Press Posts
Women’s land stewardship conference offered Oct. 1-2 in Fredericksburg
Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Larry Redmon, 979-845-4826, l-redmon@tamu.edu FREDERICKSBURG – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will offer a two-day land stewardship conference, “Empowering Women – New Stewardship Traditions,” Oct. 1-2 at the Inn on Barons Creek in Fredericksburg. The conference, funded in part by the Ruth and Eskel Bennett Trust, is an effort… Read More
Wetlands transform a murky mess into viable water supply
The rain-swollen Trinity River flowing by resembles thin, foamy chocolate milk. Being carried along in the river’s murky mix are chunks of wood, bits of paper and a small whitewall tire and wheel. It’s not the kind of water you want to see flowing out of a tap. But five miles away and gushing into… Read More
Bees mix with weapons at Austin defense contractor site
By Asher Price – American-Statesman Staff Highlights BAE Systems has donated office space and land to the nonprofit American Honey Bee Protection Agency. The bee group says sites like the one at BAE Systems help revive bee populations in urban areas. In a dense bit of East Austin forest, beneath a long abandoned helicopter-blade test pad and… Read More
NFWF Awards Nearly $1 Million in Grants to Recover Monarch Butterflies and Pollinators across the United States
Seven projects will increase pollinator habitat and boost conservation efforts WASHINGTON, D.C. (SEPTEMBER 5, 2018) –The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced seven grant awards totaling more than $920,000 to conserve monarch butterflies and other insect pollinators in 19 states across the country. The grants will generate more than $2 million in matching… Read More
Some Progress
A little more than a year ago (August 18, 2017) I began this chronicle type of blogging to keep track of the purpose, processes, and progress towards changing our property from a manipulated and manicured piece of land back to its more natural state. If you have kept up with my entries, you will recall… Read More
Tom Kula, Executive Director & General Manager of the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD)
With an annual operations and capital budget of more than $500 million, NTMWD provides drinking water treatment and delivery, wastewater collection and treatment and solid waste services for a population of 1.7 million people in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. NTMWD operates one of the nation’s largest advanced water treatment plants at… Read More
Texas Collaboration Protects Dark Skies
The western part of Texas is home to one of the largest oil and gas producing regions in the US, the Permian Basin. Also located in this area is the McDonald Observatory, home of the world’s third largest telescope, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). For almost 30 years, Bill Wren has been working at the McDonald… Read More
Reducing light pollution from oil and gas production in Texas skies
By: Steffi Lee AUSTIN — As Texas continues leading the nation in oil and gas production, companies are trying to do their part in protecting the state’s night skies. It’s a view that draws around 100,000 people to the McDonald Observatory in West Texas every year. They’re able to experience the galaxy in a sea of… Read More
McDonald Observatory, Oil and Gas Organizations Collaborate to Protect Night Skies
9 July 2018 FORT DAVIS, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory has collaborated with the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) and the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) to reduce light shining into the sky from drilling rigs and related activities in West Texas. The excess light has the potential to… Read More
Cultivating the Healing Power of Nature
Everyone agrees that nature has the power to heal. But ask how it heals—and answers are in short supply The need to find answers grew out of Laura Bush’s passion for the land of Texas and the outdoors. While serving as First Lady, she championed preservation of natural spaces and heritage by serving as Honorary… Read More