Environmentalism in Laredo:
waiting for Laredo to care about Laredo

By Chito Vela

Congratulations to Jim Earhart on being named Laredoan of the Year by the Laredo Morning Times. This marks the first time an environmentalist has received this award and demonstrates how much local concern for the environment has grown over the last decade. Laredo's rapid growth, increased pollution, and dwindling natural resources began as the concern of just a small group of activists, but quickly spread to include the entire community.
Jim Earhart's focus on protecting the Río Grande and its four tributary creeks in Laredo (Chacon, Zacate, Manadas, and Sombretillo) is exactly the right approach. In Laredo's dry desert climate, water is our most scarce and most valuable natural resource. By leaving rivers and creeks in their natural states they filter and clean the water that flows through them. When creeks are bulldozed and paved, they become little more than gutters. With the Environmental Protection Administration's ruling that federal law protected Manadas Creek, local government now has a mandate to protect not just Manadas Creek, but also all of Laredo's major creeks.
So what is the city doing to protect the creeks? The recent property exchange with the Tex-Mex railroad is a good example. As part of the deal the city will get a strip of land along the river from Zacate Creek to Chacon Creek, allowing them to connect the two creeks with hike and bike trails. This deal, when combined with the El Portal project, which will create a riverfront park from Laredo Community College to the mouth of Zacate Creek, means that Laredo could soon have a five mile long riverfront park complete with hike and bike trails. This protects the environment, creates recreational opportunities, and improves our quality of life.
Though it seems like the city is finally getting serious about protecting the environment, there is still a long way to go. The city must continue to aggressively acquire property along the river and creeks and turn it into parkland. Laredo still needs a "Central Park" -- a 200-plus acre park in the heart of the city. Additionally, the recommendations of the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee should be taken very seriously by City Council. Finally, the city should transfer the responsibility for recycling from the public works department to the newly formed Environmental Services Department.
What about the county and the state? What can they do to improve the environment? Just as the city should acquire parkland along the riverbanks in Laredo, Webb County should buy riverfront property in northwestern Webb County and create a major county park there. Even better would be a partnership between the county and the state to both build parks in the same area. Northwestern Webb County is very rural and uninhabited, and would be a perfect site for a 3,000-acre county park. The state should acquire 12,000 acres of parkland along the river in northwestern Webb, Dimmit, and Maverick counties, thereby establishing a riverfront state park in the area and keeping long stretches of land along the river in their natural state. In addition to the environmental benefits, there could be economic benefits as well. Eco-tourism is a growing industry, and the creation of a major state park in the area would create many new opportunities. Laredo already has an excellent reputation among hunters, but is virtually unknown for camping, hiking, and horseback riding.
During a recent camping trip to Big Bend National Park, I swam in the Río Grande for the first time in my life. Although I grew up in Laredo just two miles from the river, I had never even dipped my toe in the water. I have visited the Río Grande at many different points along the Texas-Mexico border. In El Paso, Del Río, Zapata, and Brownsville there are parks along the Río Grande, yet in Laredo there is none. If environmentalism is going to take root and grow in this community, Laredoans must be able to enjoy nature in their own community. How much less illegal dumping would there be in Laredo's creeks if people walked or jogged along them every evening? How much safer and cleaner would the river be if it was used for recreation? You must use the land to appreciate it. When Laredoans can enjoy the natural beauty in their own community, they will seek to protect and preserve it.