|
|
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 656
|
|
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to |
|
recognize the value and the beauty of the dark night skies over |
|
Big Bend Ranch State Park; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Big Bend Ranch State Park is the largest state |
|
park in Texas; it covers 311,000 acres in West Texas between |
|
Presidio and Lajitas; the park is bordered on the south by Farm to |
|
Market Road 170, which runs along the Rio Grande and the |
|
international boundary to Mexico; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In addition to excellent stargazing, the park |
|
offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy hiking trails, mountain |
|
biking, recreation areas, primitive camping, and river access; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Big Bend Ranch State Park has received worldwide |
|
recognition for having some of the darkest night skies in the |
|
world; with a night sky rating of Class 1, or "absolute darkest |
|
skies" on the Bortle Light Pollution Scale, the park offers the |
|
perfect venue for astronomical observations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In an effort to preserve the view at night, seven |
|
counties and their cities in the Big Bend area have passed |
|
ordinances against avoidable light pollution; these efforts have |
|
focused on eliminating light sources that hamper observations of |
|
the night sky, such as those carried out at the McDonald |
|
Observatory, one of the state's most valuable assets, which is |
|
located near Fort Davis; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The dark skies of Big Bend allow everyone to |
|
become an astronomer and to view millions of stars otherwise |
|
obscured by the light pollution that plagues modern society; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Big Bend Ranch State Park is located near the |
|
border city of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico; our good neighbors to |
|
the south have also taken steps to reduce light pollution and |
|
save electrical energy by installing 1,000 light-emitting diode |
|
downward-oriented street lights, with more reduced lighting to |
|
come; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Tourism is the lifeblood of the Big Bend area's |
|
economy, and it is important to be able to market Big Bend Ranch |
|
State Park as a year-round astronomy destination for such events |
|
as star parties, amateur astronomer gatherings, nighttime |
|
photography sessions, and school or university field trips as |
|
well as for general tourism; the renewed focus on the Dark Skies |
|
of Texas will bring new jobs and revenue to an otherwise |
|
under-utilized area of Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The City of Presidio and Big Bend Ranch State Park |
|
are hosting the Texas Dark Skies Festival on the last weekend of |
|
October; the festival features activities related to astronomy, |
|
outer space, science fiction, and other "out of this world" |
|
topicsandisbeingheldonHalloweenweekendsconcurrentwith |
|
Presidio's annual "Dude of the Dead" Music Festival; these events |
|
combine education, fun, food, and music into a massive Border |
|
Zone event for all to enjoy under the Dark Skies of Texas; now, |
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th |
|
Legislature, hereby recognize the Dark Skies of Texas at Big Bend |
|
Ranch State Park and commend the surrounding communities for |
|
their efforts to preserve this valuable and unique Texas |
|
treasure. |
|
|
Rodríguez |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
President of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
I hereby certify that the |
|
|
above Resolution was adopted by |
|
|
the Senate on April 30, 2015. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
Member, Texas Senate |