Updated: February 2, 2008
Archives
2007
Take a Hike!
before the desert starts
cooking again...
El Paso Hikes
Take a Hike
How will the new border wall
affect the Chihuahuan Desert?
A growing number of people are expressing their concern about how the new border
wall being built on our border with Mexico will affect life in the Chihuahuan
Desert. Stay tuned for all kinds of reporting being planned for this
website and start looking on the web for informative articles.
One blog you can check out is a Take Action site called
No Border Wall.
Where
in
El Paso can you connect with ambassadors from around the world?
Answer: At the El
Paso Zoo, where all kinds of animals from the
Americas, Asia and soon Africa
remind us of our connections with wildlife everywhere and how we all need to
get involved in efforts to save them.
The El Paso Zoo invites
you to become a Zoo Volunteer. All kinds of exciting things are happening
at the Zoo this year including the upcoming completion of a new education
center, new African exhibits and a new reptile house. The Zoo is home to
many endangered species including the critically endangered Mexican wolf.
Mexican wolves are being reintroduced in the wilds of
New Mexico and Arizona
and need more public support. Many other endangered species could become
extinct in the lifetimes of the children visiting the Zoo today. We can all
finds ways to get involved and becoming a Zoo volunteer is a good way to get
started. An all day training session is planned on Saturday, January 19
from 9am to 3pm. There will also be a half day session on Saturday,
February 16 from 9am to Noon. For more information contact the Zoo
Volunteer Office at 351-5340 or send an email to
langenfeldar@elpaso
texas.gov
To learn more about volunteer activities and other zoo news visit the Zoo’s
colorful website at
www.elpasozoo.org.
A special page at
www.elpasozoo.org/edu
also includes past issues of the Zoo’s volunteer newsletter, The Pachyderm
Press.
Congressman Reyes signs on
as sponsor of
No Child Left Inside Act
By Rick LoBello, December 28, 2007
Earlier this year the
Zoo signed on to an AZA effort to gain political support for passing the No
Child Left Inside Act. In December, 2007 Congressman Reyes signed
on as a co-sponsor. In helping to gain more sponsors in both the Senate
and the House the Zoo is encouraging people to continue contacting their
representatives in both the House and the Senate since more co-sponsors are
needed.
El Paso Zoo Press Release
November 30, 2007
The El Paso Zoo is joining accredited zoos across the country and hundreds of
other organizations in helping to gain support for a very important
environmental education initiative. You
may have heard of No Child Left Behind…. This is different. The No Child Left
Inside Act (S.1981) will help to make outdoor environmental education a part of
every students' public school experience. The problem is that across
the country, teachers have been forced to cut back on the time they can devote
to teach young people about environmental education, because of testing
requirements. A complete education should include information and hands-on
learning about the natural environment and the enormous challenges it faces.
·
Congress is reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind law.
·
No Child Left Behind and its emphasis on testing has made it hard for
teachers to devote adequate time to environmental education.
·
There is inadequate funding for environmental education, both at the
state and federal levels.
Why should we care? Environmental
education for children is critical now because of the complex environmental
challenges confronting the nation and world. We teach this everyday at the El
Paso Zoo with our Sea Lion and Elephant talks.
What will the No Child Left
Inside Act do? Increase funding for environmental education focusing on teacher
training and capacity building. Give states new incentives to create
environmental literacy plans to make sure graduates understand the environment.
The legislation will help us fulfill our obligation to educate children about
the environment to help them be good stewards and to inspire them to help find
solutions to the issues confronting us. We are urging our local members of
Congress to support environmental education in the No Child Left Behind
reauthorization.
Learn more about the No Child Left Inside Act (S.1981) at
www.eenclb.org.
Copyright and Disclaimer
All content on this site including photographs, graphics,
text and design is protected by copyright by either the Chihuahuan Desert
Education Coalition or the owners of the web pages linked to from this
site. By providing links to other sites, we do not guarantee, approve or
endorse the information or products available at these sites nor does a link
indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to
www.chihuahuandesert.org.
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Lone
Canada goose visits
Pancho Villa State Park
On New Year's
morning, Sylvia Brenner who is the Heritage Educator
at Pancho Villa State Park, took this picture of a
large Canada goose standing in the parking lot.
He (she) didn't appear to be injured, but was
definitely alone and, perhaps, off-course and far
away from water.
The goose remained
for around two hours and as she was returning to the
parking lot, tooted her horn and the goose
flew away to the west, apparently healthy.
Perhaps the goose was taking a side trip from its
wintering grounds at Bosque Del Apache National
Wildlife Refuge where according to Friends of the
Bosque there were over 600 Canada Geese in December.
Other birds counted on December 13, 2007 at Bosque
Del Apache included:
Total Ducks 43,267
Total Canada Geese 619
Total Light Geese 33.500
Total Sandhill Cranes 7,788
Total Bald and Golden Eagles 3
Total Swans 0
Total American White Pelicans 0
American Coot 391
Marsh and Water Birds 8
Shorebirds 5
Gulls and Terns 12
Hawks and Owls 25
Learn about a visit to the refuge
at
http://www.friendsofthebosque.org
Have you ever
seen a black-necked stilt?
One
of the surprise birds for first time visitors to
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in El Paso is the
black-necked stilt. Black-necked stilts
are common in Texas where they nest on the Gulf
Coast and winter inland in places like El Paso.
They are not a common bird at the park, but if
you see one they are pretty easy to identify
with lots of black on the head, a white chin and
red legs. Learn more about birds of the
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in our
January, 2008 newsletter.
Discover one of nature’s grandest wildlife spectacles three
hours north of El Paso
by Rick LoBello
Every chance I get
I tell others about one of my favorite places in the world – Bosque Del Apache
National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is just a three hour drive north of El
Paso and if you have never been there, you are missing out big time on seeing
what is no doubt one of the most spectacular wildlife experiences in the
Southwest. Every year tens of thousands of snow geese, sandhill cranes and all
kinds of other waterfowl migrate south from the Arctic and other points north to
the National Wildlife Refuge just south of Socorro, New Mexico.
More Information:
http://www.friendsofthebosque.org.
NEW
-
Chihuahuan
Desert Field Guide
Aplomado Falcon
Conservation Alert
KTEP Radio
Program
on CDEC
Calendar of Meetings
and Events
2008 Calendar
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Check out these stories in our latest
newsletter
-FMWC continues effort to save Castner Range
-US Mexico International Park Update
-New Years Day at Rio Bosque
-Checklist
of Birds of Rio Bosque
Click Here
for our newsletter
Check out these stories in our
December
newsletter
-El Paso Zoo Director
participates in a conservation mission
-Chihuahuan Desert
Publications -Long-eared Owls spotted at Rio Bosque
-Big Bend Christmas Ornament at White House
-Calendar of Meetings and Special Events
-Red tent found in the desert
-Zoo’s will highlight 2008 as the Year of the Frog
-Membership News
Click Here
for our newsletter
Get on our
free
email list
for our informative monthly newsletter.
Discover a Watershed: Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Educators Guide
FREE while supplies last
The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is a complex system where a decision intended to solve
an ecological dilemma may have deep-rooted social, political, cultural, and
environmental ramifications that resonate internationally. This bi-national
river is comprehensively explored in the guide's first 128 pages. 215 pages
follow with 25 hands-on lesson plans and activities tested by American and
Mexican teachers and students. The appendix offers quick analysis of how the
activities meet National Science Standards for grades 5-8 or 9-12, or fit
disciplines ranging from fine arts to health. • 378 pages • 8 1/2 x 11 • photos
• illustrations • charts • maps • appendix • index • glossary Value: $29.95
If you would like to receive a copy,
please contact Audrey Powell by
e-mail or telephone.
Toll Free Number: (866) 337-5486. Fax: (406)522-0394
Audrey.powell@projectwet.org
Get your Cacti of El Paso
Calendar
Support the El
Paso Cactus club by purchasing a 2008 Cacti of El Paso Calendar. For more
information:
Cafe Press
Ranch Hand Admits to Baiting Wolves to Prey on
Livestock; Results in Removal of Endangered Wolves
Statement of Eva
Sargent, Director, Southwest Program, Defenders of
Wildlife
TUCSON, Ariz. -
Today, High Country News
reported in an article,
Last Chance for the Lobo,
that a ranch hand working on the Adobe-Slash
Ranch in New Mexico abandoned a pregnant cow
that was about to give birth in an area wolves
were known to inhabit, in order to lure wolves
into attacking livestock which would provide an
excuse for removing the wolves. According to the
article, the ranch hand knew where the wolves
were by using radio-tracking data provided by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which
is meant to help ranchers avoid livestock
losses. As the article reports, this baiting
incident resulted in the lethal removal of the
Durango pack’s alpha female.
Below is
Defenders of Wildlife’s reaction to this news
and a brief background on the efforts to restore
the Mexican wolf to the Southwest.
“If the
accusations detailed in
Last Chance for
the Lobo are true, it is deeply disturbing
that someone would use the very tools offered to
help them avoid conflict with wolves as a means
to derail the recovery of the Mexican wolf.
Defenders of Wildlife has worked hard to help
ranchers coexist with wolves through
compensation, cooperation and trust. It appears
that ranch hand Mike Miller abused that trust
and deliberately sacrificed livestock under his
care to force the removal of endangered wolves.
“If the
Mexican wolf is to remain a vital part of the
Western landscape, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service must stop unethical individuals from
abusing federal recovery programs and baiting
the Mexican wolf into extinction. It’s time for
the service to step up and recommit to their
mission to recover endangered and threatened
species. A good first step would be to re-double
their efforts to monitor and manage this
program.
“Right
now, one Mexican gray wolf, or lobo, is killed
or removed from the wild for every 1.1 confirmed
livestock depredations in the Southwest. At this
rate, the lobo could once again become extinct
in the wild in a few short years.”
BACKGROUND:
The
Mexican gray wolf once roamed throughout the
Southwest, but by the early 1970s, the lobo had
been almost completely exterminated. In 1976,
the lobo was listed as an endangered species,
and shortly thereafter the few remaining wolves
were brought into a captive-breeding program
involving FWS and more than 40 North American
zoos. In 1998, the service reintroduced three
family groups of wolves back into the Apache
National Forest in eastern Arizona.
FWS has
released almost 100 Mexican wolves since 1998.
Unfortunately, a limited recovery area,
heavy-handed management by the service, illegal
poaching, and opponents who take advantage of
the flexibility of the program have left us with
only about 60 wolves in the wild today, and far
too few breeding pairs to sustain the
population.
Source: December 20, 2007
For more information, visit
www.defenders.org.
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