By Theron Francis
On Friday, September 30, the Big Bend Sierra Club joined the Big Bend Stands with Standing Rock Solidarity March in Alpine to demonstrate against the Trans-Pecos Pipeline (TPPL) and express support for the Standing Rock Sioux, who are currently resisting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Both pipelines are projects of Energy Transfer Partners.
The Big Bend Sierra Club’s own Lori Glover planned the march, the potluck, the vigil, and symposia after attending the American Indian Movement of Central Texas’ September 2 protest at the Energy Transfer Partners headquarters in Dallas. Lori said she “heard the drumbeat” to act in Dallas.
The goal of the march, according to Lori, “was to bring our battle against the oil and gas infrastructure to national awareness. The industry’s assault on our communities and our landscape includes the TPPL, and fracking near Balmorhea to extract the Alpine High shale reserves. Energy Transfer Partners pipeline construction harms the Native Americans and the wider communities in the Northern and Southern extremes of the U.S. But really this is a global issue because these pipelines promote the continued extraction through fracking that pollutes our water, our air, and land while sending tons of high powered methane pollution into the atmosphere, shortening the lifespan of our planet.”
After the protest in Dallas, Lori contacted Yolanda Bluehorse and Frankie Orona of the American Indian Movement of Central Texas (AIMCTX) to help organize a march to show that TPPL and DAPL, which similarly impact human and natural communities, are related. Native American groups from across Texas and local tribal elders joined the residents of the Big Bend at Railroad Park in Alpine, where they issued position statements, spoke out against the destruction of the earth, and condemned the Trans-Pecos Pipeline.
In the first hour, the AIMCTX opened the event with chants, drums, and flags to bring the marchers together in solidarity. The speakers included Frankie Orona of AIMCTX; Jerry Lujan, Jumano Apache of Alberquerque; Oscar Rodriguez of the Lipan Apache from Santa Fe, who read a position statement by Tribal Chairman Bernard Barcena; Juan Mancias of the Carrizo-Comecrudo Tribe of South Texas; Chief William Hoff of the Tsalagiyi Nvdagi Cherokee of Valentine; Ramon Vasquez of the Tapapilam Coahuitecan Nation of San Antonio; David Keller of the Big Bend Conservation Alliance; Alyce Santoro of Defend Big Bend; Kit Jones of Progressive Allies Confluence; and Sister Elizabeth Riebschlaeger of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Together they then marched three and a half miles to the Pumpco staging site and the TPPL construction site on Highway 1703.
“We all felt a strong sense of community,” Lori said. The theme of the march was, “Water is sacred, water is life.” The marchers wore blue shirts and bandanas to show that when our water resources are attacked, we are attacked. “You can’t drink oil, keep it in the soil” was another refrain sung during the long march in the hot sun.
Pipelines break and their contents leak into the water table. During construction, water is wasted for dust control. Hydrostatic testing also wastes large amounts of water. In the long production cycle, methane gas, shipped through the pipeline will contribute to ocean acidification, and the death of the ecosystem upon which all other ecosystems depend.
The Trans-Pecos Pipeline also expands the regional gas production infrastructure, making the development of the Alpine High shale gas reserves across the Davis Mountains more feasible. According to Texas Monthly, Apache Oil boasts the gas play “holds as many as three billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion [cubic] feet of natural gas (worth up to $80 billion), all of which would take up to 3,000 wells to extract.” To do so, water for fracturing has been sought in the environs of Balmorhea. Fracturing itself and wastewater injection wells will introduce a soup of toxins into the water table, which can never be removed. Like air, poisoned water cannot be contained; it is fluid, it moves and affects everyone.
To plan the march, Lori Glover worked together with the concerned citizens and organizations, who oppose the Trans-Pecos Pipeline. Virginia Brotherton planned the evening potluck and provided a gathering place for friends and travelers. Alyce Santoro of Defend Big Bend, Mark Glover of the Sierra Club, and Jessica Lutz of the Big Bend Conservation Alliance all helped with public relations.
Glover also relied upon several regional environmental organizations for assistance. Matt Johnson of the Lone Star Sierra Club helped promote the event. Kit Johnson of the Texas Conservation Alliance provided much needed guidance and found sponsors for the event. Earthworks also spread the word among its members. Almost 200 people marched on the trek to the construction site. It was perhaps the largest demonstration in the history of the Big Bend. Among local Sierra Club marchers were Mark Glover, Stuart Crane, Theron Francis, Jill Godwin, and Susan Curry. Lori Glover led the march.
In the evening, many of the protesters joined a vigil led by Xoxi Nayapiltzin under the stars. Glover says the vigil was “a big circle: We stood and listened long to one another. Although our feet were tired, we listened closely to each other.”
Later in the evening, there was a jam session by musicians Charlie Pierce, Bruce Salmon, Robert Allan Caldwell, Jim Keaveny, Ezra Reynolds, Dr. Joe Sparacino, Jimmy Pizzitola, Charles Maxwell, Kendall Craig, and Rick Ruiz, which connected everyone even more.
The community then shared a potluck feast while watching a special performance of Matt Hardison’s play “The Good The Bad and the ?” by Sul Ross State University students.
On the day following the march, Juan Mancias and his people of the Carrizo-Comecrudo tribe traveled to Terlingua along with several activists and musicians to perform and then protest at a Kelcy Warren golf tournament in Lajitas.
News media also joined the march including Marfa Public Radio, Channel 9 News of Midland, Univision, Deceleration News, the Rivard Report, and the Big Bend Sentinel. The event was also mentioned by the El Paso Times, Austin Chronicle, and the Guardian.
The Sierra Club thanks Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson and Alpine Chief of Police Russell Scown for ensuring the demonstrators were safe. They helped to create a positive atmosphere of mutual respect. Collaborating across community organizations left Glover with a “wonderful feeling of empowerment.”