In the issue regarding the Christmas Mountains sale in Texas, some new information, previously only locally available, has finally come to light.

One of the three land commissioners for Texas, Jerry Patterson is apparently grinding a personal axe over the second amendment issue according to a San Antonio columnist.

Patterson is a well known gun freedom activist. And, since The National Park Service has banned all guns in the parks unless they are unloaded, cased and separated from the ammunition, Patterson is apparently fixed on selling the Christmas Mountain land to a private entity who will allow hunting.

The arguments are heating up.        

Read the article and then comment below.

The land is located near Big Bend National Park. To visit Big Bend’s park page, click here

Rebeca Chapa: A dubious Christmas sale

Web Posted: 10/24/2007 06:06 PM CDT

San Antonio Express-News
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is turning a public land issue into a personal Second Amendment crusade.

At issue is a 9,200-acre tract of rugged land in far West Texas, north of Big Bend near Terlingua. The land, situated in the Christmas Mountains, was given to the state in 1991 by a pair of foundations to be conserved and protected in perpetuity.

Now, Patterson plans to sell the land to a private entity. A sale planned in September was postponed because of a technical mapping error.

Patterson is undaunted and has scheduled a possible decision for Nov. 6 despite the fact that a more ideal candidate — the National Park Service — is emerging.

The General Land Office is tasked with maintaining Texas land to produce revenue for the Permanent School Fund. The office has deposited more than $6.8 billion into the PSF since it was established in 1854.

Patterson's office estimates that selling the Christmas Mountains property will probably net the land office less than $500,000, so this obviously isn't about money.

The School Land Board is the body that decides who will get the property. The board is comprised of three members: Patterson, David Hermann of San Antonio and Todd Barth of Houston.
Environment Texas, an Austin-based advocacy organization, is petitioning Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott to exert pressure on their appointees (Barth and Hermann, respectively) to cancel the sale.

The 1991 gift deed says the state cannot transfer the property to any party other than the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the National Park Service unless it receives written consent by the grantor.

William Wellman, superintendent of Big Bend National Park, has asked Patterson for time to assess the feasibility of annexing the land onto Big Bend.

Patterson is unwilling to postpone the bid or sell the Christmas Mountains to the National Park Service if it means public hunting will not be allowed on the property. Firearms are not permitted in national parks unless they are unloaded, in a case, stored out of sight and separated from ammunition.

In a written statement, Patterson succinctly conveyed his message to Wellman: "No hunting, no firearms, no deal."

For some reason, Patterson has turned this issue into brawl over the Second Amendment.
That's understandable, considering Patterson's legislative history. As a state senator, he spearheaded the concealed weapon law in 1995 and has stuck to his guns on the matter ever since.

He calls the ban on firearms in national parks unconstitutional and admits that the law doesn't apply to him.

"I just ignore it. I mean, if I go to a national park, I'm armed. I don't care what they say," he told the Austin American-Statesman last week.

The Christmas Mountains Ranch isn't Patterson's personal property. The land belongs to the state of Texas, already sadly lacking in public land. His attempt to put the property into the hands of someone who can manage it properly and provide public access is laudable.

Commission spokesman Jim Suydam said the deadline for bids is still Wednesday. But, he added, until the deal is closed, the National Park Service could still have a shot.

That sounds unlikely. And really, it shouldn't come to that.

In an e-mailed statement, Larry Selzer, president and CEO of the Virginia-based Conservation Fund, said his organization — one of the original donors — is pleased the park service seeks to add the Christmas Mountains onto Big Bend National Park.

"This is a significant, positive step for the conservation of this land," Selzer wrote.
The GLO should postpone the bidding process until the National Park Service has a chance to determine its strategy for obtaining the land. It's already been 16 years and the state paid nothing for the land in the first place.

Maybe the commission should wait until, say, after Christmas?