Rio Texas

COMMENTARY
White-throated swifts carry insects to feed their young, nestled against the bottom of bridges along the Rio Grande.

Still Pools: Teeming with life at the edge

BY: - February 27, 2023

SUNLAND PARK — Below the crags of Mount Cristo Rey, a string of little pools in the riverbed reflect its steep hills and white cross perched atop the peak. Black-necked stilts pick their way across on shocking pink legs, pushing through vibrant grass. A lone peacock, gone feral, zips through the streambed, interrupting the mountain’s […]

John Sproul, manager of the Rio Bosque Park, waters a young willow.

A hidden gem of wetland near the Texas border fence

BY: - February 24, 2023

EL PASO — More than 300 acres of Rio Grande wetland is tucked away at the edge of El Paso city limits, abutting the border fence. The Rio Bosque Park, managed by the University of Texas at El Paso, is a prime example of water use in the West, requiring layers of red tape and […]

Estela Padilla recalls memories of the river from her youth in her home in El Paso, Texas.

‘It’s like a crime scene’ what’s happened to the Rio Grande in far west Texas

BY: - February 22, 2023

SOCORRO, TEXAS — Estela Padilla dreams of the Rio Grande, the river of her youth. In her home shaded by pine and pecan, Padilla, 77, said her heart is broken by the vast changes in what was once a mosaic of wild spaces. “My grandchildren cannot relate to my memory of the river because they […]

Salted earth at the tail of the Rio Grande’s snowmelt

BY: - February 20, 2023

EL PASO, Texas — The Rio Grande is strictly managed, apportioned and allocated beneath Elephant Butte Dam as it makes its way to Texas. Only when the dam is open does the water travel through El Paso, ferried in concrete-lined straight channels to Mexico’s reservoirs or to irrigation ditches downstream. The flows travel, sometimes spreading […]