CBS 42) The rugged Big Bend wilderness of Christmas Mountain Ranch is slated for private ownership in less than 24 hours.
The Texas Land Office is confident about the sale. But critics are in a frenzy.
Sixteen years ago, part of the Christmas Mountain range near Big Bend was given as a gift to the state of Texas. But the nearly 10,000 acre donation came with a strict condition: no development. Because of that stipulation, the state says managing the mountains has been an uphill climb ever since.
“We're not able to manage the property even though we'd like to, and frankly I don't like to have my name on something that's not well managed,” Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said.
Forbidden from improving the tract by the conservation fund, the state now wants to sell it instead. That isn't sitting well with some.
“Texans are up in arms about this,” Environment Texas director Luke Metzger said. “Please don't sell this property. There are just a lot of questions that still have yet to be answered.”
But the land office has already accepted bids for the plot of property. State officials believe a private buyer can just do better.
“In order to really do what we believe to be the objective of the conservation fund, and that is to restore the land and make it a good habitat for wildlife, you've got to do certain things,” Patterson said. “And when we sell it to the successful bidder, I think it will be pretty much what's in their mind.
But critics warn that profiting off the preserve would hardly preserve trust in the state's ability to be a responsible steward of the land. The sale, they say, could be perceived as more of a sellout.
“The original donors have said that if the sale goes forward, they'll no longer donate land to the state of Texas,” Metzger said. “And our fear is that other donors may follow suit realizing that there's no sanctity in their donation.”
Patterson says the sale will go through unless new information surfaces. The deal's proceeds will benefit the school fund.
