The National Parks Conservation Association has presented Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, with the 2001 Friend of the National Parks Award. The award is given to Members of Congress for helping to preserve the national parks system.
Few symbols illustrate the nation's beauty and diversity as dramatically.
The national parks system includes monuments, memorials, preserves, rivers, scenic parkways, and national trails. Among the legislation Rodriguez has sponsored has been a bill to designate el Camino Real de los Tejas a National Historic Trail, a series of trails extending from Mexico across the Rio Grande through San Antonio and ending in Louisiana.