Austin Chapter

The topic for the May meeting on the Austin Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas is:

Bastrop Fire Recovery.

Summary: Jim Rooni, Chief Regional Forester for the Texas A & M Forest Service will present a program on the 2011 wildfires in Bastrop County, their effects on the forest there, and the recovery effort currently underway.

Speaker: Jim Rooni holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point.  He began work in Texas, serving as Program Coordinator for the City of Austin’s cooperative oak wilt suppression program in 1993 where he later went on to oversee the City Horticulture and Reforestation programs. During his 15-year tenure with the Texas A&M Forest Service, he has worked extensively with state forestry programs and initiatives including: Forest Health, State Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Stewardship, and a wide array of state reforestation and resource recovery initiatives – including program oversight of the forest recovery efforts in Bastrop.  Currently, he serves as Department Head & Chief Regional Forester for the Texas A&M Forest Services’ Forest Resource Development and Sustainability programs in Central Texas and West Texas.

Presentation Description:

In response to the destructive wildfire that stuck Bastrop County on September 4, 2011, the Texas A&M Forest Service made an aggressive commitment to assist the ongoing recovery by providing professional staff to help direct technical, financial, logistical, and networking resources to both the leadership and residents of Bastrop County.  In this unique recovery effort, the goal of the Texas A&M Forest Service is to work with its program partners to develop and deliver programs which result in the rapid recovery of the immensely valuable natural resources which help define Bastrop County and the Lost Pines region of Texas.  This presentation will provide an up-close look at the fire, the destruction, the forest recovery, and the resilience of a community determined to rise from the ashes of the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.

Meeting details:

Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 7-9 PM at Wild Basin Preserve, 805 N. Capital of TX Highway (Loop 360), Austin, 78746.
Doors open at 6:30 PM for socializing, munching, and general good fun.  Nonmembers welcome; free admission.

Remember to bring:
(1) seeds to exchange and give away;
(2) mystery plants for identification.

For further information, contact Mike Powers at 512-453-2289 in Austin.

The topic for the March monthly meeting of the Austin chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas is:

Fall Bloomers—Care & Feeding.

Summary:  We’ve modeled this presentation on our recent semi-annual programs addressing seasonal-blooming plants.  Cathy Nordstrom will again provide a PowerPoint display of approximately 15 native herbaceous or shrubby plants, this time blooming in fall.  Mike Powers will moderate an open-forum discussion — with a small panel of 3-4 members — of their maintenance in a garden: soil, sun/shade exposure, moisture, site selection, drought challenges, deer-resistance, etc.  We’ll again sit in-the-round, so that we all communicate across a horseshoe shape with the open end toward the panel and projection screen.  Bring your experience, questions, and notebooks.  If your problem plant or site isn’t on the list, ask anyway.  Challenge our rich experiential brain trust.  There are no stupid questions!

Meeting details:

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 7-9 PM at Wild Basin Preserve, 805 N. Capital of TX Highway (Loop 360), Austin, 78746.
Doors open at 6:30 PM for socializing, munching, and general good fun.  Nonmembers welcome; free admission.

Remember to bring:
(1) seeds to exchange and give away;
(2) mystery plants for identification.

For further information, contact Mike Powers at 512-453-2289 in Austin.

Photograph of Viguiera dentata, known as goldeneye. Click to enlarge.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The presentation topic for the January 2013 meeting of the Austin chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas is “Bumblebees of Texas” by Michael Warriner.

Summary:  
While most everyone has heard at least something in the news about declining bees, most press coverage has been directed toward the plight of the non-native European honeybee. Very little attention is directed towards native bees, like bumblebees. Over the past few decades a substantial body of research has identified declines in bumblebee populations in Europe and North America.
Bumblebees have gone virtually unstudied in most states in this country despite their critical roles in agriculture and natural ecosystems. In the United States, there is a real need to to assess how their populations are faring and if conservation actions are needed.  We can begin to do this in Texas by simply recording where species occur today and if they still inhabit the same places they did years ago. Helping with this process can be as simple as casually snapping images of bumblebees on flowers, recording the date and location, and posting them to the Texas Bumblebees Facebook page or as complex as conducting your own bumblebee survey.

Biography:  
Michael Warriner is the invertebrate biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, in the Wildlife Diversity Program.  Prior to arriving in Texas, he worked as the invertebrate zoologist for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and as a research associate working on forest entomology at Mississippi State University.  He received a B.S. in biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an M.S. in biology at  Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.

Meeting details:
Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 7-9 pm at Wild Basin Preserve, 805 N. Capital of TX Highway (Loop 360), Austin, 78746.  Doors open at 6:30 pm for socializing, munching, and general good fun.  Nonmembers welcome; free admission.

Remember to bring:
(1) seeds to exchange and give away;
(2) mystery plants for identification.

For further information, contact Mike Powers at 512-453-2289 in Austin.

The topic for the November monthly meeting of the Austin chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas is Nature Watch Austin: Guide to the Seasons in an Urban Wildland.

Summary:  Ducks in January… bats in March… rain lilies in April… meteors in August… plus the predictable appearance of fauna and flora allow humans to experience the natural cycles in our environment, no matter how urban the setting.  In their first book, Nature Watch Austin (Texas A&M University Press), avid amateur naturalists Lynne and Jim Weber provide an introduction and guide to some of the natural events defining the annual seasons within the City of Austin and its surrounding areas.  No matter how clogged with traffic or entombed in concrete, even large cities harbor wildlife and support a community of plants, either in tucked-away places both familiar and unexpected, or in public parks and preserves dedicated to city dwellers in search of open space.  Learning the annual rhythms of our “urban wildland” encourages everyone to be in tune with nature and welcome the opportunities to enjoy it, year after year.

Biography:  The Webers work in Austin’s high-tech industry; she in management and he in engineering.  Both are certified Texas Master Naturalists, wherein Lynne has served as past president of the Capital Area chapter.  As dedicated naturalists, both volunteer in numerous capacities in Central and West Texas.  These activities include the COA Wildland Conservation Division, UT’s Insect Collection, Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, Big Bend Natural History Association, and the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute.  They also write a monthly nature column for the Austin American-Statesman.

Meeting details:
Tuesday, November 20, 2012, 7-9 pm at Wild Basin Preserve, 805 N. Capital of TX Highway (Loop 360), Austin, 78746.  Doors open at 6:30 pm for socializing, munching, and general good fun!  Nonmembers welcome; free admission.

Remember to bring:
(1) seeds to exchange and give away;
(2) mystery plants for identification.

For further information, contact Mike Powers at 512-453-2289 in Austin.

As usual, there will be no meeting of the Austin chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas in October.  Many members will attend the annual state meeting in Kerrville.  Meetings will resume in November.