| Summary: | Bexar Tracks began with Vol. 4, no. 1 (January 1986). It continues Newsletter (Bexar Audubon Society). PRESIDENT'S LETTER Dear Members, It's not news-to anyone that Texas is facing financial hard times. The governor has called a special session of the legislature to deal with a deficit budget and the price of oil may not have hit bottom yet. What this will mean for environmental programs is yet to be seen, but you can bet that state money for "non-essential" programs of any kind will soon dry up. If there is a silver lining to this cloud, it may take an environmentalist to find it. In 1985, for the first time in many years, it was reported that more people moved out of Texas than moved in . If this trend continues, the environmental pressure that resulted from the explosive growth of the 70's may diminish. Fewer people, however, usually also means fewer sources of revenue. The availability of financial resources is as necessary for environmental progress as it is for progress in business. Wild things, however, are not represented in the marketplace. As a consequence, financial resources are seldom allocated to them. The native plants and animals of Texas, the pristine streams and bays, the uninterrupted skylines, the clear skies and pure water of our beautiful state all have value, but their value is not represented in any tangible, accepted currency which can be negotiated in the courts, legis. lature or marketplace. You cannot buy a sunset any more than you can purchase the spirit of a peregrine falcon. The essence of something wild and free cannot be bought and sold. This is the major drawback to being wild in the world today. You have no viable source of power in the world marketplace. It is a bit like being a child; someone else runs things and you have little access to control. The Audubon Covncil of Texas has come up with an idea about how to address this inequity. They have proposed to Q.ire a professional lobbyist to represent conservation and environmental interests to the state legislature. This person would work for the Audubon Council of Texas in an office provided by the Southeast Regional Audubon Society. Keeping track of all these Audubon-groups is confusing; just keep in mind that ACT is a voluntary assembly of representatives from Audubon chapters in Texas. gTacRs AUGUST, 1986 ACT's purpose is to monitor and act upon environmental issues specifically in Texas. A lobbyist would make ACT much more effective, but of course would cost a lot of money. The money would have to be raised by the member chapters of ACT, chapters like Bexar Audubon. The BAS Board of Directors has endorsed this idea and is now studying means of raising funds to support it tangibly. I also think ACT's proposal is !audible and I hope you will show your support for it when BAS calls upon you to participate in a fundraising event. I believe, however, that we must go further to promote the environmental cause in our great state. I believe we must actively solicit businessmen to join in our cause. This may sound heretical at first. After all, aren't conservationists constantly at odds with, and even fighting the business community in order to protect the environment? This may partially reflect the sad state of affairs today, but I believe there is promise for a more collaborative relationship in the future. We do h~ve business people in the Audubon Society, and besides, I have heard prominent local business leaders speak of the importance of environmental issues: protecting the Edwards aquifer, xeriscaping, and greenspace preservation come to mind. I genuinely believe that businessmen could profit from· an association with an organization like ours . I~ the long.run, a healthy environment will be a profitable environment. And certainly, we could profit from the organizational and planning expertise of businessmen. Instead of attacking them, we should ?e educating them, instead of thwarting their proJects, we should be redirecting them. In these difficult times, we will all need to join hands and work together to make this a better place , in which to live and work. I hope that many of you out there will share this view and also share with me your ideas about how to make this vision a reality. Sincerely, Byron Stone DID YOU KNOW . the American alligator, relic of the Dinosaur Age, continues its amazing rebound' throughout the Southeast. The prehistoric reptile, considered a species in trouble as recently as two decades ago when it was first federally listed as endangered, has rebounded to the point that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the alligator biologically secure throughout its range in the Southeast. "We're on the verge of a success story with the American alligator," says Frank Dunkle, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "One of the earth's oldest species that had remained unchanged for 200 million years had reached a point by the late 1960's that it was rapidly disappearing in places where poaching had become a severe threat. 'With vigorous Federal and State law enforcement, sound management practices, and the rem~rkable resiliency of the species, we've reversed the situation in less than 20 years." Today's optimism is in sharp contrast to the belief in years past that poaching and other types of illegal harvest had so reduced alligator numbers that the species would never recover. Through a coordinated series of crackdowns by Federal and State wildlife law enforcement agents in the Southeast, a major reduction in poaching was achieved. The Service now proposes that the alligator be reclassified in seven states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina) from "endangered" or "threatened" to "threatened by similarity of appearance." This designation acknowledges that the alligator has recovered in these seven states, but technically holds the species on the Endangered Species List under a special category. Overall, these seven states represent a small portion of the known alligator habitat and, in turn, alligator populations. The alligator previously has been classified in Louisiana, Texas and Florida, where the reptile's concentrations are the heaviest, and these states have undertaken controlled harvests of the species. Fully 83% ofthe water acreage considered alligator habitat is found in these three states where the species is flourishing and has, in certain locations, reached nuisance proportions. The alligator remains one of the most difficult species to census because of its wide distribution throughout the Southeast and its solitary and nocturnal movements. No comprehensive national population estimates exist for the species, although night counts along waterways in most Southern states show a remarkable increase in the number of alligators spotted by biologists. . the final tally is in on Birdathon . $1.252! Our,top ~hree fu:qdraisers were Clark Terrell, Marge Flandermeyer and Nancy Kent. Thanks again to our members and sponsors who made this year's Birdathon so successful, and please join us at the September general meeting when we will present awards to these three stars. The Texas Zoo in Victoria's Riverside Park has added a new garden that contains nearly 100 species of native wildflowers, vines, shrubs and cacti. The zoo, which exhibits only animals nlltive to Texas, hopes the wildflower garden will help visitors see plants that might be appropriate for use in their own gardens. Besides their beauty, the native plants provide a home, food and cover for a number of animals. The garden also features an identification system 'to help visitors learn about native plants. The Texas Zoo is open daily except Thanksgiving Day, December 24- 25,./December 31 and January 1. For information, call (512) 573-7681, or write Box 69, Victoria, TX 77901. KEEP UP THE CRUSADE! Dick up your lance and stay with those crusadmg to protect I wildlife and the environment. Audubon Action IN AS newsjournal) has been replaced by our new national newsletter, the Audubon Activist, to give you all the information you need to slay the dr.agons. Sign up for the NActivist" corps today. Use the subscription envelope enclosed in the June jfinal) issue of NAS newsjoumal, or send six dollars I for one year) to the Audubon Activist. 950 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10012. Audubon Activist. 950 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022. UPCOMING EVENTS See the night flight of the world's largest colony of Mexican free-tail bats. We will leave northeast San Antonio at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 21, for Bracken Cave and return by 10:00 p.m. Maximum group size is 30, so make your reservations now! If you are unable to make the August 21 field trip, there is another scheduled for August 28. Call Jim Beall, 657-9655. •••••••••••••••••••••• The Center for Environmental Education will sponsor a Texas Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 20, from 9:06a.m. to noo:r~. This day is National Beach Cleanup Day as well as the kick-off for COASTWEEK. CEE will provide fact sheets on the increasing problem of ocean litter, especially plastic and its effects oil wildlife. Zone maps, questionnaires about the actual litter collected on cleanup day, and garbage bags will also be provided. This cleanup is patterned after the work done in Oregon, where in three hours, 2,000 volunteers collected 26 tons of litter from the beaches! BAS has volunteered its support of this important project. Please plan to help! After our morning's work on the beach in the Rockport area, we'll all adjourn to a local seafood restaurant for lunch. Also in the planning stages is an outing that afternoon to view the many migrating birds in the area. For additional details, call Nancy Kent at 824-8199. KUDOS TO . all our friends and members who have worked to make "Audubon Adventures" such a big success! The "Audubon Adventures" Classroom Clubs have been in existence for 11/2 years and have received excellent acceptance by both teachers and students. During the 1985-86 school year, 112,589 students nationwide participated in "Audubon Adventures." This figure includes 98 classrooms in Texas (2,949 students), with 38 of these classrooms (1,090 students) sponsored by Bexar Audubon Society! At a cost of $20.00 for each classroom, BAS has allotted monies to provide a total of 54 classrooms in the San Antonio area for the school year 1986-87. The science subjects for the corning year's program include: Fruits . Nature's Harvest; The Wild Turkey and Its Relatives; Conifers; The Bald Eagle; Animal Communication; and Hummingbirds and Their Adaptations. If any firm or individual would like to sponsor additional "Audubon Adventures" classrooms this year, please call Nora Driver at 826-8531. DON'T FORGET . the First BAS Annual Planning Conference on Sunday, August 17! All members are invited to participate in developing our goals and objectives at this brainstorming session to be held at Casa Bonsignore in Kerrville. We will be discussihg, special projects publicity,, field trips, programs, and fundraisin~ during our meeting. In addition to business, we will explore a 150-year-old log cabin located on 14 scenic acres! Our tentative agenda is: 11:30 a.m.~ 1:00 p.m.: Picnic lunch (bring your own) 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Group meetings 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Nature walk 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.: Meetings 6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: Recap 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.: Cookout (provided by BAS) Since BAS is providing supper, if you plan on join-ing us please call Byron Stone at 699-1971 or Nora Driver at 826-8531 by August 15 so we will have an accurate head count. ~ medina * * * 9 miles south of Kerrville on Highway 16 West. Look for "Casa Bonsignore" sign. Call 257-3549 if you get lost! THANK YOU, Hoyt Williamson, for an informative presentation on the Guadalupe bass at July's general meeting. CALENDAR AUGUST 9 ·"Bats and Botanizing" field trip to the Leslie Ranch near Comfort. Call Patty Leslie, 824-1235, or Susan Rust, 826.-4698. 14 San Antonio Audubon Society general meeting, 7:00 p.m., Witte Museum. 17 BAS First Annual Planning Conference, Kerrville. For more information, call Byron Stone, 69B-1~71, or Nora Driver, 826-8531. 19 Sierra Club general meeting, 7:30 p.m., Unitarian Church, 1-10 and 410. 21 Bracken Bat Cave outing, 6:30 p.m. Call Jim Beall, 657-9655. *23-24 Gorman Falls outing. Call ,Jim Beall, 657-9655, or Patty Leslie, 824-1235. 26 Native Plant Society general meeting, 7:00p.m., San Antonio Botanical Center. Mark Peterson, state forester, will speak on "Trees for Urban Use." 28 Bracken Bat Cave outing, 6:30 p.m. Call Jim Beall, 657-9655. 28 BAS Board Meeting at home of Manuel Flores, 695-8103. * Tentative dates BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIE1Y P 0. BOX 60M • SAN ANTONIO, TF.XA~ 7R209 SEPTEMBER 11 San Antonio Audubon Society general meeting, 7:00 p.m., Witte Museum. 16 Sierra Club general meeting, 7:30p.m., Unitarian Church, 1-10 and 410. 18 BAS general meeting, "Hydrology of the Edwards Aquifer," 7:30 p.m., Witte Museum. You are invited to join the featured speaker and other members at 6:00p.m. at Luby's in Alamo Heights for dinner before the meeting. 20 Beach Cleanup Day near Rockport, 9:00a.m. to noon. Call Nancy Kent, 824-8199. 23 Native Plant Society general meeting,, 7:00p.m., San Antonio Botanical Center. BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY Officers and Board Byron Stone, President Nora Driver, Vice President Russell Smith, Secretary Thelma Nungesser, Treasurer Manuel Flores, Pat Honsberger Marge Flandermeyer Sherry Stone Nancy Kent Committe Chairman Outings, Jim Beall Memberships, Bruce Makuk Conservation, Finance, Starr Kavanagh Education, Starr Kavanagh Adopt-a-park, Bruce Makuk Programs, Stu & Netti Birnbaum I 699-1971 826-8531 734-7184 824-8199 695-8103 695-8254 684-2668 699-1971 824-8199 657,9655 523-2555 822-4827 822-4827 523-2555 647-3524 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U. S. POSTAGE PAID SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Permit No. 590
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