Given to Texas as a Gift, the State wants to sell off the Christmas Mountains to highest bidder
The Dallas News doesn’t like the idea. Keep Mountains Public. Dallas News.
Neither does the San Antonio Express. Christmas Mountains sale should be delayed.
Proponents of the sale have drummed up a phony Second Amendment argument to justify not selling the mountains to the National Park Service to add to Big Bend National Park. Of course, if the mountains are private property they won’t be able to take their guns there because their person can’t go there.

Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
2 Responses to Given to Texas as a Gift, the State wants to sell off the Christmas Mountains to highest bidder
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Join 996 other subscribersRecent Posts
- Yellowstone Bison DEIS Comments September 20, 2023
- Logging Creates “Unhealthy” Forests With Less Resilence September 12, 2023
- How Thinning Impacts Fuels September 11, 2023
- The Proposed Ambler Mine and Road–Implications For The Kobuk River Ecosystem And People. August 27, 2023
- The Social Carbon Cost of Public Land Livestock Grazing August 24, 2023
Recent Comments
- Jeff Hoffman on Yellowstone Bison DEIS Comments
- Lyn McCormick on Yellowstone Bison DEIS Comments
- Selina Sweet on Yellowstone Bison DEIS Comments
- Jeff Hoffman on Logging Creates “Unhealthy” Forests With Less Resilence
- Jeff Hoffman on Logging Creates “Unhealthy” Forests With Less Resilence
- Jeff Hoffman on How Thinning Impacts Fuels
- Mike Higgins on Logging Creates “Unhealthy” Forests With Less Resilence
- lou on Logging Creates “Unhealthy” Forests With Less Resilence
- Jerry Thiessen on How Thinning Impacts Fuels
- Richard Halsey on How Thinning Impacts Fuels
- midlaj on The Social Carbon Cost of Public Land Livestock Grazing
- Barrie K Gilbert on The Proposed Ambler Mine and Road–Implications For The Kobuk River Ecosystem And People.
- Maggie Frazier on Logging Road Impacts
- China Kantner on The Proposed Ambler Mine and Road–Implications For The Kobuk River Ecosystem And People.
- Ida Lupine on Tribal Burning and Fire Suppression
Texas may have the lowest % of public lands in this country. The international effort–between Mexico & this country–that is attempting to protect a large unfragmented (2.5 million acre) block of this biolgical diverse region of the Chihuauan Desert could add the Xmas Mountains to Big Bend NP. The area in question borders the northwest part of the park. However, Texas has always been anti-public lands, especially if shooting, poisening & trapping critters is prohibited. Adding this parcel of land to the park makes such good sense that it may not happen! Of course another option–better than nothing– would be to add this parcel as a “preserve” (a different clasification that permits hunting) as was done in several national parks in Alaska.
It should also make sense because the donor was a very conservative foundation, hardly one out to promote some “liberal” environmental agenda. . . but apparently not enough for the state lands director.