RGISC annual report tells of City's efforts
to focus on environmental issues

Dr. Jim Earhart presented the Annual Report to the members of the Río Grande International Study Center (RGISC) on May 18, updating the membership on the role of RGISC in fomenting positive environmental changes across the community.
Earhart was laudatory and positive about those in city administration who have worked shoulder to shoulder with RGISC to identify environmental problems and to do something about them. He spoke of a good working relationship with Mayor Betty Flores, City Manager Larry Dovalina, and Environmental Services Department (ESD) Director Riazul Mia.
The ESD, Earhart said, "is working diligently to help improve and enforce ordinances designed to protect resources such as air, water, and green space." He also thanked RGISC volunteers who have given their time and effort on many occasions to help with citywide household hazardous waste collections and on city-sponsored cleanups for Dia del Río and Las Palmas Park. He also thanked RGISC's "small, but motivated and efficient paid staff who help us maintain continuity."
Earhart recounted RGISC's work with the Laredo Morning Times and Laredo Community College to host the 2002 Green Forums which helped underscore the importance of environmental issues to the citizens of Laredo, Webb County, and the State of Texas.
He recounted the effort to bring attention to a nearly destroyed woodland on Manadas Creek and thanked The Laredo Morning Times and Tricia Cortez for helping to focus community attention to the area, attention which resulted in citations to the landowners from the EPA and the City of Laredo.He said that the students and teachers of Alma Pierce School adopted the cause and were relentless in their attention to the beleagured and degraded creek.
Earhart said that RGISC has continued its work with the City of Laredo through the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee (CEAC) to improve ordinances and to educate the public about the various environmental programs sponsored by the City of Laredo. RGISC is working with the Green Space Preservation Subcommittee of the CEAC to draft ordinance changes that will provide a system of green native vegetative buffers along Laredo creeks.
The Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center, a component of LCC and the child of RGISC, continues to grow and prosper, Earhart said of the unique learning facility that offers Laredoans and visitors a new perspective on natural resources, native fauna, native plant species, and conservation. He said that as of the third anniversary of the Center, April 16, 2002, 32,000 visitors had attended the Center since its opening.
Earhart said that RGISC continues its historic work with Meg Guerra and LareDOS, which keeps news of the environment on the front burner. "This journal has focused on environmental issues since its beginning nearly eight years ago," he said.
Earhart said that under the expert leadership of Dr. Tom Vaughan, RGISC continues to maintain and operate its environmental monitoring of the Río Grande. " This program has resulted in thousands of hours of volunteer work yielding valuable information about water quality in the Laredo stretch of the Río Grande. The data collected has been used to educate the local community as well as being submitted to local and state agencies for developing an overview of water quality in our region. Numerous students and other citizens have gained first hand experience about water quality and its importance under the tutelage of Dr. Vaughan," Earhart said.
Earhart cited Dia Del Río 2001 as "another great success." RGISC, he continued, worked with PIARB, its sister organization in Nuevo Laredo, to develop a week of activities on both sides of the river. RGISC assisted the City of Laredo in developing the new Las Palmas Nature Trail between Bridge II and the mouth of Zacate Creek. City employees did a tremendous job of constructing footbridges and other amenities to a really exciting trail available to local citizen, tourists, and birders. Five hundred volunteers provided great effort in putting finishing touches on the trail. Two hundred other volunteers worked on the Paso del Indio Nature Trail that same day.
Thanks to the efforts of RGISC volunteers from all walks of life, the Paso Del Indio Nature Trail on the LCC campus has become a popular place for walks, jogs, and even races. It has also become an excellent vantage for birders and those who like to watch wildlife like jackrabbits or gray fox. Earhart said that when the River Bend Trail is completed in the next three years, the Paso del Indio will become connected to the Las Palmas Trail providing miles of nature trail enjoyment along the Río Grande.
"We have had a very eventful year," Earhart said, continuing, "Goals have been achieved which helps to fuel efforts to work toward our seemingly daunting mission. These achievements have been possible because people working in politics, governmental agencies, and education have been inspired to believe that, in their capacities, they can make a difference. These goals have been achieved because volunteers have persevered when success seemed improbable if not impossible. Through the efforts of many individuals we have made positive steps toward achieving our original mission of improving water quality in the Río Grande through research, education, and binational cooperation."
He concluded, "Now we must add to our mission the quest for improving water quantity in the river. Employing conservation techniques throughout the watershed can do this. The two major aspects of conserving the water flow in the Río Grande include improving agricultural irrigation techniques and the eradication of salt cedar. RGISC will be working with stakeholders in the watershed to help incorporate these ideas into a basin wide approach to water conservation."
Members of the RGISC Board of Directors include Dr. Thomas Vaughan, President; Dr. Jacinto Juarez, Vice President; Pamela Vaughan, Secretary; Jeff Jones, Treasurer; Dr, Jim Earhart, Executive Director; Dr. Rolando Guerra; Danny Gunn; Mr. Luiz Zapata; Sonia Rodriguez; Rogelio Rodriguez; and Sylvia Rodriguez.