Big Thicket Reporter - 2006/08/09

BIG THICKET: THINGS TO DO - NOW

Land and Water Conservation Fund

To continue acquisition of lands authorized in the 1993 Addition Act, BTNP needs $3 million in FY07. If appropriated the funds will be used to purchase lands that the Conservation Fund owns within the congressionally authorized boundary of the preserve. The Fund currently holds 2,870-acres of land to be added to the Village Creek Unit of the Preserve. Prior year appropriations will fund half of this transaction. The 2007 appropriations will be needed to complete this transaction and one smaller transaction. This will bring the project to within approximately 2500 acres of being complete.

Forest Legacy Project

For FY 2007 the President's budget contains $2.045 million in funds which could be Texas’ first significant Forest Legacy Project. If approved the Texas Forest Service would provide a conservation easement that would allow Temple-Inland, Inc. to continue to use the forest as a working forest while providing a significant buffer to a vulnerable conservation area.

This is the first phase of a three- phase project. The first phase contains 2,887 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, longleaf pine upland, flatwoods and bogs. The proposed easement is contiguous with the Big Thicket NP for 4 miles. It includes 2.5 miles of stream and wetland frontage, contains several state and federal endangered and threatened species, and provides critical habitat for migratory land birds. In succeeding phases, the Turkey Creek Project would conserve 12,680 acres of ecologically critical forest in Southeast Texas, 25 miles north of Beaumont.

BRADY COMMITS TO GETTING FUNDS FOR BIG THICKET

Data from Beaumont Enterprise, May 10, 2006

Rep. Kevin Brady spoke Tuesday at the opening session of the East Texas Tourist Association Conference in Beaumont, May 9-11. He pledged to introduce legislation next month that would buy property from willing sellers to protect and to connect separate units of the Preserve and to develop tourism activities such as a canopy walk.

Rep. Kevin Brady, Curtis Hoagland, Chuck Hunt, and new Big Thicket superintendent Todd Brindle

Brady observed, "you can't convince me we can't attract 1 million a year or more." Brady further stated: "The time is now for Big Thicket. This can be an economic driver, but it can only happen if we have a regional effort."

Howard Rosser, executive director of ETTA, said he believes Brady's federal connections will reverse the Preserve's flat funding. "For the first time, we have someone in power who gets it. Now we have someone leading the way," Rosser said.

ACTION: Please support both the Forest Legacy Program ($2.045m in President's 2006 budget) and Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) add-on request for Big Thicket ($3.00m) to continue the acquisition of lands within the congressionally authorized boundary of the Preserve. Contact Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, 284 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-4304, fax (202)-224-0776; Senator John Cornyn, 517 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510 fax (202) 228-2856; U.S. Cong. Kevin Brady, 428 Cannon Building, Washington, DC 20515 fax (202) 225-5524

TODD BRINDLE NAMED SUPERINTENDENT

Todd Brindle, former Superintendent at Fort Davis National Historic Site has been named Superintendent at Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas. Brindle assumed his new responsibilities April 30, 2006. Regional Director Mike Snyder returned to Big Thicket May 1 to officially "install" him, and the occasion also brought back Cong. Kevin Brady who made evident his continuing support for Big Thicket.

New Superintendent Todd Brindle (right) with BTA Conservation Chair Bruce Drury

Brindle, a 28-year veteran of the National Park Service has worked in Sequoia, Channel Islands, and Yosemite National Parks in California, Everglades National Park in Florida, and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona. In Texas he served at Guadalupe Mountains NP, Amistad National Recreation Area, Big Bend NP/Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, and Fort Davis NHS. Previous experience involved many aspects of park operations, such as interpretation and visitor services, cultural and natural resources, and resource and visitor protection.

Brindle earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science at Penn State University and the University of Florida in 1975. Todd is married to Linda Brindle, a 22-year veteran of the National Park Service who currently works for the University of Texas at McDonald Observatory. Their daughter, Crystal, is 14 years old.

In his new role as Superintendent of Big Thicket National Preserve, Brindle oversees the management of 97,000 acres, a staff of approximately 38, and an annual operating budget of $3,000,000. Big Thicket National Preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors.

FAREWELL TO "THE KING OF THE FOREST"

Arthur Temple, Jr., 1920-2006, by Maxine Johnston

Arthur Temple was and is an unforgettable legend. Big Thicket - East Texas - the State - the Nation - the forest industry (from board room to foresters) - Diboll and Lufkin - have lost a "good neighbor" who made a slogan a reality - a man of lofty principle who CARED. Let's illustrate that with a few stories.

In the early 1970s, Ward Burke called to report that Temple-Eastex had unknowingly purchased timber on a 400-acre tract in the proposed Rosier Unit. He asked if BTA would contact the estates involved and ask them to release them from the contract. The heirs were agreeable, but the bank administering the estates wasn't agreeable, claiming that they had a "fiduciary" responsibility to the estates. So Arthur Temple opted to save the timber, and the bank collected on the timber TWICE

Around 1973, a Temple-Eastex tract was cut that was the only site of the silky camellia in Texas. When Temple heard about it, he wrote the President of the BTA a letter, saying that this must never happen again. He asked us to appoint a committee who would have access to their lands and who would inform the company of distinctive sites so that they could be protected.

Our liaison with Temple, Garland Bridges, contacted us in late 1974 after the National Preserve was established, and he said that Temple would consider donating part of the disputed "sandylands" on Village Creek - not to the Preserve but that it could be transferred to the Preserve eventually. We made an appointment with Temple to dicuss the donation and brought topographic maps. We asked what area was being considered. He picked up a pencil and drew a curving line on the east side of Village Creek from FM 418 to SH 327. He said you can start using it now, but I need a stewardship plan. That group of "delegates" were ecstatic and humbled by the generosity, and on the way home, we appointed a committee to draft the plan. In 1976, the property was given to Nature Conservancy and called the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary, honoring a Time, Inc. official.

Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary Dedication, 1976. Arthur Temple (center), with Roy E. Larsen (Time, Inc.), and Lady Bird Johnson

Many years later, former Cong. Charlie Wilson suggested that I visit Temple and thank him for all his good works. Wilson said, "you wouldn't have a Preserve without Arthur Temple." I take orders from Charlie pretty good sometimes (if I agree with them), so I made an appointment and tried to convey our most sincere thanks and warm regards. We had a lot to talk about, so we worked over Charlie Wilson, Pete Gunter, Geraldine Watson, Ollie Crawford, Mike Buckley, Ralph Yarborough, Archer Fullingim, Ned Fritz, Dempsie Henley and many others. I had told his secretary I would stay 15 minutes, and after thirty, I stood up and apologized for taking so much of his time. He said, "Sit down, Maxine," and the exchange of stories moved on to cornbread whistles and log scalers and books. That was a special day with a very special neighbor and life member of BTA.

Geraldine Watson and I drove up to Lufkin for his memorial services, telling stories about him and mourning the loss of the man Texas Monthly dubbed "the King of the Forest." He was that.

LARSEN SANCTUARY BLOWOUT

Excerpts, Beaumont Enterprise, 4/26/06

A natural gas well leak spurted at least 100 feet into the air Monday but posed no threat to residences along FM 418 about six miles east of US 69, Silsbee Fire Department Chief Billy Slaydon said. About eight hours after the 3,000 pounds-per-square-inch leak started, it was stopped, Slaydon said. "It was making a whole lot of noise," he said of the mostly brine leak. Hardin County Emergency Management Coordinator Theresa Wigley said no one had to be evacuated. Air monitors set up along the highway didn't indicate a hazard, Slaydon said.

PYRAMID MAGNOLIA INVENTORY

Seven folks showed up to inventory pyramid magnolia populations on Temple-Inland property in Newton County. Led by Conservation Forester Paul Stone and Rice University's Sandi Elsik, the group inventoried 183 individuals in approximately four hours all on one site of a 400-acre tract. Scattered populations probably occur in other areas.

Sandi Elsik, Warren Preuss and Forester Paul Stone get organized to inventory pyramid magnolias

STATE PARKS FORUM APRIL 7

Friday April 7, a group of approximately 150 showed up at University of Houston-Downtown to attend a Forum on Texas State Parks, entitled appropriately "Concerned Public to the Rescue" (CPR). The Forum was hosted by the Houston Regional Group of the Lone Star Sierra Club, the Texas Coalition for Conservation, and Texans for State Parks.

Dr. John Crompton (professor at TAMU) surveyed the "Economic Contributions of State Parks, and Walt Dabney (State Parks Division Director, TP&W) presented a power-point documenting the condition and problems of state parks. Todd Kercheval (Chief of Staff for Rep. Harvey Hilderbran) talked about what the Texas Legislature can do, and George Bristol (President, Texas Coalition for Conservation) outlined the need for state park funding. Two case studies were presented: the "Arkansas Turnaround," by Richard Davies, and "Forever Florida Solution," by Steve Dana suggested effective approaches to improving state park funding. A panel with Bristol, Kercheval, Davney, Dana, and Davis was moderated by Ken Kramer, Executive Director, Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club.

US 69 / BTNP PARKWAY

TxDOT held well-attended open houses in Beaumont and Woodville, May 8-9 for public review of plans for the US 69 expansion. Aerials and schematics were available.

Among many concerns for BTA to offer comments are: 1) that all mitigation must be reserved for the BTNP for purchase of buffer areas; 2) that as a BTNP Parkway, US 69 should maintain scenic quality of highway by (a) prohibiting billboards, (b) "zoning" to promote development in local communities, and (c) encouraging restoration of native plant communities along highway right-of-ways. The BTA further endorsed BTNP recommendations to: 1) eliminate interchanges at FM 420 and FM 2827 to discourage commercial development; 2) to review alignment to minimize impacts to wildlife and the hydrology of the region; 3) work with FHA to incorporate soundscape protection plans at three especially sensitive areas; 4) move the ROW further away from the Visitor Center; 5) consider a bike trail from Kountze to the Visitor Center as part of the project.

PRESERVE STRATEGIC PLAN

The BTA directors met April 8th and approved in principle the work of the Strategic Planning Group and its four committees. An executive summary for the plan is in progress and will be on the agenda for the July 8th meeting. The text will be released for review, and public discussion will be invited at the annual Big Thicket Day October 14.

PRESERVE OVERSIGHT

by Ann Roberts

A.T.B.I. Organized: The meeting scheduled on May 1 was rescheduled for May 15. At that meeting, the group elected Dr. Jerry Cook (SHSU) as President of the Executive Council; Gillian Bower (TAMU-CESU), Vice-President; and Dr. Bruce Drury (BTA) as Secretary. Committee reports were presented.

TBI Science-Technical Group meet at Texas A & M

The Science-Technical Group met at College Station May 8th. NPS officials Dr. Michael Soukup and Dr. Bert Frost joined the meeting by tele-conference. Keith Langdon, Branch Inventory Chief, Great Smoky Mountain National Park briefed the group on the Great Smokies project.

Those attending discussed the possibility of Texas-wide ATBIs, but agreed to concentrate first on Big Thicket National Preserve. Vans delivered participants to various repositories for species collections. Dr. Dale Kruse and Heather Prestridge led a tour of the Texas Center for Wildlife Collections, and Ed Riley led the tour of the Entomology Collection.

A.T.B.I. Kick-off Scheduled June 17; Mushroom Walk Led by David & Pat Lewis: A mushroom walk in the Big Thicket National Preserve, Lance Rosier Unit, will be held June 17th, 10:00 AM at the Big Thicket Field Research Station in Saratoga. The group will foray into the Lance Rosier Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve and collect and record species. This will be the first activity of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI). The collections will be displayed, identified, and dried for deposit in a herbarium. Bring lunch, water, bug spray and collecting gear. We will furnish waxed bags and collecting labels. Please call or email with any questions: David & Pat Lewis 409-423-3776 or email: plewis@jas.net

Position Management: A review team from NPS-IMR composed of Bill Wellman, Deputy Regional Director; Denis Davis, Asst. Regional Director for Management Assistance Reviews; and Joe Escoto, IMR Comptroller visited BTNP March 30-31. The team conducted interviews with each employee Their report addressed:

• Evaluation of current organizational structure and making recommendations to streamline functions so that staffing is in line with available funding
• Development of effective and evolving position management strategy to plan for today and the future
• Evaluation and improvement of human relations and communication

Headquarters EA: The Administrative headquarters facility Environmental Assessment was released May 15 and the preferred alternative is expanding the existing maintenance facility that purports to "take advantage of underutilized space," locate near the Visitor Center, and minimize environmental impacts. Public scoping closed April 21, and public comment on the EA will close June 15.

Resources: Curtis Hoagland checked on the Rosier Unit bat trees recently, and we're happy to report that Rita didn't dislodge them! In addition, Curtis reports that Texas Forest Service has provide aerial photography for approximately two-thirds of the park, which will be added to the Geographic Information System (GIS) drive for staff use. Eventually, the Preserve may have a complete set of post storm infrared imagery.

Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program: Leslie DuBey reports that the Resources Education folks will begin their second year T-R-T program in June. Two teachers have been funded jointly by NPS, Mead-Westvaco and BTA. Donna Neely will be coming back this year, and the new recruit is Will Watkins, Kountze Middle School.