At its Fall meeting in late October the Audubon Foundation of Texas (AFT) awarded collaborative grants to five Texas chapters to support local conservation projects. These grants were made possible by funds raised by AFT’s participation in EarthShare Texas workplace campaigns and a donation from the Nancy Ruth Fund to support habitat restoration projects. AFT also distributes funds for Texas Audubon Chapters raised by Earthshare Texas through the Reliant Energy Ecoshare campaign and the H-E-B store tear-off donations campaign.
Houston Audubon Society – MAPS Mist Nets
HAS plans to establish a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survival) banding station in one of its bird sanctuaries, Carolyn R. Davis, in Brazoria County, Texas, to determine what species and density of birds are utilizing the sanctuary during the breeding season and how they are distributed, while contributing to a larger dataset.
A MAPS station is an array of 10 mist nets spread over about 50 acres. Stations operate one day in every 10-day period over the course of the breeding season. The data that HAS will collect from this MAPS station will greatly increase their understanding of the birds utilizing the sanctuary and inform its management practices. Project Budget: $3,000 for equipment and supplies including passerine mist nets, net poles and connectors, rebar for poles, and general tools. Awarded $1,000.
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Bexar Audubon Society – Kerrville Bird Observatory Network
BAS propose to build 216 educational blinds called the Kerrville Bird Observatory Network (KBON) in highly visible, easily accessible areas so that more students and community members may use them. These will be ADA accessible, unlike nearly all existing blinds in the Hill Country, The KBON could make Kerrville an attractive hub for birders visiting the region..
Budget: Overall budget is $300,000, which includes construction materials, finishing (ideally murals), promotion, web design and maintenance, bird feeders and food, and student work-study budget. However, the $1,000 application allow them to b uild one complete blind. Awarded $1,000.
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Travis Audubon Society – Baker Sanctuary Firebreak Restoration
TAS maintains a Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA) preserve in an urbanizing environment that creates many challenges. One of those challenges, minimizing wildfire potential at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), was met by the creation of a fuel break near a subdivision on the eastern side of the Baker Sanctuary. The break removes fuels that could spread a fire, but also retains canopy which GCWA need. In 2021, Winter Storm Uri toppled trees and downed limbs in the firebreak, decreasing its effectiveness.
It is expected approximately 4 – 7 acres will be treated. TAS staff and volunteers will cut and stack vegetation ahead of the chipping crew so that their time is maximized. Removing the storm material from the fuel break will ensure that the preserve is fire hardened against a possible ignition in the WUI. Funds from AFT would be used to hire a crew to chip and spread downed material in the firebreak; $5,000 could clear 1/3 of the debris. Awarded $2,000.
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Rio Brazos Audubon Society – Lake Somerville State Park Bird Blind
RBAS request funds to aid completion of an ADA-compliant, 10-person bird blind at Lake Somerville State Park which will acquaint visitors with the birds (and other wildlife); and will promote the environment needed for these species to flourish. RBAS has worked closely with park staff to design the blind, and the trail to the site has been regraded. RBAS hopes to break ground soon. Thus far, we have raised over $18,000 and many materials required have been purchased. The Birch Creek Unit, where this will be located, averages 80,0000 visitors annually; the whole park sees over 130,000. The blind will be near the Visitor Center. The trail to the blind has been
regraded, and there will be ramps up to the structure for better accessibility. Part of our goal is to provide benches along the trail to make it truly accessible to everyone. We are currently approximately $10,000 short of the amount required to get the initial foundation and framing completed, and we are desperately fundraising. Awarded $1,000.
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Audubon Dallas – Blackland Prairie Restoration
Audubon Dallas is responsible for management of Cedar Ridge Preserve, a 630-acre habitat in southern Dallas County where the Blackland Prairie meets a limestone escarpment. The property includes open and wooded areas, streams, creeks, and a pond. Approximately 33 acres is native prairie. It is home to diverse species of wildlife and includes established habitat for the endangered Black-capped Vireo. Restoration of native prairie at CRP increases the diversity of plants, seeds, and insects needed to host more resident and migratory birds in the North Texas area.
A major initiative of Cedar Ridge Preserve is prairie maintenance and restoration. Almost 5% (33.2 acres) of the preserve is native prairie and much has been degraded. Our goal is to restore the prairies by increasing plant diversity, removing invasive species, integrating prairie patches, periodic mowing and engaging our visitors in the process. We propagate many of our own plants from seed collected in the Preserve and from small prairie fragments within 25 miles of the preserve. We finish each year’s efforts with our annual prairie planting and seeding day. Each November, volunteers and staff gather to plant three prepared plots with native prairie plants. This is the largest volunteer event we have every year.
In 2021, with the help of over 40 volunteers, we successfully planted over 800 plants of 20 different species. This year (2022) we have propagated over 26 species and have 1,200 plants ready for restoration efforts. Because of the large and growing numbers of plants, we plan to have two different planting days. Awarded $2,000.
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Travis Audubon Society – After School Sanctuary Field Trips
TAS will start an after-school field trip program in Spring 2023 with Ortega Elementary, a Title-1 school whose diverse student population is underrepresented in birding. AFT grant funds would secure transportation for the students to visit Blair Woods Nature Preserve in East Austin. This would be an opportunity to increase: 1) students’ knowledge about birds and their habitats in Central Texas; 2) students’ interest in science and the outdoors; and 3) engagement with communities of color at the Preserve. Desired outcomes include achieving learning objectives, recruiting students to participate in Travis Audubon’s Young Birders Club, and engaging new community members.
The goals of this after-school field trip program include increasing student knowledge of birds, their habitats, and central Texas biodiversity. Travis Audubon staff would lead students through lessons on identifying birds, components of bird habitat, threats to bird populations, actions humans can take to support bird populations, how birds fit into the larger ecosystem, and what makes central Texas a special place for birding and biodiversity. Awarded $1,000.
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Summary provided by E.G. White-Swift, Central Texas Audubon Society’s representative to the Audubon Foundation of Texas.