Volume XXV, No. 3 May-July 2007

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Volume XXV, No. 3

May-July 2007

Bexar Audubon Societyis a chapter of theNational AudubonSociety. Its primary

goals are to promotespecies and habitat

conservation and envi-ronmental education

in the community.

Plants of the Godzilla Series andTheir Relevance to Our Native Flora & Fauna

Thursday, May 106:30PMgathering; 6:45 announcements; 7:00 progr Trinity University Cowles Life Sciences Building, Room 336 (see map, p. 3)

Bexar Tracks For the latest news & updates, see http://www.bexaraudubon.org & http://www.sa-naturecenter.org

Thursday, September 13 Same time and location as above

The Natural History & Behavior of Fiddler Crabs

While many of the Godzilla movies were just good sci-ence fiction fun, quite a few dealt with subjects thatare as pertinent today as then: the environment, pollu-tion, gene-splicing, terrorism, and parenting were treat-ed seriously. Plants were often important to the story line, plants with direct correlations or comparisons

with our native flora today. This presentation by Paul W.Cox tells the origin of Godzilla then highlights theplants and animals referenced in various movies andhow they relate to our native living fossils, as well asplant/animal interactions, such as Texass only treefern, moth pollination, and much more!

Besides being a Godzilla enthusiast, our speaker, PaulCox has a BS in biology/forestry and a Masters degreein botany from Stephen F. Austin State University inNacogdoches. He is assistant superintendent of theSan Antonio Botanical Gardens and has been associat-ed with that facility for over 27 years. He is author of Texas Trees: A Friendly Guide among other publica-tions. An adjunct professor at Palo Alto College, heteaches courses on Texas Trees and Native Plants.Paul gives presentations locally and internationally on

topics such as horticulture, native plants, endangeredplant species, tropical plants, and more. Paul hasnamed and released several introductions into theplant nursery trade, including Bubba Desert Willow,Pyramid Bush, SpankChomonque, Karas RevlonGlobe Mallow, MerrittLantana, Pink Ice Rose, KODaisy, Byron Viburnum, andSentido Taxodium.

Field Trip Join Paul for afollow-up field trip onPrehistoric Flora of the the SABotanical Gardens on May 19th, 10 -12. Tour the gardensand see the living fossils,including such plants as BaldCypress, Ginkgo, Horsetail, Metasequoia, and more!Admission: $5 adults; $3 children. Limited to 25. CallPatty for reservations at (210)824-1235.

Fiddler crabs (genus Uca) are abundant members of coastal marsh and mangrove communities worldwide.

They provide food for numerous birds, fish, and largercrustaceans (like the blue crab) and also help to turnover the soil through their construction of burrows.

They are also charming and entertaining animals toobserve in their natural habitat. The sexes are dimor-phic (males have a distinctive enlarged claw whichthey use as weapons against other males and in a dis-play to entice females) and species across the genus

engage in a wide variety of mating and communicationbehaviors. Texas has six colorful species of fiddlercrabs, one of which is endemic to the Laguna Madre.

Our speaker, Denise Pope, has been studying thecommunication and mating behavior of fiddler crabsfor more than ten years, as a student in North Carolina,Panama, and Portugal, and since joining the Biology Department at Trinity University in 2003, on the TexasGulf coast and the Gulf of California coast in Sonora,Mexico. Save the date!


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Lately there has been a lot of talk aboutcorridors. Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org/wiki defines a corridor as a path or guided way, but also pointsout that a corridor may refer to: Wildlife corridor: a stretch of naturethat facilitates the migration of animals; Highway Corridor: a general path that ahighway follows; Corridor (rail vehicle): a railway vehicle with a passageway through to adjacentcoaches; Trade Corridor, a road and/or rail route which crosses borders and is used for thetransport of goods.

Corridor Memorie s Ive been thinking about corridors a lot

lately. Its not just recent discussions of the Trans-Texas Corridor that increasedmy concerns. Its also the experience Ihad about this time of year in the early 1970s. I was heading up toward San Antonio from Corpus Christi on IH37,somewhere west of Mathis and Swinney Switch in Live Oak County. A two milepiece of the IH37 corridor was apparently also a corridor for either the TexasTortoise Gopherus berlandieriwww.zo.utexas.edu/research/ txherps/turtles/gopherus.berlandieri.html.

or the OrnateBox TurtleTerrapene orna-ta www.zo.utexas.edu/research/ txherps/turtles/terrapene.ornata.html (Imstill not sure which). One early morning,several hundred of them had decided totry to cross IH37 within that 2 milestretch. All were heading down hill towardthe Nueces River, which roughly parallelsIH37 just a few miles to the south and west. As you can imagine, many possi-bly most of those turtles did not makethe crossing successfully. Their naturalcorridor had not been considered as IH37 was constructed. The carnage is memo-rable to me even thirty years later.

On a more positive note, the recognitionand consideration of natural wildlife cor-ridors has increased over the last thirty years. First in my memory was when cari-bou migratory corridors were preservedduring the construction of the Trans- Alaska Oil Pipeline. I got to see the samekind of pipeline considerations in the Amazon jungles of Pastaza Province,Ecuador, in 1999.

Urban Corridor s In the mid-1990s, forward thinking city planners like Howard Peak supported thecreation of an Emerald Necklace, a nat-ural corridor incorporating linear parksand hike-and-bike paths to connect allsections of San Antonio, following the

waterways that transect the city. Folkslike Char Miller illuminated for us how the human corridors of San Antoniodeveloped along the transportation andutility corridors, all emerging from thecenter of the city at Main Plaza and SanFernando Cathedral.Linear parks along Salado and Leon

Creeks and other similar greenbelts would also serve to provide flyways for migrating birds, butterflies, deer, andother wildlife, and possibly even a few turtles with which we share the water

and environment of this part of southTexas.

Bond Referendum I hope you will vote in the upcoming $550million San Antonio Bond Referendum. As you vote, consider how our existinghuman transportation corridors havedeveloped and how our consideration and

planning now may enhance the qualitlife in this citys future. Consider howpreserving and enhancing the naturalgreen corridors along our citys water ways will continue to provide a placefuture generations to enjoy nature in texciting urban habitat.

H.A. Tony Wood, Presiden

Its not too late to send your tax-deductible donation in support of Birdathon and the Audubon Adventures curriculum. Birdathon tooplace on April 14 and lasted for 24hours. The idea is to identify as many species as possible in this time.Donations can be per species or flatamounts.

Marge Lumpes annual Birdathonevent funds about 40 grades 3-6 class-rooms, which receive a bimonthly introduction to nature.

Any amount over $1500 goes toother educational programs at MitchellLake Audubon Center: going to class-rooms with materials, as well as apilot program called Soundscape,

which helps children learn to listen tothe sounds around them.

Contact Marge Lumpe at (210)545-1822 or [email protected] for more information or send yourcheck to Bexar Audubon Society.

Bexar Tracks 2 May-July 2007

Whos What? and how to contact them

President, Tony Wood 210-492-4684 [email protected] & Webmaster, Harr y Noyes 210-490-3124 [email protected]

Treasurer, Car yl Swann 210-653-2860 [email protected], Jill Sondeen 830-980-2377 [email protected]: Kara Ryf 503-803-2856 [email protected]

Amy L. Whitley 210-340-0114 [email protected] Ikerd [email protected]

Editor, Susan Hug hes 210-532-2032 [email protected]/Outing s,Pat ty Pasztor210-824-1235

[email protected]

A Word from the Wood


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Cowles

Cowles is just uphill from the Laurie Auditoriumand between the Library and the ChapmanGraduate Center. Park by the Laurie or inlots or on streets to the west. Handicappedparking is across from Cowles. Enter fromOakmont or Rosewood. Call Patty for addition-al directions (210)824-1235 or see additionalmap atbexaraudubon.org/map.jpg

LaurieLibrary

C h a p m a n

Map to Cowles Life Sciences Building, Trinit y Universit y, west of Highway 281

May-July 2007 3 Bexar Tracks

Earth Share? What about it?Earth Share of Texas raises money for environmental

and conservation organizations through workplace giv-ing. If your employer participates in such programs,please ask them (if they dont already) to add EarthShare to your giving options. When you and your co-

workers designate the Audubon Foundation of Texas(AFT), Bexar Audubon Society can benefit. BASreceives credit for our support of Earth Share gettingthe word out and promoting participation. Then BASreceives funding annually from AFT. Want more info?1-800-GREENTX [email protected].

Congratulations to the Master Naturalist organization on its

10th Anniversary!Not only did MN begin right here in San Antonio and its now interna-tional but it began as a project of Bexar Audubon. Visit their website atwww.alamomasternaturalist.org .

Butts What to do?Tired of seeing person after person flick their cigarette butts out the carwindow? Sometimes these are people who might never otherwise con-sider littering and just need a wake-up call. Finally you have a way totake action.

A recent report stated that smoking-related items accounted for 17 per-cent of the debris found on Texas shorelines in 2005. TxDOT allows citi-zens to report the licenses plates of butt flickers and other litterers onuplands and shores on its dontmesswithtexas.org website.

And dont forget to report smoking vehicles on the TCEQ websitetceq.state.tx.us/implementation/air/mobilesource/vetech/smokingvehi- cles.html or 1-800-453-SMOG.

All about Birdswww.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/birding123/identify/quiz

NAS Regional Board Member Your Chapter and others in the SouthwestRegion (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,Oklahoma, and Texas) are represented by Roger C. Wolf of Tucson on the NationalAudubon board. Roger has been nominatedfor reelection with no opposition. His name

will appear on your Audubon proxy ballot.For more information about the election,see the Audubon website or contact one of

your chapter officers.

Rare Avian Treasures on Display in Mount Vernon MuseumBecome oologists for a day at this exhibit of bird eggs and butterflies at the FranklinCounty Historical Assoc. Fire Station muse-um. Mount Vernon is seventy-two milessouthwest of Texarkana and ninety-six milesnortheast of Dallas a great excuse for aspring outing.

Oology is the study of eggs, especially

those of birds, and this museum offers Texas best display, showcasing more than150 bird eggs with pertinent informationabout each species. An egg from the extinctCarolina parakeet and one from the extinctPassenger pigeon are the rarest in the col-lection.

The opportunity to see these eggs isunique, said Cliff Shackelford, Texas Parksand Wildlife Department ornithologist. Tomy knowledge, there is no other museumin the world that has the Carolina parakeetor Passenger pigeon egg on public display. The eggs offer a glimpse into history. Prior

to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, col-lecting bird eggs was a popular hobby. Thecollection traces its roots to a taxidermist inOhio, who collected the majority of theeggs in the late 1800s. The eggs eventually found their way into Texas collector A.W.Nations possession.

www. tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releas- es/?req=20070402c.


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First Saturday Hikes The first Saturday of each month,San Antonio Natural Areas Programof the San Antonio Parks andRecreation Department holds ahike at one of the Natural Areas.Contact (210)564-6400 for theschedule, locations, and reserva-tions. $2 per person donation sug-gested.May 5 Friedrich Wilderness Park

June 2 Crownridge CanyonNatural Area

July 7 Walker Ranch Historic Park

Second Saturday Pro grams atEisenhower Park Co-sponsored by SA Parks andRecreation Natural Areas Programand Bexar Audubon. Reservationsrequired; details occasionally change. Call (210)564-6400. $3each or $5 per family donationsuggested.May 12 Beautiful Spring NativePlants Janis Merritt will lead ahike to enjoy spring flora and help

you get ideas for using nativeplants in your yard. 10am-noon

June 9 PEAK workshop:Promoting EnvironmentalAwareness in Kids is a programfrom Leave No Trace to educatechildren about the outdoors andresponsible enjoyment of our pub-lic lands. Ages 6-12 years.

July 14 Slithers The South Texas Herpetology Association bringsa large collection of regional snakesand discusses their life histories.www.sanaturalareas.org

San Antonio Audubon BeginnersBirdwalk 8am for May, but7:30am June through August.Begins at the Judson Nature Trailsnext to the Alamo HeightsSwimming Pool. Info at (210)342-2073. Binoculars available to lend.

May 3 Water from Stone: The St ory of Selah, Bamber ger Ranch Pre serve Public lecture and book signing by author, Jeffrey Greene, with slidesand comments by J. DavidBamberger: CENTRAL LIBRARY,6:30pm, 600 Soledad. Contacts:Kaye Lenox, San Antonio Library Foundation, (210)225-4728 Ext 14,[email protected] or publicinformation office: Elizabeth.gra- [email protected]. This new book provides a portrait

of an unusual and daring, oftencontroversial, Texas conservationist,and an understanding of Selahitself, the evolution of its landrestoration, endangered speciessurvival program (including Texassnowbell and Scimitar-hornedoryx), the creation of theChiroptorium (a human-made batcave), and finally, Selahs educationprograms for inner-city kids.

Following the lecture J. David andMargaret Bamberger and Jeffrey Greene will sign. See also May 15.

May 3-5 American Institute of Architects annual convention inSan Antonio. Growing BeyondGreen. Speakers include formerUS VP Al Gore, whose message of global warming garnered him anomination for the Nobel PeacePrize, and Dr. David Suzuki.http://www.aiaconvention.com/aia

_splash/2007/index.html

May 4-6 WildFest 2007San Antonios First Annual Bird &Nature Festival will include a broadspectrum of workshops and fieldtrips that will draw nature-orientedtourists to our area and will helplocal children get involved innature. Held at Crossroads Mall.For information see wildfestsanan-

tonio.com or call (210)886-9991.Bexar Audubon is a sponsor

organization for WildFest. We arlooking for members to volunteerfor the event anytime bet ween7:30 and 4:30 Friday or Saturday.No experience nece ssar y! Pleasecall Harry Noyes for more infor-mation: (210)490-3124, 248-8080,or e-mail harr ynoyes@ssat x.rr.com

May 12 Election Day Dont miss out on local events

vote early!

May 12 International MigratoBird Day IMBD was created in 1993 by

visionaries at the SmithsonianMigratory Bird Center and theCornell Laboratory of OrnithologyNow under the direction of theNational Fish and WildlifeFoundation and U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, IMBD continues focus attention on one of the mostimportant and spectacular eventsin the life of a migratory bird: its

journey between its summer and winter homes. Today, it is celebrat-ed in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, anCentral America through bird festi

vals and bird walks, education pro-grams, and Bird Day! IMBD Them2007: Climate Change.

Birds have long been indicatorsof environmental change, soundingthe alarm about the impacts of pesticides, polluted water, and theloss of contiguous forest. WhileIMBD continues to promote the

joy of birds, it will also tackle thischallenging, yet pertinent topic. The reactions of birds to weather

have been noted for hundreds of years. Farmers have used thearrivals of migratory birds to makedecisions about planting crops.Changes in the movements of

EVENTS & NEWS


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some species is just one indicatorof the warming of the Earthsatmosphere. Today, as the rate of

warming increases, scientists areexploring how climate change willaffect birds and how we canreduce our impact.

In 2007, as many as 300,000people will learn about climatechange at IMBD events.

May 15 Water from Stone: The Story of Selah, Bamberger Ranch Pre serve ALAMO SIERRA CLUB.6:30pm, Witte Museum, 3801Broadway. Contact: Thomas [email protected]. Seedescription at May 3 listing.

May 19 Solar Fest at Maverick Park www.solarsanantonio.org.

May 26 Starr y, Starry Nights atMitchell Lake Audubon Center 8-10pm. Free evening program of stargazing and astronomy educa-tion presented by the San AntonioAstronomical Association.

Telescopes will be set up outdoorsand a slide show on astronomy and celestial exploration will beheld in the Visitor Center. Bringchairs and blankets to sit on!Reservations required (210)628-1639. mitchelllakeaudubon.org .10750 Pleasanton Road, SanAntonio, TX 78221.

June 18-22, 25-29 Wild Weeksat Friedrich Wilderne ss Park.Ages 7-12. Hands-on ecology day camps. Take a nature hike. Meet abug. Explore animal bones. Try some wild foods. Build a bird-house. Make a stone tool. Dig intonature! During week 2, the samegreat nature exploration with anemphasis on art activities. $85 persession (limited partial scholar-

ships available). For more informa-tion or to request a packet call:210-564-6400.

June and July Witte MuseumSummer Science Spectacular!Explore how things work, splashinto the cool world of water, cook up slime, journey back in time, diginto dinosaurs, and uncover the

world beneath your feet. Guestexperts, field trips, and hands-onactivities are all part of the fun.9am5pm. Call 210-357-1910 forcosts, scholarship availability, reser-

vations, or more information.

October 13 Fall Wildlife Fe stivalat Mitchell Lake Audubon Center(see above).

2007 Tree Planting Challengeshave been officially released. Todownload applications go tosanantonio.gov/dsd/environmental.asp (see Related Documents:Planting ChallengeNeighborhoodor Commercial). Contact MichaelNentwich, City Forester (210) 207-3108.

Thank you to Blair Richter, whofor many issues prepared Bexar Tracks for mailing and delivered itto the post office. That task hasnow been taken up by our newprinter. Many volunteer opportuni-ties are badly needed, but alsotedious, and this was one of them.

Thanks again, Blair and friends who helped so many times.

Who knew?Ive always thought I kept up withpublic service offerings, but twicein recent months I have learnedsomething that surprised me. First,as reported in the previous issueof Bexar Tracks , San Antonios

curbside recycling extended its col-lection to types 1-7 plastics ANDclean paper of all sorts, in additionto traditionally collected newspa-per.

Now I have learned that BexarCounty is offering FREE home pick-up of household hazardous waste.(NOTE: this service is for suburbancities and unincorporated BexarCounty only!) Included are batter-ies, fluorescent bulbs, lubricants,pesticides, etc. Call 800-449-7587to request a collection and learnthe details. More information canbe found on the county website:www.co.bexar.tx.us/How_Does_it_Work_2004.pdf The City of San Antonio still offers

only drop-off service at their sitelocated at 7030 Culebra, open on

Thursdays from 10:00am until7:00pm, Fridays from 7:00am until4:00pm, and the first Saturday of each month from 8:00am until1:00pm. San Antonio residentsshould bring a recent copy of theirCPS bill showing the environmen-tal fee as proof of residency. Nocommercial waste, ammunition,fireworks, medical waste, appli-ances, brush, or other trash isaccepted at the HouseholdHazardous Waste Drop-Off Center.For more information, call 311 or(210)207-6440.

Wouldnt it be great if Sa n Antonio would offer a service like the Countys? Think how much hazardous waste could be kept out of the landfill. Maybe offer a small container to be used on recycling pick-up day??? Contact your coun- cilperson with a suggestion.

editor

Handy measure A quarter isexactly 1 inch in diameter and adollar bill is 6 inches long.

EVENTS & NEWS


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The Rio LajaWateringCentral MexicosPeople & WildlifeThe Rio Laja watershed comprises mostof the state of Guanajuato in theuplands of central Mexico. The Laja is atributary of the Rio Lerma. Fed by sev-

eral streams in the mountains, many depend upon the Laja. It provides water for campesinos along its courseway,most of whom have no other economi-cally viable supply; for agriculture; and,often forgotten, but nonetheless depen-dent, for resident wildlife and migrato-ry birds.

Shar ed Mig ratory Birds Common migrant birds in this centralMexican area include Swainsons

Hawk, Lesser Yellow-legs, Solitary Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, LeastSandpiper, Bairds Sandpiper, WilsonsPhalarope, Olive-sided Flycatcher,Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler,MacGillivrays Warbler, Wilsons Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, OrchardOriole, and Baltimore Oriole, all of which appear on San Antonio-area birdchecklists. Northern Guanajuatosdeciduous forest while enduringheavy pressures for human food and

fiber provides a resting area for migrant birds before they embark ontheir journey across the northernMexican desert.

San Mig uel de Allende Among those dependent upon the RioLaja for day-to-day purposes are the cit-izens of San Miguel de Allende, anartist colony and haven for expatriatesfrom many nations. Indeed, residents of San Antonio often know someone who

has a second home in San Miguel or isa frequent visitor there. Many visitorshave no idea how fragile an ecosystemprovides the underpinnings of thisleisure destination for so many.

Almost 30 years ago, Susan Porter Smith came to San Miguel from New York. After studying painting and pho-tography for several years and enjoyingsome success as an artist, Susan rein- vigorated her interest in environmentalissues. She soon became president of

the only Audubon chapter in Mexico.Susans personal issue was the con-

nection between environmental degra-dation in the watershed and the steady increase in human population. The water table was dropping; forests werebeing harvested for fire wood for thecities and for subsistence cooking and

heating, as well as for making charcoalfor commercial operations; cows andgoats were consuming the mast fromthe oak trees, so renewal was minimal;and riparian areas were disturbed dueto erosion and livestock access.

The states agriculture was being runincreasingly by multinational agribusi-nesses, relying upon irrigation, whilecampesinos engaged in dry-land agri-culture or used primitive irrigation.

Reaching Out for Solutions In the early 1990s Susan was a speaker at regional Audubon conferences andeven a Bexar Audubon meeting.

Susan began to coordinate the effortsof numerous Mexican organizations with environmental and community connections to promote more sustain-able practices within the watershed.She sought technical support from theU.S. Forest Service and secured grantfunds and technical assistance from the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NatioFish and Wildlife Foundation, the No American Wetlands Foundation, athe Mexican government.

The program that developed focuson building rock dams within rurcommunities, as well as pinpointinthese structures with GIS and creatin

a photo database. The local organiztion Susan founded, Salvemos al RLaja, carried out many of these projecOther early projects had been done landowners under the supervision otechnical consultants and trainees.

Save the Laja Save the Laja (STL) is a Texas noprofit organization Susan foundealong with Susan Hughes, dedicated fostering watershed and habitat protection in the Texas-Central Mexico cordor. After its founding, STL helpSalvemos and its cooperating agencito continue the watershed work Susabegan. STL inherited Susans estaupon her untimely death from cancthree years ago.

In August 2006, STL invited a teamnatural resource professionals tassess the Laja watershed and thesprojects: Al Medina, Research EcologU.S. Forest Service, Rocky MountExperiment Station, Flagstaff, AZ; Gilberto Soliz Garza, Riparian ScienProfessor, U. of Sonora, MX; J Winter, Canadian archaeologist; Fran Gelwick, Assistant ProfessFisheries, Dept. of Wildlife & FisherScience, Texas A&M U.; and MMecke, Water Programs Spec., Tex Water Resources Institute, TAMU (fmer president of Bexar Audubon). Tteam was assisted by two local Mexic


A steady streamof burros laden

with fire woodmake the tripfrom mountainto urban centerevery day. Theand many oth-ers will soon bin villages andcity streets.

Some use tire dams to stop erosion.


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graduate students, Sr.Gerardo Lopez Moraand Sr. Jose MariaChema Suarez Duea, who had participatedin several recent Rio Laja projects.

Surprising Diver sity The team found surprising diversity across the watershed in topography,elevation, and vegetation. Greateffort and dedication on the part of vol-unteers in the rural communities wasobvious, but much more was needed toslow the deterioration of watershed andriparian areas. Only in the upper moun-tain valleys were there any significantopportunities for the once-beautifulriver to produce native fish in a healthy aquatic habitat.

Well-meaning, but sometimes mis-guided watershed restoration projectssometimes not only fail to fix problems,but can cause new and bigger ones.Indeed, funds and manpower dedicatedto restoring sections of the Laja water-

shed have had limit-ed positive effect. Valuable effort hasbeen spent trying on

almost irreparablesites on the sides of steep, bare moun-tainsides. Other projects, better planned and executed, have helpedsolve watershed and riparian problems.

Solutions and Challenge s Towns and cities also have contributedto the Lajas illnesses, and a long,intense education program of conserva-tion, riparian awareness, and resourcemanagement will be needed before sig-

nificant changes may be visible down-stream. Cultural issues and economicstability of the largely agricultural pop-ulation must be addressed to achieve ahealthy and sustainable watershed.

Just as the combination of causes of the watersheds deteriora-tion are many, so are thearray of tools needed to sta-bilize and improve theriparian conditions of the

Rio Laja, its flows, and the sub-water-sheds surrounding it.Some of the issues will involve negoti-

ations and agreements not only withlandowners and land managers, butalso the irrigation district that haseffectively cut off Laja flows in the valley to provide irrigation water toagribusinesses employing central pivot,flood, and even spray irrigation tech-niques. The aquatic health and the

fisheries component of the lake behindthe dam need careful study, too.Everything from steep mountain min-

ing, forestry, wood cutting, grazing,family farms, and urban neglect to largeirrigated agriculture has severely impacted the watershed. Even the oncehealthy Laja tributary that meandersthrough the historic Spanish colonialcity of San Miguel de Allende is now heavily polluted, severely trashed,

almost dry streambed.Susan Hughes & Mike Mecke

Save the Laja, Inc., a Texas501(c)(3) fostering watershedand habitat protection in the

Texas-Central Mexico corridor,has joined forces with BexarAudubon to increase knowl-edge and understanding of cor-ridor and border issues. Thisseries is funded by STL, 825 E.Guenther St., San Antonio, TX78210-1237. Contributions aretax-deductible and welcomed.


Fran, Gilberto, and Al admire the handiwork of acampesino who is now teaching others his suc-

cessful techniques, which have resulted in collect-ing pools of water like these in rocky ravines.

Structures like this,designed for erosion

control, dot steephillsides, but with

free-ranging livestock,the vegetation

intended to grow inthe captured silt andsoil has little chance

to mature, or eventake root.


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Non-profitOrganization

U.S. Postage PaiSan Antonio, T

Permit #590

Bexar Audubon Society , Inc.P.O. Box 6084San Antonio, TX 78209-0084

Membership and Support forYour Environmental Voice in Our Community

Bexar Audubon welcomes new members to join Audubon through the chapter. This brings 100 percentof the first-years dues directly back to support local work. The same applies to gift memberships placedthrough the chapter. Your additional tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated. Bexar Audubonreceives only a few thousand dollars each year from National Audubon Society as dues share. The restwe must raise ourselves. Your help is needed, and your donations will be put to good use right here inSouth Central Texas to provide environmental news and education to the community, including thenewsletter, programs, San Antonio Environmental Network Issues Forums, Second Saturday programs,and other activities you may or may not hear about.

Individual introductory memberships are $20; seniors and students join for $15.Please provide the following information for each personal subscription or gift:

Name

Mailing Address with ZIP code

AC & Phone + e-mail, if availableDo you wish to opt out of other mailings by Audubon or those with whom it shares lists? ___yes ___no

Make checks payable to Bexar Audubon Society and mail to the address above.

$__________for subscription(s) $_______ additional donatio

NOTE: Renewals should be sent directly to National Audubon Society.

Bexar Tracks is the officialnewsletter of the BexarAudubon Society, a Chapter ofthe National Audubon Society.The Chapters primary goalsare to promote species and

habitat conservation and envi-ronmental education in thecommunity.

Your membership includesNational Audubon and BexarAudubon and subscriptions toAudubon and Bexar Tracks . T h

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