To celebrate Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine’s 75th anniversary in 2017, the magazine staff embedded ourselves in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley to put out a special issue. It was the best week of our “magazine” lives, without a doubt. We were so warmly welcomed by our Estero Llano Grande State Park host Javier de Leon and other Valley colleagues, as well as many old partners and new friends.
And by staff, we don't mean just our writers. We brought the business team and interns and artists and designers and, of course, our fabulous photographers. Our buddy Hector Astorga, South Texas imagery guru, took us under his wing and helped the crew capture the images they needed, including a visit to his Santa Clara Ranch and a fajita feast with us at the Estero Bunkhouse.
And just look at that cover art inspired by our journey. Now-retired TPWD fine artist Clemente Guzman spent his days observing and sketching and then created this masterpiece of a wraparound cover. We think it's utterly beautiful, just like the Rio Grande Valley.
Since it's Latino Conservation Week, we knew we wanted to go back in the archives and share
stories from some of our favorite RGV conservationists. The Valley is rich in
culture and friendly people who love the incredible diversity of animal and
plant species that thrive there. We can’t wait to go back one day soon.
The Park Boss, Javier De Leon
Javier de Leon started his career in the outdoors as an intern
at the National Butterfly Center in Mission; he
later got hired there full time as a naturalist. After that, it was the
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. Then came Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.
When the superintendent job came open at Estero
Llano Grande State Park, he decided to go for it. He’s
been superintendent there since 2014.
“I think it’s important to teach as many locals as we can,” he
says. “The more people in the Valley who are educated about our nature — the
more people know about green jays and chachalacas and kiskadees and how special
they are — the more powerful of a voice we can create to keep the Valley
green.”
The Valley is growing, and de Leon wants the new development to
be responsible development.
“Development should include green space,” he says. “There has to
be a balanced quality of life. They need to think about how it will negatively
affect wildlife.”
The Historian, Ruben Reyna
Park guide Ruben Reyna looks so resplendent in his uniform, we just have to catch a shot of him in the morning sun at the Palo Alto Battlefield in Brownsville. Hired for his technological wizardry, Reyna shows us how technology makes the battlefield experience more satisfyingly interactive for park visitors.
It’s eerie indeed to listen to
recounts of the battle while gazing over the huge expanse as the sun rises. The
battle between United States and Mexican troops was the first in a two-year
long war that changed the map of North America.
The Man Who Took Jimmy Carter Birding, Roy Rodriguez
Roy Rodriguez worked
for years as a professional birding guide, leading trips around South Texas and
Mexico. He also leads groups of blind birders, who identify birds by their
call.
When Jimmy Carter, a
dedicated bird watcher with more than 1,000 birds on his life list, decided to
take a bird-watching trip to the Rio Grande Valley in 2004, Rodriguez got
tapped to lead him around.
“I said ‘Jimmy
Carter? Like the president Jimmy Carter?’” he recalls.
Rodriguez took
Carter to some of his special birding spots such as the McAllen sewage ponds —
places the Secret Service had not assessed for security risks.
“They were not happy
with me, but I got him 35 lifers,” he said, referring to bird species Carter
had not previously seen.
Resaca Keeper, Pablo de Yturbe
Resaca de la Palma State Park isn’t even open when we show up for a surprise
visit, but the staff happily drops their work to lead us on a tour. The heat is
building quickly on this September morning at the Rio Grande delta, but there’s
a breeze wafting through the tangle of ebony and mesquite and anacua trees,
their branches intertwined in a race up to the sunlight.
Superintendent Pablo
de Yturbe and colleagues Lauren Acevedo and John Wagman recount the history of
the 1,200-acre park that’s also the largest World Birding Center location,
opened in 2008. Plants that grow nowhere else in the U.S. are found here in
this subtropical habitat. Acevedo points out a hidden ribbon snake in a
mesquite tree; Wagman tells us how huisache blooms are used to make perfume in
Europe.
“You’re always
watching something different going on,” de Yturbe says of their love for this
place. “The forest calms you, gives you a good vibe, good energy.”
Though the park has
been open less than a decade, much has been accomplished. Where invasive guinea
grass once dominated and choked the landscape, native trees and plants now rise
up. Wagman leads native plant tours on the weekends; he has already identified
73 different species in the park.
Our walk leads us to
one of four decks that overlook the resaca, and we admire the new interpretive
“touch” panels, beautifully illustrated and with Spanish translations. Since
the resaca is dry on this day, most of the birds we see are in the trees across
the way, but we dream of the common yellowthroat, black-bellied whistling ducks
and great kiskadees the water attracts.
