Texas pipeline plans rouse protest and pride from residents of lush Big Bend
by Tom Dart in Big Bend, Texas from on (#Q28T)
Wooden stakes marking the natural gas line's path to Mexico symbolize a disruption of idyllic beauty the region is cherished for, as wary locals prepare to fight against environmental damage and new economic realities
Thorny mesquite branches scratched the sides of James Spriggs' battered old Chevrolet truck as he drove the rutted pathway from his house towards other, less natural, spiky objects.
On his 4,400-acre ranch there are deer, quail, jackrabbits, roadrunners, dragonflies and even the occasional eagle or mountain lion. And there are wooden stakes indicating the route of a natural gas pipeline that will slice through his property against his wishes.
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