Balmorhea State Park (Toyahvale, Texas)
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 56.661 W 103° 47.059
13R E 616127 N 3424068
Located in the arid region of West Texas, Balmorhea State Park is home to the San Solomon Springs: a natural desert wetland that hosts several endangered fish and other endemic aquatic life.
Waymark Code: WMTBNF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2016
Views: 1
"Balmorhea State Park is located on 45.9 acres in the foothills of the Davis Mountains southwest of Balmorhea in Reeves County. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early 1930s, the park was deeded in 1934 by private owners and Reeves County Water Improvement District No. 1. The park was opened in 1968.
The Balmorhea State Park Cienega Project, which recreated a desert wetland in West Texas, has won a 1998 Texas Quality Initiative Award for "innovation" from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and its cooperative partners. Described as a "classic win-win situation by organizations ranging from the Texas Organization for Endangered Species to the Cotton Council, the Balmorhea Cienega Project conceived by the Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) was awarded the TQI award for its unprecedented cooperative effort among the local farming community, and a host of state and federal agencies. The pacesetting project spearheaded by TPW fisheries biologist Dr. Gary Garrett brought together such diverse interests as the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency with the Texas Department of Agriculture, TxDOT, Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Reeves County Water Improvement District #1. Special acknowledgment goes to TPW staff David Riskind, Delton Daugherty, Kelly Bryan, Michael Young, and Tom Johnson.
The cienega now serves not only as an attractive habitat for endangered fish and other aquatic life, birds and other animals, but also as a tourism draw for Balmorhea State Park.
San Solomon Springs has provided water for travelers for thousands of years. Artifacts indicate Indians used the spring extensively before white men came to the area. In 1849, the springs were called Mescalero Springs for the Mescalero Apache Indians who watered their horses along its banks. The present name was given by the first settlers, Mexican farmers who used the water for their crops and hand-dug the first irrigation canals."
Source:
America's Parks website