by Shawna Graves, Office of Public Relations

Big Bend National Park is celebrating its 75th anniversary with special events all year. This Friday, October 11, Big Bend Conservancy is bringing the festivities to the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University with cake, giveaways and a meeting of the minds, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Big Bend Conservancy received a grant from the Amon G. Carter Foundation to throw the party and the public is invited to this free event.

It’s a fun way for the Conservancy to recognize long held local relationships with the park.

“The Museum of the Big Bend is honored and delighted to be hosting this wonderful event,” exclaimed Museum Director Mary Bones. “Some of the park’s biggest supporters come from area residents, who are among its most frequent visitors, along with Sul Ross State University and Big Bend Ranch State Park.”

Sul Ross faculty, staff and students are park frequent flyers, with many classes staging field trips. The Sul Ross Center for Big Bend Studies and Borderland Research Institute are regular park partners.

Thanks to the relationships these programs have formed, Sul Ross students have unparalleled opportunities to explore and make discoveries in one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the United States. Graduate and undergraduate students carry out research projects from wildlife surveys to geological surveys.

Big Bend National Park preserves the largest tract of Chihuahuan Desert, with over 800,000 acres. Together with the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, the park is connected to 245 miles of river corridor along the Texas-Mexico border.

In addition to cake, there will be live music, information booths from park partners and kids’ activities. Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker will make a special address with topics ranging from park history to current issues, projects and goals.

In a show of continued partnership and mutual goals, Big Bend Conservancy and the National Park Service will present a $150,000 check to the Center for Big Bend Studies. The funding is to support restoration work on a series of adobe structures within the park, including the Dorgan House.