Promoting conservation through Education - Outreach - Example

News and Upcoming Events

Be sure to check the chapter Website for last minute meeting and event cancellations due to inclement weather or other circumstances.

10th Annual Texas Plant Conservation Conference - September 15-17

Brochure and aplications here...

Planning for the 10th annual Texas Plant Conservation Conference is continuing apace. Once again, we have a terrific lineup of speakers and posters for this year. This year’s conference is scheduled for September 15-17 and will be held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, located in Austin, Texas.

Attached below is information regarding registration as well as accommodations and meals. Please note that the deadline for registration this year is Friday, September 3. After that date, registration fees will increase $25. We will, as always, accept registrations at the door and those fees will be at the higher rate. If you anticipate having any problems getting checks or POs from your agencies/organizations ready in time to meet the deadline, please give me a call and we’ll work something out.

Keynote Speaker

Rivers and Woody Plants on the Edwards Plateau: Is there a Connection?
 Bradford Wilcox, Professor Texas A&M University

 
Confirmed topics and speakers include:
 
An Assessment of the Remnant Tallgrass Prairies/Native Grasslands in Four Ecoregions of Texas
James S. Alderson and J. Ryan Hammons
 
Reproductive Biology of the Hill Country Wild Mercury (Argythamnia aphoroides, Euphorbiaceae) in Brown County, Texas
Bonnie Amos, Jeff Masters, and Kayla Ehrman
 
Going Green in Texas—Environmental Costs of Implementing Wind Energy Development
Karen H. Clary
 
Creating a Successful Citizen Science Model to Detect and Report Invasive Species
H. Travis Gallo and Damon Waitt
 
Bracted Twistflower (Streptanthus bracteatus): The Ecology of a Rare Texas Endemic
Wendy J. Leonard and O.W. Van Auken
 
Seed Production Comparison of Three Eastern Gamagrasses in East Texas
R. Alan Shadow
 
Post-Harvest Regrowth and Mortality of Lophophora williamsii (Peyote) in situ in a South Texas population
M. Terry, K. Trout, B. Williams, and T. Herrera
 
Unexpected Seasonal Effects Resulting from Prescribed Fire
Steve Windhager and Mark Simmons
 
An Introduction to the Aspens of Texas: The Rarest of Them All?
James C. Zech
 
Confirmed posters include:
 
Conservation of Silphium albiflorum (Asteraceae), A North Central Texas Endemic Plant
Jalesia Gassaway, Patricia Averitte, Kyle Catt, Lisa Hatzky, Matthew Rose, J. Nile Fischer, and Bruce Benz
 
A Comparison of Numbers, Size, Flowering Stems, Flowering Heads, Associated Species Richness, and Coverage of Dalea reverchonii Found in Walnut Limestone Barrens and Glades
Sam Kieschnick, Allan D. Nelson, Dawn Hancock, Jim Goetz, Sara Harsley, Rebecca Nelson, and Bob O’Kennon
 
Origin of Introduction, Multiple Founders and Invasion Success of Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica in Central Texas
Sarah E. Matakis, Brandi Kutil, and R. Deborah Overath
 
North Texas Plant Conservation Alliance: Goals, 2010 Project, and Future Projects
Allan D. Nelson, Sam Kieschnick, Dawn Hancock, Diane Parrotta, Suzanne Tuttle, Sara Harsley, Rebecca Nelson, and Bob O’Kennon
 
Growth and Forage Quality of Warm Season Grasses During the Growing Season on West-Central Texas
Gary L. Rea, Robert D. Ziehr, Joel L. Douglas, and J.P. Muir
 
As you can see there is a lot of really cool work being done throughout the state.

Member Class on "Buildling Ponds & Fountains" Makes Big Splash!

The member-class held July 19, presented by Jeff Yarborough of Emeral Garden in Austin, was a real splash. Over twenty chapter members soaked up gallons of information Jeff shared with us.

Don Smith even walked away with the grand raffle prize, a ready-to-go "Disappering Fountain" Jeff donated. If you weren't so lucky, but still want to build a simple, elegant, and functional disappearing fountain you can find the instructions here, compliments of Emerald Garden Nursery and Water Gardens (www.Emerald-Garden.com) .

Darlene Stewart asked how many people there actually had some sort of pond or water feature. Since so many did have them, she suggested we send pictures of them for posting here. Maybe you can get some good ideas from the picture we'll post on this special page Chapter Ponds. If you want your pond or water feature on the page just conatct John Huecksteadt at 456-5061. (We don't show e-mail addresses as an anti-spam measure.)

Summer 2010 NICE Plant Announced

Read here about this summer's NICE plant, Mexican Feathergrass.

Fredericksburg Chapter Members May Now Check out Books from State Library

Members of the Fredericksburg Chapter may now check out books from NPSOT's State Library housed in the State Office Building at 320 West San Antonio Street in Fredericksburg. The library is available whenever the Executive Secretary is there. Please call (830) 997-9272 ahead of time to make sure that the office will be open at the time you plan to visit.

Most books may be checked out for two weeks. A few books labeled "REF" are either reference books or simply may not be checked out because of their age, size, condition, or rarity.

NPSOT has accumulated a rather nice collection of materials during the past few years. The State is attempting to obtain new material as it becomes available. As always, donations to this end are welcome.

To see what is available, you can access NPSOT's online catalog here. You may also go to the NPSOT Homepage at http://www.npsot.org , click on RESOURCES, then NPSOT STATE LIBRARY under "Book lists." The webpage states that books may not be checked out. At present, though, this priviledge is being extended to the Fredericksburg Chapter.

***Minutes from the most recent Board Meeting are now available***

See "News" page, below. The current minutes are posted each month.

Check the "Meetings" page for upcoming meetings.

We do not hold a meeting in November.

The holiday party takes the place of the December chapter meeting. Check back here for dates, times, and details.

5th Annual Wildscapes workshop announced. See the Workshop webpage.

Field Trips

The chapter is planning several field trips this year. As soon as dates are confirmed we will post them here.

Minutes from Recent Board Meetings - These are MS Word documents. If you have any problems reading them, please contact the webmaster.

March 2010 | April 2010 | June 2010 | July 2010 | August 2010

Chapter Plant List Available Here

The chapter has a new plant list, Recommended Native & Adapted Plants for Hill Country Landscapes. The old list, generated by John Lipe over 15 years ago, badly needed updating. The old list is the one that AgriLife Extension offered on its "pamphlet wall" at their office on Frederick Road for many, many years. The new list is more comprehensive and provides more information and facts about each of the recommended species. The list is available in the form of both an MS Excel spreadsheet and an Adobe PDF.

The current revision of the new list is the first to "go public." We will make a NPSOT-entitled version of this revision available at the NPSOT booth for the 2009 Gillespie County Fair. Please look over the list for accuracy and make suggestions you think might make the list more helpful. (Be aware, though, if you want to add your favorite plant, the committee responsible for the new list attempted to keep the list to one page, back and front. This required a lot of discussion and some judicious pruning.)

The chapter will offer a separate version of the list, entitled to show joint sponsorship, to the Gillespie County AgriLife Extension office once any errors shake out of this first revision.