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In
the year 2000 the people living in Edwards County, Texas , decided to start
the new millennium off with the creation of something that would give our
rural area an economic boost. We
invited a panel of helpful people from Austin who specialize in helping the
poorer areas of the state recognize and develop their resources. Our county has 2,120 square miles with an
average of one person per square mile.
There are three population centers.
Carta Valley once was a ranching community of about 200 people in the
far western part of Edwards County (elev. 1850 ft.). Now only two families live there, a total
of 12. Barksdale is in the farthest
southeast extremity of the county, is
on the Nueces River, and has a population of about 422 (elev. 1,640
ft.). Up on the plateau Rocksprings,
the county seat, is near the center of the county and has a population of
1,285 (elev. 2,410 ft.). The Balcones Escarpment runs diagonally through the
county (NE—SW) with a drop off of about 1,000 feet. The average rainfall is about 21 inches a
year. There is little topsoil and what
there is is quite alkaline. Limestone
is the prevalent bedrock, providing a
natural filtering system for the ground water. In
2000 we had dozens of meetings with 80 to 500 people attending, exchanging
ideas, examining the pros and cons of possible projects, and sharing
specialized knowledge of distinct areas of the county. Just 8 miles from Rocksprings there is a
1,860 acre Nationally
Registered Natural Landmark known
to the locals as The Devil’s
Sinkhole. It is the largest single-chambered cavern in the state of
Texas and the third deepest, measuring over 361 feet deep. This State
Natural Area is
home for three to four million bats
that migrate to Texas every summer. Texas Parks and Wildlife, who manage the
area, was willing to allow controlled access to the Sinkhole provided some
strict rules were maintained. Project 2000, as we named our economic
search, rejected bottling our delicious water that comes from the Trinity
aquifer (too difficult to obtain all of the permissions, inspections,
training for a small community such as ours), rejected promoting music concerts
(our sewage treatment would be inadequate and very, very expensive to
upgrade), rejected building a television station (too expensive even though
there were generous grants available.) and rejected about 25 other concepts
(some as too hare-brained, some as not ambitious enough , etc.). Finally we decided that we could offer
guided tours to the Sinkhole. About 45
people formed a non-profit corporation, naming it the Devil’s Sinkhole Society. When
it became obvious that the Texas Parks and Wildlife was interested in having
increased controlled public access to the Sinkhole, a private support group
was formed to orchestrate the creation of guided tours. This group named itself the Devil’s
Sinkhole Society. The
tours begin at the Rocksprings Visitor Center that is only eight miles from
the Sinkhole. The Society and the
Rocksprings Visitor Center is funded by tour income, the sale of merchandise,
fundraisers, donations, grants and
membership dues. There is a
partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife that makes available the expertise
of that Department and is also a source of material and financial
support. Bat Conservation
International has been very supportive and will continue to be involved,
especially with educational activities.
The Edwards County Road Department helped establish an access road to
the Sinkhole. Later TxDOT paved this road. There
are nearly 150 members and many volunteers.
All workers at the Visitor Center, the tour guides and tour bus
drivers are volunteers. The Society
has no salaried employees. The tours begin at the Rocksprings
Visitors Center that is only eight miles
from the Sinkhole. The Society and the Rocksprings Visitor Center is funded by tour income, the sale of merchandise, fundraisers,
donations, grants and membership dues.
There is a partnership with Texas
Parks and Wildlife that makes available the expertise of that
Department and is also a source of material and financial support. Bat
Conservation International has been very supportive
and will continue to be involved, especially with educational
activities. |
