Christmas in September

"Jingle bells, baby!" Texas State University System chancellor Brian McCall was all smiles this morning at the General Land Office as he and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced their big news: The Christmas Mountains are being transferred to TSU to become an open air classroom, open to students and academics from around the state.

This puts an end to a long and bitter fight between Patterson and many environmentalists, most of whom proposed that the land be transferred to the National Parks Service. Patterson had originally planned to sell the 9,720 acres of scrub and mountain adjoining Big Bend National Park, but this new deal means it stays in state hands, as intended by the Conservation Fund when they originally donated the land to Texas.

In a statement, TSU wrote, "The Christmas Mountains offer an extraordinary opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students at nearby Sul Ross State University to study bears, mule deer and Bighorn sheep and a variety of birds and lizards that inhabit the Chihuahuan Desert."

The deal comes with the backing of the same environmentalists that clashed so publicly with Patterson four years ago. Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club director Ken Kramer called the agreement "welcome news" and said, "We are especially gratified by the commitment of the Texas State University System that the Christmas Mountains will be not only an open-air classroom for students and researchers but also an area accessible to the public."