texas land conservancy
The View from Above
A new perspective for Protected Lands
Prairies & Pines
The Conservation Story of Lone Oak Ranch
See America
Celebrating the National Park Service Centennial A benefit to members of
Meet Our NEW STAFF The TLC Team is Growing
texas land conservancy Fall/Winter 2016
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Greetings From the “Howdy Bird�
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The View From Above
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The Burrowing Owl calls the prairies of West Texas home, living in prairie dog tunnels and greeting passers by with a friendly nod
Using conservation drone technology to monitor protected properties
Prairies & Pines
Learn the history of Lone Oak Ranch, where multiple generations of landowners have worked to restore healthy habitats.
See America
Join our Outreach Ambassador as he explores 8 parks to honor the National Park Service Centennial
Fall/Winter 2016
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Board of Directors
CONTENTS
President Travis Phillips, Austin
from Our EXECUTIVE Director ................................................5
Vice President Earl Matthew, Rockport Treasurer Wayne Graham, Austin Secretary Pat Y. Spillman, Jr., Houston Past-President P. Michael Jung, Dallas Michael Grimes, Austin Scott Moorhead, Austin Robert J. O’Kennon, Fort Worth Adam Jochelson, Dallas Eileen McKee, Dallas Janell Morgan, Dallas Larry Autrey, Dallas
Staff Executive Director Mark Steinbach, Ph.D. Stewardship Director Stephen Ramirez Stewardship Director Leigh Steumke Development Director Amber Arseneaux Director of Partnerships & Outreach Ashley Lovell, Ph.D.
Ahead of the Curve
New Staff Introductions .........................................................7 Meet Amber Arseneaux and Stephen Ramirez
We’re Legit ............................................................................................14 TLC is Re-Accredited through the Land Trust Alliance
Property Spotlight ......................................................................14 Fall Off Creek, Coryell County
UPCOMING EVENTS...........................................................................16
Come hang out with us this Fall
Our Mission:
Texas Land Conservancy protects the iconic landscapes of Texas for Present & future generations.
This magazine is a benefit to TLC members. To become a member please visit our website: texaslandconservancy.org/support-tlc/donate
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From our Executive Director
Ahead of the Curve
HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND & PROTECT TEXAS Lands I recently attended the memorial service for my graduate school advisor and mentor, Dr. Jack Ward Thomas. Jack was widely regarded as one of the most influential leaders in the wildlife biology, forestry, and conservation community. He started his career as one of the first wildlife biologists in Texas working with Texas Parks and Wildlife, stationed at Llano in 1957. Wildlife science during that time was still a burgeoning field and the idea of technology was limited to a spotlight to count deer, and keeping records of wildlife harvested. I distinctly remember his stories about using some of the first radio telemetry equipment to track animals and how aerial photography from planes was cutting edge science for mapping wildlife habitat. When I think of technology employed in conservation today it makes me realize how far we’ve come not only in the conservation industry as a whole, but also how far we’ve come in my short time at TLC. Technology not only makes our lives easier, it makes us better at our job, and ultimately helps us to fulfill our mission. Whenever we employ a new tool we need to make sure that the technology is truly helpful, and not just a cool new piece of equipment that doesn’t add merit. If technology can help us be more efficient in the way we use our funds, our time, and energy, then we have achieved success. In the case of TLC, our monitoring technology has evolved from pen and paper to polaroid cameras to hand held GPS devices to integrated apps in our phones, and we have just begun to experiment with drones for aerial photography and monitoring. As our open spaces are diminishing, due to fragmentation and poorly planned development, our mission to conserve increases exponentially. One of our biggest (and most enjoyable) challenges is connecting people with nature. In Texas, some families have the blessing and the challenge of owning a family ranch, like the Spencer Family Partnership at Lone Oak Ranch. Others can only enjoy the beauty of Texas through our public lands, including our state and national parks.
On the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service we are thrilled to celebrate the protected public lands that make Texas great. I’m also pleased to introduce two new staff members we’ve recently welcomed to TLC, Stephen Ramirez and Amber Arseneaux, our new Stewardship Director and Development Director. We are excited to have them on board to bring news skills and ideas to TLC. We are pleased to call you our friend and partner. Thank you for championing our mission.
Mark Steinbach, Ph.D Executive Director
Spring/Summer 2016
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Wildlife Corner
Greetings from the “Howdy Bird”
Image courtesy of Stephen Ramirez
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urrowing owls are an icon of the American west, and they have a certain reputation for hospitality. These little owls have a penchant for perching conspicuously at the entrance to their burrow nest and bobbing their heads to gain a better view of their surroundings. Cowboys used to refer to them as “Howdy Birds”, taking their bobbing heads as a friendly greeting to passersby.
You might assume that prairie dogs are a burrowing owl’s staple food because of their preference to nest in prairie dogs towns. However, burrowing owls’ diet consists of grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, moths, caterpillars and the occasional small mammal. Prairie dogs are a welcome treat, but the owls are happy with any number of small critters for their dinner.
Old rancher lore tells tales of burrowing owls, prairie dogs and rattlesnakes all living in the same burrow.
While burrowing owls used to be prevalent across the Great Plains, their populations have plummeted as prairie dogs have been exterminated. With the conversion of many prairies to agricultural cultivation, pesticide use, and other habitat destruction, the birds have been listed as endangered or of special concern across much of the Western United States and Canada.
These owls have a number of un-owllike characteristics, including long legs for running and their tendency to hunt during the day. Preferring to stay close to the ground, burrowing owls are often spotted perching on fence posts or outside their burrows.
*Page 3 Burrowing owl illustration courtesy of ChipperCheeper
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Our Stewardship Director, Stephen Ramirez, spotted the beautiful bird pictured above on Weatherby Ranch, one of our protected properties in West Texas. Weatherby protects over 23,000 acres in Culberson County. This working ranch is mostly a desert grassland, home to pronghorns, coyotes, and prairie dogs. With wide-open rangeland and plenty of prairie dogs to hunt, burrowing owls are thriving at Weatherby Ranch. By protecting this property in perpetuity with a conservation easement, the landowners have also protected habitat for this threatened species. To find our more about Weatherby Ranch, please visit our website.
New Staff Introductions We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Amber Arseneaux and Stephen Ramirez to the TLC Team. We asked our two newest staff to interview each other about their likes, hobbies, and big dreams for their work at TLC. Amber Stephen, tell us something interesting about you. Stephen I like to mountain unicycle. Yes, it’s a thing. I was going to go to the world championships in mountain unicycling in Spain this year but I had to cancel my trip...(If you want to see a video of Stephen riding his unicycle while monitoring, check out our Instagram page @texaslandconservancy). Amber What’s your favorite food? Stephen I love pizza. In fact, I love to make pizza at home. Stuffed crust pizza is my favorite. (Stephen has an Instagram account dedicated to the pizzas he has made and the places he has travelled to called @placesandpizza. Check it out!). Amber What’s your favorite activity? Stephen Sitting in rivers. My favorite evening past-time is to ride my unicycle down to the river in San Marcos with my dog Sparrow and sit on a rock in the river to watch the sun set. Amber Why are you excited to work for TLC, and what are your big plans for the future? Stephen I’m excited to share my diverse talents and invigorate new ideas to support TLC’s work in protecting the land and water of Texas. Future me looks like a seasoned Texas naturalist and longtime steward of our state’s natural resources, but if I can only hope for one thing it’d be a tiny little house with a big yard and a dog door for my pup. Stephen Amber, tell us something interesting about you. Amber I collect thimbles. They’re small and easy to carry home when I travel, and I’ve got a great set-up for displaying them so I can remember all the places I’ve gotten them from. Stephen Do you have a hidden talent? Amber If you name a Disney movie (pretty much any Disney movie) I can sing you a song from it. I play that game with my godson all the time. Stephen What’s your favorite food? Amber I don’t think I have a favorite food. I like salty and sweet... but if I had to pick one thing I guess it would be watermelon…if somebody would cut it up for me, I would eat that every day! Stephen What’s your favorite activity? Amber I love to dance. Two-step, half-step, polka, I love it all. I’m currently accepting applications for dance partners. Stephen Is there such thing as a full-step? Amber That’s just called walking. Stephen Why are you excited to work for TLC and what are your big plans for the future? Amber I’m excited to be a part of an organization that does such meaningful work! I can’t wait to meet more of our members and landowners, and I hope to share our success stories with new people and help connect them to Texas lands and conservation. Fall/Winter 2016
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Story by Ashley Lovell, Images courtesy of Stephen Ramirez
THE VIEW FROM ABOVE Mexiquita Flats in Cameron County is a conservation gem on the Texas Gulf Coast. Conserved with us in 2006, the property protects 150 acres of excellent shorebird habitat, consisting mainly of seagrass and mangroves. Bordered on all sides by water, and made up of mostly wetlands, Mexiquita Flats has been a monitoring nightmare. One of the essential obligations of any land trust is to regularly monitor the lands that we protect to verify that the land is healthy and that the landowners are upholding the terms of the conservation agreement. How do you assess the ecological health of a property if you can’t access most of it? Turns out, all you need is a little creative thinking and some fun new technology.
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Mexiquita Flats, Cameron County
Our Stewardship Director, Stephen Ramirez, recently visited Mexiquita Flats for his annual monitoring visit. He launched his DJI Phantom 3 over the property, capturing some truly spectacular images of the shoreline in high definition. These aerial views provide a completely new set of data for the property, allowing us to better understand the health and composition of the landscape from a different perspective.
also being used for a variety of different conservation projects. Conservation drones are traditionally small, and are usually fitted with cameras to record observations. Drones have been used to monitor elephant migrations, count birds (in a range of contexts), and measure forest biodiversity, to name just a few applications.
So far, Stephen is operating his drone as a hobbyist. When he makes plans to monitor a property, he asks the landowners if they are comfortable with him flying his drone to look at the property. To no surprise, every landowner so far has been supportive and interested in seeing the stunning aerial views Stephen is able to capture with the drone.
As a conservation tool, drones are extremely useful because of their relative affordability, efficiency, and safety. Within the US, a few other land trusts have begun to experiment with drones as monitoring tools. In Idaho, the Teton Regional Land Trust has used drones to monitor larger and more remote easements, check for violations, and conduct ecological monitoring, including counting premigrating sandhill cranes.
While drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s), have a reputation for their use in military campaigns, they are
Here in Texas the potential applications are endless. In the future, we could use drones to monitor invasive feral hog
movements, monitor the health of our restored prairies before and after prescribed burns, and explore how ecosystems change at a landscape scale based on rainfall and water availability. New FAA regulations released this year will help us continue assessing the use of drones for conservation. In this early stage of our experimentation, we want to be sure that we are following the wishes of our landowners and providing useful data for stewardship. We will not use drone technology to monitor a property if the landowner does not approve. We are excited about the potential applications of this new conservation tool, and we are looking forward to leading the way in its application for land trusts across the country. If you have any questions about this technology or if you would like to learn more, please email us at info@texaslandconservancy.org. Fall/Winter 2016
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Prairies & Pines The conservation story of Lone Oak Ranch Illustration from the May 4, 1952 Texas Living article in The Houston Post in which J. W. Oliphint was interviewed for his conservation practices.
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Sometimes all the land needs is time to heal and people to love it. Cheryl Spencer and Nancy Hyde grew up on Lone Oak Ranch in Walker County, hiking through the pine forests and watching wildflowers bloom in the tall grass prairie every spring, especially the blue bells in the summer, and the tiny violets under the pines in the early spring. Their grandfather, J.W. Oliphint, was a rancher who understood the need for time, patience, and perseverance. “Mr. Will” and “Miss Earle” his wife bought their first 200 acres in 1910, three years after their marriage, and eventually expanded their holdings to over 2,000 acres. In 2002 Mr. Oliphint’s daughter, Helen Oliphint Spencer, protected 22 acres of the original homestead with Texas Land Conservancy, including a beautiful old East Texas farmhouse, fields, outbuildings, ponds and woods. Her daughters, Cheryl and Nancy, carry on their family’s legacy of good stewardship and listening to the land.
Helen Oliphint Spencer held on to her inheritance portion of the family property. She married A.C. (Carl) Spencer, an agronomist who served as the Executive Director of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. Cheryl says, “Daddy loved the land and mother loved Daddy, so she didn’t sell our land.” Cheryl inherited the homeplace when her mother died. She and her husband live at Lone Oak and care for the ranch. Her siblings hold the rest of the land in a family partnership, supporting the stewardship of their heritage. While the prairie is flourishing, the forests have lost some of their original character. The property was initially forested with long-leaf pine, a beautiful tree that grows perfectly straight with the longest needles of any pine species in the US. Long-leaf pine forests once covered 90 million acres of land in the south, but by the 1920’s the forests were decimated for lumber and agriculture. Today efforts across the south are reestablishing long-leaf pine to their original habitat.
Cheryl and her family The family has are hoping to conserved two more reintroduce long-leaf tracts of native grass pines in the areas that prairie under the lost so many trees in the Grasslands Reserve drought of 2011. “Mr. Program, including Will” planted a long-leaf a piece of black land in the yard of the home prairie they call the The Spencer Family Partnership at the Family Heritage Ranch Celebration (built in 1939) and it has “long grass pasture.” in 2011, when Lone Oak became a Centennial Ranch. survived through the This parcel was years. Cheryl has been heavily farmed for cotton at the turn of the century, and it collecting the seeds and cones from this tree to use in her developed large gaping gullies, a tell-tale sign of over-use. reforestation efforts. In the spring of 2017, she plans to buy When Mr. Oliphint purchased the land he decided to let the “plugs” from a nursery in Livingston, Texas to plant, as well. land rest for a while before he began grazing it. The next generation is learning how to take care of the land Mr. Oliphint gave an interview to The Houston Post in 1952 like their grandparents and parents before them. Nancy in which he noted, “All I knew was that if you left those Hyde currently works for a land trust in the northeast, gullies alone and kept the stock off, grass and weeds would carrying on her family’s tradition of conservation. Of her grow. So that’s what I decided to do. Just vacate the gullied time on the ranch Nancy notes, “It’s always good to be able pastures for a year”. to walk around in the pastures and see Cheryl’s grandchildren Over the next few years native grasses began to fill in the enjoying themselves, getting good memories of being there. gullies and bring the land back to health. A survey done We like to walk up to the long grass pasture together, by the USDA in 1958 listed the land as “Excellent Condition watching for birds and deer”. -Range”. In the 1958 interview Mr. Oliphint noted, “These Thank you to the Spencer Family Partnership for native grasses would be the salvation of our country if we including us in your family’s future stewardship of this would just let them do what nature meant them to”.
beautiful heritage ranch!
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See America
Celebrating a Conservation Birthday The National Park Service is 100 Years Old!
Our Outreach ambassador explores 8 national parks to celebrate the centennial
Point Reyes National Seashore Story by Ashley Lovell, Images courtesy of Kelly Hoffman
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Saguaro National Park
On August 25th the National Park Service turned 100 years old. The Park Service has been called “America’s Best Idea”, and it has been the model for nationally protected public lands across the world. Texas is home to 14 National Park units, One Wild and Scenic River (The Colorado River), One National Trail (El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail), and 46 National Historic Landmarks. While the majority of the land that Texas Land Conservancy protects is privately-owned, public land is an essential component of the conservation character of Texas. Many people who live in urban areas would not get to experience the beauty and nature of Texas without our national, state and local public lands. We hold a few public preserves, including Oak Cliff Nature Preserve in Dallas, and we relish the chance to protect and share these natural spaces. To celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service our Outreach Ambassador, Kelly Hoffman, took an epic trip to eight different National Parks in the west. He and four friends and his dog Red started their tour at Joshua Tree and ended at the Grand Canyon. Along the way Kelly recorded his thoughts and experiences and took lots of photos to document the trip. You might have seen some of his exploits on our Instagram and Facebook feeds. When he returned from his adventures we asked Kelly to reflect on his experiences in the Parks. He had this to say… After eight parks visited, one hundred miles hiked and kayaked, and six thousand driven, we reached our trip’s zenith, an overnight hike into the Grand Canyon. We scrambled down South Kaibab Trail in the wee hours before the sun woke and made an early camp at Bright Angel Campground, nestled between the Colorado River and Bright Angel Creek. In an effort to escape the searing heat pulsing off the rock walls around us, we dove into the creek and lounged for most of the day. As I lay back on a stone recliner I had fashioned, my friend Brian pointed downstream. Following his finger, I saw a family of four spanning the creek’s width, each sitting on their own rock. Two parents and their grown children, they sat for hours, sometimes chatting, other times reading. The sun wheeled overhead, dropping down behind the canyon’s rim, and still they stayed. After a time, Brian turned to me and said, “You see that, man? That’s why people come here. It’s not just to connect with the land…it’s because they miss each other”. He was right. The connection I sought, the one I felt begin to blossom in Joshua Tree, our first park, was the one we had been building amongst each other the whole time, park by park. The land I wanted so badly to connect with in turn helped me to connect with those around me in a way nothing else could. Not too bad for a month in a truck with four guys and a dog.
Death Valley National Monument
Thank you Kelly for sharing your adventures with us! If you are interested in becoming an Outreach Ambassador for TLC please email us at info@texaslandconservancy.org. Fall/Winter 2016
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Property Spotlight
Fall Off Creek Mitigation Bank
Fall Off Creek Mitigation Bank in Coryell County was protected with TLC in 2012. This gorgeous property was once owned by Texas Governor Pat Neff. Today, the 690 acre ranch is protected in perpetuity as a mitigation bank, a reserve of clean water in a healthy, functioning ecosystem. The property is home to the smooth pimpelback mussel and provides excellent habitat for the endangered black-capped vireo. Sitting at the intersection of the blackland prairie and cross timbers ecosystems, the land is rolling and full of biodiversity.
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Located within the Brazos River watershed, Fall Off Creek is part of our Land for Water initiative. The Brazos watershed contains 668 miles of river corridor and 28 counties including the cities of Waco, Temple, and College Station. As the Brazos meanders through the heart of Texas the river and its connected network of natural tributaries, oxbow lakes and floodplain wetlands provide essential aquatic habitat for rare species of fish, mollusks, and crayfish including species of shiner fish, and the Brazos river watersnake.
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l l i t S it g Le There are a lot of things to be proud of if you’re from Texas - longhorns, horny toads, and those big Texas skies. You know what else makes us proud? Texas Land Conservancy just got re-accredited through the Land Trust Alliance. This means we are one of over 350 land trusts across the country that hold this mark of distinction.
Help us fill our
Wish List Protect the lands you love with an in-kind donation We are happy to give you a tax receipt with any donation. Find out more at texaslandconservancy.org/wishlist
Conservation Conversation
Speaker Series
Rainwater Collection & Texas Watersheds
Treehouse
Sustainable Home Improvement Store WestGate Shopping Center 4477 S Lamar Blvd #600, Austin, TX 78745
W E D
DEC 7th - 6:30pm
For questions and to RSVP please contact Texas Land Conservancy at info@texaslandconservancy.org or 512.301.6363 Presented by Texas Land Conservancy and
the Holidays are Just Around the Corner... Treat your loved ones to a Texas Land Conservancy t-shirt, ornament or baseball hat this holiday season! Your purchase of TLC merchandise will help fund our work to protect the land you love throughout the year. Check out all the TLC swag online at www.texaslandconservancy.org/support-tlc/shop
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P.O. Box 162481 Austin, TX 78716 512.301.6363 www.texaslandconservancy.org
Nonprofit Org US POSTAGE PAID Austin, Texas Permit No. 258
FALL EVENTS CALENDAR TEXAS LAND CONSERVANCY The Big Sit October 8th Brockenbrough Ranch Ennis County Toasting Texas Lands October 21st The Foundry Dallas Dansko Days November 5-13th All Whole Earth Provision Co. Stores Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio
Wild and Scenic Film Festival with Hill Country Alliance November 1 Fritztown Cinema Fredericksburg, TX Guided Hill Country Hike November 19th Eagle Rock Ranch Hays County
Image courtesy of Maximilian Quéripel
Holiday Happy Hour December 7th TreeHouse Austin