MESCALERO SPEAKS

IN DEFENSE OF BOCA CHICA

Editor's Note: The BV would oppose any utility development of the area. The problem is a viable solution. You cannot preserve Boca Chica if people are not educated about its beauty and unique plants, animal life etc. Once you educate them, they will want to preserve it, but also go to the beach. This will cause some additional damage. While it is illegal to ride in the dunes it is done all of the time because there is no one from the county enforcing the law.

I am not sure I have a problem with an entrance fee to Boca Chica. By having a county employee charging a fee it will also allow the county to better bar any sports vehicles from the beach. I also have no problem with the county charging a garbage bag fee the visitor gets back when they bring back the garbage bag filled with their trash.

All of the above are proactive things the county can do to preserve this treasure. Far too many of the people who use Boca Chica have proven themselves to be bad stewards of Boca Chica. I am so tired of seeing how people disrespect this treasure - so in my mind a fee which has the effect of protecting Boca Chica would be a good thing.

I hope more people will come forward and defend Boca Chica. Different people might disagree about the mechanics of defending Boca Chica, but what is important is that we stand together to prevent any development, beyond that which is needed to protect this natural treasure the beach.

 

HERE IS MESCALERO'S DEFENSE OF BOCA CHICA

Exactly as I feared. Already hopes that if utilities are extended to Boca Chica we can get some of those "projects" developed. Let's put up some historical centers and a visitor's center. We will then need bathrooms and maybe a snack bar and on and on it will go. And, to pay for the centers and upkeep and to repair all the vandalism, we will need a beach access fee. It might not be Padre Island but it won't be Boca Chica.

And the same goes for Palmetto Hill. Check out how degraded the habitats are out there and yet they hold so much life. Any construction will probably be on the higher elevations known as lomitas (little hills) to avoid flooding. These lomitas are a biologically unique area in the world. Not another inch should be cleared. And the same for the coastal prairie out there. In the alternative I would suggest an information center somewhere in the vicinity of the border patrol checkpoint with monuments at the actual sites. By keeping any buildings in one spot it minimizes the impact on the environment and probably reduces construction costs. Being near the checkpoint may redue vandalism.

Also, it is a false statement to say that Boca Chica will never become Padre Island. I've lived here long enough to have hung out on the Island when there were only three free standing restaurants and only a small handful of hotel/motels and look at it now.

Mescalero

 

 

SAVE BOCA CHICA, AND CLARKSVILLE

Everything in this story comes from a reader. Thanks


CLARKSVILLE, TX (CAMERON COUNTY)

CLARKSVILLE, TEXAS (Cameron County). Clarksville was near the mouth of the Rio Grande, opposite the Mexican city of Bagdad. During the Mexican War a temporary army camp stood there, with William H. Clark, a civilian, in charge. Clark set up a country store and served as agent for the steamship lines using the port. The town quickly developed; houses were built up on stilts to be above high water. During the early part of the Civil War Clarksville thrived on the trade of the Confederate blockade-runners, but in 1863 it was captured by federals, who held it most of the time until the end of the war. The last battle of the war was fought four miles away at Palmito Ranch^qv. In 1867 Clarksville was almost destroyed by a hurricane but survived during the days of the river steamer. In 1872 it received another blow when the railway was built from Brownsville to Point Isabel, and severe storms in 1874 and 1886 finished it. In 1953 the river had changed its course and flowed over the site of Clarksville.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Houston Chronicle, April 19, 1926. Dick King, Ghost Towns of Texas (San Antonio: Naylor, 1953). Florence J. Scott, Old Rough and Ready on the Rio Grande (San Antonio: Naylor, 1935

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvc54

I did not know this about Clarksville. There needs to be an historical marker placed at the mouth of the river making note of this. It would be awesome if a properly sanctioned archaeological dig could be organized to bring life back to this very important city in terms of America's civil war history. This is something tourist would go see.

MAY 30TH IS DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS ON SPACEX

People only we can stop this. Our elected officials are dupes. They have taken the bait in the same old corporate game used time and time again. You announce so many cities are in the running for a new plant, stadium or whatever and then watch how the local politicos fall over one another offering to give up their own children is their community gets the deal.

We must submit comments in opposition to SpaceX by May 30!

faaspacexeis@cardnotec.com or fax to 410-990-0455.

SOMETHING THE COUNTY MIGHT CONSIDER


http://www.glo.texas.gov/what-we-do/caring-for-the-coast/open-beaches/index.html

The Texas Open Beaches Act states “The public ... shall have the free and unrestricted right of ingress and egress to and from the state-owned beaches.”

OTIS POWERS SHOWING OFF A RED

For people out of the know, the dot on the tail tells you it is a Red. Most people find them good eating. I love fish - but I am not big on Reds. This is not a Red Snapper. People, I am not against SpaceX. I am for preserving for use and beauty Boca Chica and its surrounding areas. Judge Cascos should have been well informed on this issue before he chose to back it. Shiny objects politics never works for the people. We need answers. When we have guarantees about Boca Chica then it will be easier for everyone to get behind SpaceX. People I need more pictures - the more the better.   I also need science information as to why Boca Chica and its wild life is important.

bobbywc58@yahoo.com