CROSS TIMBERS
CHAPTER
N E W S L E T T E R
V O L U M E
2
N U M B E R
5
O C T - D E C
2 0 1 3
AUTUMN. One of my favorite words. After a very long and hot summer of
many outdoor adventures, I often relieve my sun soaked brain by contemplating
what it will feel like to enjoy those first wispy cooling breezes that will come
wafting across the parched landscape. Albert Camus once said that “Autumn is
a second spring where every leaf is a flower”. We may not get the most
fabulous displays of fall color, but we do get a changing of hues and that
change is one that I am always eagerly awaiting. So whatever the autumn
brings for you I hope that you get out often and enjoy it as I do. Best wishes to
all for the rest of 2013. We’ll chat again in 2014!!
Chad Etheridge
Cross Timbers Chapter Vice-President
[email protected]
A Sense of Place
HESTER SHWARZER
CHAD ETHERIDGE
Although many writers and speakers have put their spin on the
words in this title I wish to consider only one quote from the
Wikipedia website. "It (this phrase) is often used in relation to those
characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as to
those that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and
belonging."
ALICE MOFFIT
My early sense of place was a primal bond with the mysterious
Grinnell Lake bottom lands of far northeast Texas. On rare
occasions panther could still be heard. But there was no fear, only
SANDY FOUNTAIN
the wish to see a big cat as I often sat in an open bedroom window
watching the moonlight play through the giant white oak trees. This
was my sense of place. It was a place of freedom and caution, of
RICK SHEPHERD
beauty and tiring chores, of dreaming and becoming.
In western Colorado our family found another strong sense of place
in a spectacular aspen grove by Maroon Lake at the base of Maroon
Bells where we spent countless hours hiking, picnicking and just
BILL SHAW
sitting as we soaked in the beauty.
Later in Pueblo, Colorado I searched for something special for
months before I fell in love with the vast openness of the flat prairie
GINGER BASON-BOWDEN
east of the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. As
never before I started to closely observe the play of clouds in the
sky. Just like the author, Byrd Baylor in her book, “I’m in Charge of
GEORGE MCBRIDE
Celebrations” I watched “dust devils” dance across the open spaces
and wished to move with them. The prairie grabbed me in a way no
other landscape ever has and I will always harbor fond memories of
KIM STEVENS-GUNNLAUGSSON that special sense of place.
CHAD ETHERIDGE
Now to Arlington, Texas and a current sense of place. I thought
about it last evening as I sat in a darkened yard listening to a nearby
screech owl and watching a couple of bats as they cleared the post oaks and passed over the roof.
Except for the sound of traffic on Highway 30 and the neighbors' outdoor lights I could have
been in the historic post oak woodlands of the Cross Timbers.
One thing I’d like to change about the places I’ve come to love is the “placelessness” of yards
in every location. The sameness of mowed green carpets, trimmed hedges and similar plantings
takes away the specialness of this great, diverse land. Some brave souls have begun to landscape
with the plants that carpeted the landscape the native Americans and early settlers knew. I
applaud each of you. What a difference if each of us could bring home a little bit of nature into
our unique space.
As we work to enhance the public areas where we volunteer our time it would be well to
remember Aldo Leopold’s statement, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity,
stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Master Naturalists have a challenge to keep and improve and enlarge our wild places and educate
our communities about the possibilities in their own backyards. Let’s make it happen!
Hester Schwarzer
President- Cross timbers Master Naturalists
Greetings from volat, aka Bill Shaw.
A big Howdy and Welcome to the 2013 Fall Master Naturalist Class. I hope you are l enjoying
the classes and field trips and the program is living up to your expectations.
All should be receiving notices from me concerning both Volunteer and Advance Training
opportunities. On occasion I also send out notices of programs or activities that I feel might be of
interest, but may not qualify for either Volunteer or AT. I always add the caveat if the activity does
not qualify for hours reporting.
When I send out the notices, most often I am forwarding information sent by other organizations
or individuals involved with a given group. If you need additional information, please contact the
person listed in the forward. I will not always have answers to your questions concerning the
forward’s.
For those of you who may not be aware, there is an extensive list of pre-approved Volunteer and
Advanced Training programs on the CTMN web site. Type in this address to go directly to the site.
NOTE the link is not live, so you will have to type it in. The list is not up
to date, but we are working to get a revised list as time allows. However, most of the lists are still
accurate but may be lacking some pre-approved activities.
Please note that even though the various groups are listed, it is possible that not every program or
activity offered by the source will necessarily be OK for reportable hours. For instance, a program
at BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) on Fauna of the Rain Forests or Mammals of the
Arctic would not qualify. I don’t think we have rain forests in the Cross Timbers nor any Arctic
mammals.
Another example would be a conference of Master Gardner’s where the topic is vegetable
gardening and How to Grow Giant Tomatoes. Sorry, but not a native plant. However, if the topic
was organic gardening with an emphasis on soil amendments, composting, and a discussion on
beneficial organisms that live in the soil, it would be OK for AT.
I cannot emphasize enough, that all programs for a given group will always be acceptable for
hours reporting. Another example is the many programs at River Legacy in Arlington. Alma
Pohler is the director at River Legacy and also a CTMN member. Alma is aware of our policies on
volunteer hours and does her best to be sure that CTMN volunteers are put into positions that will
qualify. However, if Alma needs help in areas that do not qualify for hours reporting, please do
not be hesitant to help out anyway.
If you have an area of special interest that may not qualify for reportable Vol or AT, do not hesitate
to follow your heart and learn or share your interest with others. You are always encouraged to be
better informed and to improve yourself.
Keep up the good work and e-mail me with any questions. I will do my best to respond as soon as
possible.
Best regards.
[email protected]
I WONDER IF
THAT COUNTS???
You’ve been out working hard. Putting in those tiring, but oh so
rewarding volunteer hours or attending a captivating lecture that has
really inspired you and suddenly you wonder, “Can I count this for
CTMN? If so, how do I record it. Travel time or no?”. Well worry no
longer! Along with the info that Bill Shaw (VOLAT) provided, Rick
Shepherd, our fabulous records keeper has put together an intriguing
little paper that will put all those annoying questions to rest. “Activities
Reporting 101” will give you the nuts and bolts of the what, where,
when, and how of getting your hours properly recorded, reported,
and counted. Rick developed this for the newest CTMN class, but we
thought everyone might like a review so we included it in this
newsletter. Use this to aid you in completing your Activity Reports and
most importantly, TURN THEM IN!! These hours are extremely
important for our chapter and the state. Thanks and keep up the
great work!
1.
Graduation requires that trainees attend all classes and field trips. Missed sessions must be made up by attendance at either the following year’s CTMN Fall
Class or by making arrangements with one of the other area Cross Timbers ecosystem chapters [North Texas MN-Dallas, Elm Fork MN-Denton or Rio Brazos
MN-Cleburne/Somervell].
2.
First-year Certification status is achieved by participating in and reporting forty
[40] hours of volunteer [VOL] and eight [8] hours of advanced training [AT]
hours.
3.
Trainees may and are encouraged to begin participating in volunteer activities
during the training classes. The first 40 hours of VOL must be generated by participation in activities in the chapter’s home counties [Tarrant or Parker]. Activities outside these counties are not reportable for credit. [Exception: If
attending the Annual Statewide TMN Conference, VOL activities are reportable
during the 1st 40 hours accumulation period.
After completing logging the first 40 hours of VOL, activities in other Cross Timbers
ecosystem counties are reportable for credit.
4.
Trainees may and are likewise encouraged to supplement their class training
sessions by attending instructional programs outside the training program
which generate hour for hour AT reportable credit [e.g. attendance at the CTMN monthly meeting earn one[1] hour of AT for each meeting attended. Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of each month at the FW Botanic Garden, 7-8
PM. [Exceptions: the December Holiday and February Awards Celebration
meetings count for VOL + Travel Time only].
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
5.
TMN allows Chapters to count round-trip travel [TRAV] time for participation in
VOL activities. CTMN does count such reported travel time.
[Exception: As only VOL activity generates travel time credit, reportable round-trip
travel time to attend the Annual Statewide TMN Conference, is calculated as the percentage AT+VOL time spent in supportive VOL activities at the conference:
[ Reportable TRAV = TRAV x % VOL Time ]
6.
Volunteer hours must be accumulated by participating in activities in the State
of Texas by TMN policy and in the Cross Timbers ecosystem beyond the first 40
hours when topics are ecosystem-specific, i.e. flora and fauna.
Advanced training hours are currently restricted by TMN to be generated by
attendance at instructional programs only in the State of Texas, and must
address chapters’ geographic area ecosystem-specific flora and fauna.
[Examples: Attendance at a program or symposium addressing palm trees
and/or roseate spoonbills will not count as they are not native to the Cross
Timbers ecosystem. Some organizations have statewide, regional, national
and/or international scope, such as BRIT. Many of BRIT’s presentations are
Cross Timbers ecosystem specific, but many are not and are not reportable
for CTMN credit. If a migratory species is found in the Cross Timbers
ecosystem at some point of its migration, a presentation regarding it will
count. Many songbirds, raptors, wading birds,
will qualify under this
consideration.]
Advanced training hours addressing generic, non-ecosystem specific
concepts are reportable regardless where in Texas they are attended.
[Examples: Water conservation, soil conservation, trail building, soil, water
and light pollution, habitat restoration,
]
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
7.
Use the Pre-approved list for VOL and AT as a guide. If you wish to participate
in an activity which is not specifically listed, check with the Chair of the Volunteer & Advanced Training Committee [currently Bill Shaw Bill Shaw
[email protected] . Plan ahead as far as possible. If consideration is urgent, call Bill and do not depend just upon e-mail. His contact info is on the Membership Directory on the CTMN web site.
8.
Pre-approval of all activities is necessary for VOL and AT to be reportable. This
is a TMN requirement related to liability insurance considerations. If the activity
has not been pre-approved, you need to send Bill Shaw a
completed form to have it pre-approved.
9.
CTMN trainees have until December 31 of the year following their Training
Class to complete all the make-ups they may need if classes or field trips were
missed. Attendance for such make-ups must be arranged by the trainee by calling or e-mailing the chapter representative presenting the class or leading the
field trip. Check their web sites for Class Training Schedules and time of year
held. Currently the info regarding such make-ups at sister chapters are as follows:
Elm Fork MN
Van Elliott
North Texas MN
Manduley Linda
Rio Brazos MN
Dave Moore [President]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
10.
Only Trainees’ hours may transfer from the class year to the following year
as many are still working toward satisfying Graduation and/or 1st Year
Certification requirements.
Thereafter TMN requires that no hours generated in any prior year may be
reported in any following year, except to meet the hours reporting grace
period deadline date [usually 5 days prior to its deadline for receiving all
chapters’ annual reports].
VOL and AT hours accumulate during each year for purpose of recertification, but start off at zero each new year.
VOL hours accumulate annually over the lifetimes of members for purposes
of Milestone [volunteerism] Awards.
Per TMN, if hours are not reported prior to the year end’s reporting
deadline, they are lost for purposes of certification, re-certification and
Milestone awards.
1.
Please use the standardized CTMN form:
TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST, CROSS TIMBERS CHAPTER ACTIVITY REPORT
2.
If your computer will allow, you may type your information onto the website’s
interactive form and then e-mail it to the Timekeeper.
Otherwise download and save the form to a file, from which you may type in
the info and save to attach to an e-mail to the Timekeeper. You may also print
the form, fill in the info handwritten and scan it for attachment to an e-mail.
Continued
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
OR, you may print out the form, enter the data by hand and mail the report
to the Timekeeper’s physical address [currently Rick Shepherd, 3216
Preston Hollow Road, Fort Worth TX 76109-2051]
3.
Be sure to fill out all the preliminary information requested:
Name: Obvious
Month: Month during which activities occurred
Year:
Obvious
Report PIN #: Your unique PIN # validates it is your report—cannot be
accepted w/o it ! A
Signature: Required only if you are mailing via US Mail
Date:
Date report is being submitted
__________________________
4.
Advanced Training:
Date: Obvious*
Organization: Sponsoring the program [Commonly known abbr. ok]*
Instructor:
Presenting the program*
Educational event description: Please provide name of program*
Hrs:
Actual length of presentation time [rounding off to next 5 min ok]*
[You may enter hours or minutes, just let me know: Hrs
Min
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
5.
Volunteer Service:
Date: Same as above*
Organization/Location: Place organization in this space and location in the
Service Project/Activity space w/ descriptive info.
Please be specific what the activity entailed*.
# people contacted:
youth/adult
This data is important for TMN funding and is
Don’t guess—and be sure to give attendance by
maturity designation, e.g. 20 youths and 3 adults
would be reported as 20/3. please don’t make me
guess or have to call you*.
If staffing a booth, one person is designated to keep
and report this data. If everyone does it, overreporting results.
Acres worked:
If multiple MNs are doing a privet pull, each reports
his/her own acreage worked*.
43,560 ft²=1 Acre
Estimate work area and convert to decimal acres—
You worked 25’x25’ plot=625ft²÷43,560=0.014acre.
Feet of Trail:
If are improving or clearing a trail with others,
report your own length of trail--estimate feet*.
Travel Time:
Round trip travel hours to and from a volunteer
activity. Report separately, not combined w/ Hrs
spent at the activity*.
Hrs:
Time spent at volunteer activity*
Cross Timbers Chapter
Activity Hours Reporting 101
Welcome to the Cross Timbers Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist™ Program
If you have any questions as to reportability of any VOL or AT activity, need to have
a new, unapproved activity approved or wish to start a project, please e-mail or call
, Chair VOL & AT Committee.
Please call or e-mail
.
if you have any questions about reporting
We are pleased you have chosen to take the Texas Master Naturalist™ Training
Class and look forward to working with you as you become members of the of the
Cross Timbers Chapter, 3rd oldest of the now 44 chapters across the state.
Note: Please always keep a personal copy of each of your Activity Report Forms.
Upon receipt of your reports, I will process the data and enter it into my rolling
record of your and other Master Naturalists’ reported hours and achievements.
You will usually receive a response from me documenting receipt of your report
soon after you send it. Depending upon volume of reports, you may receive a
contemporaneous update of your YTD hours profile, although the processing
sometime takes a while if volume is large, and it will be sent later. RLS
Josephine Keeney
American Beautyberry is a gorgeous woody shrub that can
grow up to fifteen feet tall in favorable moisture conditions,
but usually averages five to ten feet and just as wide.
This shrub likes part shade and rich moist soils and woks
very well as an under story plant. It can be propagated by
seeds or tip cuttings.
AMERICAN BEAUTYBERRY
The long arching branches have
large leaves in pairs spaced along the
branch. It blooms in the Spring with
small pink flowers clustered at the
base of the leaves.
During Summer the flowers turn into
large clusters of berries which
remain green until Fall when the
leaves turn a lovely yellow-green and
the berries a beautiful rose or
burgundy pink transforming the
shrub into a delight for the eyes.
Paddling as fast as I could! I had to get away! Get away at all costs! I
couldn't let them get me. I could hear them coming up behind me, ever closer,
faster and faster. I could feel the sodden dampness in the tepid air as it
surrounded my boat. I couldn't look back. I knew they were there and that it was
just a matter of time before they would reach me and begin to rapidly cover my
kayak, my paddle, my entire person with their sharp, clinging, striped shells.
Thousands upon thousands. Oh the horror....!!!
And then I awoke, to see the calmness of reality. To realize that it was all
just a dream. A nightmare actually, and very real in its intensity. The pursuers of
my unconscious mind were invaders. Aquatic invaders.
better known as Zebra mussels were coming after me and this time dreamscape
fiction was inspired by real time fact. They really
coming. It's a matter of
when not if, our local West Fork of the Trinity river will become home waters for
this very undesirable hitchhiker. Zebra mussels are non-native bi-valve mussels
that derive their name from the striped pattern on their small D-shaped shells.
They are natives of Eurasia, prominently the Balkans, Poland, and the former
Soviet Union. They made their way to the United States in in 1988 as stowaways
in the ballast water of a cargo ship from Russia. The ship's crew discharged this
water into the Great Lakes prior to loading their cargo and from that point on it
has been like trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Within 10 years the
zebra mussels had colonized all of the five Great Lakes as well as the Mississippi,
Tennessee, Ohio, and Hudson River basins. They have since spread to 29 states
and over 600 lakes and reservoirs. They were first found in Texas on April 3, 2009
in Lake Texoma which is in the Red River basin. Cross basin transfer occurred ,
most likely due to trailered boat contamination, and they have since been found
in Lake Ray Roberts (Elm Fork Trinity), Sister Grove Creek, and Lake Lavon (East
Fork Trinity). Most recently, in late June 2013, they were documented further
south on the Elm Fork in Lake Lewisville and the larvae were located in Lake
Bridgeport (West Fork Trinity). Since the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge is
located downriver on the West Fork we will eventually be visited by these
unwelcome invaders.
Texas has 50 of the 300 indigenous species of mussels found nationally and they
do a great job of filtering water, reducing sedimentation, consuming algae and
bacteria, as well as removing harmful pollutants. They are excellent indicators of
stream health and help achieve a desirable balance in the water column. Our
newest residents do the same thing, however, they have evolved into super over
achievers. Each mussel can process up to a gallon of water per day. They simply
filter out entirely too much. The algae and phytoplankton that they over consume
are food sources for many of Texas' native minnows and bait fish. The lack of
food for them causes population decline. Since these minnows are food for larger
fish such as bluegill and other sunfish, the population decline moves up the food
chain. Large predatory fish such as bass will ultimately suffer form the lack of
sunfish. In order for a largemouth bass to achieve one pound of weight it must
consume 10 pounds of sunfish. Those sunfish must consume 100 pounds of
minnows. Those minnows must consume 1000 pounds of algae/phytoplankton.
If that is not available...
Not only will the native fish population be affected, but physical
infrastructure is threatened as well. Zebra mussels attach to almost any surface
including sand, silt, rocks, walls, docks, boats, and municipal water intake pipes.
They even attach to living creatures such as crayfish, turtles, and native mussels.
They attach themselves with numerous string-like filaments called byssal threads
which come out of the hinged side of the bi-valve's shell. These attach the
mussels very securely and make manual removal extremely difficult. Lake shores
and river banks can become unusable once zebra mussel colonization occurs.
When feeding they open their sharp shells and make walking over them
hazardous. The mussels are very small, (about the size of a human thumbnail)
but they make up for their diminutive size with huge numbers. Reproduction is
rapid and massive. Females reproduce about 6-7 weeks after attaching. They can
produce up to 1000 eggs at each reproductive cycle and over one million per year.
The free-swimming microscopic larvae or veligers drift in water for weeks and
then settle and attach. This is one reason the mussels spread so quickly and
easily. Native mussel larvae or glochidia, require a host (usually the gills of a
fish) to attach to for a period before dropping off and attaching to the surface.
Zebra mussel veligers require no host and can survive in a drop of water, such as
on a trailered boat, for over 24 hours. Adults can survive out of the water for
weeks.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife predicts billions of dollars worth of damage across the
nation. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department estimates that damage from
these mussels to Texas could cost millions of dollars to repair. TPWD has also
implemented its Clean, Drain, and Dry campaign to help stop or at least curb the
spread of this invader. They have also enacted Emergency Zebra Mussel Orders
regarding the illegal transport, intentional or inadvertent, of these mussels.
Further information about these notices can be found at,
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20130701b.
Texas is no stranger to invasive species. We have been fighting them for years
and in this globally connected world we live in Zebra Mussels will certainly not be
the last. We can't stop them, but perhaps by spreading the word we can educate
the public and at least slow down the progress of these creatures that so
earnestly pursue me and interrupt my slumber!
So, until we meet again, I'll be out as usual,
Somewhere on a river...
Chad Etheridge
AQUATIC
WORKSHOP
AQUATIC WILD WORKSHOP
NOVEMBER 23, 2013 9:00-4:00
FORT WORTH NATURE CENTER & REFUGE
AQUATIC WILD Educators Workshop: The Project Aquatic WILD K-12 Curriculum
and Activity Guide emphasizes aquatic wildlife and aquatic ecosystems. The guide is full of 48
activities that emphasize hands-on, inquiry-based, and cooperative learning strategies with
demonstrated classroom effectiveness. It is organized in topic units and is based on the Project
WILD conceptual framework. Because these activities are designed for integration into existing
courses of study, instructors may use one or many Project Aquatic WILD activities or the entire
set of activities may serve quite effectively as the basis for a course of study.
Each Project Aquatic WILD activity contains all the information needed to conduct that
activity including objectives, method, background information, a list of materials needed,
procedures, evaluation suggestions, recommended grade levels, subject areas, duration, group
size, setting, and key terms. A glossary is provided, as well as a cross-referenced by topics and
skills.
is distributed through the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Project WILD
office.
Each seminar participant will receive a copy of the Aquatic WILD K-12
Curriculum & Activity Guide. Registration deadline is November 1, 2013. Cost
is $35 per person and includes guide, park admission, and snacks.
Where are the stars?
They used to shine
So much light
I think I’m blind
He knew the worth
It sustained his life
The land so rich and diverse
Now I fear, it disappears
As a child I played outdoors
I saw the fairies dance
Blinks of light, they flew at night
Are they now extinct?
It makes me sad, to think
Why do I mourn for what is lost?
Why do I yearn to save what’s wild?
I want to experience it the rest of my
days
And every future child
Little bird, soft and blue
Your beauty is a gift
Your numbers once so great
So common to us all
Today we barely know your call
Where are the stars?
They used to shine
So much light
I think I’m blind
Seas of color in the spring
Grasses tall and vast
Bison huge and numerous roamed
My native friend called it home
FWNC NATURAL GUARD EVERY THUR & SAT 9-NOON
MOLLY HOLLAR WILDSCAPE : SEE WEBSITE WWW.THEWILDSCAPE.ORG
O S GRAY NATURAL AREA: 2ND SATURDAY OF MONTH 9-NOON
NEW YORK AVE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE WORKDAY: 3RD SATURDAY OF MONTH
RIVER LEGACY : VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES