El Pasoan urges National Park Service to reconsider partial closure of Big Bend National Park
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Chisos Basin area of Big Bend National Park will be closed off to visitors for approximately two years starting this fall.
The National Parks Service will undertake two construction projects in the area of the park to rebuild a decades-old lodge and to replace aged waterlines throughout the popular campground there.
A wildlife advocate out of El Paso, however, said the Chisos Basin campground is the highlight of the park and that visitors will be robbed of fully experiencing Big Bend. He is urging the NPS to reconsider their plans and analyze how they can proceed with the construction without closing off the entire Chisos Basin area.
'It's the coolest spot, where the best campground is, the best trails, the most popular area. Even the bears from Mexico came across and moved in there, and they love it up there. It's only about 40 square miles, the area we're talking about, but it's the most scenic area, the most beautiful area. It's one of the reasons why the park became a national park,' said Rick LoBello, chair of the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition.
According to the NPS, visitor access to the basin road, lodging units, basin campground, NPS visitor center, camper store, and surrounding trails will be closed off. They said park managers will assess what areas will be safe to open as major components of the construction project are completed.
But LoBello said the Chisos Basin area has seen major construction before that did not require a complete closure of the area.
'They just need to rethink this whole project and say to themselves, 'How can we fix the restaurant? How can we take this $22 million to remake the restaurant and do it without closing off this whole section of the park?'' LoLoBello said.
'NPS has told me that the main reason why they're going to close that whole area off is because of the danger of cars and trucks going back and forth on the road, carrying materials,' he added.
'But we have people going through El Paso carrying these giant windmill pieces, and we have what we call an escort. We just close off the road for a few minutes. Let the materials go through so it doesn't justify closing that whole area of the park just because of a minor small construction project,' LoBello said.
Beyond that, LoBello said he's spoken with local business owners in the area who are concerned that the closure will cause them steep financial losses that they may not be able to recover from.
'They say it will take two years, but we all know from construction going on in our own city that two years can become four years. That all depends on how contracts work and everything else,' LoBello said.
LoBello has created a blog where he is encouraging El Pasoans and other people to join him in urging the NPS to reconsider their plans to close off the Chisos Basin.
He encourages people to contact their elected representatives or call the White House Comment Line, asking them to express their concerns. KTSM reached out to the NPS and U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who represents the district encompassing Big Bend, for comment. We will update the story if we get a response.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump appears to undercut US proposal to Iran, declaring he won't allow any uranium enrichment
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to undercut a proposal that was offered by his special envoy to Iran, saying he will insist that Tehran fully dismantle its nuclear enrichment program as part of any deal to ease crushing sanctions. Trump and Steve Witkoff, who is leading the negotiations for the U.S., have repeatedly offered inconsistent public messages about whether Iran would be allowed to retain the capacity to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian purposes. The Trump administration maintains that it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. The negotiations have been framed by Trump as both countries' best chance to avoid direct military conflict over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, has insisted that it will not agree to any deal that fully scraps its enrichment program. 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!' Trump wrote on social media. The White House didn't elaborate on the post. Trump's post comes after media reports that Witkoff's latest proposal to Tehran would allow Iran to retain low levels of enrichment for civilian uses like nuclear medicine and commercial power if it agrees to shut down its heavily protected underground sites for a period of time. The U.S. and Iran have engaged in several rounds of direct nuclear talks for the first time in years. Senior officials — including Witkoff and Trump himself — have said within the last few weeks that Iran would not be able to keep enriching uranium at any level. The proposal, reported by Axios and confirmed by two U.S. officials, called for the creation of a regional consortium to handle uranium enrichment for civilian uses — a plan first studied more than a decade ago in negotiations that led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump was sharply critical of that agreement — which also allowed set limits on uranium enrichment but permitted Iran to maintain such a capacity — and withdrew the U.S. from it in 2017 during his first term. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic negotiations. The International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels since its last update in February, according to a confidential report released by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Saturday. Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but Iranian officials have increasingly suggested that Tehran could pursue an atomic bomb. 'President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement before Trump's post. 'Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it's in their best interest to accept it. Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.' The proposal that Trump appeared to undercut on Monday evening included significant concessions by the administration certain to anger Israel along with pro-Israel lawmakers in the United States. Several of the main points were essentially the same or very similar to conditions outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal. Early iterations of that agreement negotiated by the Obama administration also suggested the possibility of a regional consortium that would put Iranian uranium enrichment above a certain level under the control of Iran and its neighbors. The idea was scrapped, however, because of Gulf Arab nations' objections and Iranian suspicions of the ultimate aims of the consortium. People who were involved in the 18-month negotiations for the 2015 deal reacted immediately to reports that the Trump administration might allow Iran to continue with an enrichment program at any level, particularly after senior officials repeatedly said Iran would not be able to retain such programs. 'This proposal poses a moment of truth for critics of previous Iran nuclear negotiations/agreements (and) those who have called for a no-enrichment, full-dismantlement deal,' Dan Shapiro, Obama's former ambassador to Israel, wrote on X. 'Will they hold Trump to the same standard?'
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Immigration Enforcement Bill Sent To Abbott After House And Senate Reach Agreement
(Texas Scorecard) – A high-profile immigration enforcement measure is now headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after both chambers approved a compromise hammered out in conference committee over the last week. Senate Bill 8, a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Republican Party of Texas, requires all Texas sheriffs who operate or contract to operate a jail to pursue formal cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. State Rep. David Spiller (R–Jacksboro), who led negotiations for the House, called the legislation 'heavily negotiated.' When the Senate first passed SB 8 in April, it applied only to sheriffs in counties with populations over 100,000. But the House broadened the bill significantly, requiring universal coverage for all counties that run jails, regardless of population. That provision was maintained in the final version. 'We improved the bill with a floor substitute to provide for universal coverage of the 287(g) program to all counties that operate or contract to operate a jail,' Spiller told House members Monday. 'SB 8, in its original form, only had counties with a population of 100,000 or more. This version has expanded that to all counties.' Under the final language, counties may enter into any of the three ICE partnership models allowed under federal law—the task force model, jail enforcement model, or the warrant service model that had been emphasized in the House version. The conference committee also made a major funding shift. While the House had created both a grant and reimbursement program to support implementation, the final bill eliminates the reimbursement system and substantially increases grant funding instead. 'The monies that were there for the entirety are now basically front-end loaded,' said Spiller. 'We addressed concerns that counties needed funds to be able to implement and operate. We've done that.' The grant program awards counties between $80,000 and $140,000, depending on population, to help cover the cost of implementing an agreement with ICE. These funds can be used for officer compensation, reporting requirements, equipment, training, and detention-related expenses not reimbursed by the federal government. 'What we now have, in my view, is a very strong bill that achieves the public safety purposes of the bill,' Spiller said. 'It provides universal coverage and cooperation, provides necessary funding to the counties, guarantees coordination with the executive orders and President Trump, and provides assistance and cooperation with our federal partners to assist in enforcing existing immigration law.' The legislation now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
Wall Street Journal
24 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Boulder Flamethrower Attack Suspect Charged With Hate Crime
Mohamed Soliman was charged with attempted murder and hate crime charges after an incendiary attack in Boulder, Colo. on a group that advocates for the release of hostages in Gaza. Photo: David Zalubowski/Associated Press
