|
Green Dallas
How green is our city? Dallas launches
enviro-active web site.
Earth Day is Every Day. Environmental tips
for all citizens; adults and kids.
North Texas Web Worm Infestations
Wed, 20 Jun 2007
Their webs look nasty and so does the damage they do but they are a bit
hyped. They only attack specific trees and live for only a few weeks.
In our region they have a preference for mulberry, sweetgum, and pecan
but I have seen webs on bald cypress and even on red trumpet vine.
For the complete story what they are, where they come from and what to
do about them, see the article at the Texas
Agriculture Extension Service.
Eagle Mountain Lake Park Land to be Sold to Developers!!
Wed, 28 Jun 2006
Please do what you can to voice your opposition of the
sale of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department park property on the shores of
Eagle Mountain Lake to the highest bidder ---DEVELOPERS. Don't let
them take our public property (400 acres) away and sub-divide it up for
residential lots or commercial development. Help preserve open space and
wildlife habitat. Demand that this accessible greenspace be preserved.
Open space (especially in the D/FW area) is disappearing under concrete
and asphalt. How do you want your community to look in 25 years? Take
action now.
Write editorials to local papers, contact Governor Rick
Perry, write Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the General Land
Office.
Contact Tarrant Regional Water District and Tarrant
County to voice your support of their offer to purchase the land and
open it to the public.
Read more about this tragedy-in-the-making OR
triumph-in-the-making. The end result can be determined by the voting
public.
http://www.seml.org/newsviews.htm
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/
editorial/14842183.htm
Dallas Museum of Natural History to Build on New Site
Natural Gas Drilling Planned for Tandy Hills Natural Area
In case you have not read the 8/18/04 edition of the
Star Telegram, plans are underway to drill for natural gas in Tandy Hills Natural Area, aka Tandy Hills Park, in the Meadowbrook area.
If you oppose this, write a letter to the editor
of the Star Telegram and/or Fort Worth Weekly telling them so.
If you can spare a few moments to write a letter, the email address
is: letters@star-telegram.com.
The linked letter by by Don Young is a sample of
what you can tell them. Thanks for your attention to this important
matter.
Scientists
Discover New Species of Fish in Texas - TPWD 2004
North Central Texas SmartScape News
- NCTCOG 3/2004
Smart Gardening for North Central Texas. Regionally coordinated effort to promote the water conservation, pollution prevention, recycling, composting, waste reduction principles of SmartScape, a tool to help homeowners and gardening enthusiasts create beautiful landscapes that require less water, pesticides, and fertilizer to thrive. It is simply Smart Gardening for North
Central Texas.
Dallas Nature Center re-opens as Cedar Ridge Preserve
by Kelly Cotten (Chairman, CRP Management Committee)
On Saturday May 10, 2003 the Dallas Nature Center formally re-opened under a new name -- Cedar Ridge Preserve -- and new management by Audubon Dallas. This 633-acre preserve, jointly owned by the City and County of Dallas, is an outstanding complement to the nearby Dogwood Canyon project. Eventually these two sanctuaries may function as one. In the meantime, our board has created a CRP Management Committee chaired by me and including Carol Frank (our Treasurer), Chuck Siegel (VP of Fundraising), Ann Bradshaw (a former board member of the old DNC), and Dr. Marcy Marsden (our VP of Conservation).
In turn, the management committee has created or is in the process of creating subcommittees to advise us on natural resources (inc. habitat and biodiversity), constructed resources (including buildings and trails), and programming (including classes and field trips). Please let us know if you'd like to participate on any of these subcommittees, or volunteer for any of the many workdays at the preserve. Perhaps the greatest need we have right now is for a volunteer Volunteer Coordinator!
Some things haven't changed at the preserve. Mingo Mendez, the former caretaker for almost 25 years has accepted a contract to continue those same duties. Those of you that have been hiking the trails for years will be no doubt be comforted to see his smiling face again. Annie Smirmaul and her garden club continue to help maintain the Native Plant Garden with loving care and a passion for native Texas and drought-adapted plants. And many of the dedicated Scout troops and other non-profit groups that helped build the nature center are once again offering their services to renovate the preserve.
Other things have changed greatly. The old ranch house cum visitor center, its attached garages, swimming pool and guest house have all been removed. In their places are fields that are being restored to escarpment prairie -- one of the rarest ecosystems in North Central Texas. The demolition was a long, complex and messy process -- and the restoration process will be even more so -- so please be patient. The end result will be spectacular, and a great educational resource.
As sad as it is to see those old buildings go, it's also good to know that what money might have been spent on trying to repair and maintain the buildings has now been diverted to the more important tasks of habitat and trail restoration -- or what we call, "putting the Nature back into the Dallas Nature Center." We are making a complete inventory of the natural resources of the preserve, and are dedicated to restoring many species that were once easily found on the preserve but are now absent, rare or endangered -- such as the Black-capped Vireo or the Rattlesnake Fern.
Overhauling the trail system is also a top priority. Many of the trails are now almost 25 years old and are starting to show their age. A trail inventory has been completed. As with all of our planning at the preserve, experts from Texas Parks and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife, Texas Master Naturalists and other agencies are helping us to evaluate the results. Long-term, serious erosion is a major problem, as is the decline of some trail structures such as steps, bridges and observation platforms. Chuck Siegel, our VP of Fundraising has submitted several grant applications for funds to renovate the trail system, and over the next several months we will begin the difficult work of renovating the old trail system. Our ultimate goal is to provide safe, efficient, state-of-the-art trails that bring people into close contact with the rich natural heritage of the preserve.
Those are some of the highlights of the 26-page CRP management plan adopted by the board earlier this year. During the next 12 months, as I serve my terms as Immediate Past President and Chair of the CRP Management Committee, I will do my utmost to make this preserve the very best that it can be. In the next few weeks, the CRP committee will be working with our VP of Communications, Connie Sandlin, to create a dedicated phone line and webpage for the preserve, so that we can provide to you the very latest news about all the great things happening at Audubon Dallas' newest sanctuary -- Cedar Ridge Preserve. I look forward to seeing you all out there this summer!
|
Urban Forestry Focus
Every tree is precious! A new committee answerable to
the public and policy makers in Dallas regarding all issues pertaining
to urban forestry, our region trees and the ecosystems they support. See
the Dallas
Urban Forestry Advisory Committee web site.
Fall Web Worms
In the meanwhile, squish all you see outside of their web. You can also cut
open the webs to allow wasps and birds to eat their fill.
Read a feature story on this issue from the
Fort Worth Weekly.
Do You Want
Gas Drilling In Our
Beautiful Tandy Hills?
Please join us for our first meeting this Thursday,
August 4, at 6PM. The address is 3512 View Street, across the street
from the park.
The meeting will be very informal and will last no more than 1 hour.
Contact:
Don Young 817-731-2787
Prairie Coalition Action Network (2/2003)
The Prairie Coalition Action Network is a loosely organized
national coalition in support of prairie preservation
and stewardship. They keep a list of volunteer contacts
and e-mail them "alerts" about legislation and government
activities relating to prairie conservation. The founding
members are prairie activists from Iowa, Texas and Missouri.
Coalition members are provided brief descriptions of the
issue of concern and asked to e-mail or fax the pertinent
agency or their Congresspersons with their comments. If
you would like to be on the list, please email Lee Stone
at leeprairie@austin.rr.com
or Cindy Hildebrand at Grantridge@aol.com.
An email list serve is available for serious and pertinent discussions regarding the issues involving prairies,
prairie legislation, biota, habitat issues, etc. To subscribe, send email to
majordomo@hort.net with the body
of your message containing the command "subscribe
prairie" without the quotes.
NEW WILDFLOWER DISCOVERED IN North Central Texas by Debra Dennis, Fort Worth bureau of the Dallas Morning News
The Lone Star State, already boasting of more that 5,000
native flowering plants, can claim one more wildflower. Texas
Master Naturalist volunteer Jeff Quayle of Fort Worth discovered
the new plant while hiking Lake Mineral Wells State Park
in April. The new species was announced in the Dec. 19 issue
of the botanical journal Sida, a publication of the Botanical
Research Institute of Texas. "There are people I know who are experienced naturalists or botanists and
they've never had anything named for them, so it's quite an honor," said Mr. Quayle, 36. The plant, a member of the sunflower family, informally will be called Quayle´s
ragwort.
Known by its scientific name, Senecio quaylei, the plant is a short-lived
annual of the sunflower family and grows to be about waist-high said Tom
Harvey, a spokesman for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The wildflower produces
yellow flowers in spring, he said. Mr. Quayle recognized the flower from
genus Senecio but knew nothing else about it, Mr. Harvey said. Dr. Barkley,
a professor emeritus of botany at Kansas State University, sent samples
to the Smithsonian Institute and the Royal Botanic Gardens in England,
but no matches were found. Dr. Barkley said any plant discovery is important,
because it could assist genetic research into high-tech plant breeding,
help develop new pharmaceuticals, or yield horticultural uses. Mr. Quayle,
a self-taught botanist, is one of 850 volunteers in the Texas Master Naturalist
program who work to help the public develop an understanding of conservation.
The volunteer program, cosponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the
Agricultural Extension Service, was started in 1997 and has 12 chapters
throughout the state.
Oak Wilt in North Texas
A special report from the Regional Office of the Texas Forest Service,
Courtney Blevins and a TFS Statement on Oak Wilt Treatment, A "semiofficial" position
statement from the Texas Forest Service on oak wilt by the TFS oak wilt
forester in Kerrville and Dr. Appel.
Campión Trails Greenbelt
Park Expanded
A new 12-foot-wide, 6000-foot concrete primary trail running north past Royal Lane to just south of Interstate Highway 635 was added to the trail system. See the
Dalhoma Trail System map of
which Campión Trails is a part.
Regional Area Trail Funding in 2000
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the allocation of $2.2 million in federal funds for Texas trail projects at its Aug. 31 meeting. The recreational trail projects will provide new or improved opportunities for hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, off-road motor vehicle enthusiasts and nature viewers.
Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Opens New
Web Site
The staff of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge is pleased to
announce that we now have a live website or our own. Please visit the
site at
www.fwnaturecenter.org or
www.fwnc.org.
Although the site is a work in progress, we are sure that web visitors
will find the site information packed.
 Since
each of you has a professional or personal website that you manage, we
would like to request that you link to our site. We will soon be
adding a links page and would be happy to return the favor. I am
attaching a small jpeg of our logo if you would like to use it in the
link. Thanks in advance and please don't hesitate to spread the word
about our new site.
News Series
Jim Varnum's This and That
Master Naturlist Deluxe Jim Varnum
Insider Newsletter
Department of Environmental Resources, North Central Texas Council of Governments through DFWinfo.com.
TPWD Nature News
Nature and Wildlife Conservation Headlines in Texas sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
TPWD Calendar - Featured Events
Check out nature events in our fair state and close to home.
TAMU News
TAMU Ag news regarding Texas nature, from the Public Affairs group, Agricultural Communications, TAMU.
TNRCC (Now the TCEQ) News Release Headlines
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality headlines and news around Texas.
Texas Nature
Tourism e-Newsletter
Subscribe to the TNTC eNewsletter or read it on-line
|
