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John Sproul has dedicated his life to restoring and protecting El Paso County’s most important wetlands refuge. We can’t sit back and let him down.
by Rick LoBello
A little over 20 years ago when I met John Sproul at one of the first Chihuahuan Desert Fiestas and later at Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in the lower valley, I knew right off the bat that I was getting to know one of El Paso’s finest and most dedicated wildlife conservationists in the area.
As you read this John and Friends of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park are on the front lines of two planned development projects that if they are approved and implemented, could very well bring to an end one of El Paso’s most significant conservation efforts over the past few decades. Rio Bosque is an important wildlife refuge to a multitude of resident and migratory birds and a one-of-a kind outdoor classroom for our community and the children of the El Paso and the surrounding area. All you need to do is read over the education materials produced over the years that you can download from the park’s website to understand what I am talking about.
Yesterday John sent out the latest news about what is happening. Read what follows and make plans to get involved. The following comes directly from the April 15, 2024 – El Paso Trans-Pecos Audubon Society Newsletter.
Clouds on the Horizon
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is a small island of natural river-valley habitat in a highly modified, biologically degraded landscape. Given these circumstances, the park is very fortunate to have a significant parcel of undeveloped open space, owned by the City of El Paso, still present immediately east of the park in a broad corridor be-tween the Riverside Canal and the Franklin Drain.
The land occupies 99 acres, all zoned Ranch & Farm District, a designation “designed to protect, stabilize and enhance the development of agricultural resources and to prohibit those activities that would adversely affect the urban-rural characteristics of this district.” The land has great value to Rio Bosque―as a buffer, as wildlife habitat similar to that found in upland areas of the park, and as an avenue for wildlife movement between the park and other areas.
The future integrity of this open-space corridor is not guaranteed. Two projects that could affect it are currently under consideration. One involves a concrete batch plant Jobe Materials installed last year 1/4 mile north of Rio Bosque to provide concrete mix for the construction work now in progress and planned for coming years at the water-treatment plants north of the park. The other involves an extension of the Border Highway east from Loop 375 for 18 miles to the new Guadalupe-Tornillo port of entry.
Jobe Materials can operate its batch plant in the Ranch & Farm District under a Special Use Permit if it is a temporary facility providing concrete mix for a public-works project. But Jobe wants to make it a permanent facility with a broader base of customers. That requires a change in the zoning from “Ranch & Farm” to “Light Manufacturing.” The El Paso City Council will hold a public hearing on this requested zoning change at its meeting May 7. If City Council approves the request, it would set a bad precedent. It would potentially encourage other incursions into the open-space corridor east of Rio Bosque in the future.
The Border Highway extension is further in the future― a 2033 projected start date―but more ominous. It would be a 4-lane divided highway initially, but with wide inner shoulders to allow future conversion to a 6-lane divided highway.
On March 27, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) unveiled three conceptual alternative routes for this project. Two would traverse the open-space corridor east of Rio Bosque. One would be along the west edge of the park. All three would have significant negative impacts on the park.
TxDOT has scheduled two public meetings to gather input on these alternatives:
May 1, 5 p.m., Clint High School (13890 Alameda Ave. in Clint)
May 2, 5 p.m., Western Tech College (9624 Plaza Circle in El Paso, off Pan American Drive)
TxDOT will also have planning documents and maps available on its website for study and comment from May 1 through May 16.
Speak out at City Council on the cement plant on May 7
Visit or contact your Council members.
Find your District 1-8
Want to check out the areas where these actions are being proposed? Join us for one of the up-coming tours at Rio Bosque:
5 p.m., Sun., Apr 21 (Introductory tour)
8 a.m., Sat., Apr 26 (Birding tour)
7 a.m., Sun., May 12 (Birding tour)
8 a.m., Sat., May 25 (Introductory tour)
8 a.m., Sun., June 9 (Introductory tour)
6:30 a.m., Sat., June 22 (Birding tour)
The meeting place is a bridge crossing the Riverside Canal. To get there from I-10, take Americas Ave. (Loop 375) to Pan American Drive, turn left onto Pan American and travel 1.5 miles. Infor-mation: 747-8663. For up-to-date information on tours, birds and water conditions at the park, check www.riobosque.org.
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