Forgotten River Advisory Committee

TCPS coordinated the efforts of several environmental and public interest NGOs concerned with the state of the Rio Grande - particularly the stretch of the Rio Grande running just downstream of Fort Quitman to Big Bend National Park - known as the "Forgotten River." The Forgotten River Advisory Committee (FRAC) involves a number of groups from both the US and Mexico interested in exploring the possibility of reestablishing instream flows and native riparian habitat in this segment of river.

On June 14th, 2000, US Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Mexican Secretary for the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, Julia Carabias, met in Ciudad Juarez at a Binational Symposium to sing a Joint Declaration to explore the potential for restoration of this segment of the river. FRAC members provided input to symposium planners, ensured that NGI involvement was part of the agenda, and wrote a set of recommendations to both the Secretariats for continued NGO involvement and collaboration in accomplishing the goals of the Joint Declaration. TCPS, as coordinator of the FRAC effort, assisted partner NGOs to highlight the importance of this segment of the river for border communities, targeted outreach to landowners and the public in this stretch, and worked to provide information to decision makers about restoration goals.

FRAC Newsletters

• April 2001, "Going, Going, Gone... What's Happening ot the Río Grande?"
• October 2001, "Can Eliminating Saltcedar Save the Forgotten River?"