| Summary: | Bexar Tracks began with Vol. 4, no. 1 (January 1986). It continues Newsletter (Bexar Audubon Society). Inside Tracks Beneath the Gavel . 2 Local News . 3,4 Bird Tales . 5 Environmentallssues . 6,8 Spring & Summer Activities . 9 Calendar . 10 February Outing Patty Leslie Pasztor has planned a trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, to explore nature trails for interesting flora and fauna, and it is hoped, to view whooping cranes from the observation tower. It's about a three-hour drive, and a van will be rented so the flock can stay together. Cost of the van will be $14. Date is Saturday, February 18. Call Patty at 824-1235 for info on time, gathering place, and time of return. Ji'acRs BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY 210-822-4503 The Chapter's primary goals are to promote species and habitat ronservation, and environmental education in the rommunity. Volume XIII, !'~«>. 2 Febnaary 1995 Can We Work Together? Last month we heard from Dr. Woody Sanders, who gave us a fresh look at the forces which influence how our city develops. This month, we'll move into the country, as part of a continuing series of programs focusing awareness on our actions as stewards of the planet. February 17 Meeting: In too many places, production has been the sole objective of the agriculture industry. The inevitable result has been soil erosion, depletion of underground water, water pollution, and a declining percentage of people living on the land. The diminishing population of species of wildlife is a symptom of disruption of the ecosystem. The current approach to conflicts over our natural resources is leading us to a lose-lose outcome. People are fighting over highly-polarized issues while both our ecosystem and our t!c?~·nollly suffer. A long-term solution will only be actomplished when we develop skills to work together toward a goal that benefits all. Holistic Resource Management of Texas is facilitating a project which is developing a collaborative model. Called Planit Texas, the project involves a coalition of environmental and landowner representatives working together. Peggy Secrist's nr<>COint<>tion will tell you about this fascinating and precedent-setting project, Meeti11g Specifics: Monthly meeting of Bexar Audubon Society, Thursday, February 16, 1995, 7:30pm. Refreshments will be available at 7:00pm. Come early to socialize. Free and open to the public. Call822-4503 for more information. Location: Ruble Center, 419 East Magnolia Street, San Antonio. Nearest freeway exit is North St. Mary's, off Highway 281. Public Tra11sportation: VIA Route 5 (St. Mary's-McCullough-North Star Mall) to Magnolia Street. March 16 Meeting: Barb DeLuca will present Backyard Habitat, the individual's micro-niche in the balance of things. Audubon Ecology Camps and Workshops · Mountain ecology is the theme of workshops at the Audubon camp at the Beck ranch in a glaciated valley 7500 feet high in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains. Coastal ecology and field ornithology are featured at the workshops at Muscongus Bay on Hog Island, Maine. Introductory field ecology for educators is offered at workshops in Audubon's 485-acre sanctuary in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in field trips to beach, intertidal, and marine ecosystems on Long Island Sound. At the' Youth Ecology Camp in Maine, children 10 through 14 learn more about themselves, nature, and how they relate to their natural environment. Space is limited, so make reservations -early. If you haven't received a mailing on these programs, call NAS Audubon Ecology Workshops at 203-860-2017, or fax 203-869-4437. February is here and we have had no real winter in San Antonio-some minor attempts at a freeze on the northwest side of town, but where I live, a dip to 32 was quickly brushed aside. The plants I started in my yard this falla.re thriving and should need to spend no time recovering from win~er. This is good, since I am in the process of converting the lawn that was here on our arrival last summer to a habitat suitable for butterflies, birds, and squirrels. I believe within the next year we will have field mice in the brush pile, especially since the mowers reap the river back quarterly, taking tiny homes with them. The NAS Logo in My Backyard This morning, and often over the past weeks, we had thirty or so Great Egrets in the pecan tree out back, and one of the pair of Red-tailed Hawks was looking for a mid-morning snack. I put out a thistle feeder about six weeks ago, and my first goldfinches were spotted this morning. The feeder I purchased is a new design, they said, requiring the birds to hang upside down to feed. Goldfinches can do this, but the purple or house finches and English ~parrows cannot. Seeing the goldfinches do it successfully, the other finches gave it a shot, only to fall off. Why do I get such a chuckle out of this? I feel the same way when. the white-wing doves slip off the squirrelproof feeder. They are too heavy for the setting. It is a study in mathematics to see that one red-winged blackbird can feed here, and one purple finch can join him, but two are one too many. One cardinal and two finches works fine, though just don't push it and try for three. Saving Water for San Antonio Speaking of saving things, our San Antonio City Council came through for us and passed the water quality ordinance. Congratulations and gratitude are due to all those who worked so hard to get to the table, stay at the table, and hammer out an agreement that, while imperfect from our point of view (and that of the 9.evelopment community), is February 1995 BENEATH THE GAVEL nevertheless a significant step forward toward the protection of this vital resource. Mayor Nelson Wolff and Councilman Howard Peak are especially to be commended, as are Danielle Milam and Gene Dawson, Jr., co-chairs of the Water Quality Task Force. COPS and Metro Alliance were also instrumental in getting the ordinance passed and in maintaining citizen review provisions for variance requests. A1malisa Peace has earned our special thanks for dedicating countless hours and working tirelessly along with Danielle Milam to support the environmental, neighborhood, and professional groups who worked on this issue as the AGUA coalition. AGUA met the at end of January to determine long-term goals and how the group should organize to meet them. If you wish to join AGUA, send your check for $5 or more to AGUA, PO Box 460741, San Antonio, TX 78246. Thanks to all our members and friends who came to meetings, presented issues and opinions, showed up at committee meetings (as members or observers), studied the drafts, attended City Council met;tings, presented testimony, made pi1~ne calls, wrote letters, and made it clear that San Antonians care about their water. Now, let's keep the pressure on to provide even stronger protections, and to enforce the protection we have. New Officers and Board While we are saying thanks, our group appreciation is in order to the stalwart souls who have agreed to run for-and have now been elected to-the officer and board positions for your Chapter. The efforts these people, and our committee chairs, expend on behalf of our organization and the programs we undertake are significant, and they carry them out with grace and efficiency, competence and good humor. I cannot think of a more congenial group or one I would more look forward to meeting and working with on a regular basis. I hope you will consider adding your energies to our recipe for 2 success and I welcome your call to ask how you can get involved (532-2332). Please note that Katie Nava-Ra: gazzi has been appointed to fill the unexpired term on the Board that was vacated by Bill Sain when he became Treasurer. Katie will serve the final year · of Bill's two-year term. She is a terrific addition to our board and we ask you to join us in welcoming her to this leadership role in Bexar Audubon. Habitat Destruction Mike Manson, president of Rio Brazos Audubon Society in College Station, sent me an article from the September 1, 1994 issue of Nature, the British equivalent of Science. The article, entitled "Habitat destruction and the extinction debt," was written by David Tilman, Robert May, Clarence Lelunann, and Martin Nowak. (Robert May presented a lecture at Trinity just over a year ago on extinctions that absolutely moved me and helped increase my dedication to slowing today's rampaging extinction phenomenon.) The abstract of this article follows: "Habitat destruction is the major cause of species extinctions. Dominant species often are considered to be free of this threat because they are abundant in tl1e undisturbed fragments that remain after destruction. Here we describe a model that explains multispecies coexistence in patchy habitats and which predicts that their abundance may be fleeting. Even moderate habitat destruction is predicted to cause timedelayed but deterministic extinction of the dominant competitor in remnant patches. Further species are predicted to become extinct, in order from the best to the poorest competitors, as habitat destruction increases. Moreover, the more fragmented a habitat already is, the greater is the number of extinctions caused by added destruction. Because such extinctions occur generations after fragmentation, they represent a debt-a future ecological cost of habitat destruction." Think about it. - Susan Hughes Bexar Tracks LOCAL NEWS A Wondrous Event You've seen them in books. You may even have them hanging on your waiL But until you see the real thing you have not experienced the ultimate. What I'm talking about are the John J. Audubon watercolors which are currently on exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum of Houston. The weekend of January 21 & 22 found a horde (or is that a flock)of Auduboners, from as far away as Kansas, trooping (or is that flying) in and around Houston, visiting the Audubon watercolors, behind the scenes at the Houston Zoo, the Houston Audubon Society's Edith L. Moore Sanctuary, and on a glorious birding trip around the Ka ty Prairie. We started at the zoo with a brief look at the Attwater Prairie Chicken breeding program. The prairie chickens must have thought we were a bunch of hawks, because they played real hard to get. We learned much from the Zoo staff and also toured the avian exhibits at the Zoo. Susan Hughes and I also visited our distant relatives in the ape family and tried to recruit new members (No .Jucl<! They were members of Houston Audubon.) Next we visited the Museum and toured the Audubon exhibit. It is im possible for me to describe the beauty and the artistry with which Audubon was able to capture the birds of America. I can only urge you to experience it yourself. After dinner at a local Chinese restaurant the group proceeded to the E. L. Moore Sanctuary for dessert and Birding 101 with Ted Eubanks. Ted, who is our regionally-elected NAS Director, did his normal outstanding job of showing us the birds that we would be seeing the next day during our trip around Katy Prairie. 80 people enjoyed the slide show, and most met up at 7:00 the next morning to head out on the birding portion oftheweekend. Thiswas,inmyhwnble opinion, the highlight. Katy Prairie is not a nature preserve, or a park. It was Bexar Tracks a prairie which, for the most part has been !=leveloped or farmed for many years. There are a few parks in the area and numerous open fields (mostly rice) and some brushland. Ted, with the able assistance of Steve Gast and Bob Behrstock, took us first to a park with a variety of woodpeckers and warblers, among others. We then went to an area with brush on one side of the road and a wetland on the other. In the brush area, someone had dumped an old sofa which was being used as a feeder for the various birds, mostly sparrows, which frequent the area. The birds were pretty skittish because of some boys nearby riding a fourwheeler and flying a remote-control airplane (until they crashed it into a utility pole). The best seen was the Harris Sparrow. A few of us also waded through the wetlands and herded a LeConte's Sparrow into a row of bushes. This sparrow gave us two good long looks before flying off. Our next stop was a flooded rice field sporting hundreds of geese, ducks, and other waterfowl, accompanied by an adult and immature bald eagle and a northern harrier hawk. The adult bald stayed on the ground but the immature took a couple of short flights (My first flying eagle.) Our last stop was more waterfowl and we found the greater whitefronted, snow (white phase and blue phase), and Ross's geese. Ted, Steve, and Bob made sure that every interested person saw the Ross's and explained how to tell the difference. After a short lunch break, we headed out again under threatening skies. Alas, the storm broke and we had to head back to San Antonio. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip and we would like to thank all who worked so hard to put it together. If you ever have a chance to go birding with Ted, Steve, or Bob don't turn it down. It will be a great experience. -Bill Sai11 (Novice Birder) 3 Books Gettiug Started: A Guide to Briugillg E~tviro11me11tal Educatio11 l11to Your Classroom. The National Consortium for Environmental Education and Training (NCEET) has just released a 138-page guide which spotlights innovative ways teachers have integrated environmental education into their classrooms. The guide combines stories of 35 teachers with descriptions of more than 110 state and national organizations which can help you find information on classroom, activities, curricula, funding, in-service training opportunities, and environmental education contacts for each state. Cost $9.95. Order from NCEET Publications, P. 0. Box 1141, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1141. The State of the World 1995: Now you can know as much as anyone about the ten environmental issues which will affect us all in 1995, thanks to this allnew book just off the press. Environmentalists use it to shape their priorities. Policy makers read it to get abreast of global environmental issues. Joun1alists trust its research and documentation. Professors copy its trend charts and "snapshots" of where we are now for their students. If you are interested in obtaining this report, contact Worldwatch Institute at 1776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-1904. Phone 202-452-1999, fax 202-296-7365. Volunteers Needed We'll have booths at Earth-Wise Living Day in Leon Valley February 25; the Native Plant Sale at the Cibolo Wilderness Area April 1; Earth Day April 22; Viva Botanica April 8-and we'll need volunteers to staff them all. Please call Susan Hughes at 532- 2332 to volunteer a morning or afternoon to help Bexar Audubon Society get its message out. February 1995 Stormwater Drainage San Antonio has managed stormwater drainage essentially the same way for the past thirty to forty ·years. Even though the city required new development to build, on-site, certain drainage facilities, and city builds drainage facilities from the sale of bonds, the number and cost of needed drainage projects continues to grow. The City Council appointed a Drainage Regulation Review Commi~tee to make recommendations to the Council about improving how San Antonio manages storm water. The elevenmember citizen committee, which includes three Council members, has been working for the past six months. The committee is at the point in its work where it needs input from the community in order to develop a set of goals for managing stom1water. You, the resident, are most often directly affected when rains cause flooding. Due to this experience, you have ideas, suggestions, or possible solutions which the committee wants to hear about. The meeting will focus on stormwater flqoding or drainage-quantity, not quality. The key question is: In the future, how should the City of San Antonio manage stormwater drainage. The committee hopes to hear ideas, not complaints; solutions, not problems. Wednesday, February 15, 6 pm, SAWS, 1001 East Market Street, training conference room, first floor. Call John Kight at 207-8038 for more info. February 1995 LOCAL NEWS January Meeting A few minutes with Dr. Heywood Sanders, Professor of Urban Studies at T rinity University. The local media have covered a host of urban problems or issues in San Antonio during 1994, from the Applewhite Reservoir project to development over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, to regular" ozone alerts," and big ne':"s developments like Retama Park I brought in the E,xpress-News from about a week and a half ago: City air quality committee to seek volutttary prpgram. This is the preliminary report of our blue-ribbon committee on air quality that is grappling with our ozone problem . It is amusing that the mayor and council could appoint a blue-ribbon committee whose recommendations are at once so simple and immediate and direct-and at the same time have absolutely no bearing on air-quality issues in this community. I go to bed at night and I pray for ozone, and I trust before I'm done you will too. The sooner it comes the better, and then maybe we can grapple with some of the more ,')ubstantive issues . Three othe"r"things I'd like to mention in passing, that have amused me in recent weeks. One is expanding the convention center downtown, that's been bubbling on and will probably continue to bubble on for the next few months. Yet another is . the proposal from the VIA chairman to add back the .5 cents sales tax to pay for transportation and street improve1~1ents . I was charmed to hear Dr. William Thornton kick off his campaign for mayor with a promise he would not raise our taxes. I thought someone learned about that some time ago in Washingon . What intrigues me a bout all of these issues, is . (they are) dealt with by the media as distinct, separate, independent unrelated issues . But what we have is a single integrated issue and question, and . They all share a common direction of local development policy and-more importantly-politics over the last ten or twenty or thirty or even forty years. What I'd like to talk about is urban development and investment policy in San Antonio, or keeping things quiet and everyone who matters happy. Editor's note: Fascinating? Yes. And he was just getting wound. up. We don't have room for all of Dr. Sanders' address here, but we hope this sample will temp_t you to come to our upcoming meeti!tgs and learn more about how the world really works. MPO Public. Meetings The Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a series of meetings to ask for your comments. Get involved. Help decide which new road, street improvement, and transit projects will be selected for federal funding in the MPO's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Four public meetings are scheduled for your convenience. All meet at 7 pm. Bird Riddle Do you know why one side of a vee of geese is always longer than the other? (Answer somewhere in Bexar Tracks) 4 Locations: 2/15 Northeast: Wind crest City Hall, 8601 Midcrown, Windcrest 2/21 Southwest: St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 535 Laredo Highway 2/28 Northwest: UT Health Science Center Medical Building, Room 309L, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive 3/07 Southeast: Fair Avenue Apartments, 1215 Fair Avenue You are invited to attend any of the meetings, which will be idential in presentation and content. Call227-8651 for more information. Bexar Tracks · BIRD TALES Recycle-For the Biros • Cormorants stealing red surveyors' flags, men's pipes, ladies' combs, pocketknives, and hairpins. • Canyon wrens swiping office supplies. • Pigeons filching pieces of iron wire from a factory. Weird bird behavior? No, just nestbuilding activity reported in an article by Cynthia Berger in the April/May 1994 issue of National Wildlife. "You can tum this avian fondness for human junk to the birds' advantage- and yours . Convert your castoffs into nesting material for your bac~yard birds . curbside pickup is available; just leave the materials in an open area on your patio or lawn." Black Gap Peregrines The Black Gap WMA Peregrine Falcon Project kicked off its first year in February 1994 with an aerial survey of the west Texas-Coahuila-Chihuahua border. A new pair of peregrines was found at an old eyrie and seven previously- used eyries were identified. The overall 1994 survey results were not good. There were a total of 14 active eyrie sites along the Rio Grande River corridor on the border of Texas and Mexico, with four in Big Bend National Park. Fourteen pairs produced seven chicks, and of those only five fledged. Now is the time to find out the problem and, if possible, fix it. You can help fund the 1995 season. No government money goes into this research. It has been funded through the sale of Peregrine Falcon T -shirts and through Texans Helping Texas Birds. Contributions are needed to help keep the research going. For more information, or to send a check (made out to TPWD, Peregrine Falcon Project), contact Bonnie R. McKinney, Nongame Specialist, Black Gap National Wildlife Management Area, HC 65 Box 433, Alpine, TX 79830. -from Flyway Texas Partners in Flight newsletter. Bexar Tracks What materials? Short strips of rags, aspirin-bottle wadding, short lengths of string or yarn, upholstery stuffing, raveled rope, excelsior, thread, dryer lint, hair clippings from the barber shop, hair from your dog or eat's brush, feathers from old pillows, even dental floss. All materials should be short, no longer than six inches, so the birds won't get tangled up. And they should be biodegradable-no monofilament line, no nylon or plastic. "Birds defend their nesting territories, so place your offerings in more than one place. If cats prowl the area, don't leav~ materials on the ground. Drape then~ on shrubs, over a clothesline, or in the crotch of a tree." And don't forget natural materials. "Leave some twigs lying under the shrubs. Leave some leaves on the ground to decay-the stems break down last, and they make great nesting material." And if you're serious about having birds nest in your yard, "Stop using pesticides-they kill the insects that birds eat." The birds will be arriving soon-so start saving bits of string. BBS Routes Available Breeding Bird Surveys are 24.5-mile roadside routes randomly located throughout Texas. Volunteers run these routes once each year at the same time. They start Yz hour before sunrise, stopping at each observation point which are Yz-mile apart, to count birds for three minutes. All birds heard, all birds observed withifl.;/4 mile are tallied. Volunteers need to be able to identify by sight all and by call most birds that normally sing on territory along the routes they run. Routes last until about 10:30, a:nd require about an hour of paperwork afterward. In Texas, 24 new routes and 6 old routes need volunteers. If you'd like to participate, contact Brent Ortego, 202 Camino Drive, Victoria, TX 77901. -from Flyway Texas Partners in Flight newsletter 5 Project Tanager Birders are invited to take part in an important project: a study of four species of tanager which breed in North America. Project Tanager, coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, tests the hypothesis that these birds need large, unbroken expanses of forest to raise their young. Scientists think that some tanager populations may be declining because their summer breeding grounds in North American forests are being fragmented-broken up by logging, agriculture, subdivisions, and other human activities. To help answer the question "How much forest do breeding tanagers need?" Project Tanager draws on the expertise of birders across North America. Volunteers find forest plots where tanagers might be nesting, census the birds, monitor their reproductive behavior, and search for nests. Participants are particularly needed in the west and southwest. Participants will receive a kit that includes instructions, data forms, a cassette tape that helps them learn to recognize tanager vocalizations, and CLO's quarterly newsletter, Birdscope. Participation is free, but donations of $15 to help defray the cost of the kits are appreciated. Write Project Tanager, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, P. 0. Box 11, Ithaca, NY 14851-0011. Include your name, address, and zip (and a check if you're willing). February 1995 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Breeding Bird Surveys !flreatened NBS Elimination Proposed The scientific research and monitoring capabilities of the US Department of Interior are under attack in Congress. The National Biological Service (NBS) (formerly the National Biological Survey), which administers the Breeding Bird Survey 1 (BBS), is targeted for elimination. Your help is needed to ensure that the anti-science Members of Congress do not succeed in their efforts to cripple or eliminate the NBS and compromise critical scientific research and monitoring programs like the BBS. The Interior Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over NBS appropriations, may vote afj early as the we~k of February 6 to eliminate NBS funding. The. NBS is an independent bureau devoted to providing quality biologh;:al science. The mission of the NBS is to provide the scientific understatl.ding needed to support the sound management and cm1servation of our nation's natural resources. NBS is a non-regulatory agency created by consolidating the . existing biological research, inventory and monitoring programs of seven Interior bureaus: Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park ,Service, Bureau of Land Mat1agement, Minerals Management Service, Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, and Office of Surface Mining. Interior consolidated these bureaus to reduce overlapping research at1d to streamline Interior's scientific ~£forts. Attacking Volunteers The NBS is especially at risk because several Members of Congress have charged that the NBS uses untrained, biased volunteers who trespass on private property and gather data on endangered species that diminish property values [Ed. note: See page 5]. In response to these concerns1 Secretary Babbitt issued administrative orders clarifying the issues of access to private property and the use and qualifications of volunteers. In June 1994,Audubon activists and volunteer ornithologists helped defeat a House floor amendment to disband the February 1995 NBS. 'fhese actions did not end the attacks on the NBS, however, and the Contract with America identifies it as a target for elimination when the Interior Subcommittee !=Onsiders what cuts to make in the feder~l budget. Key Points Following is a summary of points you can make about the importance of maintaining science and monitoring capabilities in the Department of Interior: 1. The NBS was created to ensure that the science used in regulatory and management decisions is sound, unbi-ased, and available to all. ' l . , 2. OppO.nenlo:; of the NBS fear scien-tific research because they believe that this information will result in more regulation of industry and property owners. This assessment is wrong. Sound scientific information gathered by the NBS' will contribute to sound management of natural resources, and will avoid costly regulatory mistakes and last-11linute fixes in the future. "' 3. Having multiple agencies investigating the same issues, such as pest co~1trol, invasive weed management, at)d wildlife health, is less efficient than having a single, coheretl.t effort. The NBS has ml'e of the lowest ratios of administrative costs to actual program expenses within Interior. 4. Industry groups, such as Intemational'Paper, ·recognize the value of.information gathered by NBS, and have . shown their suppott for coordinated . i '· 6 biological research by entering into agreements with the NBS to conduct research activities on their property. 5. The NBS monitors trends in wildlife population by gathering and analyzing population data. This function is required by law through the 1988 amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and includes the critical Christmas Bird Count and BBS. The National Audubon Society is working to support the NBS and preserve its ability to 4se volunteers and conduct sound science. Maintaining its key functions is a top priority. The federt; tl government has been responsible for the protection of migratory birds since 1916, and more recent law requires that they monitor all bird populations. Help us ensure that Congress does not roll back the dock on these duties by killing the NBS and its functions. What You Can Do Congress ii1tends to finance its proposed tax cut by eliminating funds already appropriated for this fiscal year but not yet obligated. This rescission action could happen in early February. Please write or call the chair of the App,ropriations Interior Subcommittee, Ralph Regula. Also, please send a similar letter to your House or Senate members (see sidebar). Explain the importance of ~naintaining strong scientific research and monitoring capabilities within the Departn.1ent of Interior. Chair Interior Appropriations Subcommittee: Hon. Ralph Regula, Atten: tion: D~bbie Weatherly, B-308 Rayburn Ho1-1se Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-3516 202-2~-3081. For More Information Contact Susan ,Murray, National Audubon Society, 666 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC20003202-547-9009,internet smurray@audubon.org; or Stan Senner, National Audubon Society, 4150 Darley, Suite 5, Bouider, CO 80303, 303-499-7855, internet: ssenner@ audubon.org Bexar Tracks ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Takings in Texas As it goes in Washington, so it go~s in Texas. Warren Chisum, chairman of the House Conservative Caucus, has introduced HB448 and a duplicate amendment to the House rules. The amendment and bill would require a "cost/benefit analysis" for all "new bills and resolutions involving the protec~ tion of the environment and reducing risks to human health due to environmental exposure." When the rules were voted on January 19, Chisum did not push his amendment. But the bill is still out there. Cost-benefit analyses are valuable tools. They can be useful in helping structure discussions about which health and environmental issues should receive high priority. Unfortunately, this bill would subvert this technique in an effort to stall important new health and environmental protections-for the benefit of regulated businesses and to the detriment of ordinary Texans. Taken to the extremes possible in the language of the bill, we could reach a point where we would have to determine how many people have to be~,gtne sick or die before the cost to industry to regulate harmful activity is justified. The bill is vague on what constitutes" protecting the environment or reducing risks to human health from environmental exposure." Can human health be separated from environ-mental regulations? Can we be healthy without clean air and water? Legislation requires a study but doesn't say how it should be considered. Is there a threshold cost that shouldn't be crossed to assure healthy lives through a clean environment? Voters are calling for less government, but this bill would increase government by requiring the hiring of additional lawyers, accountants, and support staff to conduct costly and unnecessary analysis. The bill could harm the very thing it purports to protect: private property. We all live downstream, downwind, or near property on which uncontrolled pollution or inappropriate development can destroy our property values as well as our health and safety. If you would like more information, contact Sandra Skrei at Audubon's Southwest Region~l Office, 512-327- 1943, fax 512-327-1264; write 2525 Wallingwood #301, Austin, TX 78746; e-mail CompuServe 71634,20. You can write your Texas senator at P. 0. Box 12068, Austin, TX 78711; main phone number is 512-463-0100; fax 512- 463-0326. Reach your representative at P. 0. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768; main phone is 512-463-1000, fax 512-463-0675. _ Reach Governor George W. Bush at 512-463-2000, and Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock at 512-463-0001. It Could Be Worse It's difficult at times to continue to fight the good environmental fight when it appears that the world is sent on self-destruction. Perhaps one of my favorite thoughts will help you keep up your spirits: When you lose a round with the developers and spoilers and you become downhearted, just think of what your home, your state, your cot,mtry, your world would be like today if we had not been fighting for the environment all these years. Bexar Tracks I recall once in Miami, when we had lost a water-quality hearing, one of the Audubon old guard was very downcast. When I asked him what he thought the Everglades ~ould look like at that moment if we had not been heavily involved, he said it would probably be one huge housing development, paved from the shores of Biscayne Bay to the Gulf t;>f Mexico. Never give up. Never. -Mel Davidow, M id-Atla11tic Audubo11 via the Audubon Forum 011 CompuServe 7 You can write to your senators at The Honorable (name) United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 'Or your representatives at · The Honorable (name) US House of Representatives Washington, DC 20215 Or call them, through the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Or if the cost of the call is an issue, call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 800-768-2221. You can send a message to President Clinton by writing to Leon Panetta Chief of Staff to the President First Floor, West Wing Office of the President 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Or You can call a toll-free number, 800-651-1424, setiup by a national coalition of groups interested in protecting public health and safety, enviromnental, labor, and other important laws. For a charge of $8.50 (to your telephone, Visa, or Mastercard), three telegrams will be sent to your two Senators and to Leon Panetta, the White House Chief of Staff. (The call is free, but the telegrams are not.) The telegrams will urge them to oppose unfunded mandate legislation (probably a lost cause with Gramm and Hutchison, but Clinton still has veto power.) - Co1111ie Maha NAS Grassroots Coordi11ator Bird Riddle No, why is one side of a vee of geese longer than the other? (Scout's honor, the answer is in here somewhere.) February 1995 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Rre, Rats, and the Endangered Species Act Or, Rush Was Wrong Again One of the so-called Wise Use movement's most-repeated anecdotes is how ESA caused homes to be lost in the October 1993 brush fires in California, by favoring the endangered Stephens Kangaroo Rat over the rights of homeowners. Specifically, homeowners were not allowed to disk the soil around their homes. Disking clears brush, but it also disturbs the soil and damages the underground burrows of the kangaroo rat. So-called wise-users claim that 29 homes were lost in Riverside because of the disking prohibition. But according to the July 15, 1994 Los Angeles Times, the General Accounting Office completed a study which says that "Federally-mandated measures to protect a rare rodent in Southern California did 11ot contribute to the destruction of 29 homes in an October blaze near Riverside." Ti1e GAO said that this conclusion is based "on the experience and views of fire officials and other experts." The real causes of the losses, according to th~ report, were wind, dry conditions, difficult terrain for the firefighters, the construction used in the homes, and in some cases the presence of trash and firewood nearby, and a lack of steady power to pump water. Some of the homes which were destroyed had been disked (legally"), which shows that in a firestorm you just have no recourse. Most of the homes, however, showed no signs of weed clearing, February 1995 even though country regulations permit mowing and hand clearance. The chief of the Riverside County Fire Department said that "there were concen1s in the Fire Department" about the disking ban, but believed in the end that mowing was just as effective in weed clearing. All of this accords with my personal recollections at the time, when fire fighters were interviewed about the rats and the brush clearance. Ken Calvert (R-Riverside) rejected "the conclusion that the prohibition of disking does not appear related to the loss of homes. It completely defies logic to say that reducing the amount of combustible material around a structure does noting to protect it." Assuming he is sincere and not just playing to his right-wing constituency (a risky assumption), then this is a perfect example of the mindset of the socalled wise-use people. Their beliefs are nearly religious, in that they are not subject to change through the use of reason. And Calvert has phrased his objections both as common sense ("it completely defies logic") and as a generality with a grain of!r.uth (reducing combustible materials reduces the risk of fire). When he says "it defies logic" he ignores real logic in favor of a gut reaction, or what he would call common sense. 300 years ago common sense told us the sun revolved around the earth-it certainly looks that way. Careful investigation proved it was not so. This "common-sense approach" is the cheap and intellectully lazy way out, but it is used all the time in the fom1 of sound bites such as the now-famous "big sucking sound." The generality with the grain of truth is more subtle. It is usually true, but not the whole truth. In this case, even disked homes were destroyed, proving that the very method Calvert advocates doesn't always work, and that sometimes "reducing the amount of combustible material around a structure does nothing to protect it." - Charles Bragg Sa11ta Mottica Bay Audubo11 Society via the Audubo11 Forum 011 CompuServe 8 SAEN, Again Although the SAEN meeting in December was billed as the last for the environmental network, a canvas of the attendees demonstrated interest in continuing the quarterly meetings. Through the efforts of several members of the Bexar Audubon board, led by Jim Garriott, a most of the members of the environmental network were contacted and agreed this forum should be maintained. While the SAEN meetings will continue, tl1e style of the quarterly meetings has been modified. Each quarter a member organization of the environmental network will host the meeting, either presenting a short program or soliciting a presentation from an interested third party. After the presentation, representatives of the various groups will have the opportunity to present updates on their efforts or raise issues to the other members of the network. Bexar Audubon will host the meeting in March with a presentation from a representative from the Directorate of Environmental Management, Kelly AFB. This group is working on a plan to locate, research, and clean up hazardous waste in the Kelly area. As of this writing, the meeting is scheduled for March 7th at the Witte Museum at 7PM. This is contingent on agreement from the Witte that SAEN continue to use the meeting room as they have in the past. For further information and confirmation, please contact Jim Garriott at 695-9520. -Harriet Wiygul Oimate Notes In the days before anemometers were widely used to measure wind speeds, observers would rely on quantitative rules such as the Beaufort Wind Scale. For instance, if "twigs and small branches were breaking off trees and it was difficult to walk into the wind," you would report a gale-force wind (39 to 46 mph). - The Weather Chamtel Cale11dar Bexar Tracks SPRING AND SUMMER ACTIVITIES Vacation Planning: Think Audubon Camps & Workshops They came from all across America and all walks of life. There were high school and college students, a retired college professor, a park ranger, teachers, nurses, doctors, and lawyers. Twenty-five souls came to spend a week away form the hustle and bustle of their everyday lives, hoping to enjoy nature at its best. They were not disappointed. Our destination? The Audubon Camp of the West near Dubose, Wyoming. The camp is located in beautiful Torrey Valley at the Whiskey Mountain Wildlife Conservation Camp operated by the Wyoming Game & Fish Depart~ ment in cooperation with the National Audubon Society (NAS). A variety of activities are offered, including canoeing and lessons on the geology, flora, and fauna of the valley and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosy~tem. Mountain ecology is the focus of the week-long session in a glaciated valley 7,500 feet high in Wyoming's ·Wind River Mountains. The valley is home to numerous wildlife and a beautiful string of lakes formed behind the.umraines left by the glaciers. These lakes are along snow-fed Torrey Creek, which graces the length pf the valley and provides an opportunity for a twisting and turning canoe ride. Bighorn sheep visit the nearby minerallicks, a pair of sandhill cranes were raising their chicks on a nearby pond and moose are seen browsing along the creek and the related wetlands. The San Antonio Botanical Gardens and the San Antonio Men's Garden Club will co-sponsor a Spring Children.'s Vegetable Gardel'ring Program at the Botanical Gardens, 555 Funston Place. Classes will begin February 25 and continue every Saturday through June. Registrations are being accepted now. Children will learn basic organic gardening, from planning a garden layout and soil preparation to fertilizing and insect control. Each child will be Bexar Tracks People have been attracted to this valley for a long time, as evidenced by the abundant petroglyphs. The facilities themselves were a part of the historic Beck homestead ranch and have been used by NAS since 1958. The Camp of the West offers a variety of activities from hikes to alpine lakes among the 13,000-foot snowcapped peaks to gentle walks along the creek. A variety of subjects are addressed including geology, Native American cultures, the unique birds, mammals, insects, and flowers inhabiting the valley. Sessions focused on (among other things) geology, wetlands, the relationships between plants and nsects (butterfly nets included), petroglyphs, and western water law and related issues. The highlight of the week is an all day trek to Grand Teton National Park and a ,float trip down the Snake River. The camp staff was terrific. They all worked well together and made us feel a part of their family. The other "campers" were also terrific and all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was apparent on our final day that each and everyohe of them would be taking a little piece of Torrey Valley home with us. It is difficult for us to portray the magic of this place in the cold confines of this newsletter: It is only possible for you to experience it first hand. -Bill Sai11 . [Ed note: See page 1 for more-information on this and other camps.] Kids in the Gardens assigned an individual garden plot and receive instructions from experienced gardeners. Latest improved varieties of vegetables will be furnished to each student as seeds or bedding plants. The children will enjoy the rewards of their labor by harvesting their own produce. Class size is limited to 120 students between the ages of 8 and 13. A onetime registration fee of $5 is required to guarantee a child's spot in the class. Registration may be made by mail or in 9 Spring Science Camp Friends of Guadalupe River/Honey Creek, Guadalupe River State Park, and the community announce the first annual Spring Science Day Camp for Kids, MayS-13. Thomas Vermesch,ofLivingJungle Science Program!), will preside over two program sessions each day: 9-11:30 and 12:30-3. The activity units will include: • how the people of Texas affect our wildlife, • understanding our environment and how we fit into it, • identification of Texas ecosystems, • community and food web, • pond and soil, • niche adaptations of wildlife, • protection/camouflage coloration, • wildlife management, • water pollution and organic matter, • oil spills, and • biodegradable materials. Students will participate in Q&A sessions, hands-on activities with live and preserved insects, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. They will solve real-life-~elated problems as they roleplay scenarios involving realworld environmental situations. Call 210-935-4012 for fees and other information. person at the front desk of the Botanical Gardens. Checks should be made payable to Children's Garden/Botanical Gardens. Register early since space is limited. For more information call Elizabeth Hughes at 821-5143. Bird Riddle Because there are niore geese on one side, silly. February 1995 WINTER/SPRING PLANNING CALENDAR :j: Bexar Audub011 Event § More Information Inside TCP Texas Conservation Passport or fee FEBRUARY 9:j: BAS Board Meeting, 7pm · I I :j: Second Saturday, 9-1 I. Hike with ge- II ologist Dr. Robert Garza of SAC; examine the geology of Friedrich Park. Free, 698-1 05 7 for reservations. Second Saturday Beginners Bird Walk, SA Audubon, Judson Nature Trails, next to Alamo Heights pool. Free, open to all. 8-1 I . Georgina Schwartz, 342-2073 for more info. 11/25 Every Saturday, Lower Edward~ Plateau Ecosystem Tour, 9-1 I , Honey Creek SNA (TCP). 2-mile walk with interpretation of the cultural and environmental history of the hill country, and a little geology and botany. I 5§ How Should San At1tonio Manage Stormwater? Public meeting, SAWS,~ I 00 I Market Street, Training Conference Room, First Floor. 6 pm. I 5§ Town meeting (Northeast), MPO Transportation Improvement Program (see inside). 16:j:§ BAS General Meeting, Peggy Secrist, Holistic Res~urce Management of Texas, Ruble Center, 7:30pm. I 8§:j: February BAS Outing, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Patty Leslie / Pasztor 824-1235 for info. 2~ Uinme ting (Southwest), MPO 25 T ransp · lm rovement Pro-gram (see inside}. Honey Creek SNA, - . 0. Predator- Prey Relationships a Chain, 2-mile hike. Walt S will guide, and afterwards 1 a couple of reptile friends a House. mann roduce the Rust OFFICERS AND BOARD 2 5 New Braunfels Old Town Cemetery, 2:30pm. Necrogeography: regionality of burial practices. Join Penny Solis to spend a few hours looking back at the culture and history of our forefathers. 21 0-935-40 12 for more information. 25 Earth-Wise Living Day, Leon Valley. Call 68 1-12 32 for more information. 25.§ Children's spring vegetable gardening program begins, San Antonio Botanical Gardens, thru June. Call 82 1- 514 3 for more info, and see inside. 2 8 Native Plant Society ofT exas, Jim Fries, Texas Nature Conservancy, The Texas Hill Country Bioreserue. 7- 9 pm. Lions' Field Clubhouse, 2809 Broadway at Mulberry. Peggy McCray 210-641-6543 for info. 28§ Town meeting (Northwest), MPO Transportation Improvement Program (see inside). MARCH 5 Sierra Club Map & Compass Class, Guadalupe River SP. $3 member, $4 non, + park fee. Lee Dodge 64 7- 0216 or Tom Dukes 828-3721. 7 Town meeting (Southeast), MPO Transportation Improvement Program (see inside). 7§t SAEN II Meeting, Witte Museum, 7 pm. Info, Jim Garriott at 695-9520. 9* BAS Board Meeting, 7 pm 10/13 Audubon Council ofTexas Meeting, Austin Fri/Sat; Lobby training Sunday; Lobby day Monday I I Second Saturday Beginners Bird Walk, SA Audubon, Judson Nature Trails, next to Alamo Heights pool. Free, open to all. 8-11. Georgina Schwartz, 342-2073 for more info. 16:j: BAS General Meeting, Barb de Luca, Backyard Habitat, Ruble Center, 7:30pm. Susan K. Hughes President 531-1331; fax 531-1013 Harriet Wiygul Vice President 647-5356 Bill Sain Treasurer 408-7 7 3 I Anita l. Reeves Secretary 308-92 54 Patty Leslie Pasztor Board Member 824-12 3 5 Richard Pipes Board Member 281-2452 Bill Woller Board Member 696:31 86 Jim Garriott Board Member 695-9520 Katy Nava-Ragazzi Board Member Backyard Habitat Conservation Earth Day Liaison Education Hospitality Membership Outings Programs Publicity COMMITTEE CHAIRS Barb Deluca Richard Pipes Harriet Wiygul Betty Minyard Harriet Wiygul Dan & Kristy Davis Patty Leslie Pasztor Chris Dullnig Susan K. Hughes Bill Sain 492-4291 281-1452 647-5356 344-6128 647-5356 609-5678 824-1235 828-4017 532-2332 Ways I! Means 4d8-7731 Bexar Tracks Editor Claire Drenowatz 599-4168 fax599-3545 We believe info herein is acrurate at Jmu.-y 19. = We welcome contributions. Submissions may be edited. 111111 Deadline is the Saturday after the general meeting. IN Printed on add-free, 50% post-consm.er waste p~er. Bexar Audubon Society P. 0. Box 6084 San Antonio, TX 7 8209 Address Correction Requested I 7 /20§\JAS Spring River Conference & Crane Symposium, Kearney, NE. I 7 I 19 Assist TPWD with trail building & maintenance at Devils River SNA ( 12 adults). Sierra Club leaders Elizabeth Gibson 696-4524 & Gayle Marechal 735-1859. IS I st Annual Basura Bash! San Antonio River Cleanup, Mission County Park. More info Richard Reyes, 2 I 0- 704-7374. 25:j: BAS March outing (tentative). Chaparral Wildlife Management Area. TCP required. Patty Leslie Pasztor 824-1235 for more info. APRIL I Day in the Park, Bastrop State Park. Gathering to demand the park not be diminished to build a private golf course. 512-360-2045 Ann Mesrobian (Bastrop Audubon} for info. Native Plant Sale at Cibolo Wilderness Area. Call Ellie Dillon, 829- 5340 for more information. S Viva Botanical 22-28 Birding by Ear, weeklong learning experience in the Texas Hill Country. Institute for Field Ornithology, University of Maine at Machias. 207-255- . 3313 x 2 89 for more info. ONGOING ACTIVITIES Bexar Audubon Society general meetings are held on 3rd Thursdays at 7:30pm, atthe Ruble Center, 419 East Magnolia. BAS board meetings are generally held on 2nd Thursdays at 7:00. Outings are usually the Saturday following general meetings. Introductory memberships to NAS, including Audubon Magazine, cost only $20. Great gift. Send check to BAS (payable to NAS) at P. 0. below. Note chapter code 7XCHA, and name address, and phone number of new member. Non-profit Organization U. S. Postage Paid San Antonio. TX Permit #590
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