In the latest podcast episode, Romey Swanson, the Executive Director for the Devils River Conservancy, shares an intimate view of the group's mission to preserve the Devils River. This Texas waterway is a marvel of nature, celebrated for its clarity and ecological significance. Romey's dedication to this cause shines through as he discusses the complex relationship between land stewardship and collaborative conservation strategies that ensure the river's vitality.
The Devils River is one of the cleanest rivers in Texas, boasting a biodiverse ecosystem fed by spring waters. It's nestled in a delicate balance between public and private land stewardship, a testament to the commitment of local communities and conservation organizations working in tandem. The conservancy's partnerships with groups like the Nature Conservancy, and Texas Parks and Wildlife are vital, highlighting the power of collaboration in environmental protection.
Reflecting on nearly a year as Executive Director at the Conservancy, Romey recounts the organization's evolution and its role in fostering responsible environmental stewardship. Education and advocacy are at the forefront of their efforts, aiming to instill respect for the river and ensure its splendor remains unspoiled for future generations. Initiatives like the Devils River Access Permit Program underscore the importance of visitor preparedness and legal access, essential components in preserving the river's integrity.
The episode also delves into the strategic and day-to-day challenges of conservation. From managing visitor access to the river to navigating the intricacies of land ownership and public policy, the podcast paints a picture of the ongoing work required to safeguard natural treasures like the Devils River.
As the conversation turns to the practicalities of visiting the Devils River, listeners are guided through the preparation process and introduced to the various access points available to the public. Romey emphasizes the significance of education and proper preparation to prevent conflicts with landowners and to promote a culture of respect and appreciation for the river's pristine condition.
In conclusion, the episode stands as a call to action for listeners to become allies in the cause for conservation. It invites us to support the Devils River Conservancy's mission, either by visiting responsibly or by joining their membership program. The dialogue is not only a narrative of the conservancy's endeavors but also a reflection of the broader struggle for environmental preservation, one that resonates with all who value nature's gifts.
The Devils River story is one of passion, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the environment. Romey's mission is a beacon for all environmental advocates, reminding us of the importance of protecting the natural wonders that enrich our world.
You're more than welcome. This is going to be part two for everyone. If you haven't checked out the first version, you should. A little bit of longer format. This one's going to be kind of short and sweet because we didn't really get the time to dive into the DRC, the Devil's River Conservancy, of which you work and you're a huge part of that organization. I just wanted to make sure we shine the light on this, because it's a very important place in Texas, a very important program that you're a part of. As far as keeping this pristine and beautiful and enjoyed, it's a natural element. Let's just run on into it. Man, Tell us a little bit about the DRC, how you got involved, and we'll just kind of take it from there.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, thank you, george. So let me start off by saying that the Devil's River Conservancy. We'll just start with the mission statement. The mission is to preserve and protect the Devil's River and the lands within its basin. We're committed to promoting the significance of the Devil's River as a resource, as a landscape and as a culture.
Speaker 2:
In a lot of ways, when I'm moving away from the mission statement, I think of the Devil's River region, which, for folks that don't know, is a short but mighty river that's tucked in the southwestern corner of the state, generally between Sonora and Del Rio, although the basin's much larger and a bit more expansive than that. It's a tributary to the Rio Grande and enters into Lake Amistad, which is one of the reservoirs that the Pekas, the Rio and the Devil's feeds into. The area is one of rugged landscapes associated with the westernmost extent of the Edwards Plateau or Central Texas. We have this cool sort of influence of habitat coming in from South Texas and that Tonalipin Thorn scrub habitat, and then also the easternmost extent of the Chihuahuan Desert. So you have these three eco regions, sort of culminating on this one geography, creating this incredible abundance of biodiversity, this dry, harsh, rugged, cobbled limestone landscape, but then you have this river that cuts through it, that is, you know, can be described as this Caribbean blue line that supports a unique ecosystem within this desert landscape that is more akin to a Central Texas or Hill Country River. A lot of the trees will be familiar and they grow in this very thin riparian zone associated with the river. It's largely been protected to date by the stewardship of private lands and this is a fiercely protected private property stewardship minded community that has done a lot of the work of providing this pristine landscape that we cherish.
Speaker 2:
There has been some state and federal investment in land acquisition in this area. We have two state natural areas along the river. State natural areas are part of the parks program with Texas Parks and Wildlife, but it's managed a bit differently in that these lands are managed first for the resource and secondarily for the recreation. So this isn't like a Garner State Park type of situation where you're going to have a restaurant at Dance Hall and like a billion camping sites on top of one another. This is, you know, dirt Kalichi, dirt roads that wash out after storms, limited, low impact camping, very primitive, and in a real sense of this resource is why you're here and all of this pristine wilderness and the spiritual experience that you can have associated with it. And they manage that way which we, which we appreciate, and then also the river feeds into.
Speaker 2:
As I mentioned, lake Amistad, which all of the shoreline around the lake and up into the arms of the Pekas and the Devils and along the Rio, are all managed federal lands in the National Park Service System and there's lots of cool hunting and recreational opportunities, boating opportunities associated with that. So you see this sort of public-private partnership Really having protected this area in sort of complimenting the really good work of private lands managers, ranchers and farmers, and you know we see quite a bit more of the, you know weekend recreational hunting operations and a growing sector around ecotourism, just this primitive landscape attracting folks to kind of hang in, cherish the river and the landscapes and treasure it and sort of go back, sort of moved, that's to say. You know, this is what you know. Texas may have looked like, you know, 100 years ago. It's largely unspoiled. So it's this very rare sort of currents in the state where you have a river that today looks not much different than it probably did 100 years ago, and I think that's one of the unique things about the Devils River. It's also largely considered to be the most the cleanest river, the most pristine river in the state of Texas, or at least one of them, and we see that some water quality standards are set according to the Devils River because of how pristine the river's 100% spring-fed flow. So there's this beautiful relationship between the rain that falls out of the sky, that then percolates through the ranches into the ground, and then that groundwater swells up, feeding these springs that create the wet portion of the Devils River, about 44 or so miles. The river itself is, you know, much longer than that, but most of it's dry and it starts off there in Central Valverde County for the wet and perennial reaches. So that's a little bit of an overview of the river.
Speaker 2:
The Devil's River Conservancy is the only organization that's dedicated entirely to the Devil's River. It's stewardship, it's protection, it's advocacy. We are strong partners with other conservation-minded entities, including the Nature Conservancy that's made huge investments in the Devil's River region, texas Parks and Wildlife. As I mentioned earlier, texas Agricultural Land Trust is another good partner. The two land trusts that I just mentioned Nature Conservancy and Texas Agricultural Land Trust they both hold easements in and around the Devil's River. So these are, if you go back to our previous conversation talking about easements, these are privately owned and managed lands that are forever protected, encumbered with a conservation easement, which is a legal tool that restricts development, but not very many uses, or the traditional uses in particular.
Speaker 2:
And what we can boast is that within our river basin, we and in Balberti County where the river, the wet portion of the river flows, we have more privately conserved acreage than 253 other counties in the state, or number two or 252 counties. So because we are number two, that would mean there's only one that's beating us, and that, to me, means that that's a voluntary, maybe the ultimate stewardship sacrifice made by a private land owner, and it's one that's done voluntarily there's no requirement that they do this work and it creates a culture around our county and community and associated with our river, one that says we care deeply about this river, its protection, its stewardship and its availability in the future for future generations of Texans. That's a bit of a rarity in my mind. Like I said, there's 254 counties in the state, we're number two and that means that there's a lot of other counties that don't have quite as many acres or the culture more importantly, I believe so, whenever we're raising a little bit of hell about wind energy siding in our county, I say the way that we're different than a lot of other communities that are raising the same types of hell is that we and our landowners in this basin have made these sacrifices to create a culture and we hope that that culture's appreciated and respected not only by our neighbors and our visitors, but also by the decision makers in public policy. So I mean, without digging too deep into that subject, that's sort of what the Devils River Conservancy, some of what the Devils River Conservancy is. We have big investments in liaisoning in support of research to understand the groundwater, to understand the relationship back with surface water, the ecology, all of these very special, oftentimes minuscule species that exist maybe only in the Devils River or in the river and only a handful of other places in the world. So it's a very special, very unique ecosystem. And lastly I'm sorry there's a bit of a monologue here. No, this is good stuff.
Speaker 2:
I came here. It'll be a year and about, so today's March 19th, and my first day was April 1st 2023. I assume the role of executive director with Dells River Conservancy almost a year ago. It's been a great change for me and, I believe, from my board and for this organization. We think of ourselves now 14 years old. We were established in December of 2010, almost 14 years old, as sort of reaching our adolescence. We're our maturing phase. We're not a startup anymore. We're an impactful organization with a well known and recognized brand associated with preserving, protecting and treasuring the Dells River and, ultimately, the landowners, including their public partners, that affect that stewardship here, while also, at the same time, promoting strong, responsible and respectful advocates that come here to utilize it recreation. We love those folks that come here seeking, despite, you know, pristine wilderness experience, and not necessarily those that are here to kind of conquer the river. This isn't necessarily the type of ethos that we want to present or support, so we're really trying to control the narrative around respect and responsible use.
Speaker 1:
That's very important, man. There's a reason that it's so pristine we want to keep that for future generations to enjoy and for people who are looking to. I mean, obviously, I'll send them to your website too, but if they're looking to go and visit and check this out in person, I know that you, you know we talked about there's about a 90 mile stretch, of which you know 40 something is above ground, the other is below ground, which is helps filter all that water and kind of keep it that pristine. To the end of itself is an ecological wonder, and I was curious about where are some spots that people are able to drop in, being that it's, you know, private land around, so much of it, but yet it is a river that we can enjoy publicly.
Speaker 1:
Where are some places that people can go, or some major drop in locations? Or, as far as you know, is there a check in place? What is that that you know? For people who are wanting to take advantage of this and go visit this, how would you direct them to kind of move through that? You know, maybe one, starting by looking at your website. But then, as far as like the visitation side, you know, let's talk about that, yeah yeah, no.
Speaker 2:
So we have a website, devilsriverconservancyorg. That is chock full of information. So you can, you can first go there to get a little bit of background. We have this wonderful database that we're about to start refreshing. That includes tons and tons of literature and articles, lots of scientific papers. You can get pretty technical in there, but there's also some popular articles to just kind of go through the annals of what is known and what has been written about the devils.
Speaker 2:
So you know, if I, if someone feels that they, you know, beyond the pretty pictures and and some of the writing, that they need to really changeably experience it, I would encourage them to first check out the devils river state natural area. Del Norte unit that's our northern, most 20,000 acres state parks owned. Unit, again, manages a state natural area. So there's, you know, limited primitive camping. You need to have some familiarity with the region and what it's like running down, you know, 30 miles of ranch Kaleachee road that can wash out and is rocky. But I would say, go there, get a reservation through the devils river state natural area website. At Texas parks and wildlife there's a little bit of river access, that point. We're also working with Parks and Wildlife and looking forward to the opening of the Southern Unit, the Dan Allen Hughes Unit of Devils River State and Natural Area, which is about 18,000 acres. It has more river frontage. It'll be another low impact, low development, park system facilities, and the timeline for that one opening up is yet to be determined, but they're looking at probably as early as spring of 2025 for fully opening.
Speaker 2:
And then we do have some unique opportunities around in the private sector. So explore ranches, utilize the Hudsmouth Ranch, which includes the headwater springs of the Devils River as part of the offerings on occasion, so you can sort of rent a ranch and that's an incredible opportunity. And then there's some interesting recreational opportunities around river access with private lands and private landowners of state natural areas. If you're a bird watcher, I would encourage folks to check out Burding the Border with AgriLife Extension Services. They have a unique festival centered out of Del Rio, with trips that go out there for birds Watching purposes.
Speaker 2:
And then, finally, the river itself is is patable or paddle paddleable. So you can paddle the river and the best way to do that is to utilize the Devils River Access Permit Program. It is a text parks and wildlife administered permitting program that's available in the state Program. It is a text, parks and wildlife administered permitting program that pairs you, potentially pairs you, with a good shuttler or outfitter. That can you know. You can always do your own trip, that's.
Speaker 2:
That's fine, but we do encourage especially first timers or those that lack a little bit of experience and really need some orientation to work with an outfitter, because that education is offered by our outfitter partners and the Devils River Access Permit System is a great way to legally access the river and camping spots along the river on state land and state leased land. So some of the private ranches have offered up some leases for paddlers so that they don't unintentionally trespass, which is a major issue and a major problem along this river. It's why there's a history of conflict between recreational users and some of our private landowners out here and a lot of that goes back directly to poor preparation, poor education, poor understanding. And we're trying to combat that through some of our, some of our campaigns, working with our outfitter partners, working with our landowners and working with the department parks and wildlife.
Speaker 1:
That's wonderful man. Well, you know, I heavily encourage everyone to go check out the DRC website. I'll have all the links below in the description. It's one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Texas. I can't wait to go and bring the family back there and just really check it out. And you know, check out this. You know the section you were talking about, the southernmost. You know, opening up next year, that'll be phenomenal. I've heard so many wonderful things and I know that you've done so much with so many organizations and agencies and committees throughout the state and I know that you know DRC is in good hands with you and you're someone who cares deeply and passionately about giving back and preserving what we have here in the state. And I just want to give a final nod and thank you to you for all that you're doing, romy.
Speaker 2:
Time words and I take that with the highest income from you. Sir, I know that. I know how hard you work and and I appreciate it too, let me let me just sort of conclude with a quick plug for the RC and our website. If you yes, please do. Your listeners are interested.
Speaker 2:
One of the most wonderful ways to get involved with the devil's river conservancy is to is to join us as a member. There's a membership button on our website. It's an 85 dollar a year as an individual or 250 as a family cost. But more importantly, you're, you're, you're helping to provide underwriting for our ongoing endeavors. But with that comes some pretty cool perks, some discounts with merch Off of our website. And then we're also beginning to host regularly membership mixer events in some of the major metroplexes around Austin, san Antonio, del Rio, and maybe we'll expand beyond that. But we've got some cool offerings and we'd love to have you join us in this mission. This is this cherished mission to preserve and protect Devil. The devil's river text, when it texts is most unique and pristine corners of the state.
Speaker 1:
Well, yes, everybody, there you have it. Go check them out. Go to the website, sign up, become a member and whenever you got that meet and greet near you, go check it out and make sure you tell Romy Hello in person and listen. We're going to be definitely having you back on the podcast, you know, chatting about some other things you got going in the future. You know, and if you can go ahead and give a plug one more time for your website that you're running I know you're kind of revamping that right now, but let's let that know so people see what you're doing as well, making some progress on the modern Texas naturalistcom website.
Speaker 2:
It's actually active right now but it's a previous version. We're going to launch a new one and hopefully we'll be kicking off some, some conservation podcasts and some blogging and, you know, just a nice place to share some Photography and stories associated with my travel and meeting really interesting people, a lot like what you do, george. You know we can't saturate the media with enough of this positive sort of you know, spotlighting of good people doing good work out there. So I wanted you know, I was inspired by you and some of my other podcasting friends and I'm ready to join in the ranks.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you, I'm inspired by you, so we'll just keep this building and hopefully we can bring as many people along as possible, right?
Speaker 2:
Hey, you know what man I think. Anytime you need a hype man, you just holler at me. I got a lot of other good things to say about you, sir, oh cheers, man.
Speaker 1:
Good. So you got the check in the mail. That was good. I took the check. Yeah, I haven't cashed it yet. Awesome man. Well, listen, thank you so much. I really do appreciate everything you're doing. It's been a joy to have you on again and thank you for sharing everything with DRC and all the y'all are doing Keeping that beautiful river as pristine as possible and everyone. Go check it out. Make sure you go over to devilsriverconservancyorg, go check out Modern Texas Nationalists. And, yes, we'll talk soon, romy. You take care, buddy.