Designation needed for Rio Grande region

Eric Ellman called it the Plymouth Rock for Mexican-American history.

If Ellman, executive director of an organization that promotes the cultural and environmental aspects of the Rio Grande from Laredo to South Padre Island, and members of the South Texas delegation get their way, the historic Los Caminos del Rio could get another designation.

A bill filed by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, will start a process to designate the 200-mile corridor between the cities of Laredo and Brownsville known for early colonial Spanish settlements, military conflicts and recent trade growth as a National Heritage Corridor.

The designation, which is still at least a year away, would make the Los Caminos del Rio region the first in Texas to bear the national heritage designation. It would join 49 other regions of the country — including Niagara Falls and the Blue Ridge Mountains — with the designation that is given by Congress.

The designation helps local regions create partnerships with the National Park Service to gain exposure to their communities.

It also offers up to $1 million annually for 10 years to promote cultural heritage in the region and encourage preservation of important environmental resources such as the river, said Ellman, the executive director of Los Caminos del Rio, which began in 1991 with the purpose of getting Congress to designate the region as a National Heritage Corridor.

Ellman has focused his organization's efforts on promoting outdoor sports such as kayaking on the river and bicycle trails in its irrigation ditches, but he said the designation would also allow the region to tout its historic and cultural significance to the rest of the country.

“The fact is that this is the Plymouth Rock for Mexican-American history,” Ellman said. “It’s where we got this tradition of things like fajitas to Tejano music to now kayaking on the river.”

But first, the bill has to get passed.

Cuellar’s bill, supported by U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, and U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, authorizes the Interior Secretary to commission a study of the region within three years of the bill’s passage to determine the feasibility of designating the area as a National Heritage Corridor.

Cuellar, who testified in support of the bill before a subcommittee last week, said conducting a study on the need for the designation has the support of the U.S. National Park Service, which would be charged with protecting and developing the area.

“Whatever funding is provided will be used to develop the area,” Cuellar said. “This would be huge in the sense that it provides national exposure, protection to our area and it’s going to help with tourism.”

Hinojosa, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the study should showcase the region’s rich cultural history and its diverse ecosystems.

“This area showcases the legacy of early colonial settlements, the military conflicts that impacted Mexico, trade and agricultural significance,” he said. “It’s an area of regional and national importance that members of Congress don't know about.”

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.