zoning) to establish a Natural Open Space (NOS) zoning district

Over the past hundred years El Paso’s planners and developers have done an amazing job in clearing out most of the natural habitat that once provided food, water and living space to countless species of animals and plants here in the desert and Rio Grande valley surrounding the Franklin Mountains. What animals remain compete for living space with parking lots, new business developments and neighborhoods. Case in point is the burrowing owl. These small owls need burrows to lay their eggs and nest and increasingly we are hearing of owls trying to nest in drainage pipes where natural burrows have been bulldozed over and eggs end up washing away when the pipes fill with rain water.

Improvements in our city have been made with the overall goal of making the city better with new schools, better roads and a vibrant business community. Back in those days and unfortunately even today, most of the people making the decisions on how land is developed made those decisions with one main guiding focus, to make the human customer happy. Unfortunately for the natural world the customer (that’s means people like you and me) was almost always more interested in the size and appearance of the home or business being built with little concern for the native animals and plants that would be displaced by the project.

Where mule deer, pronghorn, buffalo, wolves, bear and mountain lions once lived, the land in El Paso is now inhabited mainly by people and an infrastructure dominated by streets, parking lots, super highways, business centers, and residential areas. Some native species have found a way to survive in this urban jungle, but most have simply disappeared, especially the larger animals.

Here in El Paso the largest habitat remaining is high in the Franklins. Unfortunately for many species lower elevation habitats are critical to their survival and if it wasn’t for all the unexploded ordinance that keeps people out of the Castner Range, I doubt if we would see many deer and other large animals at all.

This week on Wednesday February 25 a group of people will meet in Council Chambers at 1pm in City Hall at a public meeting to discuss an Ordinance amending Title 20 (Zoning) to establish a Natural Open Space (NOS) zoning district. El Paso’s Ecotourism Committee proposed such an ordinance about a year ago and it is good news to see the proposal on the agenda. The committee which is being spearheaded by Commissioner Escobar, is recommending that the City Council adopt a new Natural Habitat and Open Space Zoning Ordinance for land owned by the City of El Paso and any other land which chooses such designation in an effort to enhance ecotourism opportunities in El Paso. This category would apply to PSB land, open space donations, lands under permanent conservation easements, neighborhood open space like Thunder Canyon, & lands owned by conservation organizations with preservation of the natural space in perpetuity, however does not affect private land that could be developed.

Natural habitat open space is defined as wild land areas that are undeveloped and still in their natural state. Protecting more natural habitat open space in the foothills of the Franklin Mountains and surrounding area will help to protect important habitat for wildlife in the area while enhancing important ecotourism opportunities. The value of protecting natural habitat open space will also help the city create more nature focused outdoor opportunities for children growing up in El Paso, something that is largely lacking due to past emphasis on creating parks that focus on play grounds and playing fields.

All across the country a growing number of educators and psychologists have identified an early childhood and teenage development problem called Nature Deficit Disorder, a behavioral condition resulting from too much time growing up in front of computer screens and TV sets. More natural habitat open space will prevent this condition and help children growing up in the city have more opportunities to connect with nature.

The committee hopes that the new ordinance will both encourage and empower the City Council to protect more natural open space before ongoing development activities cause what remains to completely disappear. The Open Space Master Plan for El Paso recommends the creation of an Open Space Zoning Category (Page 6-2, Recommendation A-2). Cities such as Denver, CO, Boston, MA & Pasadena, CA have already adopted a similar ordinance.

The Eco-tourism committee commends the City for the tremendous progress it has made in addressing natural resources and improving upon sustainable development initiatives. Some of these initiatives include:

-Adoption of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for El Paso;
-Adoption of the Open Space Master Plan for El Paso;
-Coordinated with El Paso Water Utilities on land preservation opportunities while also actively seeking funding for open space acquisitions;
-Adoption of a rewrite of the City’s Subdivision and Zoning Code;
-And adoption of Landscape Regulations

These benchmarks would be complimented with the adoption of an Open Space Zoning Ordinance. There is a clear need for this ordinance; note that Resler Canyon, now preserved in perpetuity in its natural state by the Frontera Land Alliance land trust, is still zoned for apartments. A Natural Habitat and Open Space Zoning Ordinance on city owned and other property seeking the designation will allow the city to preserve the publicly owned arroyos and other ecologically and aesthetically important areas (e.g. PSB lands) and create scenic corridors, such as along Trans Mountain Road, which will enhance our quality of life and promote ecotourism opportunities. Ecotourism has the potential to have a major impact on the City both economically and in enhancing quality of life if natural open space can be protected for future generations.

For further information, please contact Kevin Von Finger at (915) 581-2555.

Will we turn off the lights on March 28?

Scroll down for recent posts about Keystone and the National Park Service


Want to be a part of a worldwide event to help call attention to the need for decisive action on climate change?

On Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm in the US, millions of people around the globe will unite for one hour and switch off their lights to show that they care about our living planet. To sign up for the event and receive regular updates click here. http://www.earthhour.org/signup/ To join others in El Paso in promoting this event send an email to rickllobello@cs.com

Watch a video about the event on YouTube.

Cities already listed to participate in Earth Hour 2009 include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Warsaw.

On this special night, the world will witness some of the most recognizable landmarks on the planet dim the lights in support of decisive action on climate change. Icons switching off include the world’s tallest hotel building in Dubai - the Burj Dubai, the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas - the CN Tower in Toronto, Moscow's Federation Tower and in Rome - Quirinale - the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.

Auckland's Sky Tower - the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere will go dark, joined by Australia’s iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House and across in Cape Town, South Africa, the iconic Table Mountain will mark Earth Hour by turning off its flood lights.

Why do we need the Federal Government’s help in saving Keystone?

Above: Gambel's quail is one of the Keystone Heritage Park bird species threatened by the proposed developments. US Fish and Wildlife Service Photo.

Note: Scroll down for OPED on National Park Service

Opinion

by Rick LoBello, iloveparks.com/elpaso, February 8, 2009

This past Saturday the El Paso Times published a great editorial supporting local efforts to turn Keystone Heritage Park into a National Monument. Having been involved with efforts to create a national monument in New Mexico, I have some experience and can help, but question why we need to call upon the Federal Government to save the park with our national economy in such a crisis. Why can’t we just learn to get along with nature and why can’t we stop destroying it at every turn? Have we lost our senses? Are we so disconnected from reality to the point that we think that all development and progress is good for future generations? I say that we need a strategic development plan for El Paso NOW and call upon the community to start thinking about the needs of the wild creatures that still survive here before we approve any more natural land to be turned over to bulldozers.

If our leaders need more support from the public to move in this direction I have a suggestion, why not change the time or extend the time of weekly commissioners court and council meetings to a time convenient for working people? Currently these weekly meetings are broadcast on TV in the evenings, but that approach limits the ability for most people to be involved. I would think that if we could make more opportunities for people to speak out on this issue and other issues we would see many more members of the public showing up to present their views. We might even need to move these meetings to larger spaces, who knows.

I always appreciate learning of local efforts to encourage our community to move in the direction of learning to share our city with the wild creatures that have miraculously survived the past hundred years of city growth and expansion. After all they are part of the complex web of life we call “nature” and without the ecological services they provide here and all over the planet, each in their own special way, we as a species would be hard pressed to survive.Keystone Heritage Park has involved hundreds if not thousands of El Pasoans over the years in a laudable effort to save not just a tiny part of our natural heritage, but a part of our cultural heritage as well. Those who have been involved with Keystone and understand how difficult it can be to protect even small pockets of the natural world in our city, know that the area has long been threatened by current, planned and proposed developments on the edge the park.

No park is an island, not even Big Bend National Park with its 1,100 square miles of Chihuahuan Desert wilderness. What happens outside the park is critical to the animals that live within. Here in El Paso many of the birds that inhabit Keystone are migratory and are here only during the winter months. The Spotted Sandpiper for example breeds in the northern part of our country as far north as Canada. If something were to happen to its breeding grounds it is doubtful that we would have Spotted Sandpipers in El Paso. On the other hand there are many species that nest and raise their young at Keystone that live here year round. For some of these birds the park is not big enough to sustain them and they need to look for food on lands outside the park.

What happens to Keystone Heritage Park is important to not only the animals that inhabit the park, but also to every child in El Paso. For if our city becomes a place that does not share land with native plants and animals it is doubtful that it will be a safe place for people.

We need Keystone. If we cannot save this small spot on the map, one of the last wildlife refuges in the Upper Valley, then there is something seriously wrong with our community. Let’s just do it and let Washington focus on figuring out how they are going to put more people to work. Our leaders need to figure out how we can save the park with local laws and regulations. Yes we can.

National Parks threatened by an unlikely source, the National Park Service

OPINION

By Rick LoBello, iloveparks.com

In 2007 after nearly ten years of study, the National Park Service concluded that so many snowmobiles are incompatible with the preservation of Yellowstone National Park’s natural resources. To those concerned about the future of the world’s first national park and what many have said it the best idea America ever had, one might think that with that research conclusion it would be a given that changes would soon come to how the National Park Service manages the use of snowmobiles in the fragile winter wonderland. Unfortunately the report was only wishful thinking for as soon after the results were announced the country’s “law suit machine” intervened preventing the NPS from moving forward.

Over the years I have seen many instances of how political forces have prevented the National Park Service from living up to its mandate, but now I am seeing examples of a threat even more troublesome. When I worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 1993 the park recommended that the underground lunch room in the Big Room be removed because of its impact on the fragile underground ecology of the cave and because it was is no longer necessary and was incongruent to the “natural visitor experience”. When the Superintendent Frank Deckert tried to implement the change and move the food service up the elevator to the Visitor Center area, Senator Pete Dominici (R-New Mexico) who was a part of the fight against removal, announced that President Bill Clinton had signed the 1995 Interior Appropriations Bill that included a clause to bar removal of the facility. Deckert did the best he could to live up to the National Park Service mandate to preserve and protect the parks, but his efforts were stymied by the political influence forced upon the NPS by Senator Dominici.

That was 1995, today park superintendents like Frank Deckert with the passion to protect the parks have all but retired and many who remain seem more concerned about keeping their jobs than they are about protecting the parks. The other day when I opened up my winter 2009 issue of National Parks, the Magazine of the National Parks and Conservation Association, I was reminded of a new and growing trend in our country’s national parks that few people are talking about. That trend is the growing threat to the parks from within the National Park Service. Yes, you heard that right, I saw it happening when I worked in the national parks over a 25 years period and I see it continuing to happen today. The quality and dedication of the people running our parks is declining and park rangers with the guts to stand up for what is right are rapidly becoming endangered species.

I applaud NPCA for saying it like it is when they criticized the NPS for failing to follow their own science when choosing to allow a daily count of 720 snowmobiles in the park this winter in response to a court order requiring them to provide for snowmobile and snowcoach access in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. Over the past ten years more than a half million Americans have made comments about winter access in the park with four out of five favoring snowcoaches over snowmobiles. According to NPCA, Yellowstone’s Superintendent Suzanne Lewis could have caped the daily limit at 318 snowmobiles this winter, but chose not to by defaulting to the upper limit of 720, a number that NPCA says “flies in the face” of the Park Service’s own science.

Let’s all hope that with the new Administration and President Barack Obama’s call to “restore science to its rightful place,” current and future park rangers will be both encouraged and required to make better choices for the future of our national parks.