July 2021
photo by Richard Love
We are ending July with a bang!
As many of you know Frontera, along with El Paso Community Foundation, Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, and Franklin Mountain Wilderness Coalition, are working hard to move the preservation of Castner Range forward. We could not move this forward without the support of Representative Escobar, our city and county representatives, and you, the citizens that make up this community. El Pasoans have come together, again, to rally around the designation of Castner Range as a national monument. Our community understands the value of conserving this land as a way to combat the climate crisis, protect our precious resources, lift up our unique cultural heritage, and increase equitable access to outdoor recreation.
Latino Conservation Week was closed out with a press conference with Representative Molinar, Rep. Escobar and George Saenz in support of our Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. During this week, community, non-profit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies held events throughout the country. From hiking and camping to community roundtables and film screenings, these activities promote conservation efforts in their community and provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for permanently protecting our land, water, and air.
Frontera is excited to announce our very first Holiday Card Photo Contest! Frontera’s first photo contest is a great way for photographers to get recognition, benchmark their work, and support a local conservation effort that works to connect the public with our beautiful Chihuahuan Desert. To learn more, click here.
Frontera is excited to share that we will be hiring an Open Space Manager. This person will work to share Frontera’s mission, core values, and strategic initiatives for the management of open natural lands and recreation trails, specifically Lost Dog and Knapp Land. She/He will develop along with Frontera and other partners, such as Borderlands Mountain Biking Association, Open Space Advisory Council, City of El Paso, El Paso Water, and other user groups. This employee will implement a management plan for the multi-use trails and the natural habitat. In addition, she/he will collaborate with the Frontera education program manager for educating the users of the lands as well as volunteers to ensure success. The successful candidate will be supervised by Frontera’s Executive Director, here in El Paso, Texas. If interested in applying for the position, please reach out to Janae@FronteraLandAlliance.org for the job announcement.
We are deep in national accreditation renewal. Frontera has been accredited since 2017. This is a mark of distinction, showing that a land trust meets high standards for land conservation. It sends a message to landowners and supporters: “Invest in us. We are a strong, effective organization you can trust to conserve your land forever.” Accreditation is a catalyst for improvement, which results in faster, better, stronger conservation. The accreditation seal offers the assurance that a land trust can keep the promise of perpetuity and that it is worthy of the public trust. And that is how accreditation strengthens both individual land trusts and America’s land conservation movement.
We celebrated World Snake Day with Rick LoBello from the El Paso Zoo. You can watch the educational video on our social media and learn about snakes found in the Chihuahuan Desert!
This month we also celebrated Latino Conservation Week (LCW). This week is all about connecting the Latino community to the outdoors. We kicked off the week with trail maintenance and clean-up by employees of WestStar Bank! The day after, Dr. Langford guided us through Knapp Land and told us all about the history and ages of the rocks. We even found fossils! Midweek, we went out on a beautiful sunset walk at the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park and talked about la vida silvestre (the wildlife).
On the 23rd, fungal biologist, Cat Cort, guided us through Hueco Tanks and taught us about lichen.
At the end of the week, our volunteers helped us pull weeds, plant seeds, and pick fresh vegetables at the Growing with Sara Farm.
At the end of the month, Frontera hosted an information booth at the back-to-school conference for K-12 teachers in our area. We informed them about our education program and how we can be a resource for their lessons. Frontera looks forward to providing you with more outdoor opportunities!