Transcript:
The Alpine City Council meets tomorrow to discuss – among other agenda items – the QUOTE “wild hog problem” in the city. According to the agenda for the meeting, the council will hear concerns from residents – but isn’t set to take action on possible solutions to the issue.
The Alpine City Council meets at 5:30 at the council chambers located at 803 W. Holland Avenue.
National parks across the country –– including Big Bend and Guadalupe National Parks –– are gearing up for the Spring Break season, which park advocates say could be disrupted following the dismissal of at least 1,000 National Park Service employees last month.
According to Bill Wade with the Association of National Park Rangers, at least FIVE park rangers at Big Bend National Park were part of the layoffs.
“There’s just a lot of, I guess I would call it, I’ve heard the term ‘devastation’ is used. You know some anger, and still a lot of confusion, I guess, about what’s going to be the outcome of all of this.”
National parks advocates have warned that less staff means there are now fewer park rangers to help hikers in need.
Wade says the firings could also result in reduced hours at visitor centers, longer lines to get to trails, and could even lead to dirtier facilities.
“During the Spring Break season, and on into the summer season, I think visitors are going to see some impact to their experience when they go into some parks at least.”
It’s unclear what this year’s tourism season will look like, but the park has seen an uptick in visitation in recent years. Visitation reached an all-time high during the pandemic – with nearly 580,000 visitors making the trek to the park in 2021.
Last year, that number was closer to about 564,000.
Blue Origin has announced its next crewed flight will be sometime this spring.
The space tourism company says it will launch its New Shepard rocket with a crew for the eleventh time. That all-female crew -– selected by Jeff Bezo’s fiancée and journalist Lauren Sánchez – includes pop star Katy Perry and reporter Gayle King among others.
The suborbital flight will launch from the company’s facility just north of Van Horn.
The Big Bend Wildlife & Wine Fest is looking for vendors to participate in this month’s event happening in Terlingua. Organizers are offering free vendor spots for locals and nonprofits. If interested, send an email to Bigbendspringbreak@gmail.com
The event runs from March 11th to the 13th.
The Cactus & Succulent Sale at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute starts next Monday, March 10. Organizers are looking for volunteers for two separate shifts – from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and from noon to 2:00 p.m.
Breakfast, snacks and lunch will be served to volunteers. To volunteer, email: events@cdri.org.
The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a high wind watch for this afternoon and tomorrow for the Guadalupe, Delaware and Davis mountains. Forecasters say winds could reach anywhere from 40 to 50 miles per hour up in the mountains and gusts could reach up to 70 miles per hour.
With today’s winds, warm temperatures, and low humidity, the National Weather Service also says there’s a high chance for fire danger in the region. To help reduce the chance for spreading fire, they say to avoid driving over dry grass and outdoor burning of any kind.
This has been your local and area news report for KVLF 98.7 FM, 1240 AM and KALP 92.7 FM
Local news can be found on our website at bigbendradio.com.