Heard this yesterday on the radio during the drive home. I'm sure it's old news to those of you residing in the Panhandle/South Plains, but it was the first I had heard of it down here. (In any case, I like it when PDC gets publicity in a national venue ... good grief, I still run into Texans here on the Gulf Coast who have no clue about its existence ...)

LINK - NPR

quote:

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But what if instead of juniper and mesquite trees along the of canyon rim, there were hundreds of luxury homes with swimming pools, BMWs, gas grills, wrought iron fences and a championship golf course?

For the last 20 years, development south of Amarillo, Texas, has slowly been pushing toward the park.

Last year, the owner of one large ranch that abuts the canyon decided to sell his 3,000 acres to developers. Six miles of canyon rim overlooking the heart of Palo Duro Canyon would have been transformed into a high-end suburb. The park's charm — its feeling of exquisite isolation — would have been lost forever.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sent out an alarm that was picked up by a San Francisco group called The Trust For Public Land.

"You really have to go to the canyon to appreciate it and appreciate those views and understand why this particular viewshed it was so important to the preservation of the park," says Nan McRaven, who heads the group. McRaven helped build a public/private coalition that raised $5.2 million to buy the ranch.

Last month, the deed to the property was transfered to the park.

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[This message has been edited by BrazosBendHorn (edited 11/14/2008 8:36a).]