Patterson has tantalizingly allowed 90 days for the National Park Service to make a bid on the Christmas Mountains; a bid that will then be shoulder to shoulder with private bidders.
Since Patterson’s published goal has been to adamantly allow a future for the area which includes hunting; a practice to which the NPS is strongly apposed, I wouldn’t bet on the NPS to be a strong front runner in the bidding war to follow.
How would you vote if you were on the Texas School Land Board?
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1st Story in this series
PARK SERVICE HAS 90 DAYS TO MAKE OFFER ON RANCH
By Brandi Grissom / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 11/06/2007 02:34:43 PM MST
AUSTIN -- The Texas School Land Board decided Tuesday to give the National Park Service 90 days to submit an offer to buy the Christmas Mountains Ranch.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson wants to sell the 9,000-acre tract, because the state, he says, cannot adequately conserve the land. The Conservation Fund donated the land to Texas in 1991 with strict restrictions on its use.
After weeks of public opposition to Patterson's plans to sell the land to a private bidder, the board decided to allow the National Park Service time to make an offer to add it to Big Bend National Park, about 300 miles southeast of El Paso.
"I'm looking forward to meeting with National Park Service officials and interested parties to discuss how we can move forward," Patterson said.
Patterson has been adamant that any future owner of the property must allow hunting there. The Park Service prohibits firearms in its parks, but the two private bidders have pledged to allow hunting in the Christmas Mountains.