| Summary: | Bexar Tracks began with Vol. 4, no. 1 (January 1986). It continues Newsletter (Bexar Audubon Society). BAS GENERAL MEETING "What's New in the Garden?" SASA Building (San Pedro at 410) September 17, 1987, 7:30p.m. _Filling a ~0,000 sq. ft. underground conservatory With a vanety of plants native to the Western He~isphere is no _easy task! Assembling a collection of tropical palms, ramforest ferns and desert cacti for the new c?nsel!'atory- plants that will be displayed for the first time m San Antonio - has involved herculean efforts by the San Antonio Botanical Center's staff horticultu~ists for the past year and a half. Eric Tchanz, Duector of the Botanical Center, will bring us up to date on the current construction status of the Conservatory. And what's the latest word on Xeriscape gardening? As San Antonio swelters and endures a prolonged dry s~ell of over 30 days without rain, we are all concerned with the use or misuse of water. Mr. Tschanz will also offer helpful tips on Xeriscape and how we can incorporate native plants into our landscape design. An?, _don't forget, we'll be meeting at 6:00 p.m. at Luby s m Central Park M~;tll for dinner before the m--·e.e·.ti n g. Please join us! ··.•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•·•- BAS ANNUAL GARAGE SALE 2922 Oak Leaf October 3, 1987 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. DON'T FORGET!! Our annual garage sale is scheduled for October 3. This year our fundraising efforts will go toward supporting our N AS regional office in Austin. We need your donations of books, housewear items, plants, decorative items, furniture, sporting goods, tools, etc. (just about anything except clothing), and remember donations are tax deductible! Plan on bringing your items to 2922 Oak Leaf no later than the evening of October 2. Don't hesitate to donate; remr 1ber, one person's trash might be another pers" .t's treasure! We also need volunteers to help tag items on Friday evening and to act as salespersons on Saturday. Bring your friends and come and shop, too! Please call Thelma Nungesser at 824-8199 or 822-4503 for further information. gYacRs SEPTEMB 1987' BEACH CLEAN-UP Padre Island National Seashore September 19, 1987 BE A BEACH BUDDY! Join your fellow Texans for the annual beach clean-up, from 9:00a.m. to noon, sponsored by the Center for Environmental Education. Approximately 2,775 concerned citizens gathered more than 124 tons of trash along 122 miles of texas coastline (from Boca Chica to Beaumont) last year! Once again, the focus of the clean-up is to increase public awareness about the dangers of plastic marine debris. Each year thousands of marine animals eat plastic garbage that they mistake for food, but ingestion of plastic items is just part of the problem . entaglement in plastic debris also kills thousands of seals, whales, dolphins, sea turtles and sea birds every year. SO JOIN IN THE FUN AND HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Bexar Audubon members will meet that morning at Malachite Beach. The only requirements are enthusiasm and a pair of work gloves. And, if you would like to spend the weekend, local hotels are again offering special rates for Beach Buddies! For more details, call Nancy Kent at 824-8199 or 822-4503. CONSERVATION NOTES A recent Radio Moscow announcement indicated the Soviet Union is calling a halt to commercial whaling. Environmental groups say the Soviet Union has the world's largest catch of whales, taking a.bout half the worldwide total each year. Japan, grudmgly and under the American threat of a reduced fish catch in American waters, has agreed to phase out commercial whaling by next April. Other nations with whaling fleets are Norway, Iceland, South Korea and the Philippines . .•. In July, the governments of Canada and the U.S. signed a long-awaited agreement for the conservatioq of the Porcupine caribou herd and its habitat. The agreement encompasses all of the habitat used by the herd in its long-term migratory patterns, including calving grounds (on the coastal plain of the Artie National Wildlife Refuge and the adjacent coastal plain of Canada), insect relief areas, migration routes and winter ranges. It is unusual among international wildlife protection measures since it was negotiated for a healthy wildlife population. ······································· Disposition of high-level radioactive waste now accumulating at nuclear power plants and other nonmilitary nuclear facilities has been a longstanding problem. The Department of Energy (DOE) ha~ now indicated that it needs an extra five years before It can begin operating a permanent repository for high-level nuclear waste. DOE cited delays in the consultation process leading to selection of three candidate sites for the first repository as one of the main reasons for its request for an extension. The extension would push such a facility's opening date from January, 1998, into the year 2003, throwing into disarray the schedule mandated by Congress in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. .•. Despite extensive efforts to protect the giant panda- that shy, solitary inhabitant of China's mountainous forests -- its population appears to have been severely decimated, according to a study conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wildlife Fund International. The decline results from sustained human encroachment on the animal's habitat. Renewed efforts to protect the panda calls for greater enforcement of regulations in the existing 12 panda reserves; establishing a new class of forests called "panda management ranges" where hunting, grazing, human settlement, agriculture and burning in the ranges would be prohibited; and the reestablishment and protection of panda migration corridors to link small, now-isolated subpopulations. A site in Hudspeth County, some 40 miles from El Paso, has been chosen as Texas' low-level radioactive waste disposal location. Plans call for the low-level radioactive waste to be contained 25 to 40 feet underground in concrete cylinders or vaults. In order to avoid stiff fines, Texas must meet a federal mandate to have the site operational by 1992, when other disposal sites throughout the nation will no longer have to accept Texas waste. SA ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS COALITION MEETING Read Stremmel Gallery· 100 W. Olmos (at McCullough) September 9, 1987, 8:00 p.m. June Kachtik, Planning Re:;earch Consultant~ will speak on "Planning and Development on the Recharge Zone: Current Status and Future Alternatives" during this quarterly SA Environmental Groups Coalition Meeting. We all know water quality continues to be a paramount concern to the citizens of San Antonio. Over the past 15 years numerous studies, proposals, recommendations and arguments have focused on the best way to insure protection for our sole water source, the Edwards Aquifer. As the population of San Antonio continues to grow and expand northward, concern about the effects of activities over sensitive areas of the aquifer's recharge zone has also grown. Ms. Kachtik has been intimately involved with resource planning and aquifer protection issues for many years. She has served on city task forces and advocacy groups, and is well known for her evenhanded and thoroughly researched approach to decision making. At this meeting she will recap a little of the policy history of the city's efforts in acquifer protection, update us on current task force and subcommittee actions in that regard, and discuss protection considerations and alternative scenarios for planning and development over the recharge zone. ************************ WELCOME to Patricia Reinken, the new office manager in the Southwest Regional Office. Patricia also serves as field trip chairman for Travis Audubon Society and knows a lot about birds and where to find them! CALENDAR SEPTEMBER 8 BAS Outings Meeting, 328 Larchmont; Patty Leslie, 824-1235. 9 BAS Conser\;'ation Committee and SA Environmental Coalition, "Planning and Development Over the Aquifer;" 7:00 p.m., Read Stremmel Gallery. 11-12 Texas Organization for Endangered Species annual meeting in Nacogdoches; call826-4698 for carpooling and information. 12 2nd Saturday at Friedrich Park, "Getting to Know the Natives - Grasses"; Patty Leslie, 824-1235. 17 Bexar Audubon general meeting, "What's New in the Garden?" Eric Tchanz, Director of SA Botanical Center; 7:30 p.m., SASA building (San Pedro at 410). 19 Annual Beach Clean-up (BAS outing); Nancy Kent, coordinator, 824-8199. 24 BAS board meeting, Nora Driver's home, 9514 LaRue, 7:30p.m. OCTOBER 2-4 Outdoor and Environmental Education Workshop, HEB retreat near Hunt; Nora Driver, 826-8531. 3-4 BAS Annual Garage Sale, 2922 Oak Leaf; Thelma Nungesser, 824-8199 or 822-4503. 10 2nd Saturday at Friedrich Park, ·,Beginning Birding", 8:00 a.m. 10 Enchanted Rock (TNC outing); Ann Schnapf, 224-8774. 14· BAS Conservation Committee Meeting, 7:00 p.m., 168 Chevy Chase. Call 826-4698 or just come. 15· Bexar Audubon general meeting, "Planning for Greenspace - Salado Creek", Dixie Watkins, Environmental Planner; 7:30 p.m., SASA building. 17-18 Native Plant Society annual meeting, Sul Ross University, Alpine; Patty Leslie, 824-1235. 22 BAS board meeting. 24 Seminole Canyon State Park; Jim Beall, 657-9655. 31 Texas Nature Conservancy annual meeting, Corpus Christi and Matagorda Island; Ann Schnapf, 224-8774. NOTICE: Don't forget the annual South Texas trip on November 20-22. The focus this year is plant and animal restoration efforts. We'll be based at Methodist_ Camp Thicket, have our traditional dinner in Mexico, visit Las Palomas, Sabal Palm Grove and another special habitat. Cost is estimated at $20.00. For information, call 826-4698. ANNOUNCEMENTS TYPE II WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS: This year TPWD is initiating a new type of recreational area called Type II. The Type II program was initiated for the primary purpose of providing increased family-oriented public hunting opportunity at low cost to participants; however, compatible activities such as fishing, primative camping, hiking, photography and nature study are also allowed. The permit costs $35.00 (available from TPWD headquarters and parks), is good for one year and allows the permit holder access to any and all of the land so designated. MITCHELL LAKE: Although the Mitchell Lake Advisory Subcommittee continues to move forward with the land use planning process, progress is slow. The environmental groups following the process feel that additional measures on our part are in order if we are to insure any continuance of greenspace and wildlife habitat at the site. Issues like the effort to site the domed stadium and/ or race tracks and commercial development there indicate clearly that neither the decision makers nor the public at large are aware of the environmental importance of the site. The police academy complex, orginally planned to occupy 35 acres, has now grown to 124 acres! The large private development planned on the east side of the property is likewise expanding with perhaps questionable environmental safeguards. SA Audubon's Bird Records Committee has been working on documenting and mapping bird use of the area. Bexar Audubon, Sierra Club and Native Plant Society monitors are cooperating in strategy planning, should adequate environmental protection measures for this prime waterfowl habitat be lacking in the planning document. Your help is needed to expand these efforts. Please call Mary Bennett, 340-6618, BAS Mitchell Lake monitor, or your group's conservation chairman, for more information. ~ A NEW LEASH ON LIFE More th~n~ 7 million dogs and cats are destroyed in animaL shetters each year, says the U.S. Humane ~ociety. About 7 million older Americans live alone, claims the ·u.S. Census Bureau. Although local programs have linked older people with homeless pets for years, Ralston Purina's new $1 million Pets for People Program may be the most ambitious project yet. The campaign plans to rescue 10,000 dogs and cats from the 90 largest shelters in 70 cities across the country and place them in homes of people over age 60. To be. eligible to adopt a pet, clients must pass their local shelter's screening procedure. In return, Purina will pr'ovide a free pet checkup (including shots and spaying or neutering) and starter kit (foodjwater bowls, pet food, etc.). For details, call your local humane society or write Pets for People Program, Ralston Purina Company, Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, MO 63164. · --- · IN MEMORIUM 0. P. Schnabel, San Antonio's anti-litter crusader who spearheaded clean-up efforts which earned San Antonio 27 National Cleanest Town Achievement Awards, died recently at his Olmos Park home at the age of 90. After returning from a visit to Switzerland in 1947, Mr. Schnabel vowed to make San Antonio as clean and beautiful as that country. For the next 40 years, O.P. (Old Pushbroom) fought litter through his Beautify San Antonio Association, where his green trash containers around town bear the message "Nice people do NOT litter". We applaud his contributions to our city; his unswerving dedication is a striking example of the impact one person can make in the arenas of environmental action and civic pride. BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIE1Y P.O. BOX 6084 ·SAN ANTONIO, TF.XA.'i 7R209 COMING OUTINGS TOES TRIP, September 11-12 (Susan Rust, 826-4698) The Texas Organization for Endangered Species will hold its annual meeting at the Science Center near Nacogdoches. The presentations will focus on bottomlands, .red-cockaded woodpeckers and other East Texas species, as will the Saturday field trips. It's a beautiful setting and a perfect time of year. NATIVE GRASSES, September 12 (Patty Leslie, 824-1235). Join us the 2nd Saturday at Friedrich Park for a leisurely hike to explore the beaqty of some of our native grasses. Most of us tend to overlook these members of the plant kingdom, but a close inspection will convince one that we've been missing a lot. The grasses should be in full head about this time, so bring your cameras, and perhaps a hand lens. Plan to picnic in the parking lot after the hike. · --- · BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY OFFICERS AND BOARD Thelma Nungesser, President Nora Driver, Vice President Russell Smith, Secretary Marge Flaitdermeyer, Treasurer Mary Bennett Manuel Flores Pat Honsberger Nancy Kent Rick Mudd COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Outings: Jim Beall Membership: Claud and Ann Perry Conservation: Susan Rust Finance: Mary Ann Moses Education: Nora Driver Programs: Stu and Netti Birnbaum Newsletter Editor: Pat Honsberger Publicity: Nancy Kent 824-8199 826-8531 734-7184 684-2668 340-6618 599-1110 695-8254 . 824-8199 496-5795 657-9655 922-6030 ·826-4698 826-6562 826-8531 695-2646 695-8254 824-8199 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U. S. POSTAGE PAID SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Permit No. 590
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