Sierra Club monthly program: Big Bend Conservation Alliance

Happy Hour /food and beverages (http://www.scholzgarten.com/menus-and-specials.html): 6-7 pm

Socializing and informal discussions on current events: 6-7 pm

Announcements and program begin at 7 pm

Program: Big Bend Conservation Alliance with Matt Lara

The Big Bend Conservation Alliance (http://www.bigbendconservationalliance.org/) (BBCA) was formed in response to the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, a 148 mile long, high-pressure natural gas line that was the first of its kind in the Big Bend region, and has the potential to become an entry-point for further industrialization of one of the last wild placed in Texas. BBCA continues to work in response to the Trans-Pecos Pipeline by holding Energy Transfer Partners and their affiliates accountable for safety practices, remediation, and water-use/disposal. BBCA also works to make both state and federal agencies more accountable for protecting the interests and private property rights of the communities they serve, and not the bottom-line of the industries they regulate.

This presentation will focus on those follow-up efforts to the Trans-Pecos pipeline, as well as a set of programs ongoing at BBCA that focus on building strategic alliances in the region to address issues concerning land-use, water, dark skies, cultural resources, and industrial threats.

https://www.nationalparks.org/sites/default/files/styles/wide_2x/public/big_bend_74133.jpg

Matt Lara is an electrical engineer and musician living in Spicewood, who is connected to the Big Bend through his love of the region’s natural environment and a deep personal connection to the people that inhabit it. Matt is a board member with the Big Bend Conservation Alliance and also Vice President of the Hill Country Alliance.

Pre-Meeting Postcard Writing Session: We'll have a table for signing petitions and writing postcards to our government leaders between 6:30 and 7:00pm. Please come early to take action!

Consider biking, carpooling, or taking Cap Metro (http://www.capmetro.org/planner) to the meeting. Free parking is available after 6pm on San Jacinto and nearby streets.