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Article: Big Bend's big problems; Drought and smog imperil a national treasure, heightening calls for cross-border conservation.(USA)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- November 18, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Kris Axtman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS -- Jon Bohach knows the frustration. As a longtime river guide, he remembers when rafting down the Rio Grande, with its roiling haystacks, was a wild adrenaline rush. Now, it's more like canoeing in a bathtub. In fact, if the boat goes over, all you have to do is stand up - and you won't even get your shorts wet.
A decade of drought and greater water use on the Rio Grande have been turning some stretches of the once-mighty river into dry gravel. In May, it stopped flowing in Big Bend National Park for the first time since the 1950s. "People call and ask about ...