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CDRI Desert NewsFlash
July 2026
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Canyon Treefrog (Hyla arenicolor) seen on the wall of the Modesta Canyon. Photo by Warren Shaul.
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Get ready for the BBQ & Auction!
The event will take place on Saturday, August 15. Gates will open at 3:30 PM, giving you plenty of time to park and walk to the Visitor Center to claim your tickets at the Will Call Booth. The Silent Auction will begin at 4:00 PM and will last for only one hour, so make sure to get in there and bid on the items you like. Bidding will close at 5:00 PM, after which the Live Auction will begin.
Following the auction, a delicious BBQ dinner catered by Mark and Lisa Sanchez of Sanchez BBQ will be served at 6:00 PM.
Music will be provided by Rick Ruiz and Grupo de la Paz.
New this year is auctioneer Jake Addams of Proceed with Auction. Jake and his family live in Dripping Springs, Texas.
Tickets must be purchased in advance. At this printing, there are only 65 tickets remaining. Your $35 dinner ticket includes a BBQ dinner with brisket and sausage, beans, green salad, and homemade bread. Cheese enchiladas will be served as a vegetarian alternative. Homemade peach cobbler, Blue Bell ice cream, and iced tea will also be served. Included with your dinner ticket will be two drink tickets for beer, wine, or sparkling water.
You can purchase your tickets below:
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You're invited to join CDRI's
BBQ & Auction Host Committee!
We strive to make each year better than the previous ones, and we are confident that we can best our numbers from 2025. However, we can only do that with your support. Won't you join CDRI's BBQ & Auction Host Committee with your donation of $250 to support the fundraiser and get it off to a great start?
As an Underwriter/Host, you will receive:
* Two event dinner tickets
* A unique, commemorative host gift
* Acknowledgment in all event publications
* Special recognition at the event
Click on "Host Committee" below to join today!
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There's still time!
It's not too late to join the BBQ & Auction Host Committee!
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CDRI’s 2026
BBQ & Auction Host Committee
Anne Adams
Judy & Stephen Alton
Greg Brock
Edwina Campbell
Liz & Rick Culp
Barbara Curry
Donna Dittman & Steve Cardiff
Meredith Dreiss & David Brown
Pamela and James Duerr
Lanna & Joe Duncan
Kristin & Tom Feuerbacher
Larry & Beth Francell
Lisa Gordon
Rick Gupman
Linda Hedges & Rick Reese
Rick Herrman & Margaret O’Donnell
Susan Kirr & Rusty Martin
Charles Loban
Jim Martinez & Jim Fissel
Guy & Jane McCrary
Clint Parsley & Alex Albright
R. Edward Pfiester, Jr.
Sam & Rebecca Pfiester
Susan & Jerry Pittman
Shirley & Mike Powell
Sheri & Grant Roane
Michael Schramm
Mary & Daryl Styblo
Pete Szilagzi & Kate McKenna
Dedie Taylor
Suzanne & Steve Tuttle
Julie & Bruce Lee Webb
Jim Weedin
Joe Williams/Big Bend Coffee Roasters
THANK YOU!
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The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street,
“Spark! Place of Innovation” comes to Fort Davis
#SmallTownSparkThe story of human history is written in inventions and innovations. People are problem-solvers. Sometimes we invent. More often, we innovate—we introduce a fresh idea or an invention into use in some way that creates a new way of doing or thinking.
Invention can happen anywhere and it’s happening right now in small towns across America. Rural Americans are creating new products, taking risks, meeting challenges together, and seizing upon exciting opportunities that change local life and sometimes reach far beyond.
Spark! Places of Innovation will highlight innovation in rural America from the perspective of the people who lived it! Their words, images, and experiences gathered through an ambitious crowdsourcing initiative will be the heartbeat of the exhibition. Technical, social, cultural, artistic, or a combination of all of these– every innovation is as unique as each community. Explore the diversity, ingenuity, and tenacity of rural Americans in Spark! Places of Innovation.
Spark! Places of Innovation explores the unique combination of places, people, and circumstances that sparks innovation and invention in rural communities. Inspired by an exhibition by the National Museum of American History, the exhibition features stories gathered from diverse communities across the nation. Photographs, engaging interactives, objects, videos, and augmented reality bring a multilayered experience to reveal the leaders, challenges, successes, and future of innovation in each town.
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CDRI will be one of the exhibitors for the Museum on Main Street, Spark! exhibition. Other participating organizations include the National Historic Site Fort Davis, Davis Mountains State Park, McDonald Observatory, and ranching. The event will run from July 3 to August 9. The exhibition will be staged at the site of the Blue Mountain Bistro at the Limpia Hotel. Each week, one organization will be featured. Each Saturday, that week's featured exhibitor will have a hands-on activity or presentation from 10:00-2:00. For more information, please contact the Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center at 432-426-3015.
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CDRI is the Beneficiary of a Generous Bequest from James O. and Mary Ann Wilkes
By Lisa Gordon
We are pleased and honored to announce that CDRI has received a generous bequest of $417,000 from the estate of James O. and Mary Ann Wilkes. Rick Herrman and I initially connected with Jim and Mary Ann during a lengthy phone call on Thursday, October 26, 2017. This marked the beginning of a warm friendship, which blossomed through additional phone calls, emails, and the exchange of holiday cards. At that time, Rick was CDRI’s Executive Director, and I was the Assistant Director.
Jim reached out to us to express his intention to leave a portion of their estate to CDRI. Although he had only visited CDRI twice, he enjoyed both experiences. Jim followed our activities through the Desert NewsFlash and was impressed with the mission, values, and strategic direction of the organization.
In an early email, Jim encouraged us to call him by his first name and preferred the title of “Mr.” if a title was necessary. Jim and Mary Ann lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan. After spending four years as a faculty member at Cambridge, he returned to the University of Michigan permanently. Upon his retirement in 2000, a significant undergraduate scholarship fund was established in his honor.
Each summer, Jim would spend three weeks visiting family and friends in England. He sent CDRI lovely winter holiday cards filled with photos from his summers there, along with a picture of himself and his beloved wife, Mary Ann. I was always curious about the beautiful cards we received each year, which I saved. In 2016, I began sending holiday cards to them, and from then on, we regularly exchanged cards. In one of Jim’s emails, he told us about his connection to the Big Bend Region. Here’s what he shared:
“We have visited Big Bend National Park 14 times. The first time was Thanksgiving 1984, and we stayed in an adobe-covered trailer parked outside the Terlingua Trading Post. As we reached the base of the summit of Mt. Emory for the first time, there was a blinding snowstorm, and we had to retreat. But we went the whole way on numerous later occasions, the last being in April 2007 (also our usual hike to the South Rim), and Mary Ann unfortunately and quite unexpectedly suffered a serious stroke in November of that year.
Mary Ann slipped and fell about ten feet, coming down from the summit of Mt. Emory in 1999. Fortunately, there were two hikers up there. One went down to get help, and the other assisted me in getting Mary Ann down from the summit to the main trail, which also goes to Boot Canyon. That one mile took us three hours along the rock trail! Half an hour later, a team of ten came up with a stretcher, and partly wheeled and partly carried Mary Ann down to the Basin, another three hours. By that time, it was dark, and since nothing appeared broken (a badly sprained ankle), we drove to the Alpine hospital the next morning to have a cast fitted.
It wasn’t until 2006 that we stayed for a few nights at the Alpine White House Inn and started prowling around the Fort Davis area that we encountered the CDRI.
I have intentionally rambled at some length, so you can see our affection for the Big Bend area, and I’m sorry that we only managed a couple of visits to the CDRI in 2006 and 2007, but we were so impressed that it has left a lasting impression, and that’s why we would like to explore the possibility of a bequest to the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute.”
The term "serendipity" refers to an unexpected but fortunate discovery or good luck. It describes the experience of accidentally finding something valuable, delightful, or beneficial when you weren’t actively searching for it. We often refer to this concept as “being run over by the lucky truck.” Our encounter was truly serendipitous, marking the beginning of a meaningful friendship that has filled us with gratitude for having gotten to know, even if just a little bit, two loving and kind individuals—Jim and Mary Ann, to whom we say, “May your spirit live on in the memories and laughter you left behind.” That’s certainly the case for CDRI, Rick, and me.
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CDRI Receives a $20,000 Grant from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation
We are thrilled to announce that CDRI has received a $20,000 grant from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation. This funding is specifically designated for CDRI’s educational programs for children in the Texas Education Agency’s Region 18 (Big Bend) service area.
The King Foundation, based in Dallas, Texas, serves organizations in North Texas, West Texas, and Arkansas. They focus on empowering organizations that are deeply rooted in their communities, collaborative in their approach, and strategic in how they use resources to create a positive impact.
We are honored to have been selected to receive this award.
The grant funds will help cover expenses associated with CDRI’s free, educational programs for students in grades K-5. The costs include:
i) Personnel who expend meaningful amounts of time throughout the year to develop and update lessons;
ii) Direct costs, such as meals for volunteers, equipment needed for specific programs, and expenses related to visiting various schools;
iii) Costs incurred from attending and participating in regional educational programs.
The total funding required for these three categories amounts to $80,000. Additional funding for 2026 comes from a 2025 grant from the Permian Basin Area Foundation, generous donations from individuals, donor-advised funds, and the Education Paddle Raise at the BBQ & Auction fundraiser.
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Marfa Summer Shake Up at CDRI!
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During June, the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (CDRI) and the Tierra Grande Master Naturalists hosted a total of 30 boys and girls from Kindergarten through 8th grade who participated in the Marfa Summer Shake Up program. The students arrived at 9:30 a.m. from Monday through Thursday, eager to explore.
Each day, students embarked on different hikes, including the Scenic Vista Loop at the Pollinator Garden, Modesta Canyon, and Clayton's Overlook, while learning about the diversity of native plants and animals at the CDRI site. The lessons were planned and led by CDRI volunteer and Tierra Grande Master Naturalist Warren Shaul.
Mary Beth Garrett and Master Naturalists Hoot and Linda Baez, Barbara Love, Susan Kirr, Cheryl Trotter, Richard Sokol, Kim Elliot, Pete Uimonen, and Juanita Sabochick also participated throughout the month.
Some highlights from the program included sightings of red velvet mites, a copperhead (twice!), tree frogs on the canyon walls, tadpoles, lichen and moss, and taking shelter in the canyon from a sudden rain storm.
Thank you to all who helped make this a fun event!
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Agave Festival Marfa enjoyed tours of the Botanical Gardens
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Yuccas and agaves for sale!
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Thanks to the generosity of Hoven Riley of Comanche Yucca in Fort Stockton, we have beautiful specimens of Faxon yucca (Yucca faxoniana), Beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata), and Whale’s tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia) for sale.
Our Head Gardener, Faith, has also selected various small cacti to sell at the Visitor Center, much to the delight of our visitors. The sale is ongoing.
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We'll be open on Saturday, July 4!
Join us in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of
The Declaration of Independence!
Happy Birthday, USA!
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Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, P.O. Box 905, Fort Davis, TX 79734
432.364.2499
www.cdri.org
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