I have my opinions but will leave it to those in authority to make the decisions, which they will anyway. Assuming they make any decisions.
Fritz ________________________________ From: Rod Goke [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 11:38 PM To: [email protected]; Fritz Holt Cc: Texascavers Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Re: cavers on archeo crews: Hueco Tanks "...picnickers and gang bangers from El Paso and elsewhere who were tagging the rocks with spray paint." How much time do you think will have to pass before that spray paint tagging becomes similarly protected and preserved as historically or archeologically significant "rock art"? What are the least old graffiti examples you know of that are now protected and preserved as being historically significant? Just wondering, Rod -----Original Message----- From: Logan McNatt Sent: Jan 21, 2011 8:59 PM To: Fritz Holt Cc: Texascavers Subject: [Texascavers] Re: cavers on archeo crews: Hueco Tanks Fritz, et al. The Texas Beyond History website also has a great exhibit on Hueco Tanks! It is a world class rock art site, first publicized in the book The Rock Art of Texas Indians (Kirkland and Newcomb, U.T. Press, 1967) . When I went back there on a project in 1999, TPWD had hired Evelyn Billo and Robert Mark to take digital photographs of "all" the pictographs, and there are thousands of them hidden away under hollow boulders, shelters, alcoves, you name it. Bob and Evelyn were staying in the same motel as our crew, and one night they excitedly called us to their room to see some of the photos. Bob had decided to experiment with digital enhancement (when did PhotoShop come out?), and discovered that many of the rock art panels suddenly exploded with images unseen by the proverbial naked eye. You can see some of the results on: Texas Beyond History Hueco Tanks website http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/hueco/index.html [you'll even see some old photos of Ron Ralph, Don Broussard, Steve Zeman & Dino Lowrey (with the basin metate), and me] and on the Rupestrian CyberServices website http://www.rupestrian.com/ Hueco Tanks is also a world class bouldering site, and therein lies the rub, quite literally. Thousands of boulderers from all over the world were spending the winter there. Unfortunately, many of the pictographs are under overhangs and other places that are also the best places to climb. Many of the pictographs are very difficult to see, and were being heavily impacted, not just by the boulderers, but by picnickers and gang bangers from El Paso and elsewhere who were tagging the rocks with spray paint. The sparse vegetation in the protected areas was also being wiped out. A classic problem with parks: balancing the recreational opportunities with the cultural and natural resources. Something cavers can certainly understand, with fragile caves such as Lechuguilla, Caverns of Sonora, etc. So there were contentious public hearings and angry letters to the editors from both sides. TPWD finally had to limit the number of people who could be in the park at any one time, and restrict or prohibit access to some of the more sensitive areas. After the news came out about Bob & Evelyn's work, I remember seeing a post on one of the climbing websites that said something like: "Oh great, now they're telling us we can't climb in places where there's rock art you can't even see! Reminds me of the current debates about how to deal with WNS. No easy answers. Hueco Tanks is a magical place. If you're ever traveling to the El Paso area, Carlsbad, or the Guads, it's worth a stop. Best to contact TPWD first to make reservations. Logan On 1/21/2011 2:40 PM, Fritz Holt wrote: While stationed at Ft. Bliss during the winter and spring of 1956 a civilian kid I met somewhere who had outdoor interests said he would show me something cool. The clear spring day was perfect for such a venture. We drove a few miles east of El Paso and made a left turn off of the highway onto a dirt and caliche road. If there was a fence or gate I don't remember it. A short drive took us on the north side of a range of low mountains and cliffs. We climbed around for probably three or four hours looking in the many shelter caves and crevasses. The ancient and colorful rock art was totally fascinating as were the rock formations themselves. Of course, there was also graffiti, some of it from the previous century. There was not another soul at this wondrous place known as Hueco Tanks, but possibly a few ancient spirits. Fritz, reliving the early years.
