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Table of Contents:

Chapter Field Trip. …...1

CPCTMN Programs.....2

Meet Linda Rippert…...3

Birds……………….......4

Bat Disease…………...5

Habitat Website……....5

Training Class…....…...6

Nature Center..….…….7

Seabourne.…………….8

In Our Own Backyard..10

Book Corner……….....11

On the Light Side…….12

Reef Habitat………….13

Chapter events and nature-related articles, photos,

and items of interest to the chapter need to be sent to

Lynn by the 25th of the month. Suggestions for the

newsletter are also welcome. Thanks.

Lynn Trenta, Courier Editor

2

We are a group of trained volunteers who share our appreciation and

knowledge of nature with the community through outreach, education

and conservation/restoration projects

May 30th, 2017

Volume 5, Issue 5

Coastal Prairie Chapter Courier

Chapter Travels to El Lobo

Seventeen brave souls journeyed to Karl Baumgartner’s property near Kendleton, El Lobo, to explore this rustic 25-acre piece of land. Susie Doe, our resident plant expert, was on hand to help us identify various plants that we spied while on our tour. The San Bernard River serves as one border of the property and Bald Cypress arise from its banks with large roots showing below the towering trees. Cherokee sedge and Virginia wild rye mingle underneath the wooded canopy. On our trek, we discovered some clams found on the banks of the river, many dragonflies, butterflies, a katydid, some grasshoppers, baby catfish, and had a wonderful time enjoying El Lobo. Cedar elms were abundant. Our Pierce Ranch trip didn’t materialize, but we got a chance to enjoy some MN camaraderie at another local engaging location.

Photos (starting top left clockwise) by Garrett Englehard’s wife, Lynn Trenta, and Diane Russell

Page 2 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

Pot Luck Dinner June 1st

Come Welcome Our Newest Members at the June Pot Luck Meeting and celebrate Member Certifications and Milestones.

We will have a pot luck dinner. Fried Chicken, tea and water will be provided by the Chapter. Bring your favorite dish/dessert. We will begin at 6:30 to eat then have fun activities to get to know our newest members. Please RSVP at the SIGNUP GENIUS link to let us know you are coming and how you will help out at the Pot Luck Dinner.

MEETING LOCATION!! Click Rosenberg Civic Center below for the map of 3825 TX-36, Rosenberg, TX 77471.

The meeting is free and open to all interested persons.

The Texas Master Naturalists program is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Scheduled programs and field trips for this year are: June 1st Program 6:30pm—Meet the New Class July 6th Sea Turtles Program by Joannie Steinhaus August 3rd Plant and Insect Interaction Program—A&M Agent and TMN Advisor John Gordy September 7th Edible Plants Program by Leslie Bush October 7th Field Trip to All We Need Farms and Mark Morgenstern’s house and land November 4th Prairie Heritage Festival December 2nd Christmas Party at the Swinging Door

2017 Programs and Field Trips

Page 3 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

Meet Linda Rippert, Chapter Member since 2005

Linda Rippert is a native Texan, born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She has been a butterfly lover for most of her life, and started raising and releasing butterflies about 2005. She has developed her yard and garden into a Monarch Waystation to encourage Monarch butterflies and support their life cycle. Butterflies that she has raised and released include Monarchs, Queens, Gulf Fritillaries, Cloudless Sulphurs, Orange-Barred Sulphurs, Eastern Black Swallowtails, Giant Swallowtails, Polydamas Swallowtails, Pipevine Swallowtails, and Spicebush Swallowtails and she has also raised and release some moths. Linda also tags the Monarchs she raises and those that visit her waystation in the fall with tags from Monarch Watch.

Linda completed her Fort Bend County Master Gardener training in the Fall of 2004, Master Composting training in 2004, and her Coastal Prairie Master Naturalist training in 2005. In 2007, she completed the Master Gardener Entomology Specialist training and repeated that training by auditing the class in 2016. As part of the Master Gardeners’ Entomology Committee, Linda has assisted teaching Entomology classes for the Master Gardeners and the Master Naturalists for several years. As a part of the Entomology Committee, she has assisted with the production of a set of Butterfly ID cards published several years ago and a set of Insect cards published about eight years ago. Linda is currently co- chairman of a Butterfly Garden developed in 2010 at the Seabourne Creek Nature Park in Rosenberg. A multitude of butterflies and moths have visited the garden since it was built!

Photos by Diane Russell

Page 4 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier Chapter President Spots 199th Bird Species for Seabourne!

Amber Leung, CPCTMN Chapter President, spotted a new species for Seabourne Creek Nature Park this last week. This little bird is the Mourning Warbler. This spotting brings the total number of species that have been seen at the park to 199! Good spot, Amber! The mourning warbler appears during migration in our area. “Common within its range, the Mourning Warbler…..typically reveals its presence by its distinctive song of rolling phrases, usually remaining hidden in the low, thick vegetation….. Given their preference for disturbed forests, Mourning Warbler populations may have benefited from various human activities that are detrimental to other birds, such as mining, forest clear-cutting, and road-building.” (Cornell, All About Birds). As there are other birds similar to the warbler, its song is the best distinguishing feature. For more information about this colorful bird and to hear its song go to: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Warbler/id .

Photo by Amber Leung

Jean Greenlaugh and Debby Wendt manned the host station at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary on April 26. GCBO sponsors Spring Fling the entire month of April. There were birders from Nebraska, Kansas, California, British Columbia, Mexico City, Arizona, Colorado and England. Forty to sixty different species are seen every day along the wooded paths with water features and coastal prairie. The migrant birds coming back to the United States to nest include Warblers, Ovenbirds, Black and White Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Northern Waterthrush, Painted and Indigo Buntings, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Rose Breasted and Blue Grosbeak. There is a short training required for first time volunteers. It is a one hour trip from our Extension Office on Band Rd. We assisted visitors with signing in, sold a few t shirts and snacks. Books and pamphlets are also available.

Volunteers at Quintana for Bird Migration

Page 5 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

Unfortunately, white-nose syndrome (Pseudogymnoascus destructans), a disease caused by a fungus that has been killing millions of bats across the Northeast, has reached Texas. Conservationists and state and federal wildlife officials confirmed in March that the fungal infection has been detected in bats in the Texas panhandle. The encroachment into the Southwest has hit three species: the tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer) and Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii). The latter two are primarily western species that have been largely unaffected until now. "It is a turning point," said Jonah Evans, a state mammologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). "It is the first time that we've detected it in bats with a primarily western distribution." Differences in the biology of the 32 species of bats in Texas, combined with our warmer climate, may help to minimize the disease's spread and impact here in

Texas. Read more at phys.org and at TPWD's news release.

The Fungal Bat Disease, White-Nose Syndrome, Has

Spread to Texas Contributed by Carol Schwartz, Chapter State Coordinator

Website Teaches about Creating a Habitat

Check out this website that can help people create habitats for wildlife on their property. http://mailchi.mp/cornell/habitat-network-may-2017?e=8140e38f2d . As it says above, you can use their website to draw a map, learn about habitat and hopefully create change!

Page 6 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

The New Training Class

The training classes are at an end for our 12 new interns and we will celebrate their graduation this week on June 1st with a fun pot-luck dinner. Congratulations, interns!! Intern Rhonda Kuykendahl, a professional photographer, snapped these delightful photos along the way. Thanks, Rhonda! This does not do your photos justice.

Page 7 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

RDC members set to discuss nature centers, parks for future of Rosenberg BY AVERIL GLEASON agleason@fbherald.com May 11th, 2017

A nature center is in the works for Seabourne Creek Nature Park. At the Rosenberg Development Corp. meeting on Thursday (May 11th), board members (will discuss) discussed fundraising ideas to move forward with the project. The meeting (will take) took place at 4 p.m. at the Rosenberg Civic Center, 3825 SH 36. “One of the things we want to focus on is nature play,” Parks and Recreation Director Darren McCarthy said. The nature center would include an interactive educational space, office space, a pavilion, deep porches, a classroom, integrated solar roof panels and native plant life. McCarthy shared that he is currently in the fundraising part of the development. “I’m looking for community outreach and donors,” he said. The total estimated cost of the nature center is $2,936,449. “I think this number will go down, but I want to go out and see how much the community will support this,” McCarthy added. The nature center is scheduled to be built by 2019….

Page 8 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

Chapter Members Visit Houston

Seabourne Prairie Team Members Karl Baumgartner, Jim Butcher, and Lynn and Jerry Trenta visited the Memorial Park Greenhouse to see how they propagate and bump up their plants. They spoke to Jed Aplaca, who heads the Natural Resource Program of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. Although their operation is much larger than ours, we learned about the soil they use, how they mix it and their physical set up. We also visited the M.D. Anderson Prairie.” The MD Anderson Prairie was created by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in cooperation with the Katy Prairie Conservancy, Wildlife Habitat Federation, and numerous community members to create a place healing place for a broken community - family, friends, and caretakers of those being treated for cancer.” For more information about this prairie go to: (https://storify.com/htownjaime/md-anderson-prairie-healing-for-people-and-nature )

Seabourne Creek Nature Park Happenings

Butterfly Garden Blooms Again

The Seabourne Butterfly Garden is up and running, thanks to the efforts of Linda Rippert and Diane Russell, Co-Chairpersons. The garden is a mix of native and non-native plants that serve as both host plants and nectar plants. These ladies and several chapter members have also worked with a landscape crew procured by Karl Baumgartner in restoring the once ravaged garden.

Photos by Lynn Trenta

Photos by Lynn Trenta

Page 9 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

Seabourne Creek Nature Park Happenings (Continued)

Work has begun on the creation of new paths around our Wetlands Demo Garden area and through the Prairie Restoration area. Soon visitors will be able to view both areas by means of these connected pathways.

New Pathways in Seabourne

Prairie Restoration Continues

Prairie restoration is continuing with bump ups and plantings. Our bump up crew is headed up by Jim Butcher and over 1400 young plants propagated from our greenhouse and other sources have been put into gallon pots. When ready these plants will go into the prairie. Mark Morgenstern is responsible for propagating our plants. Our prairie planting is overseen by Karl Baumgartner and Jerry Trenta. Over 1000 plants have gone out into the prairie this year with the help of the LDS volunteers, Chapter members, and a landscape crew procured by Karl. This is a wonderful project and we are seeing some good progress. Prairie plants are making the prairie their home and are in evidence! Thanks to Sal Cardenas, Natalya Crawford, Garrett Englehardt, Roger Hathorn, Terri Hurley, Margo and Bill Johnson, and other chapter members who have supported the restoration project and the Prairie Demo Garden.

Photos by Lynn Trenta

Photo by Wayne Poorman

Photo by Roger Hathorn

Photo by Lynn Trenta

Page 10 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

In Our Own Backyards and Other Places

Chapter Outreach at the Fort Bend

Photography Club

Amazing Jumping Spiders! By Diane Eismont

Black Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot in the Seabourne Prairie Demo Garden

By Amber Leung

Have you ever seen what looks like a blue-eyed jumping spider? The first photo is a common jumping spider whose "jaws" are bright metallic blue! The photo was taken in the Fall when he was hunting on a Frostweed plant near the house. He caught a Lady Bug which you can see in his jaws!

The second picture is also a common jumping spider called a Wolf Spider, carrying its young on its abdomen, which was taken last month on a hay bale in the barn.

Page 11 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

In this wholly original book, biologist David Haskell uses a one- square-meter patch of old-growth Tennessee forest as a window onto the entire natural world. Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature’s path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life.

Each of this book’s short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring wildflowers. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands- sometimes millions-of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home.

Written with remarkable grace and empathy, The Forest Unseen is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards.

Book Corner

David Haskell’s award-winning The Forest Unseen won acclaim for eloquent writing and deep engagement with the natural world. Now, Haskell brings his powers of observation to the biological networks that surround all species, including humans. Haskell repeatedly visits a dozen trees around the world to stop, listen, and look, exploring each tree’s connections with webs of fungi, bacterial communities, cooperative and destructive animals, and other plants, and demonstrating how the lives of trees and people are deeply interwoven. Several trees, including a balsam fir in Ontario and an Amazonian ceibo, are located in areas that seem mostly natural, but which are affected by industrial development and climate change. Haskell also turns to trees in places where humans seem to have subdued “nature” – a pear tree on a Manhattan sidewalk, an olive tree in Jerusalem – demonstrating that wildness permeates every location. We have much to learn from trees, says Haskell; they show us how to thrive and participate in nature’s networks. Roots communicate with neighboring fungi and bacteria, sending chemical messages through the soil. Twigs have memories of light, gravity, heat and minerals. Plant cells in leaves use airborne odors to attract caterpillar-eating insects. Haskell pays particular attention to the sounds that emerge from or surround trees; behind each sound are fascinating stories of how tree lives are joined to other lives. With its deep understanding of the complexity of trees and the way they shape their ecosystems, Haskell’s book will make you look at trees in an entirely new way.

The Forest Unseen By David George Haskell

The Song Of Trees By David George Haskell

Page 12 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

The Lighter Side

Thanks to John Donaho (from Facebook)

Page 13 of 13 Coastal Prairie Courier

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Check out our Facebook Page at TXMN Coastal Prairie Chapter

Facebook

To post photos and information, email

John Donaho or Lynn Trenta

Also, share our chapter Facebook entries with your friends on your

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2016 Officers

President Amber Leung Vice President Debby Wendt Secretary Jamie Fairchild Treasurer Doug Simons

2016 Committee Directors

• Past-President Diane Russell

• Programs Debby Wendt

• Communication Lynn Trenta

• Volunteer Service Projects Margo "Mac" McDowell (interim)

• Membership Michelle Sullivan

• New Class C.J. McDaniel

• Advanced Training Margo Johnson

• Publicity Teresa Bailey

• New Class Representative--Open

• State Representative Carol Schwartz

We’re on the Web!

See us at:

http://txmn.org/coastal

CPTMN 2017 Board Members

COASTAL PRAIRIE CHAPTER OF THE TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

1402 Band Rd Extension Office

Rosenberg, TX 77471—8678 Phone: 281-633-7033

Two new artificial reefs are now in place in the Gulf of Mexico, just six miles off the coast of Port O’Connor.

The nearshore reefs will create marine habitat that will attract a variety of sea creatures, which will in turn draw anglers and divers for recreational opportunities. The project is part of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s fundraising effort Keeping it Wild: The Campaign for Texas. Coastal Conservation Association’s (CCA) Building Conservation Trust, CCA Texas and Shell Oil Company generously contributed funds for these reefs, which were leveraged with state dollars from the Texas Artificial Reef program

Watch this video to see how these artificial reefs were placed in the Gulf.

New Reefs in the Gulf of Mexico