by Rick LoBello, Education and Conservation Curator
See important message from John Sproul at the end of this post
El Paso wildlife and park conservation advocates are speaking out this week about threats to Rio Bosque Wetlands Park from a new highway project and cement plant. Local conservation organizer Jon Rezendes and John Sproul, Rio Grande Wetlands Manager, are sharing information online about new threats to the wildlife refuge.
John Sproul has dedicated his life to restoring and protecting El Paso County’s most important wetlands refuge and Jon Rezendes is a retired from the Army. Both have been posting information on how people can help save the park and talking to the media.
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is a 372-acre City of El Paso park located in southeast El Paso county near the town of Socorro, Texas. Every month John Sproul sends out bird reports on species recently seen in the park. The pictures below, not including commonly seen Morning Doves and White-winged Doves, are from his April 1-8, 2024 report. They are all examples of El Paso wildlife species that will be affected if the park is not fully protected.
Email Alert from Rio Bosque Wetlands Manager John Sproul
Friends of the Rio Bosque,
A reminder that the Texas Department of Transportation’s in-person open-house meetings on the Border Highway East project take place this Wednesday and Thursday:
Wednesday, May 1, 5 to 7 p.m., Clint High School, 13890 Alameda Ave., Clint, TX· Thursday, May 2, 5 to 7 p.m., Western Tech College, 2nd Floor, 9624 Plaza Circle (off Pan American Drive), El Paso, TX
You will also be able to access a pre-recorded video presentation on the project and all of the exhibits and other information being presented at the in-person meetings through the TxDOT website from Wednesday, May 1 at 5 p.m. through Thursday, May 16 at 11:59 p.m. The deadline for submitting comments to TxDOT is May 16.
Photo Credits
Courtesy Wikimedia Creative Commons
Flight of Blue-winged teal (cover) – Tom Wilberding
Single Blue-winged teal – Ken Mattison
Cinnamon Teal – Henry
Bufflehead – Rick Leche
Virginia Rail – Hal Trachtenberg
Sora – Doug Greenberg
Black-necked Stilt – Doug Greenberg
American Avocet – Mick Thompson
Ring-billed Gull – Ken Slade
Neotropic Cormorant – Bernard Dupont
Green Heron – Matt Stratmoen
Black-crowned Night-Heron – Veit
White-faced Ibis – Wendy Miller
Sharp-shinned Hawk – Wendy Miller
Cooper’s Hawk – Kenneth Cole Schneider
Great Horned Owl – Denis Founier
Burrowing Owl – Wendy Miller
Belted Kingfisher – Andrew Reding
Monk Parakeet – Ingeborg Van Leeuwen
Loggerhead Shrike – John Sutton
Crissal Thrasher – Grigory Heaton
Black-throated Sparrow – Wendy Miller
Conservation Education 