Hidalgo Falls Update
by Steve Daniel

For all those who were so generous in contributing money toward the Texas Rivers Protection Association purchase of the four additional acres overlooking Hidalgo Falls: good news. Last Wednesday, TRPA finally closed on the sale when Tom Goynes (TRPA president) came to College Station to sign the papers.
Many of you probably thought that all of this had been finished last summer, but the deal had been delayed by a number of factors. All during that time small bands of volunteers continued to work at the site, ultimately clearing away over 20 tons of debris. In order to get the money we needed for this prime spot, we had to sell 2.9 acres of our land downstream from the rapid and still needed an additional $15,000 to cover the difference. But as many of you know, paddlers from around the state came through with donations sufficient to guarantee that future boaters will have a wonderful paddlers' Park at Hidalgo Falls that is not threatened by residential and commercial development.
To get a better idea of what the new boundaries are, or to see photos of the site or the rapid, click on the links at http://philosophy.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/hidalgo.html .