h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My wife is a serious birder and travels to Big Bend regularly. We were quite interested in the reports of Texas Parks & Wildlife trying to sell off part of Big Bend Ranch State Park, close to Alpine, I think. Environmentalists seemed to think it was a terrible idea, but my wife is uncertain. The part being sold seemed to be pretty remote, and the money was supposed to be to improve the rest of the park. But all the "backroom" negotiations with some developer gave the whole thing a "smell", and the State reportedly dropped the plan.

The talk here in Alpine was there was going to be a type of rock grinding factory or something to the like built upon that land in question. There was a rather large regional outcry against the project and it seemed to have dissapeared as fast as it came into our lives.