Bexar tracks : the newsletter of the Bexar Audubon Society, Vol. 20, No. 02

• Main Author: Bexar Audubon Society
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: San Antonio, Tex. : Bexar Audubon Society, 2002
• Subjects: Birds > Conservation > Texas > Periodicals.; Ornithology > Texas > Periodicals.; Nature conservation > Texas > Periodicals; Clubs and Organizations; Science and Technology; Austin; Bare Rock; Evelyn; Holdsworth; Homestead; Hurley; Laurie; Lookout; Medina; Ridley; Sion; South Pole; The Lookout; Toledo; Waugh; Weaver; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: http://digital.utsa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15125coll10/id/8034

Bexar Tracks began with Vol. 4, no. 1 (January 1986). It continues Newsletter (Bexar Audubon Society). I 81:A~S Tuesday, April 2, 2002-San Antonio Environmental Network BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY First Place, 2000 National Audubon Society newsletter contest for large chapters A river may run through it .but who is running through the river? Are Te~as rivers and streams threatened by off road vehicles? 6:30p.m. -Social Time; 7:00p.m. -Program Free and open to the public-Extra parking across Broadway at /HOP Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway (Take Hildebrand exit off 281) For VIA public transportation: take Route 9 or 14 to the Broadway/ Pershing/ Toledo intersection Each quarter BAS shares its meeting with the San Antonio Environmental Network. April's meeting will examine the emerging problems of environmental damage caused by off-road vehicles (ORV's) using rivers and streams for recreational driving. The Nueces River Authority (NRA) will present a slide talk on this problem as it affects the beds, b.anks and channels of the Nueces River near Uvalde. Sky Lewey, NRA Public Relations Director, will present the program and lead the discussion of the significant riparian and aquatic damage occurring in the river, trashing of the area, and noise and trespass problems for adjoining landowners. . This problem is developing statewide and has been the topic of several stakeholders' meetings held in Austin with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Locally, it occurs on the Cibolo Creek in.NE Bexar County and probably in other areas as welL Efforts will again be made in the next legislative session to pass legislation that will protect the state's waterways from this threat and better serve the landowners along our streams. A technical expert will also be on hand to detail the depth of the problem and the significance of this damage to our waters, wildlife, habitat, ranch lands and recreation areas. Tuesday, May 7, 2002-Chapter Meeting Northern Mexico-lots of natural beauty Most of it threatened with destruction 6:30p.m. -Social Time; 7:00p.m. -Program Free and open to the public-Extra parking across Broadway at /HOP Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway (Take Hildebrand exit off 281) For VIA public tra,n~portation: take Route 9 or 14 to the Broadway/ Pershing/ Toledo intersection Living where they do, most BAS members don't need to be told that Mexico is a very poor, country, struggling to survive and to provide its citizens with more of the 'opportunities·for a good life so obvious across the border to the north. One of America's premier private environmental protection organizations is seeking to use its experience and expertise to help Mexico protect these treasures against brutal pressures from those not so concerned with the quality of life as just staying alive. That organization is The Nature Conservancy(TNC). The manager for the Conservancy's Northeast Mexico program, Jeff Weigel, is the featured speaker at the May BAS meeting. There are two major areas of concern for TNC in northern Mexico. One of the Laguna Madre, the coastal lagoon, split evenly between the U.S. and Mexico, which runs 277 miles from Corpus Christi Bay south to the Rio Soto'in Mexico. The other is the beautiful desert valley, Cuatro Cienegas, which contains an unusually high number of rare and endangered species. Eighty percent of all the redhead ducks in the world spend their winters in the Laguna Madre-which quite appropriately translates as "the mother lagoon." On the mainland side of the lagoon live 80 or so ocel9ts and on the U.S. side last year 12 Kemp's-Ridley sea turtles-the rarest sea turtles in the world-came ashore to nest. On the U.S. side exist many protections for these endangered species and many people dedicated to their survivaL South of the border it is close to every species for itself and one species has a demonstrated record of surviving at the expense of others. ' Weigel will help BAS members understand the complexities of these challenges and how TNC is developing, new strategies and tactics to meet them. ' liT'S BIRDATHON TIME! SEE INSIDE ON PAGE 3 FOR DETAILS I BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY Chapter of the National Audubon Society P. 0. Box 6084, San Antonio, TX 78209 21 0-822-4503 GOALS The Chapter's primary goals are to promote species and habitat conservation and environmental education in the community. President Vice Pres. Treasurer Secretary Past Pres. OFFICERS Susan Hughes . ([e-mail]) . 532-2332 Harry Noyes . ([e-mail]) . 490-3124 Bill Barker . ([e-mail]) . 308-5862 Bill Hurley. ([e-mail]) . 341-2676 Mike Mecke ([e-mail]) , . 344-3737 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dean Bibles . ([e-mail]) . 698-9264 Tom Wilson . ([e-mail]) . 492-4799 Tony Wood . ([e-mail]) . . 493-4684 COMMITTEE CHAIRS Aud. Adven. Betty Minyard . ([e-mail]) . 344-6128 Birdathon . . . available Conserv. Harry Noyes . ([e-mail]) . 490-3124 Education . available Memb. . . . . . available Natural I nit. Tom Wilson . ([e-mail]) . 492-4799 Programs . . . . . available Publicity Harry Noyes . ([e-mail]) . 490-3124 SAEN Coord. Mike Mecke ([e-mail]) . 344-3737 . ,. . . available Bexar Tracks Tom Wilson . ([e-mail]) . 492-4799 Editors Jill Sandeen . 830-980-'3277 Mailing TxAS Bd. ([e-mail]) . Fax: [phone] . available . available Bexar Tracks is your newsletter. We welcome your contributions. Please fax Jill or email Tom as above; diskettes and hard copy should be sent to Tom Wilson, 13227 Hunters Spring, San Antonio, TX 78230. .J~ Printed with soy ink on fill' recycled paper. Visit Bexar Audubon's Web Site: http://www.BexarAudubon.org Visit San Antonio Environmental Network's Web Site: http://www.sa-naturecenter.org Suggestions and contributions are welcome. Please contact Bill Hurley at [e-mail] BENEATH THE GAVEL I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still~ can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Bale- That's how organizations like Bexar Audubon function-people finding a little bit of time in their lives to contribute to something they believe in. And more often than not they get a lot out of it in return. Today, I'm asking you to give a couple of hours of your time to help Bexar Audubon have a presence at several public outreach events in April. Viva Botanica April 6-7, a girl scout event on April 13, Earth Day April 20, and an Earth Day event at Palo Alto College on April 22. " You may say, "I don't know enough about Bexar Audubon to help." Doing things like this-working alongside a more experienced volunteer-is how you learn. And the mostjmpewtant thing is having someone show up to help hand out materials, field questions (even if the answer is "I don't know, but let me try to find out"), say "hello" and give someone a smile, and enjoy the company of like-minded folks. We have a great location at Viva Botanica and it's lots of fun. Volunteers get free admission. For the girl scout event, we'll be offering an activity (yet to be determined­any ideas?) for the scouts to participate in. We'll have issue postcards for folks to write at Earth Day. If you can volunteer 2 hours or 4, you're ~elcome to join in and you will be greatly appreciated. Just call Susan Hughes at 532-2332 or 862-1150 for more information. Remember, none of us can do evyrything, but together we can make a great difference. -Susan Hughes AUDUBON APPLAUSE A very great applause to the planning committee of this )'ear's Farm & Range Forum: Larry Allen, Dr. Janet Black, Dr. Peter Bowman, Helen Holdsworth,. Susan Hughes, Mike Mecke, Mike Petter, and Phillip Wright. Thanks also to our sponsors, hosts, and cooperators: Alamo Area Quail Unlimited, Audl}bon Council of Texas, Agrifood Ed. Council, Edwards Aquifer Authority, Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, Medina Valley Soil & Water Conservation Resource & Land Management, Inc., San Antonio Water System, 7 A Ranch, / Southwest Texas Federal Land Bank Association, Texas A&M University Agriculture Program, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas Council-Soil & Water Conservation Society, Texas Section - Society for Range Managemnt, Texas Wildlife Association, US Department of Agriculture Nat ural Resources Conservation Service, and the Margret Cullinan Wray Charitable Trust. Thanks to all our speakers and to their organizations & Mike Petter's food team!! Century old perspectives on birds on the web Editor's note: the following comes from Jerry W Davis, Forest Wildlife Program Man­ager at the Ouachita National Forest, Hot Springs, Arkansas. ' --- ~ For those of you that do not get the [e-mail], April/ May 2002 and those of you that do and failed to look into this site, I suggest that you are missing something if you do not. Tbe articles deal with not only birds, but with bats, mammals, plants, insects, and other related subjects. It is rare when you can get information and perspectives on wildlife from over 100 years ago. Birder Evelyn Ford reports she has found articles on birds and nature dating back to 1897 'on the web site www.birdnature.com/birdsandnature.html Bexar Tracks CHAPTER NEWS March meeting recap BAS members are challenged to protect The beauty of Utah's redrock wilderness The proud and almost awed owners of some of the most spectacular landscape on the North American continent were chal­lenged at the March BAS meeting to ac­tively join the struggle to preserve that landscape by working to convince the Con­gress to include it in America's Wilderness System. The challenge was present to the mem­bers by Bob Brister, Outreach Associate for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. The Alliance is a volunteer citizens orga­nization seeking the inclusion of 9.1 mil­lion acres of publicly owned lands in Utah into the Wilderness System to protect them forever as a vital part of our wild heritage. Brister's sales effort was made much easier by his stunning slide show which presented a wonderful progression of breathtaking landscapes which, seemingly, would convince the most blase of citizens Help us out to join the cause. However, Brister ex­plained that citizen owners of these lands face an uphill battle convincing those who live in Utah that Wilderness is a good idea. The extractive, recreational vehicle and agricultural interests, he said, see this land as potential for personal enrichment and are strongly opposed to saving all its beauty for future generations. The campaign will be a long one, Brister said, since the Wilderness designa­tion requires an act of Congress, which has shown, thus far, moderate but growing in­terest in the proposal. Since the entire Utah congressional delegation opposes wilder­ness, it will take a strong Congressional effort to overcome hometown advantage, he said. However, history may be on the side of Wilderness. Brister pointed out that in the last century Utah politicians opposed all of the dozen or so by the Congress which was acting on the theory that these lands, owned by all of the public, should be protected when an obvious majority of their owners supported such a move. The lands in question are all managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Interior Department, which is charged with overseeing use of these lands for appro­priate purposes, which may be mining, grazing, oil drilling or recreation-includ­ing Wilderness. While the 30 attendees at the March BAS meeting are a minuscule portion of the owners of these 9.1 million acres, they seemed more than willing to attest to all concerned their strong support for putting Utah's redrock country into wilderness for all in this and future generations to enjoy. -Tom Wilson Fairchild Warblers join Birdathon 2002 Contest supports BAS classroom project For those long-time members, you know Birdathon rolls around about this time every year, and this year will be no exception. This year will be, however, exceptional. The Fairchild Warblers, who have gained local fame for their participation in the Great Texas Birding Classic, have committed to join our efforts to make this year one of the most successful ever. The Fairchild Warblers (FC) are select students ranging in age from 1 0 through 15 who participate in youth activities in San Antonio's Fairchild Park area. These enthusiastic young birders have participated in several of the Great Texas Birding Classics, in the "Roughwings" Division, placing well with over a hundred species seen during the Classic event. The money raised in the Birdathon will go to support Bexar Audubon's Audubon Adventures program, a bimonthly April/ May 2002 environmental newsletter prepared for 3rd through 6th grade classrooms. Half of the proceeds raised by the FC will be used to fund their entry fees in future birding competitions and other related expenses. The way you can participate in this year's Birdathon is to contact Marge Lumpe at 545-1822 or via email at [e-mail] and pledge your support. Birdathon operates like any other "thon" in that pledges are taken for either flat amounts or per species of birds spotted during a selected 24-hour period. May 5 has been chosen as the date for this year's event. The "spotters" then see how many species they can identify in that period. Pledges are then tallied and collected, and another year of classroom education can be provided. There are always more classrooms who would like the program than we have funds to provide for. There is no limit on the number of people participating in Birdathon, so if you are interested in doing your own Birdathon or organizing another team, please contact Marge Lumpe to get the appropriate forms. Let's hear from you with your pledges and your support. -Marge Lumpe Editor's Note: As an added incentive, Georgina Schwartz of the San Antonio Audubon Society tells us that there will be access to Mitchell Lake all day on May 5. BAS 2002 Birdathon Sponsor Info Please tum in all contributions and pledge forms by May 31, 2002. Make checks payable to BAS. Send to Birdathon, c/o BAS, PO Box 6084, San Antonio, TX 78209. Please include your name, address, phone number, and the total amount pledged. If you do your own Birdathon, also please include your sponsors' names, address and phone, pledge per species, and a check or checks for the total paid. 2002 SPRING FARM AND RANGE FORUM RECAP Love South Texas land and it can love you right back Farm and Range Forum details ways to increase income While restoring fertility and improving water efficiency The seventy plus folks who braved the blue Norther that blew into the Medina County Fairgrounds, just north of Hondo, early Saturday morning for the third annual South Texas Farm and Range Forum, entitled "Managing to Make a Living: Ownership= Stewardship," were rewarded with an outstanding program. Saturday's keynote speaker was John Burt, the Texas State Conser­vationist with the US Department of Agri­culture's Natural Re­sources Conservation Service (NRCS). John is the administrative executive who coordinates all the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the state. Local community members run the local districts. NRCS provides technical expertise to local folks on a voluntary basis to protect water quality and quantity, range and habitat quality, flood control, and sustain the local rural economy - all on private land. Private landowners are encouraged to visit their local NRCS office and discuss their objectives - whatever they may be. The agent then goes to the landowner's property and assesses what is available, for example, soil types, etc. The agent and the owner will come up with a mutually developed plan that addresses the problems that the owner may not have known were involved. With that voluntary approach, directed towards an individual's desires, conservation is assured. The success of the NRCS is illustrated by the fact that in the 1970's, there were major dust storms in Northern Texas- so dense, you had to use headlights in the middle of the day. ·During the severe droughts of the 1990's, there were no dust storms. Phillip Wright was the next speaker. He is the Edwards Region NRCS Coor­dinator and project manager for the Seco Creek Water Quality Demonstration Pro­ject. An interesting point that was brought April/ May 2002 up is that non-point pollution of the aquifer is higher in urban areas than in agricultural areas. So we 'city-slickers can impact our water quality by applying these best management practices in our own yf!rds - only put on the amount and kind of fertilizer that you really need (ie, get your soil sampled) and apply pesticides and herbicides with care. If you have a well, practice wellhead protection - don't store pesticides and fertilizers in your well house. Recently retired from the Hondo NRCS office, Lynn Post provided useful tips for old and new small landowners. He urged new property owners to get out and really know their place­find the boundaries, use aerial soil survey maps to determine what kind of soil types are present. Once you really know your property, you can figure out what kinds of crops and grasses you can grow. He did advise newcomers to seek out the old timers in their neighborhood- they usually know what does well there. Lynn also recom­mended that we pick up a booklet called "Tips for small ranches in Texas" which has a wealth of information in it. To request you copy, write to Texas Section- Society for Range Management, c/o Nick Garza, PO Box 108, Sonora, TX 76950, or call Nick at 915-387-3168. The Natural Resour­ces Manager of Uvalde and Medina counties, Rick Cantu, told us about the assistance· programs of the NRCS. There wilL soon be an irrigation team of 5 people: an engineer, an agronomist, a soil conservationist, and two soil technicians. Since a large part of Edwards Aquifer water is used to irrigate crop land in this region, this should be a vital resource for area farmers. Rick told us about two programs that provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) addresses specific resource concerns and can provide up to $50,000, and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which targets high priority buffer practices in areas like riparian forest buffers. His office can help interested parties in the application process of this national program. Under the heading of The Sustainable Home­stead, Rick Weaver, Soil and Crop Science professor at Texas A & M University, told us about constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment. Although one still needs the usual septic tank for the initial processing of the household waste, instead of a drain field, you can have a constructed wetland that actually processes the waste to almost secondary treatment level (has . more nitrogen and phosphorus), which is the water quality that most sewage treatment plants obtain. Regular septic systems obtain only primary treatment level. The advantage of this system is that you can pipe the effluent to an underground drip system that will keep your yard and garden watered. The constructed wetland takes the sewage to the same quality as aerobic systems do, but it does so without needing electricity and chemicals that an aerobic system does. Unfortunately, the State of Texas does not automatically recognize constructed wetlands as acceptable on-site sewage facilities, so you may have to work with your county engineer to get it approved. Mark Peterson, an Urban Forester with the Texas Forest Ser­vice, entitled his talk: The greening of the homestead - self-sus­taining forest in the urban community. Trees provide cooling in the summer, warmth in winter, erosion control - especially wind, watershed protection, noise abatement, a decrease in air and water Continued on page 5 Bexar Tracks 2002 SPRING .fARM ANO RANGE FORUIVI "RECAP ,. r ·i· ,w;, ·' ' Continued from page 4 can be maintained on healthier rangeland. one of the only "ranching" activities in the pollution, and an increase in in property Teny Austin, the executive director of day's program that can be conducted in the values by as much as 20 percent. Audubon Texas and a vice president of small backyards of city dwellers: making "Therefore," Mark says, "Trees are cool, National Audubon Society, give us an butterfly gardens. Texas is second only to clean cash!" Mark recommends update on the Important Bird Areas Arizona in the number of species of diversifying the kinds of trees around since program for Texas. In Texas, the key to the butterflies it has. Mike's pictures of live oak is so susceptible to oak wilt. He success of the IBA. program is the butterflies were pure eye-candy. gave us a list of the "Rugged dozen" that involvement of private landowners. Bernie Little from the do well in our area: live oak, Mexican live I always enjoy hearing State Comptroller's Office oak, bur oak, Afghan pine, Chinese Linda Ca,mpbell from the and Kirby Brown from the pis tache, thornless mesquite, Texas Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Wildlife Asso-mountain laurel, desert willow, cenizo, Department give the ciation told us the ins and Burford holly, and evergreen sumac. The cunent state of affairs for outs of wildlife exemp-best time to plant a tree was twenty years Nature Tourism in Texas. tions. The advan-tage of ago. The next best time: now. What a win-win part- the wildlife valuation is After Mark's talk, we nersbip between the state that it allows for a lower were treated to a fabulous and private landowners tbis program is. stocking rate of cattle. barbecue for lunch. Mike Although ranching an·d farming activities However, it had been d Management, Inc., th the help of some friends in the area, prepared locally harvested- and very fresh- wild boar and cabrito, with organic egg salad offered to the non-meat eaters. It was wonderful. Lynn Drawe, Director of the Welder Wildlife Foun-dation, introduced his talk on determining habitat health, by remiq.ding us that "Today's ranchers or'· land managers are the stewards of rangeland. Their very livelihood depends on maintaining a healthy rangeland ecosystem." It takes a thousand years to form an inch _of topsoil here in the central area of Texas. He described the process of succession that originally took 10,000- 100,000 year.s as first, the pioneer stage with algae and lichens on bare rock, then the transition stage with more advanced lichens and moss. Next is the first herb stage, with early maturing annuals. Then comes the second herb stage with perennials, The climax stage supports the highest number of species and is the savannah that was described by settlers in the 1500 - 1600's when there were dense stands of bunchgrass. Overgrazing and plowing led to retrogression back to bare soil. It is possible with good management to bring the land back to a secondary climax stage, but it takes 20 - 100 years. What is good for wildlife is good for livestock and a higher density of cattle (ie, stocking rate) April/ May 2002 often follow a cyclical pattern, especially very difficult for property if there are weather challenges, nature owners to get their local tourism has shown a very consistent annual appraisal districts to grant them the wildlife growth rate of six percent per year. In an exemption because the rules were so vague. effort to help small communities develop In the last legislative session, HB3123 was economically stable tourism enterprises passed that requires new rules to be and at the same time protect vital habitat developed. After normal rule changing so important to natural Texas, TPW is procedures, including public comment developing a network of sites and period, the rules will be final and available providing the biology . specialists to to those folks who want to apply for the inventory the most accessible and exemption. important areas. Linda and her staff are , Orlan Ihms, Chairman of the Board of responsible · for the development of the Audubon Texas, did an admirable j,ob of Great Texas Wildlife Trails. Texas has been recapping the day's events. One of the divided up into five birding areas: The comments made during the Q&A period Coastal Birding Trail was the first and has was quite a sobering reminder of the rapid encouraged local communities to protect decline of rural Texas: Hanis County has local habitat to support the program and more representatives than all of the other increase ecotourist income. The Heart of counties west of I-35. One county can Texas Trail, which includes South Central outvote all the others! The overarching aim Texas, will have 2 maps completed this of the coalition between the ranching year. The High Pl'!ins area up north will community and the environmental ha'-:e its maps completed next year. The _ community as .represented by a program eastern region called Prairies and Piney such as this, is to educate the urban Woods has just been funded. The western dwellers how important - for every citizen area, called Mountains and Basins, remains in this state - to protect our heritage and to be funded. the natural habitat for the economic well- Did you know that only 1 percent of insects are pests? Touting the bep.e­fits of bugs was TPWD's entomologist, Mike Quinn, aka Mr. Butterfly. M1ke elicited a good laugh from the audience when he showed what is an entomologist's equivalent to dump­watching for birds: car grills. I liked his presentation because it described probably being of our rural cousins on whom we depend for food and the ecological health of natural resources of our great state of -Jill Sandeen CHAPTER NEWS Sprawl comes to San Antonio by Bill Barker, Board Member, Bexar Audubon Society While the national press has been reporting on urban sprawl across the U.S., it is clear that sprawl has come to San Antonio, too. According to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTl), over the most recent five years for which data is available ( 1992 to 1997), the population in the San Antonio urban area has increased by 3.7%, but vehicle miles traveled have increased by 14.6%. In San Antonio, travel is increasing almost four times faster than the popula'tion! Why the additional travel? While I am unaware of any local studies on this topic, national studies suggest that the , major cause is increasing trip length. People are living farther and farther away from where they work, shop and play. Building more roads will not help. It has been known for decades that increasing roadway capacity generally increases the amount of travel. If you save someone a few minutes of travel time, they will use some of the time saved by traveling even more. Thus, speeding up travel by reducing congestion just generates more traffic. · This new, additional travel is called "induced" travel. A 1972 TTl report concluded that one-fourth to two-thirds of the traffic on the new Texas roads studied was induced. A study of 30 urban counties in California found that for every 10% increase in lane-miles of road capacity there was a 9% increase in motor vehicle traffic within five years. Most San Antonio citizens already know this. In a 1999 survey of 1,083 voters in the previous city-wide election, 60% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: "The answer to traffic congestion is to build more roads." Only about one-third (34%) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. (The remaining 6% didn't know or didn't answer.) Unfortunately, folks that live and work in the inner city, and who are not contributing to suburban sprawl and congestion, are the very folks who are forced to pay for the road building on the fringes of the metropolitan area. Only 57% of the State and federal gasoline taxes collected for roads in Bexar County is spent April! May 2002 in Bexar County. According to the State Comptroller's office, the Texas Department of Transportation spent $121 per capita in Bexar County in 2000 (exclusive of staff costs). This compares to $191 per capita in Guadalupe County, $239 in Wilson County, $241 in Comal County and $303 in Atascosa County. Almost all of the $10 road and bridge fee collected with auto registrations by Bexar County is spent in the unincor­porated portions of the County. The City of San Antonio receives· none of the gasoline taxes or vehicle registration fees collected for roads. Although City residents pay these taxes, they may only get about one-half of this money back in roadwork and must pay (again!) for street improvements through property taxes and other sources of City revenue. This is tough to do in a city noted for the high percentage of its population living in poverty. The current road program contributes to this poverty in three ways. First, road taxes collected in Bexar County and leaving the County for projects outside the area amount to an estimated $110 million per year. Clearly, this loss of $110 million per year does not help the local economy. Second, the road building program causes additional transportation expenditures by households to the detriment of wealth-building investments. A recent national study identified those cities with the biggest road building programs (Houston, Atlanta and Dallas) and found that highway mileage per capita increased by 21% since 1988 in these cities. Household expenditures for transportation in these cities increased by 17% over the same time period. In fact, unlike most cities, transportation expenditures exceed the cost of shelter for households in these three cities. On the other hand, the cities with the sm,allest household expenditures on transportation (Honolulu, New York and Baltimore) experienced a slight drop in highway mileage per capita over the last decade. Household transportation costs fell by almost 9% in these cities. Reducing household transportation expenditures allows low-income families to build wealth by investing in home ownership. Third, a significant share of automobile and truck transportation expenditures leaves the Bexar County economy to the detriment of local incomes and jobs. Government expenditures on transportation projects and services are typically only about 20% of the total transportation expenditures. The majority (80%) of the expenditures is the personal and business expenditures on vehicles and vehicle operating costs, such as insurance, gasoline, repairs, vehicle depreciation, etc. Much of these expenditures leaves, or "leaks," from the Bexar County economy. As a result, one study of the Bexar County economy estimated that for every $1 million that is shifted from auto operating expenses to general household expenses, the total income of the County goes up by about $120,000 and 9 more jobs are added. The State of Florida decided, as part of its recent 2020 Transportation Plan Update, that auto operating costs took away from spending on housing, and that: "More spending on housing would increase the financial net worth of Florida households because it is an investment in personal assets with a lasting or growing value, compared to the rapid depreciation of personal vehicles. Because it is so important a source of initial capital for individual entrepreneurs, greater home equity would expand available capital for startup businesses; and the dedication for home mortgage interest and other federal tax policies provide significant subsidies for a household's investment in housing­subsidies that do not exist for purchasing personal motor vehicles." So when Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson recently studied the future of San Antonio for the Express-News, they concluded: "if people want a region that conserves space, honors and fills in neighborhoods rather than continually pushes the outer fringe and a transportation plan with more richness of choice than standard subdivisions and cui-de-sacs, they'll have to insist on a real debate about future transportation scenarios." Are you willing to insist on such a debate? Bexar Tracks LOCAL EVENTS February 9, 2002, Second Saturday Program Recap They visited the Edwards This was an excellent presentation which included a bonus. One of the pre­senters, John Waugh, is a personal friend and colleague of Ted Small who is respon­sible for developing the system that is used for mapping the Edwards Underground Aquifer. Small also mapped the Edwards Aquifer from Austin to Brackettville and is referenced by every one who does re­search or mapping in this area. We started off with a clear, easy to understand while also quit~ detailed expla­nation of how the Edwards Aquifer came to be, how it "works" and doesn't work (common misconceptions and beliefs). A hike followed this. We hiked the Yucca Trail (paved) from the restroom trailhead, then went across Yucca Trail(natural) to Cedar Flats (paved). Then followed the Cedar Flats paved trail to th~ observation tower. We looked at rocks, the general geology and found a sinkhole and talked ' about how these ,features are formed and the ramifications of proper management of :these kinds of features. At the tower, we looked in all directions and saw the water cycle and what it looks like -on the ground in a watershed, in a quarry, and in devel­opment. The program, presented by Holly Camaro and Cindy Sims, went 1.5 'hours over due to the' great interest, wonderful conditions, and outstanding presenters. -Mary Bishop Kennedy and Jayne Nelka Monday, April 8, 7:30p.m. Trinity University -Ozone connection topic of Trinity talk Susan Solomon, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will present a lecture entitled "Adventures in Cold Places: From Ozone Depletion to Robert Falcon Scott" in Laurie Auditorium at Trinity University on April 8 at 7:30PM. Dr. Solomon will talk about how her study of the spectacular ozone hole that forms over Antarctica every spring led to a better understanding of how exceptional weather conditions lead fo the tragedy of the Scott expedition to the South Pole. This talk is free and open to the public. There will be opportunities to ask questions . Upcoming events SELAH RANCH ACTIVITIES Check the 2002 Calendar for the Selah Ranch. David Bamberger has scheduled many workshops, tours and field days of interest - including Birding Field Days, Wildflowers, and Trees/Shrubs Field Days - at www.bambergerranch.org or write 2341 Blue Ridge Dr., Johnson City, TX 78636. MAY 4, 200~, REED RANCH Holistic Resource Management (HRM) Field Day at Reed Ranch Sat., May 4th. In Post Oak Savannah Region one hour south of Dallas, this 1780 acre ranch is just NE of Kerens, TX. Various holistic (view­ing and planning for the WHOLE set of resources and enterprises) ranching topics inc: economics, electric fencing, wetlands and migratory bird habitat development, seed balling & native grasses, other sur­prise activities. Call Jirn/Judy Reed to pre­register- required for lunch and space- 903-872-6836 in Corsicana. . Purple Martin Association seeks Help in tracking martin migration Editor's note: your martins probably have been back for a while, but this appeal is for data from the beginning of the year. As in previous years, the Purple Martin Conservation Association is asking martin landlords to lend us your eyes and ears! We are asking all purple martin landlords to please be on the lookout (and listen) for the return of purple martins to their neighborhoods: We are tracking their northward migration and could really use your help. (If you are in the deep South, we still want your scout date even if it is a month or more old.) How can you help? Please be sure your housing is open and ready. Go out to the housing in the morning or early evening and tap on the pole to -see if a martin flies · out (they often sneak in, undetected, especially during foul weather). When you April/ May 2002 , see the first martin (or hear a reliable report from elsewhere in your same community), PLEASE let us know as soon as possible. You can ;mbmit your observation via the Internet, either as an email, or via our web­based , submission form at www. purp lemartin. org/ scou treport/2002/ scout.html. Of course, you can also call, write, or fax your observations, too, but the Internet · is fastest. In the comments section of the web-based submission form, please let us know (if you can) how many' purple martins were in the group you first observed back, and their sexes. For example: "I saw my first purple martins today, 2/25/2001, in Tulsa, OK. Two adult males and one adult female were observed checking out their housing. I heard their familiar chattering vocalizations." You can also use the submission form supplied to everyone in the center section ·of the 2002 Martin Market Place product catalog. Thanks for your cooperation with this project. .Be sure to visit our web site frequently so you can track the daily progress of the martins as make their way northward. Thank you so much. Sincerely, James R. Hill, III, Executive Director/ Founder, Purple Martin Conservation Association, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444 USA, 814-734-4420 (phone), 814-734-5803 (fax), [e-mail] (email) Bexar Tracks Mark your calendar Events scheduled for the year Editor's note: the following are the BAS meetings and related events scheduled for 2002. BAS members are welcome at all events and meetings. Additional informa­tion available from any officer and/or board member. April 2- Spring SAEN Forum- a panel discussion on the Nueces River Authority's attempts to limit damage to the river from misuse of trucks and other ORV's April 6-7 - Viva Botanica April 11 - BAS Board meeting Aprill3- Girl Scout Event April 20 - Earth Day April 22 - Palo Alto College Earth Day May 7 -BAS Meeting - Jeff Weigel, Director of the Northeast Mexico Program for The Nature Conservancy • May 9-BAS Board Meeting May 10 - Deadline for June - August Newsletter to Tom Wilson June 4 - Summer SAEN Forum - Topic will be the development of the new Land Heritage Institute of the Americas on the former Applewhite Dam project site on the Medina River in south Bexar County. Dr. Alston Thoms, Director of Texas A & M's Environmental Archaeology Department and chief investigator on the site for the past I 0 years, will present the visionary plan to develop the Institute and show what it will mean to south Texas, Bexar County and San Antonio. June 13 -BAS board meeting July -no program meeting July 11 -BAS Board meeting August 9 - Deadline for September - October Newsletter to Tom Wilson August - no program meeting August 3 -BAS annual work session September 3 - BAS meeting September 20 - BAS board meeting October 1 - Fall SAEN Forum October 10 - BAS board meeting October 13 - Deadline for November - December Newsletter to Tom Wilson November 5 -BAS Meeting November 14-BAS Board meeting December 3 - BAS Holiday Party December - no BAS board meeting Bexar Audubon Society, Inc. P. 0. Box 6084 San Antonio, TX 78209 Address Service Requested Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid San Antonio Permit #590 SECOND SATURDAY RECURRING EVENTS PRQG RAM San Antonio Audubon Society's Beginners' Second Saturdays are co-sponsored by Birdwalk. Meet at the Judson Nature Trail the San Antonio Parks and Recreation De- in Alamo Heights at 8:00AM (except in the partment and BAS. April 13, 2002: Inva- summer, June through August, when it is sion of the Natives. May 11, 2002: Moths. 7:30). Visitors are welcome. Membership is Programs ·are held from 9 - 11 a.m. $3 per not required and they have a few binoculars person or $5 per family donation requested. to lend. For info: 210-342-2073. For more infromation call 698-1057. r --- """:' --- "I Eisenhower Park is at 19399 N.W. Military Membership Form Hwy., about 2 miles outside of Loop 1604. National Audubon So_ciety Take the FM1535/ Military Hwy/Shavano Bexar AudubonSoc1ety Park exit go north on FM1535 the park will Membership rates are: ' . ' . Student/Senior $15 Basic $35 be on the left, JUSt before Camp Bulhs. 1 t d t 1 $20 (2 $30) MITCHELL LAKE ~;~euc ory -year -year: ACCESS A~ --- Dates will be available on the San Antonio Audubon Society website at www. saaudubon. org. Additional access can be arranged by calling in advance to Georgina Schwartz at 210-342-2073. City __ State _Zip __ _ Phone: ( ) ______ _ Email: _ _________ _ . 1·.: Earth Share ,. OF TEXAS Earth Share of Texas represents the Audubon Foundation of Texas and the National Audubon Society in payroll deduction plans for charitable giving. For informat ion , call 1-800-GREENTX or email <[e-mail]>. For a new membership, mail this coupon and your check-payable to "National Audubon Society, Chapter W19" to: Bexar Audubon Society P. 0. Box 6084 San Antonio, TX 78209 W19, 7XCH . ____________ . April/ May 2002 Bexar Tracks