Trouble in the Christmas Mountains?

[SHANEA]

For sale: State of Texas

For sale: State of Texas

Saturday, September 29, 2007, 07:00 PM
For a price, anything can be had … even Texas

The year is 2017 and my wife and I have just returned from the Xerox Mountains (formerly Christmas Mountains) taking the scenic Microsoft Highway (formerly Interstate 10).

As we reached the cut-off to the Budweiser Freeway (formerly U.S. 290) we passed the lovely flowers in bloom at the AT&T Park (formerly Lady Bird Park ) just outside of Fredricksburg. As we grew closer to Pattersonville (formerly Waterloo, then Austin) we couldn’t help but notice the signs advertising camping at Dell Falls State Park (formerly McKinney Falls).

Coming in on West Cesar Chavez Street, we came by Pennzoil Lake (formerly Town Lake, then Lady Bird Lake) and crossed Samsung Bridge (formerly Congress Avenue, then Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge). As we drove up Jerry Patterson Boulevard (formerly Congress Avenue ) we could see the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue gleaming in the reflection from the SBC State Capitol.

We looked to our left at the Exxon Mansion (formerly the Governor’s Mansion) and they were having a sidewalk sale. We felt that it was very symbolic of our times.
JEFF L. JONES
Pflugerville


This land is our land
I am against selling off the Christmas Mountains for a pittance so we can get rid of poachers. That’s like setting the forest on fire to get rid of fire ants.

That land was donated to the State of Texas and belongs to all of us. We must stop the Texas land commissioner from selling us out. Please keep this issue on the front page, American-Statesman; you are the strongest voice we’ve got.
BONNIE CAROTHERS
Austin

Douglas Brinkley disagrees with the decision of Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson’s proposal to sell the property near Big Bend National Park. He made that clear, but does his expression need be so shrill and personal? Is there no longer a place for civil discourse?

Recent statements in the press suggest that Texas Parks and Wildlife hasn’t the capacity to manage this large tract properly. I didn’t see that in Brinkley’s polemic.

It appears that Patterson proposes to find someone to care for this land properly. Could that be true? Or is anyone with an opinion differing from Brinkley’s just scum?
J. RALPH MACFARLANE
Granite Shoals

While Brinkley and Patterson engage in their ideological sniping, most Texans have more commonsensical concerns.

If this land was given to (and accepted by) Texas to conserve as open space, why is the state now trying to sell it off to a private bidder? Will this transaction make it more or less likely that Texas will benefit from such donations in the future? And if access to the tract is limited to private roads, how will selling the land to a private bidder actually increase access for hunters and backpackers, as Patterson suggests?

If the land commissioner believes that private stewardship is just as effective as public ownership at conserving open spaces, he needs to take a drive out to the intersection of Texas 71 and Bee Cave Road. You can get a Big Mac there, but good luck finding a mule deer.
BRUCE McCANDLESS III
Austin

[SHANEA]

I got a reply from JERRY PATTERSON Commissioner, General Land Office  Commissioner.Patterson@GLO.STATE.TX.US

Thank you for your concern regarding the sale of the Christmas Mountains Ranch in Brewster County.  I would like to take this opportunity to provide some background information that may enlighten your opinion on this issue.

The conveyance of the 9,200+ -acre Christmas Mountains tractproperty to the state’s Permanent School Fund in 1991 was intended to protect this land and restore it to its natural state, and while ensureing limited  public access.  For 16 years now, this these goals hasve not been fully met.  I believe private stewardship of the Christmas Mountains will result in both better protection and restoration forof the land and allowunprecedented limited public access.

Since 1991, attempts by the Land Office to open the Christmas Mountains to limited eco-tourism were frustrated by the many encumbrances placed on landit by the Conservation Fund.  Over the years, poachers, trespassers, and invasive plant species have infiltrated the Christmas Mountains.

In a further attempt to conserve the land via government resources, the Land Office offered it to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the National Park Service on multiple occasions, as outlined by the gift deed restrictions.

Both government entities declined this offer. Yet, private, conservation-minded interests have expressed an interest in purchasing the land and spending substantial sums to care for, preserve, and maintain the area’s environmental and ecological treasures.

In the case of the Christmas Mountains, government management is not necessarily the best solution.  Transferring the Christmas Mountains to private interests could not only better achieve the conservation goals set forth by the Conservation Fund, but generate revenue for the benefit of Texas school children.

On September 18, the School Land Board met for a public meeting to evaluate the proposed sale of the Christmas Mountains.  The Board listened to about 17 concerned Texans, most of whom expressed legitimate issues that we discussed at length. I believe the communication was very beneficial and hope the participants agree.  Furthermore, during the meeting, the Board rejected all six bids for the purchase of the property because an error was found in the map that delineated the property in the original bid specifications.  The Board will now offer the tract for re-bid and consider those bids at the November 6 meeting.

Transferring the Christmas Mountains to private interests could not only better achieve the conservation goals set forth by the Conservation Fund, but generate revenue for the benefit of Texas school children.

I know many are concerned that selling this property to a private party will lead to its commercial development.  However, by law deed restrictions, the Christmas Mountains can never be developed, no matter who owns the land.  When the property is again offered for sale, all bidders will be required to submit a proposed management plan that ensures that the intent and goals of the conservation easement reservedthose restrictions  in the gift deed will be fulfilled.  The plan must reflect prior experience and other qualifications in land management and address the bidder’s intended uses of the property.  The plan must also include provisions for wildlife management and for limited public access.

If you have any further questions about this issue, please contact Hal Croft, Deputy Commissioner of the Asset Management Division, at (512) 463-2785.

Sincerely,

JERRY PATTERSON
Commissioner, General Land Office 

[sleepy]

Boy, am I ever tired of politicians hiding behind "Texas school children".  If you are against the sale, you are against school children.  Gimme a break. The amount of money off the sale is small potatoes.  hey kids, watch out for that man standing behind you.

Daily I grumble about the lack of public land in this state.  It's a damn shame.

grumble grumble

[SHANEA]

Local bidder may pass on Big Bend-area land auction

[SHANEA]

Just a slew of op-ed pieces...
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

[SHANEA]

Someone needs to do a video, simular to this one that was done on BGWMA when it's sale was threatened, for the Christmas Mountains...

Gods Country is For Sale...

[SHANEA]

Editorial: Christmas Mountains sale should be delayed

Excerpts...

Hunting is allowed, according to the deed, but only if species populations are sustained. That last part is the rub for Patterson.

If the land is folded into the National Park Service portfolio, it will be subject to a federal ban on weapons in national parks.

That amounts to an unconstitutional ban on arms, according to Patterson, a staunch Second Amendment devotee.

"No hunting, no firearms, no deal," he said in a recent statement.

Patterson's role as Texas land commissioner is to guide the agency in managing millions of acres of state land and mineral rights properties to produce needed revenue for the Permanent School Fund.

He was not elected to that office to ensure that every Texan has the right to bear weapons anywhere and everywhere, even if he personally holds that belief.

Patterson and members of the School Land Board — which conduct such transactions — should do the right thing by postponing the deal.

The land has been in limbo for 16 years. Delaying its sale another few months is a reasonable request.

[SHANEA]

Christmas Mountains: Public land may be sold to highest bidder

Excerpt...

Environment Texas opposed the sale on three grounds:
(1) Bad precedent. The Richard King Mellon Foundation opposed the sale, arguing that the lease required its permission to sell. Patterson claimed that provision would not hold up in court. Clearly any other potential donors of land to the state of Texas will think twice before making another generous offer of land after this.
(2) No guarantees of protection or access. It�s unclear who will monitor and enforce the development restrictions, and there are no guarantees of public access.
(3) We can do better. The state does in fact have the money to protect against poachers, invasive plant species and irresponsible public use, but is using it for other purposes. The state parks system is funded through sales taxes on sporting goods, in addition to park entrance fees. However, the Legislature has capped the amount received by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, diverting most of those dollars back into the state general revenue fund. Although the Legislature tripled funding for the parks for the next two years in the 2007 legislative session, it dedicated no new money for land acquisition and kept the cap on the sporting goods tax in place.
(4) Part of a pattern. In 2005, TWPD proposed selling 46,000 acres of Big Bend to John Poindexter, a Houston developer, and in 2006, it proposed selling Eagle Mountain Lake State Park in Fort Worth to developers. In both cases, a public outcry resulted in defeat for the proposals. Poindexter submitted a $509,828 bid for Christmas Mountains as well.
(5) Texans want/need more public land. Again, only about 5 percent of Texas land is publicly owned, and according to a study by Texas Tech, Texans are becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of access to lands to experience nature. There�s also a big lack of public hunting land.

[SHANEA]

Selected quote...  Sounds like something is going on, a different tune perhaps? 

It's not necessary to delay any action, Patterson spokesman Jim Suydam said.

Patterson wants to assess all options, and he plans to continue negotiating with the National Parks Service, even if a bid is accepted, Suydam said.

Accepting a bid at the School Land Board's Nov. 6 meeting does not mean a final deal or sale.

"There will be plenty of time for any pending offers or any further discussion (with the parks service) after Nov. 6th," he said.

Plenty of time to resolve Christmas Mountains

[BigBendHiker]

Selected quote...  Sounds like something is going on, a different tune perhaps? 

It's not necessary to delay any action, Patterson spokesman Jim Suydam said.

Patterson wants to assess all options, and he plans to continue negotiating with the National Parks Service, even if a bid is accepted, Suydam said.

Accepting a bid at the School Land Board's Nov. 6 meeting does not mean a final deal or sale.

"There will be plenty of time for any pending offers or any further discussion (with the parks service) after Nov. 6th," he said.

Plenty of time to resolve Christmas Mountains

Let's hope so. 

BBH

[SHANEA]

Texas land commissioner keeps cool, packs heat

Selected Quotes...

AUSTIN – A warning to those who get crosswise with Jerry Patterson: This man is both armed and disarming.

"The greatest shortcoming of many people in public office is fear. They're afraid that they're going to make somebody mad. They're afraid they're going to lose some votes," Mr. Patterson said.

"To me, that's the worst thing you can have in a public official. If you feel strongly about it and you can't explain it well enough to keep from getting beat, then you ought to get beat."

Just like the embalmed snake that coils ominously on his office table – an anonymous gift that might be a death threat; he's never figured it out – the swirl of judgment doesn't rattle Jerry Patterson.

All that's made even more meaningful by the possibility that he'll one day seek a higher office, perhaps lieutenant governor, that would allow him to have an impact beyond what he currently oversees: land deals, oil and gas leases that help fund Texas schools, state school funds and veterans' affairs.

Mr. Patterson sees the Second Amendment as the bellwether for a person's stance on personal liberties, a black-and-white issue that he views as sacred.

[SHANEA]

Christmas Mountain, SE slope

Christmas from Below the Chisos Mountains, on 118

CLOSEST ACCESS TO THE CHRISTMAS FROM PAVEMENT

[SHANEA]

TX public-land boss says mountains unwanted

Selected quotes

But Texas General Land Office (GLO) Press Secretary Jim Suydam wrote LNL today stating that the reverse is true. "The Land Office has offered the land several times to the National Park Service," he wrote, only to be rejected each time. "The National Park Service has never made an offer to buy the land," Suydam added.

[SHANEA]

Patterson to expose details on Christmas Mountain Sale.  Press Conference  2:30  Nov. 5,  Monday

[BigBendHiker]

The plot thickens...


BBH