El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT Association

On May 26, 2011 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission awarded $124,116 to the City of Poteet for constructing the Poteet Middle Camino Real Trail Project.  El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT Association was the original applicant and recipient of approval for a National Park Service – Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) project in Poteet.  The association began working with the NPS and City of Poteet in November 2010 to get the project started. 
     Board members Irene Ramos and Richard Santos, as well as executive director, Steven Gonzales, and Krista Sherwood from the RTCA have been hard at work to lay the foundation for plans of the trail.  There have been scoping meetings to gauge the interest and support of the community, and committees have been formed to allow local input and guidance from the town. 
     The grant from Texas Parks will allow for the initial phase of a 1.2 mile trail and viewing deck that will allow for the interpretation of El Camino Real and wildlife in the area.  It is anticipated that the combination of amenities on the trail will facilitate an understanding of not only the cultural history of the trail, but also a deeper understanding of the environment that explorers would have passed through in colonial times.  More so, it is expected that the trail project will bring added economic benefits to the community and region through tourists coming to visit the trail. 
     In the end, the trail will not only be a benefit to the association, but to all those who cherish our history, as well as those who seek to support the economic well-being of communities along the trail’s path.

Some of the people who are working hard on making the Poteet Trail project a reality.  From left to right:  Board member, Richard Santos; Poteet City Manager, LaNell Matthews; City Employee, Bobby Buentello; and NPS-RTCA employee, Krista Sherwood.