A more than 40-mile long conveyor belt filled with sand stretches from the oil fields of West Texas to New Mexico, all for the purpose of one mission: oil production.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data shows that average temperatures in 2023 were 3.5 degrees above the 20th century average.

With only three days left on the state’s lease, the agency unanimously voted to condemn almost 5,000 acres in Freestone County in an effort to keep the park open to the public after developers purchased the property to build a gated community.