Conserving the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas

Big Bend Borderlands Ministry: Water Conservation, Rancher Collaboration & Creation Care in Marfa Traveling between Alpine and Marfa, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of the Rio Grande rides with the Reverend Mike Wallens, who serves Borderlands Ministry and five Big Bend congregations, as they head to Mexico to meet the mayor of Ojinaga and visit two shelters the ministry has supported for years. They discuss environmental work in the Big Bend focused on drought and grasslands, including collaboration with Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute and interim head Billy Tarrant, who convenes water conservation efforts, encourages measuring ranch water levels to assess aquifers, and promotes land practices that slow runoff, reduce flooding, and recharge groundwater to sustain streams and bird migration habitat. Wallens also describes a Creation Care grant-funded tree-planting project in Marfa’s low-income housing, with trees provided and planted with help from an Apache group and maintained by church members and residents. 00:00 Road to Marfa 00:31 Bishop on the Borderlands 01:18 Water and Grasslands 02:28 Ranchers and Aquifers 03:14 Wildlife and Migration 04:13 Restoring Water Flow 05:19 Tree Planting in Marfa 06:25 Closing Reflections