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Hays County Master Naturalists NEWSLETTER
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Right here at home - in the Hill Country! |
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March, 2005 |
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HAYS COUNTY MASTER NATURALISTS President Randy Moss Vice President Tom Watson Secretary Nancy Turner Treasurer Winifred Simon Training Committee Joe Piazza Records Committee Judy Telford State Advisory Board Walt Krudop Editor Richard Barnett Richb6986@aol.com Webmaster Dave Schwarz Extension Agent Bryan Davis | ||
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Seeds of Environmental Education |
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March 11-13, 2005, at the Outdoor Education Center at Camp Olympia, on the shores of Lake Livingston in the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas, approximately twenty miles Northeast of Huntsville, Texas. Presented by Houston ISD Outdoor Education Centers and Texas Association for Environmental Education. Keynote presenter Dr. Pete Gunter is a University of North Texas Professor and the author of several books, including Texas Land Ethics (with Max Oelschlaeger), The Big Thicket: A Challenge for Conservation, and The Big Thicket: An Ecological Reevaluation. He will speak on environmental education and the land ethics of Aldo Leopold in relation to the Big Thicket. He will also offer a related workshop and a session on ecological songs and stories. Keynote speaker Walt Dabney is Director of Parks for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and he speaks on "The Parks as Classrooms." Other workshops feature expert presenters on topics such as local wildlife and natural history. Recreational opportunities may include birding, canoeing, astronomy, and night hiking, and you will have a chance to share your favorite children's book at the Children's Literature Fair. Early registration of $100 includes all workshops, keynote presentations, and entertainment, plus five meals and lodging for two nights in bunk-style group housing. Check in Friday evening and Saturday morning. Sessions begin Saturday morning and conclude by noon on Sunday. TEEAC and SBEC credit will be given. Directions and additional information will be sent to you upon receipt of registration. Questions? Contact Mary Gedelian at 1-800-729-6291 or mgedelia@houstonisd.org. |
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HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL |
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March 19, 9:00 am - 5:30 pm: Texas Tech University Center at Junction. Kent Rylandaer, Mark Klym, Terry Maxwell, and Dan Brown present workshops on hummingbird anatomy, behavior, migration, nesting sequence, banding methods, and South American biodiversity. Registration: $25. For information and registration, contact Amanda Camp, tel 325-446-2301; Amanda.camp@ttu.edu; http://www.junction.ttu.edu under Field Research Station. |
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FEBRUARY MEETING
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COYOTE MANAGEMENT About 60 Master Naturalists and Driftwood residents came to meet Guest Speaker, Randy Farrar at our February 24 meeting at Friendship Baptist Church. Randy is a Wildlife Damage Management Biologist with the Wildlife Services section of Texas Cooperative Extension. Randy is currently working with residents of subdivisions in NW Austin and other areas in Travis County who have concerns about the rising numbers of coyotes in suburban Austin. Randy says that new coyote litters will be born in April, and the number of pups is inversely proportional to an area's coyote population density-perhaps 2 pups in areas of high density versus 12 in low-density areas. Grown pups have to find new homes in unoccupied areas, and they spread into suburbs through greenbelts and the availability of shelter, water, rodents, pets and pet food, and household refuse ensures their prosperity. Suburban coyotes may grow to 30 to 40 pounds, the upper range of coyote size, on much smaller ranges. Moreover, their behavior changes as they become used to human presence and activities. When they lose their shyness and lounge or scrounge openly in daylight, Randy says that is your warning sign of aggressive behavior to come. Extermination campaigns don't work at this stage, Randy points out, because coyotes are simply too clever and adaptable. Extermination attempts simply replace older coyotes with younger ones who multiply faster. Instead, Randy offers ten suggestions that make the suburbs less hospitable to coyotes.
To report suburban coyote sightings, call 3-1-1 and ask for Animal Services. Also, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_wscoyote.html or http://www.fundwildlife.org/coexist/coyotes.html. To report a coyote attack on a human, please call 911. |
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San Marcos Nature Center HCMN Project #405 First Annual Wildflower Fiesta and Plant Sale
Celebrate spring, nature, and gardening
For more information or to volunteer at a time of your choice, please contact Judy Telford at jtelford@txstate.edu or 512 353-8143.
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Trail Building and Maintenance HCMN Project # 424 DATE: On-going projects ACTIVITY: Volunteers will selectively remove brush, trees, and rocks in new trail corridors, create new trails, and maintain existing trails They will be instructed on site by a crew manager. SPONSORS: Corps of Engineers Canyon Lake Park; Camino Real Cycling Club (CRCC); Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club; San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance (SMGA); Hays County Parks Depts . SPONSOR CONTACTS: James Buratti (CRCC), 512-245-3641, jb63@txstate.edu ; Todd Derkacz (SMGA), 512-754-9321, tobe@austin.rr.com ; Jerry Pinnix (Hays Co), 512-393-2212, jlp2002@earthlink.net HCMN CONTACT: Judy Telford, 512-353-8143, 2303 E McCarty Lane, San Marcos, TX 78666, jt01@txstate.edu. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Volunteers can expect to cut and remove trees, brush and rocks in new trail corridors, create new trails, and groom existing trails. They are welcome to work as much or as little as they feel up to. We just want everyone to enjoy the process of creating new hiking and biking trails. Some are narrow, natural surface trails that are built by hand without motorized equipment. There are opportunities for volunteers of all ages and experience. A crew manager will instruct volunteers in methods and safety on site. Safety is the first priority. Careful attention is paid to erosion prevention, proper pruning techniques, natural aesthetics and preservation of valuable natural elements. Every SMGA session begins with a safety briefing. People who volunteer and who have zero experience with natural surface trails may be required to read a short text or receive a briefing on some basic trail techniques before they touch a tool. Tools will be provided. Volunteers should bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, eye protection, and water. All trail building is on public land such as Canyon Lake Park, Lake Georgetown Park, Hughson Park, Schulle Canyon, and other city and county parks as they are identified. Volunteers are usually required to sign a volunteer release from liability. Volunteers who really enjoy the experience can attend a trail building school, usually held once a year.
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AQUARENA SPRINGSHCMN Project # 408 Thanks to our dedicated hyacinth volunteers who tried to work on February 26, a very wet Saturday morning, but ended up by pledging to return in March. It was just too rainy. Mark your calendars for the fourth Saturday every month, and join us for a couple of hours of fun and useful volunteer work, removing water hyacinths and enjoying the beautiful headwaters we are so lucky to have here. Our next workdays are March 26 and April 23. -- Randy Moss |
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THE GREAT TEXAS RIVER CLEAN UP HCMN Project # 407 The 20th Annual Great Texas River Cleanup on Saturday, March 5 is co-sponsored by the San Marcos River Foundation (407). March 5, 2005. Folks from all over Texas will be participating in the
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Extension Needs Volunteers for Wildlife Camps
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and now Hosts DSA Website
--Winnie Spitz--Capital Area Chapter
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Texas Monarch Watch Biologists, conservationists, and butterfly lovers in the US and Mexico are fretting and arguing about the plunging numbers of monarch butterflies returning to their winter refuges in the temperate oyamel fir forests of Michoacan, central Mexico. Entomologists led by Dr. Lincoln P. Brower of Sweetbriar College estimate the number reported in Mexico's sanctuaries has plunged by 75% from the winter of 2003-2004. Logging and clearing of the lower slopes at El Rosario, the principal sanctuary, has forced these survivors to cluster at higher altitudes than previously, making them more susceptible to freezing weather. An estimated 65 million butterflies died when snow covered El Rosario in 2002. For a graph of Monarch numbers and mortality due to freezes by "Journey North", please refer to http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/mexico/pop_9495_0405_storms.gif. Brower and his colleagues attribute the decline in Monarch numbers to weather, herbicide use in the US and Canada, and illegal deforestation in Mexico.
An Associated Press report from Mexico City says Mexico is cracking down harder on the illegal loggers who are razing the nation's forests, including El Rosario. Environment Minister Alberto Cardenas said that Mexico arrested 103 people in 129 forest raids over the past six months -- compared to just 31 arrests in all of 2003 -- and secured the equivalent of 1,530 truckloads of illegally harvested lumber. The ministry, which estimates Mexico is losing 1.3 million acres of forest each year, will also use its bigger budget to step up surveillance in 2005 using helicopters, small planes, satellite images and troops, and will start using a nationwide database. "We are expanding the scheme and making use of information and experience from 2004, and we will advance, on the path to 2006, towards the elimination of illegal logging," Cardenas told a news conference. "Three years ago we had a budget of 200 million pesos ($17.9 million) (to protect) the forestry sector, now we have a budget of more than 2 billion pesos," said Manuel Reed, director general of national forestry commission CONAFOR. Eduardo Ramirez, director of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, points out that many other factors besides deforestation could explain why there are there fewer monarchs-pesticides, bad weather en-route, predation, or climate change. "We do not know which ones are most important. We want to find out what is to blame and in what proportion so we can try to reverse this trend." Many biologists attribute the decline of monarchs to agricultural pesticides sprayed on fields adjacent to milkweed plants in the US and Canada, killing monarch larvae. Chip Taylor informs TP&W that the official total area occupied by over-wintering monarchs in Mexico is 2.19 hectares (5.4 acres), the lowest area since population surveys began in 1975. A crew led by Eduardo Rendon of World Wildlife Fund Mexico conducted the survey. Michoacan's El Rosario colony accounts for 1.3 ha, or 59% of the total. Taylor has given up making population estimates based on the available information on the numbers of monarchs per hectare. These numbers range from 10 to over 50 million per hectare. Assuming the butterflies survived February without a catastrophe, Taylor projects that there will be enough monarchs to recolonize the US and Canada. For additional news, please refer to http://tinyurl.com5hbjn. For weekly updates on 2005 Monarch migrations, please see http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/spring2005/News.html. The Brower report is available in pdf format at http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2005/0221_Sci_Adv_Rpt_11.pdf. Thanks to Mike Quinn, Entomologist, TP&W and Texas Monarch Watch, http://www.TexasEnto.net/dplex.htm.
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Chimney Swift Sightings The first Chimney Swift of 2005 was spotted in Houston on February 21. Paul and Georgean Kyle are again tracking the northward movement of Chimney Swifts with spring. Please let them know when you see your first Chimney Swifts this year. Paul D. & Georgean Z. Kyle, Driftwood wildlife Association, 1206 West 38th #1105, Austin, TX 78705; 512-266-3861; http://www.chimneyswifts.org. |
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Local News |
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The Village of Wimberley has announced its decision to complete its purchase of the former Blue Hole campgrounds on Cypress Creek. The city anticipates closing the deal by the end of March. Wimberley resident Peter Way bought the property on behalf of Wimberley in December 2003, in order to forestall its sale to a developer who proposed to build a lodge and up to 380 residential units. Wimberley plans to reopen the swimming hole as a public recreational facility and to maintain the rest of the property as an undeveloped nature preserve. The property adjoins the Cypress Creek Nature Trail, which is Wimberley's first park and an HCMN project. |
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Links to Chapter Sponsors and Partners |
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Sponsors Texas Master Naturalist - State Website - masternaturalist.tamu.edu
Partners Bamberger Ranch -- http://www.bambergerranch.org/workshops.htm LBJ Wildflower Center -- www.wildflower.org Native Plant Society of Texas - www.npsot.org/
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© 2005 Hays County Master Naturalists |