Protect the Texas Natural Environment

The Invaders of Texas Program supports the creation and perpetuation of a network of local citizen scientist teams who seek out and report outbreaks of selected environmentally and economically harmful invasive species. These teams, coordinated by the Wildflower Center contribute important data to local and national resource managers who will, in turn, coordinate appropriate responses to control the spread of unwanted invaders. The Invaders Program is designed to move the target audience beyond awareness to action on invasive species.

Learn more...http://texasinvasives.org/invaders/

They still have their own rules...

Fishing for Trouble A Hemphill County game warden and an Ochiltree County game warden observed a group of nine people in a remote section of Palo Duro Lake, upstream from the main lake in an area that is rarely used recreationally.  Undetected, the two wardens approached the group on foot and saw various actions associated with possible illegal fishing activity.  After watching the group for a while, the wardens split up and approached the group from opposite directions.  When the wardens announced their presence, the group scattered and the wardens saw that one of the men was carrying a scoped black rifle.  After several tense moments, the wardens were able to talk to the man and got him to put down the rifle.  When the group was rounded back up, nine individuals from Oklahoma were found to be in possession of various types of fish, including 24 undersize crappie and 5 undersize channel cats.  These were removed, measured, photographed and released.

Field Notes: June 18, 2013

Wild Hogs Protect Their Own

Feral hogs run across Southeast Texas.

Still Happening in Southeast Texas...

More than 50 arrested at Southeast Texas cockfight

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

 

Hardin County Sheriff Ed Cain said Tuesday that deputies responding to a call about dogs possibly fighting located the cockfighting ring 10 miles north of Silsbee.
Cain says 51 people were charged with a misdemeanor attending a cockfight following Saturday's incident. A man living on the property was charged with organizing a cockfight. Cain says deputies found 15 dead roosters and about 60 others still alive.
The sheriff says it's not illegal to have roosters -- it's just against the law to fight them. Cain says the roosters can be reclaimed by the owner.
Investigators believe the cockfighting ring had been operating for at least a year.

 http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/state&id=9134435 

People Left Behind...

Images such as these from the Appalachian Mountains are not that different from those found in isolated populations in the Big Thicket.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Capturing-Appalachias-Mountain-People.html#

 Picture from a Witch Camp

 

 

Are witches still active in the world? Modern witches are said to cherish the earth and dedicate their energy to protecting and healing it. The claim is they have special knowledge of herbs and healing. They believe in healing bodies, spirits, the earth and all her creatures.
Read more at http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/witch-camp-the-magic-of-connecting-with-nature-and-spirit/#bzJJTYWm558eV846.99

Feral hogs are a problem throughout the state of Texas. Visit this site to see some of the problems surrounding one method of helping to resolve this problem:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-05-hog-dogging_x.htm