Texas Darcy Kiefel
Spring 2008 Volume 8 No 1 Texas State Office 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1550 Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 478-4644 Houston-Galveston Office 1113 Vine Street, Suite 115 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 226-7200 North Texas Office P.O. Box 223928 Dallas, Texas 75222 (214) 741-3600 San Antonio Office 922 Isom Road, Suite 100 San Antonio, Texas 78216 (210) 340-4715 Nan McRaven: Texas State Director Julie Brown: Development Director Niels Brown: Project Manager, North Texas Christianne Cecil: Administrative Assistant Meg Naumann: Associate Regional Development Director, Texas Gail O’Connor: Project Manager, Central Texas James Sharp: Public Affairs and Programs Manager Linda Shead: Program Director, Houston/Galveston Dianne Stroman: Project Manager, North Texas Holli Swick: Program Associate, Houston/Galveston Laura Sykes: Project Manager, Houston/Galveston
The Trust for Public Land conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.
Saving special places for Texans is George Bristol’s business. George worked closely with The Trust for Public Land in the effort to raise nearly $10 million to conserve 400 acres of natural land at Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth in 2007. These nature-loving explorers, pictured above, are some of the first to experience the future public park’s quiet, flowing meadow.
Saving Our Parks How George Bristol Became a Conservation Hero for Texas
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Around a campfire and among fellow explorers, Cornelius Hedges conceived a new idea: conserving land for people. Rather than capitalize on the plentiful resources they discovered at Yellowstone, these men favored setting aside in perpetuity the magnificent Yellowstone lands for all to enjoy. On that night in 1870, the national parks movement began to take root, and in 1872 Yellowstone became America’s first national park. Our national park system today is comprised of 391 special places that inspired generations of pioneers and define our heritage—treasures admired and emulated the world over. Indeed, the concept of publicly owned, publicly accessible lands is one of America’s
best ideas. To George Bristol, the idea is truly America’s most original. Like our national parks and natural areas, our state and local parks systems provide invaluable resources. Parks reflect our community—who we are, where we came from, what we aspire to be. As more Texans move to urban places, new parks and public natural areas must balance urban development. But the land conservation movement does not stop at new parks. Thanks largely to George’s efforts, today there is more focus in Texas on the benefits of parks and the need to fund them on a sustainable basis to keep them attractive and attracting. For the last three legislative sessions, George Bristol and supporting (continued on page 9)