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"There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot."

Aldo Leopold, from the foreword of A Sand County Almanac

Chapter News & Announcements

  • 10 Year Anniversary

    Over Ten Wonderful Years! The Master Naturalist Program started here in San Antonio over ten years ago with the formation of our chapter.

  • From The President

    The President’s Message

    by Gary Trede

    Gary Trede

    Happy New Year, Alamo Area Master Naturalists!

    As the new year begins, also begins the tenure of your new board and committees listed in this newsletter. Most importantly, it is imperative to applaud the great 2009 accomplishments of last year’s board led by Anton Hajek and Holly Camero. Thanks for your devotion and dedication to enhancing the Master Naturalist program both locally and statewide.

    The 2010 board goals are:

    * Promote the participation of the entire membership.
    * Renew old friendships and create new ones.
    * Provide more opportunities to serve the community.
    * Define new directions for the organization.
    * Enhance Master Naturalist visibility within our community.

    The board, committees, and I will develop a strategic visionary plan, an operational social calendar for the coming year, and strive to enhance the recognition of AAMN accomplishments. We are looking to the general membership to participate in filling and providing input to our committees, taking the lead on Master Naturalist projects, but most importantly, to have fun!

    We are looking to the general membership to participate in filling committees, taking lead on Master Naturalist projects and provide information to our committees on what you are doing out there.

    The board and I look forward to serving you this year.

  • Stewardship Activities For The San Antonio Natural Areas

    January San Antonio Natural Areas Stewardship Activities

    by JayNe Neal and Wendy Cooley Leonard

    JayNe Neal

    Many of us associate January with New Year’s resolutions - new things we want to begin and old things we want to end.

    Endings and beginnings are happening in nature as well. It’s pretty easy to find things ending - it is, after all, winter.

    But if one looks or listens closely, one can observe beginnings, too, like wildflower rosettes hugging the ground and great-horned owls nesting.

    Winter Naturalist Hike at Woodland Hills West

    Thursday, January 7, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

    Meet at the Woodland Hills West gate on Heuermann, just southwest of Friedrich Wilderness Park. Wendy and Jayne will take you on a hike to observe nature and apply observations to land management. This is a great way to get oriented to the natural areas and learn a little about what we do. Bring binoculars and any favorite field guides. We may lop a few junipers as well, so bring work gloves if you have them.

    Golden-Cheeked Warbler Habitat Restoration at Woodland Hills West

    Thursday, January 14, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

    Thursday, January 21, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

    Thursday, January 28, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

    Meet at the Woodland Hills West gate on Heuermann, just southwest of Friedrich Wilderness Park. Please bring work gloves if you have them.

    If you have any questions, please contact Jayne Neal or Wendy Cooley Leonard.

  • The Hot Tub Naturalist

    January Hot Tub Naturalist

    by Tony Hajek

    Anton Hajek

    Most of December, I avoided the hot tub fearing a cold night would bring on the flu and I’d miss my surgery. It is not so much missing the surgery as getting to pay the enormous deductible a self-employed person enjoys and losing time in the future. The surgery took 2.5 hours and was successful. Now, I am recovering and that doesn’t include hot tub time.

    The hard freeze of December 4 was interesting. Many plants wilted or fell over. I’ll bet they come back. If not, the nurseries accept my money.

    I encountered a young, thin, short rattlesnake in the garden at 3 PM on the fifth. Silly me, I thought it was too cold for those critters. Apparently, it was too cold for it to avoid a shovel.

    As a Master Naturalist, I am always tortured when I take out a predator. My wife, raised to kill all snakes, begrudgingly accepts the survival of a few that I can proclaim non-venomous. I ask her when was the last time she knew of someone being bit, much less dying, from a rattlesnake. Even though she has no answer, she demands the death penalty. That she is a St. Mary’s graduate, home of the Rattlers, engenders no clemency.

    I should probably get a pair of snake tongs (that I can locate and return with before the snake disappears) and just move the offensive snake to… how far? And would it survive? Maybe I can blame this on organized religion, as snakes have had bad PR since the Serpent in the Garden. Last summer, I was putting out mice and rat bait almost as fast as they could consume it. An unseen snake with a healthy appetite would have been welcome.

    There must have been a gentle freeze earlier in the Hill Country that I missed, as a trip to find frost flowers was for naught. On the trip I saw only a young buck and a doe. The drought has decimated the deer herd. Hopefully, our recent rains will bam it back up in three years. After three years of writing about the drought, it is strange to deal with the wet and the mud. Driving the truck into the
    field to dump deer carcasses is a challenge. The coyotes and caracaras don’t care if I slip, slide, or get stuck delivering the bones but my wife prefers the dump site to be far from the house.

    The Master Naturalist program may be changing. Usually when reviewing class applications, we look for people to be worker bees or leaders. Both Calvin Finch and Richard Heilbrun suggested becoming a Master Naturalist just for the knowledge. Not that I think some folk don’t do just that. I just don’t want to promote the idea. However, that idea does present an opportunity for workshops, adult education classes, and perhaps even an organized speaker’s bureau.

    How about that for a New Year’s project?

Thank you! Your visit counts with us!