Big Thicket Reporter - 2007/04/15

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HOUSTON AUDUBON DONATES 20 ACRES

The Big Thicket National Preserve reports that the Houston Audubon Society donated 20 acres that adjoin the Lance Rosier Unit on FM 770. The property appears to be primarily palmetto hardwood flats. Yahoo!!!

Those nice Audubon folks have been supporting Big Thicket from Day One, and that support contributed tremendously to the establishment of the Preserve.

BIG THICKET ASSOCIATION HIRES DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT

Ann Roberts and Linda Brindle

President Bruce Drury reports that Linda C. Brindle will assume the duties as Executive Director for the Big Thicket Consortium on March 1, 2007. The Consortium comprises autonomous groups that include the Big Thicket Association, The Big Thicket National Heritage Trust, The Thicket of Diversity, and the Lamar University Center for Big Thicket Studies. Offices will be maintained in the Preserve's Field Research Station in Saratoga. Call, fax or leave a message at 936-274-1181.

Ms. Brindle has a B.S. degree in Parks & Recreation/ Resources Management from Slippery Rock State University with a background in parks administration. Her experience includes a variety of parks, including Big Bend National Park, Amistad National Recreation Area, Yosemite National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Other assignments involve work as administrative associate, Dept. of Nursing, Lamar University and asadministrative assistant, University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory. Ms. Brindle states that she is very happy to return to working for the advancement of environmental conservation.

Ms. Brindle and President Drury selected Ann Roberts to serve as Administrative Assistant, and she began service on Feb. 5th. Ms. Roberts has been a Preserve volunteer since 1989, including work as a visitor contact person at the Information Station from 1989-2001. She continues to participate in staffing Preserve exhibits at expositions and festivals - whenever and wherever needed. Other volunteer work includes serving as Office Manager for the Kountze Chamber of Commerce. For BTA, she serves as chair of the Publications Committee and is co-editor of the Reporter.

Ms. Roberts was Data Coordinator for a Senatorial campaign. Periodically, attorney Dallas Barrington (BTA Advisory Board) employs her to perform work for his law office.

SCIENCE CONFERENCE, MARCH 22-25

The fourth Big Thicket Science Conference convenes at the Holiday Inn Plaza in Beaumont March 22-25. Check the website at www.bigthicketsc.org for details.

Participants assemble Thursday, March 23 for an evening social, and get down to business Friday at 8:15 AM.

Keynote speakers are Paul Trianosky, Director of Forest Conservation, Nature Conservancy, and Keith Langdon, NPS Regional Branch Chief for Inventory. Four plenary sessions provide papers on hurricane damage, black bears and ivory-billed woodpeckers, and rare habitats. Concurrent sessions for contributed papers involve vertebrates/ATBI, invertebrates/Insects, and plants. Posters are scheduled as well as field trips to Rush Creek, Woodpecker Hill, Canyonlands, and a kayak trip to Cook's Lake.

BTA continues to serve as Conference treasurer and registrar. Sponsors include Big Thicket National Preserve, Beaumont Convention and Visitor Bureau, Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit-Texas A & M, Lamar's Center for Big Thicket Studies, Magnolia Charitable Trust, Nature Conservancy, Temple-Inland Foundation, Texas Parks & Wildlife, USGS-National Wetlands Research Center, USDA-Southern Research Station, US Fish & Wildlife, Western National Parks Association, and William Marsh Rice University.

ENTERGY GENEROSITY

Once again Entergy delivers! The Conservation Fund received $15,000 to allow Pineywoods folks to attend a National Conservation Training Center workshop. Patty Riddlebarger, director of corporate social responsibility, commented, "Ecotourism can play an important role in preserving the environment while at the same time contributing to the local economy.

Attendees include: Ellen Buchanan (TP&W), Todd Brindle (BTNP), Bill Dupree (City of Beaumont), Jim Jeter (SFASU) Stuart Marcus (Trinity River NWR), Kim McMurray (Entergy), Carolyn Salter (City of Palestine), and Vici Taylor (National Forest and Grassland of Texas).

Entergy's "good works" over the long haul include donation of 40 acres to Nature Conservancy for the Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary in the 1970s, support for restoration of Marysee Prairie, contribution toward purchase of land surrounding the Visitor Center, and sponsorship of the Big Thicket Science Conference.

PRESERVE OVERVIEW

Bird counts were held Dec. 16th at Turkey Creek with 10 participants who identified 69 bird species. The Beech Creek count on Dec. 23, attracted 13 participants who identified 76 species.

The Longleaf Pine Restoration project with Nature Conservancy was conducted Jan. 12-13. Teams planted 37,800 longleaf seedlings to restore about 100 acres near the Visitor Center.

The Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program attracted so many applicants this year that Pres. Bruce Drury is trying to raise money for five candidates @ $2400 each.

A Comprehensive Interpretive Planning Workshop was held Feb. 6-7-8 at the Field Research Station with NPS consultants Richard Cohen, Linda Lutz-Ryan, and Skip Meehan. In addition to the interpretive staff - Matt Fagan (Chief), Leslie DuBey, Paula Carrington, and Janice Hudson, most of the Preserve divisions were represented as well as local stakeholders. The second phase of planning is tentatively scheduled for April.

The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory teams will conclude their search for the ivory-billed woodpecker at the end of February and will begin surveys in the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge.

CONSERVATION OUTLOOK

STATE PARKS - CHRONIC JEOPARDY

(Excerpts from Tyler Morning Telegraph, Feb. 10, 2007)

The Texas state parks system has been allowed to deteriorate because of lack of funding, even though a dedicated sporting goods sales tax brings in an estimated $105 million annually... That is because most of the money from the special sales tax, created in 1993, has been diverted by lawmakers to other needs. Just $20.6 million from the fund went to state parks last year...

Robert Cook, the department’s executive director, told members of a House appropriations subcommittee that the agency has foregone repairs to cabins built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps at about 40 state parks...

What makes this entire situation, which clearly fits the description of a “state parks crisis,” more deplorable is that the sporting goods sales tax was set up as a fund to be dedicated to state parks, and it has provided ample money to keep them going in excellent condition. Parks officials want the state to spend all of the estimated $105 million income from the tax to revitalize the 600,000-acre parks system. Since that is what the money was designated for in the first place, that is not an unreasonable request...

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, has filed legislation to send all money from the sporting goods tax to the state parks system. Rep. Carl Isett, a Lubbock Republican who chairs the subcommittee, said he supports Hilderbran’s proposal… House Speaker Tom Craddick has said he supports significantly increasing funding for state parks, either by appropriating a larger portion of the sporting goods tax proceeds or through other means... Gov. Rick Perry had expressed similar concerns about the department’s capacity to use all of the additional funds, but Monday he declared parks funding an emergency issue. And in his State of the State speech on Tuesday, he said all the sporting good tax money should go to parks.”...

Taxes and fees earmarked for specific purposes should be applied exclusively to those things with no diversion. If the funds turn out to be excessive for the dedicated purpose, the taxes or fees should be revised or repealed. An honest approach on this issue is overdue and needs to come early in this session. Putting dedicated parks funds to their intended use is the place to start. For the latest info, check out www.savetexasparks/com

NECHES RIVER N.W.R.: DALLAS VS. THE ENVIRONMENT

Editorial (excerpts), Lufkin Daily News, Jan. 12, 2007

Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board contend in lawsuits filed Wednesday that both the city of Dallas and the state of Texas are complaining that a bigger, stronger entity - in this case, the federal government - is overriding their local control. Now that's the pot calling the kettle black.

Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board contend … that the federal government neglected to consider what environmental and economic impact the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge would have on North Texas before it approved the refuge this past summer. That's funny, because the lake Dallas wants to build for its future water needs isn't in North Texas. It's smack dab in the middle of East Texas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did our region a favor when it OK'd the refuge, which would preserve 25,281 acres of Texas' best remaining hardwood river-bottom wetlands. In addition to the value of the hardwood forest and the protection of the wildlife that calls it home, we have to consider the environmental damage that would be caused to all of us who live downstream of the Neches River if it were to be flooded to create a reservoir.

What, exactly, would replacing the refuge with a reservoir do to the environment and economy of East Texas? The answer: a lot worse than not building the lake would do to the environment and economy of North Texas.

If Dallas really wants local control, let's let East Texas voters decide whether they want to give up a huge section of their best land so that someone else can use it to store water.

We hope the federal courts will see the lawsuits for what they are - a desperate attempt to strongarm East Texas into giving up one of its crown jewels, and to render moot a significant amount of study and planning by the Fish and Wildlife Service - and dismiss them.

PINEYWOODS EXPERIENCE

The PWE tourism entourage assembled January 9 in Beaumont and began proceedings with a tour of Beaumont museums and Crockett Street Historic Entertainment District. A wine and cheese reception and program followed at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. The evening dinner was held at Suga's Deep South Cuisine and Jazz Bar.

BITH rangers Paula Carrrington and Leslie DuBey lead the Pineywoods group on the Kirby Nature Trail

On January 10, some of the participants gathered at the Kirby Nature Trail for an interpretive hike with Rangers Leslie DuBey and Paula Carrington. Then the group attended a session at the BTNP Visitor Center, welcomed by Supt. Todd Brindle and Division Chief Matt Fagan. Shomer Zwelling talked about "Thematic Structure," and Brenda Adams-Weyant's topic was "Site Inventory" (both with Fermata, Inc.). Miles Phillips discussed support functions of the Texas Cooperative Extension.

THICKET OF DIVERSITY

January 26, the Executive Council of "Thicket of Diversity" met at the Houston Area Research Center with Vice-President Gillian Bowser presiding. Stephanie Glenn and Antoine Nguyen presented an overview of the protocols for the ATBI database. The Education/Outreach Committee discussed volunteer forms, the public service announcement in preparation at KFDM-TV, and a proposal to train citizen/scientists. Maxine Johnston reported for the Funding Committee on grants received and pending, and discussed awards to TWIG group leaders.

Dr. Dale Kruse submitted a report for the Science-Technical Committee. TWIG group leaders designated include Macrofungi, David P. Lewis (Gulf Coast Mycological Society); Tardigardes, Harry A. Meyer and Juliana Hinton (both from McNeese State Univ.); Pseudoscorpions, Richard E. Clopton (Peru State College) and Jerry L. Cook (SHSU); and Aquatic Ectotherms, Michael A. Barger(Peru State College). Robert Egan and his students (Univ. of Nebraska) collected lichens at 10 locations in the Preserve during December.

Other TWIGs and group leaders anticipated include terrestrial insects, Will Godwin (SFASU); Lepidoptera, David Wagner (Univ. of Connecticut); Slime Molds, Paul Super (NPS) and Steven Stephenson (Univ. of Arkansas); Collembola, Ernest C. Bernard (Univ. of Tennessee-Knoxville); and Bryophytes, Paul G. Davison (Univ. of North Alabama) and Dale a. Kruse (TAMU).

Bio-Blitz, June 16

The Council also held a conference call session on Feb. 9 to discuss training requirements for volunteers as well as the BIO BLITZ to be conducted by Thicket of Diversity on June 16 at the Field Research Station [Note: This mistakenly said June 19]. Dr. Carl Knight of Eastfield College will have ten students and some instructors in the field during the preceding week. Other TWIGs will be involved also. The Texas Extension Service and the Master Naturalists will train Prairie View A&M and Texas A&M students (seniors and grad students) as Citizen/Scientists. These students will train other students in subsequent sessions in August.

The next meeting is Monday, March 5 at the Field Research Station in Saratoga.

EVENTS

• March 22-25, Big Thicket Science Conference, Holiday Inn Plaza, Beaumont
• March 28, Hancock Forest Management tour
• April 14, BTA Board Meeting, Field Research Station, Saratoga
• April 28-29, Wilderness Pow Wow, Sam Houston National Forest
• May 17, Leadership Southest Texas, Big Thicket Program and Graduation
• June 16, Thicket of Diversity, Bio-Blitz [Note: this mistakenly said June 19]