BROWNSVILLE — A semi-annual cleanup, public rally and petition signing to support establishing the adjacent Montezuma Cypress Preserve will be held at 10 a.m. March 25 at La Posada Park, 1325 La Posada Drive in Southmost.
The cleanup is the latest in a series of cleanups organized by Eugene Fernandez, director of the South Texas Center for Historical & Genealogical Research, and a champion for the preserve and park.
The petition supporting the Montezuma Cypress Preserve is scheduled to go before the Brownsville City Commission in coming weeks, Fernandez said.
The preserve would protect about 40 remaining ancient cypress trees dating back to 1872 that were part of a 640 acre tract owned by French immigrant Celestin Jagou that originally made up the La Esperanza Plantation.
The plantation originally held thousands of ancient cypress trees that grew along riverbanks and waterways in the Rio Grande Valley in the days before human habitation and that were cut down for lumber as the Valley was settled.
Fernandez said he would give a historical tour of the La Posada Park area at the outset of Saturday’s event. The park encompasses five acres.
The cleanup is necessary because a storm drain deposits floating trash and other material on the park grounds as the Rio Grande and other waterways ebb and flow. The city plans a project to correct the situation, Fernandez said.
Trash bags with which to collect materials during the cleanup will be provided.
