Nash Prairie - Native Prairies Association of Texas

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these distinctly un-fun requirements of office-keeping and she’s met a series of looming agency grant-related deadlines. The fun part for her has been applying her brokering skills to pending prairie conservation easement negotiations. She’s hired two exceedingly qualified program directors, James Alderson and Charles Anderson who have taken over coordination of the tallgrass prairie surveys so that these county surveys can be com pleted on budget and within the timeframes specified in the grants. In addi tion, these gentlemen will coordinate volun teers and manage our own prairie holdings, while bringing a new level of attention to the monitoring of our prairie conservation easements. As one of the volun teers who have served for years on the monitoring committee, I say hail and welcome! Of special note, is NPAT’s recent appointment to the management board of the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture (JV), a collaboration of nonprofits, and state and federal government agencies to promote successful strategies for bird conservation. Our role there is to focus conservation on our state’s greatly declining grassland bird populations. We are ably represented on the board by ED Dalmara Bayne and by NPAT Board mem ber and Maddin Committee Chair Pat Merkord who serves on the JV’s Technical Committee. If you missed our summer members’ meeting held jointly last August at Fort Davis with Texas Society for Ecological Restoration and the Texas Riparian Association, you missed an amiable event with interesting fun people. What beautiful countryside! What a great venue! We are still in the early planning stages for the 2009 members’ meeting. If you’ve got suggestions, let us hear from you. And now, you might be asking yourself, how can you add your weight to move prairie conservation farther along We have a great need for people willing to show up and be counted. If you have an interest in West Texas, consider joining the Maddin Prairie Committee. If you have real estate skills, consider serving on the Property Acquisitions Committee. If you love North Texas prairies, consider helping us manage Peters Prairie, or if you are in Central Texas, the Riesel Prairie. If you love meeting prairie owners and their families, join the Easements Monitoring Committee. If you have special skills in public relations, accounting, the law, fundraising, etc. please, please do step forward. You are needed! Why wait when Welcome Our New Director! Letter From the Executive Director I am delighted to join NPAT as their first employee. NPAT has accomplished a great deal as an all volunteer organization and I look forward to utilizing my Master’s degree in Environmental Planning/Geography and ten years in nonprofit management to help them further their goals. And as the granddaughter of a Czech/Texas farmer, this is also an opportunity for me to embrace my roots. Although I lived in Northern California for several years and did my research in Africa and Marin County, I grew up in the Houston area and have been a resident of the Hill Country for over twelve years. Growing up, I saw first hand the benefits of sound ecological management as applied to farming and as a graduate student witnessed both ends of the spectrum when both farmers and ranchers chose to embrace or ignore the importance of working with native habitats. I have long admired land trusts as a primary vehicle for helping us to conserve our natural resources; something which I strongly believe will benefit us all. And to that end, NPAT has hired two program directors to oversee the surveying of native prairie remnants throughout the state. This project is the result of generous grants from: Texas Parks & Wildlife, the Dixon Water Foundation, Houston Endowment, the cause of grassland conservation is such a rewarding service Call or email our ED or myself and we’ll talk about it. I have now served on the NPAT Board of Directors for 22 years. I am standing for reelection to the board to serve for one more term, to be of whatever assistance I can be during this exhilarating transition time, yet this is my last time to serve as an officer. It has been my honor and my great pleasure to serve in various roles with NPAT over these years, always with eyes on the prize of native grassland conservation. My attention is turning towards international grassland conservation and I want to see in what ways I can be helpful. If I’m blessed and persistent, perhaps someday I’ll be emailing reports to this Journal from a Himalayan grassland plateau! Prairiely yours, Kunda Wicce (fna Lee Stone) and the Meadows Foundation. We will not only utilize this information to set our own acquisition priorities, we will also share the information with related agencies throughout Texas. Working together we will be better able to conserve and even restore both our environmental and cultural heritage. And by managing our environment in a sustainable manner, guaranteeing future generations the resources they need on every level. Sincerely yours, Dalmara Bayne, ED, NPAT 512-847-7615 dalmara_bayne@texasprairie.org Edith Hoyt, former NPAT Board Director for seven years from 1992 through 1999, passed away the second week of December 2008 in Dallas at the age of 99. She was a caring activist and a dedicated birder. Edith was a constant proponent of wildlife protection and an enthusi as tic volunteer, particularly at Maddin Prairie Preserve in West Texas. She was also active with the Audubon Society and with the Natural Area Preservation Association [now Texas Land Conservancy]. She will be greatly missed by those who knew her. 2 Native Prairies Association of Texas TEXAS PRAIRIE Journal
Meet the Program Directors Hello NPAT, I am Charles Anderson and I have recently started to work for NPAT as one of your half-time program directors. I want to thank the members and leadership of NPAT for this opportunity. I grew up on a farm and ranch in Concho County. I attended Texas A&M University and received a BS degree in Range Science in 1975. I went to work for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) in Snyder as a range conservationist. I moved to Menard County in 1979 and worked at that office until December 1999. My primary job at both locations was to help farmers and ranchers conserve the natural resources they managed. In December 1999, I accepted a position as the Zone Range Management Specialist for the NRCS San Angelo Administrative Zone. This was a very rewarding position since I was responsible for the range management program of 50 counties in west and west-central Texas. I hope to use much of what I learned throughout my career with NRCS and my passion for restoring Texas rangelands to assist NPAT in achieving its long term goals. I also look forward to getting to meet the members of NPAT. My wife, Becky, and I make our home in Menard. It was a good place to raise our 3 sons and is a very nice place to live. Once again, thanks for the opportunity to serve your organization. 325-456-5771, charles_anderson@ texasprairie.org. Howdy, NPAT! I am James Alderson. My wife and I live west of Belton, just over the hill from Fort Hood. My professional background includes a BS in Range Science from Texas A&M, 37 years as a rangeland management specialist and plant materials specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as 3½ years of rangeland management consulting and performing rangeland inventories and studies for NRCS by contract. I have been a member of NPAT since June of 1986, so I know some of you and look forward to getting to know the rest. You are welcome to contact me at home 254-939-7976; by cell phone 254-721-6842; or email james_alderson@texasprairie.org. Pat Merkord shows a group of young onlookers how to check grasses for seeds. Have Prairie, Will Travel On Saturday, November 15, the Brazos Bend State Park sponsored the second annual “Prairie Heritage Day”—a day of discovery and exploration of Texas Prairies. Activities included talks about the history of the coastal prairies, birds, animals, management and conservation of prairies, as well as guided walks. There were information booths, and demonstrations of prairie plants and animals for all ages. Even though it turned out to be a sunny, but windy and cold day, representatives from the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Texas Master Naturalists Coastal Prairie Chapter, Houston Audubon Society, The Native Plant Society of Texas and The Katy Conservancy were on hand to share their enthusiasm for prairies. Photo courtesy of Kirsti Harms Fall/Winter 2008 native Prairies Association of Texas 3
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