“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” — Lady Bird Johnson
Nature is fascinating. She plays by her own rules and sets her own pace. There is wonder in her wilderness and marvel in her charm. There is no arguing with nature, no room for interpretation. She simply and unapologetically is. Like with any good gift, she is ours to enjoy, but also ours to steward and protect. We cannot have one without the other.
In far West Texas lies a captivating landscape called the Trans-Pecos region. Home to dust storms, tumbleweeds and apparent lifelessness, this dry desert plain morphs suddenly into the grandeur of the Davis Mountain range, which is home to a plethora of vegetation, birds, reptiles and mammals. The habitat and the species populations seemingly don’t fit together. However, scattered around the base of the lofty vistas lie a series of rich springs, providing precious water to the surrounding ecosystem. Most notably, just a few miles outside the Davis Mountains, in the city of Balmorhea, runs a collection of lush, artisanal springs with a flow rate of around 15 million gallons per day, called the San Solomon Springs. In 1933, the Texas State Parks Board purchased the springs and 46 surrounding acres, creating Balmorhea State Park. Shortly after, under FDR’s New Deal, The Civilian Conservation Corps was hired to construct a 1.3-acre freshwater pool around the springs, which would become one of Texas’ most popular destinations for locals and tourists alike.
While being a gathering spot for recreational use, San Solomon Springs, and specifically the Balmorhea Pool, is something so much more symbolic for conservation in Texas. Not only does the pool provide a place of tranquility for recreational use, but
