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UM, TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND CO-CHAIR OF THE BCCP COORDINATING COMMITTEE ALONG WITH MY ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE FROM THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, LESLIE POOL TODAY IS THE 26TH OF MAY.AND WE ARE CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, THE FIRST ORDER ON THE AGENDA IS CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
UM, LAST I HEARD NO ONE HAD SIGNED UP.
DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER UPDATES ON THAT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, AND THAT'S OUR WONDERFUL SECRETARY, KIMBERLY HARVEY.
UM, SO WE WILL GO INTO THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
[1. Approve Record of Decisions for the November 13, 2020 Regular Meeting]
ITEM FOR DISCUSSION IS TO APPROVE THE RECORD OF DECISIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER 13TH, 2020 REGULAR MEETING.SECOND SOUNDS LIKE ANY DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[2. Recognition of Mary Ann Neely for 13 Years of Service on the CAC - Secretary]
IS, UM, A REALLY WONDERFUL ITEM, UH, RECOGNITION OF MY LONG-TERM FRIEND.AND THAT'S NOT WHY SHE'S BEING RECOGNIZED, BUT MARIANNE NEELY FOR HER 13 YEARS OF SERVICE ON THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND KIMBERLY HARVEY IS GOING TO DO THE PRESENTATION IS, IS MARIANNE WITH US TODAY, TODAY.
MARIANNE WAS GOING TO TRY TO JOIN US.
I HAVEN'T SEEN HER LOGIN JUST SLACK, BUT I HOPE SHE WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN US.
I SPOKE WITH HER YESTERDAY AND SHE WAS JUST REALLY THRILLED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE RECOGNIZING HER YEARS OF SERVICE.
SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE LOVED SERVING ON THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, MARIANNE NEELEY DOESN'T REALLY NEED MUCH OF AN INTRODUCTION.
SHE'S BEEN A LONG TIME RESIDENT OF AUSTIN AND SHE HAS CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TIME SHAPING OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND HER MANY ROLES WITHIN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY AD COMMUNITY.
SO WHILE SERVING ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD, SHE WAS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ON THE BCCP CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND SERVED IN THAT ROLE FOR 13 YEARS.
UM, SHE'S ALSO BEEN INVOLVED WITH SO MANY OTHER LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND, UM, HAS JUST BEEN SO SUPPORTIVE OF LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS EFFORT.
SO MARYANNE ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE BCP STAFF, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR BEING AN ACTIVE FORCE IN THE BETTERMENT OF OUR PLANET AND FOR SERVING ON THE BCCP CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR 13 YEARS.
UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT ON THE BCP.
AND I'D LIKE TO JUST ADD A FEW WORDS TO THAT.
UM, MAYBE MARIANNE WILL SAY IT WILL SHOW UP AND WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING HERSELF, BUT, UM, I FIRST MET MARIANNE.
UM, I WORKED WITH HER ON THE AUSTIN CLEAN WATER, UM, UH, ORGANIZATION, UH, IT'S A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND, UM, I WAS THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND SHE WAS, I THINK LIKE A REGIONAL DIRECTOR, I SHOULD KNOW HER TITLE, BUT ANYWAY, UM, SHE, UH, SHE WAS WISE AND, UM, KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT, UM, THE REGION AND I WAS A NEWCOMER TO TEXAS AFTER I WAS SO NEW THAT I ACTUALLY THOUGHT PEOPLE WERE SAYING SOMETHING NICE WHEN THEY SAID, BLESS YOUR HEART.
IT TOOK ME AWHILE TO LEARN THAT ONE ANYWAY.
UH, SHE'S JUST SERVED THE COMMUNITY IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS FOR SO MANY YEARS.
AND, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SERVICE THAT SHE'S GIVEN ON THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND I'M, UM, I'M SORRY, SHE'S GONNA BE RETIRING ANYWAY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING, LESLIE, BUT, UM, MAYBE BY THE TIME WE FINISHED SAYING ALL THESE NICE THINGS ABOUT, UH, MARIANNE SHE'LL ARRIVE.
AND YEAH, I MEAN, MARYANNE HAS BEEN KIND OF A, A REAL CENTER OF GRAVITY FOR A LOT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK THAT'S GONE ON IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR LITERALLY DECADES.
AND, UM, WE'VE ALL BEEN AT IT FOR A LONG, LONG TIME, AND IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL TO SEE A GOOD FRIEND BE RECOGNIZED FOR HER CONSISTENT AND DILIGENT WORK.
I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST SINCE SHE HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO SIGN ON THAT WE CAN DO A STREAM, UM, CLIP OF THIS PRESENTATION TO HER.
KIMBERLY, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO MAYBE PULL THAT UP AND THEN WE COULD SEND IT OFF TO MARIANNE? SO SHE WOULD HAVE THIS FOR HER, HER MEMORY BOOK, A DIGITAL MEMORY BOOK.
I WILL DEFINITELY SEND HER A COPY OF THIS RECORDING AND WE'RE GOING TO MAIL HER A COPY OF THAT CERTIFICATE TOO.
WELL, I JOINED, UM, WITH ALL OF YOU AND MARION'S LEGIONS OF FRIENDS AND FANS AND THANKING HER FOR HER MANY, MANY YEARS OF REALLY GREAT SERVICE
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TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.THAT'S WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY IS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE IT SPECIAL AND THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY DO.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE TALKING YOU'RE MUTED.
YOU'D THINK AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF DOING THAT, WE DON'T GET THE HANG OF TAKING OURSELVES OFF OF MUTE.
UM, BUT MARYANNE'S SERVICE ON THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS, IS REALLY PART OF A LARGER, UM, HISTORY OF HOW CITIZENS HAVE PLAYED AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT IN OUR REGION AND, UM, CARRYING ON THE PROTECTION OF IT YEAR AFTER YEAR, BECAUSE IT ISN'T PROTECTED BY, IT TAKES REAL WILLFUL, INTENTIONAL EFFORT TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT IT.
AND WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND MARYANNE'S, UM, EXCEPTIONAL IN THAT REGARD WHO DEVOTE THEIR SPARE TIME AND VOLUNTEER TO SERVE ON SO MANY OF THESE BODIES THAT, UM, THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT.
AND DO WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS DEWEY, KIMBERLY.
SO IF MARIANNE'S NOT HERE, UH, I WILL MOVE ON
[3. FY2020 BCCP Annual Report Posted and Submitted to the USFWS– Secretary]
TO ITEM THREE ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS FISCAL YEAR 2020, UH, VCCP ANNUAL REPORT POSTED AND SUBMITTED TO THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.UM, SO I JUST WANT TO THANK THE STAFF AND THE, UM, PARTNERS.
WE WERE ABLE TO SUBMIT OUR ANNUAL REPORT AGAIN THIS YEAR.
UM, I WAS GETTING READY TO PULL IT UP, BUT IT TOOK THE WRONG ONE.
SO THE ANNUAL REPORT IS PUBLISHED ON THE, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY WEBSITE.
I'M PULLING IT UP HERE, TRAVIS COUNTY THAT, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS.GOV FORWARD SLASH TNR FORWARD SLASH FORWARD SLASH BCCP FORWARD FLASH REPORTS.
SO YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT WE'VE GOT THE 20, 20 ANNUAL REPORT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL YEARS OF ANNUAL REPORTS, UM, REVIEWS.
AND WHEN YOU CLICK ON IT, YOU'LL SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT.
AND WHAT MY FAVORITE PART IS, IS ALL OF THE REALLY INTERESTING RESEARCH THAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST YEAR.
SO ALL OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE VERY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT AND THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THE PRESERVE TO HELP SUPPORT OUR ECP.
UM, SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO CHECK IT OUT.
IT'S PART OF OUR PERMIT CONDITION THAT WE, THAT WE COMPILE THIS REPORT AND SUBMIT IT TO THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE EVERY YEAR.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG EFFORT BY EVERYONE TO GET THAT DONE.
I'M NOT SURE HOW WE CAN MAKE IT, UM, EASY FOR PEOPLE TO CLICK ON A LINK.
IT'S HARD FOR PEOPLE TO FOLLOW ALL OF THE VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS ON A, ON A URL.
SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN, I DON'T KNOW, EMBEDDED IN THE CHAT, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S A CHAT ON THIS, UH, IN CASE, UH, UH, ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING THIS, UH, OR VIEWING IT, UH, ONCE IT'S COMPLETED AND IS IN THE ARCHIVE, UM, THAT WOULD BE A HELPFUL WAY TO DO IT.
SO IF YOU'RE ABLE TO DROP THAT IN THE CHAT, THAT WOULD HELP PEOPLE LINK TO THESE REPORTS.
UM, DO WE NEED TO THIS OR TAKE ANY OFFICIAL ACTION ON IT? NOPE.
THIS IS JUST THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT'S AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING BY THE PUBLIC NOW.
UM, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, LESLIE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR, UH, ANY COMMENTS JUST TO TELL STAFF THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD WORK AND, UM, UH, I'M SURE.
UM, KIMBERLINA WOULD BE PUTTING IT UP ON THE WEBSITE FOR BCCP.
[4. What We Can Learn About Golden-cheeked Warbler Populations from Banding/Resighting – BCP Staff]
IN THAT CASE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHAT WE CAN LEARN ABOUT GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER POPULATIONS FROM BANDING AND RECITING.AND, UM, THIS IS A PRESENTATION FROM OUR BCP STAFF.
SO LAUREL IS JOINING US TODAY.
SHE IS A BIOLOGIST WITH THE CITY I'M SWITCHING OVER TO MAKE HER PRESENTER SO THAT SHE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE HER SCREEN.
UH, OUR, UH, PERMIT HAS A REQUIREMENT, UM, TO MONITOR THE SPECIES WE'RE PROTECTING AND THE 1996 ENVIRONMENTAL
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IMPACT STATEMENT AND HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN STATES THAT BASELINE MONITORING WILL BE GATHERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAND MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES AND APPROVED LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS THAT SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON DETERMINING BASIC POPULATION LEVELS ON PRESERVE LANDS, KEY POPULATION PARAMETERS, AND OTHER ECOLOGICAL PARAMETERS THAT MAY AFFECT THE TARGET SPECIES.IN ADDITION, OUR LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN IDENTIFIES THE FOLLOWING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
THE WARBIRD POP-UP POPULATION WITHIN THE BCP WILL BE MONITORED THROUGH A REGIONAL PROGRAM TO DETERMINE POPULATION SIZE, TERRITORY, DENSITY, AND TRENDS, DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTIVITY, USE OF MARGINAL HABITAT, AND TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF HABITAT MANIPULATION, URBANIZATION, AND RECLAMATION.
AND SO LAUREL, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER FOLKS IN OUR PROGRAM DO REALLY EXCITING WORK AND LAURELS CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THAT, THAT SHE DOES WITH THE GOLDEN CHIEF WARBLER AND BY ASKING, THANKS.
LET ME TRY TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE.
SO, YES, AS SHE SAID, THIS IS A PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT WE CAN LEARN BASICALLY FROM BANDING AND RECITING GOLDEN CHEEKS.
SO I'LL JUST START OFF BRIEFLY TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS BANDING.
SO BASICALLY IT'S THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC METHOD THAT WAS USED TO ATTRACT MIGRATING ANIMALS.
YOU CAN HAVE BOTH PASSIVE OR TARGETED METHODS OF CAPTURE.
SO AN EXAMPLE OF PASSIVE METHOD WOULD BE LIKE A BIRD BANDING STATION WHERE THEY SET UP MANY NETS AND YOU'RE JUST CATCHING ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO FLY INTO THOSE NETS.
SO ALL DIFFERENT SPECIES, A TARGETED METHOD, WHICH IS WHAT WE USE ON THE BCP IS IF YOUR GOAL IS TO GO TO BAND A SPECIFIC, AND IT'S BASICALLY USED IN RESEARCH WHERE WE'RE INTERESTED IN TRACKING INDIVIDUAL BIRDS OVER TIME, AND IT WILL USUALLY INVOLVE AUXILIARY MARKERS LIKE COLOR BANDS, WHICH I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT.
SO THE BANDS ARE VERY LIGHTWEIGHT, SMALL ALUMINUM TAGS, AND EACH ONE HAS A UNIQUE ID NUMBER ON THEM, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER PRINT ABOUT WHERE TO RETURN THE BAND TO IF YOU FIND ONE, BUT EACH NUMBER IS NINE DIGITS LONG, AND THERE ARE NO REPEATS.
THERE'S MULTIPLE SIZES THAT ARE BASED ON WHAT THE LEG SIZE OF THE BIRD IS.
SO FROM THE VERY SMALLEST SIZE ZERO EIGHT VANS, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE LARGEST, THE, I BELIEVE GO ON LIKE BALD EAGLES IN NORTH AMERICA.
BANDING IS REGULATED BY THE USDS BIRD BANDING LAB, AND ALL BANDERS HAVE TO BE PERMITTED BECAUSE OF COURSE SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN YOU'RE HANDLING BIRDS.
SO JUST A BRIEF HISTORY, CAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE BIT INTERESTING.
THE FIRST BANNING IS USUALLY, OR THE FIRST BANDING WAS DONE ACTUALLY IN THE TWO HUNDREDS BC BY ROMAN SOLDIERS, SOLDIERS, WHEN THEY TIED RIBBONS AROUND LEXA BIRDS TO SERVE AS A MESSAGES TO OTHER SOLDIERS.
UM, THEN IN THE MIDDLE AGES, FALCONERS ACTUALLY USED VANS TO SHOW OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR BIRDS.
BUT THE FIRST TIME THAT IT WAS USED, UM, SCIENTIFICALLY WAS BY THIS GUY, FERDINAND ALBERT, THE FIRST WHO LIVED IN WHAT IS NOW GERMANY, UH, HE STARTED BANDING GRAY HERONS IN 1669.
AND THEN LATER ON HIS GRANDSON ACTUALLY RECOVERED ONE OF THESE BIRDS IN 1728, INDICATING THAT IT HAD LIVED FOR AT LEAST 59 YEARS.
AND THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME WAY THAT WE USE BANDS TO DETERMINE SURVIVAL TODAY.
SO IN NORTH AMERICA, THE FIRST PERSON TO USE BIRD BANDING TO DO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WAS JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, WHO I'M SURE MOST OF US HAVE HEARD OF IN THE EARLY 1880S, HE ABANDONED HATCHI OR EASTERN PHOEBE'S AT THEIR NESTING LOCATION, AND THEN NOTICED THE FOLLOWING YEAR THAT THEY HAD ACTUALLY RETURNED TO THAT SAME EXACT NESTING LOCATION.
SO THIS IS HOW WE STARTED TO LEARN ABOUT SITE FIDELITY IN BIRDS, RETURNING TO THE SAME LOCATIONS YEAR AFTER YEAR, THEN FREDERICK LINCOLN WAS THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY DESIGNED THE, UM, BANDING SYSTEM THAT WE STILL HAVE TODAY.
HE WAS ON A STAFF AT THE U S BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, WHICH IS NOW THE U S FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
AND HE WAS TASKED WITH ORGANIZING AND IMPLEMENTING A NATIONAL BIRD BANDING PROGRAM FOR MIGRATORY WATER WATERFOWL.
AND THE REASON FOR THIS WAS BECAUSE IN 1918, UM, THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT GAVE THE SURVEY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTIMATING THE HEALTH OF WATERFOWL POPULATIONS AND THEN SETTING THE HUNTING REGULATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO THEY NEEDED RELIABLE INFORMATION ABOUT POPULATION SIZES.
SO HE CAME UP WITH THIS SYSTEM OF NUMBERING SCHEMES, HOW TO COLLECT THE DATA AND HOW TO ANALYZE THE DATA.
AND THEN ACTUALLY FROM THIS DATA, IT LED HIM TO PROPOSE THE CONCEPT OF MIGRATORY FLYWAYS, WHICH ARE ROUTES THAT BIRDS
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GENERALLY TAKE WHEN MOVING BETWEEN THEIR NESTING AND WINTERING GROUNDS YEAR AFTER YEAR.AND THIS FLYWAY SYSTEM IS STILL THE BASIS FOR HOW WATERFALL IS MANAGED IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE WORLD TODAY.
SO THERE ARE, UM, MANY USEFUL THINGS WE CAN LEARN ABOUT, UH, BIRDS AND AVIAN MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION THROUGH BANDING.
ONE OF THEM IS DISPERSAL IN MIGRATION.
SO WHEN WE FIND BANDED BIRDS AWAY FROM WHERE THEY WERE ABANDONED, WE CAN RE RECONSTRUCT THEIR MOVEMENTS AND LEARN MIGRATORY ROUTES OR THEIR NESTING OR BREEDING GROUNDS OR THEIR WINTERING GROUNDS.
AND BY LOOKING AT THE SITES THEY'RE USING THIS CAN HELP US LEARN WHERE TO FOCUS CONSERVATION EFFORTS.
UH, WE CAN LEARN ABOUT BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE.
SO IF WE'RE USING AUXILIARY MARKERS LIKE COLOR BANDS, WE CAN INDIVIDUALLY RECOGNIZE BIRDS.
AND IT CAN ALLOW US TO LEARN ABOUT, UM, PAIRING SUCCESS, NATE FIDELITY, WHICH BIRD BUILDS THE NEST, WHICH IS THE YOUNG AND OTHER TYPES OF SOCIAL BEHAVIORS.
THIS IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR BIRDS WHERE THE MALE AND THE FEMALE LOOK THE SAME.
SO YOU CAN'T DISTINGUISH THE SEX.
WE CAN LEARN ABOUT SURVIVORSHIP AND LIFESPAN.
SO MARKETING AN INDIVIDUAL WILL ALLOW US TO KNOW THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT THAT DIGITAL BIRD CAN LIVE.
UM, IT CAN HELP ALSO TO ESTIMATE OVERALL SURVIVAL FOR A POPULATION, IF YOU'RE RECITING THE SAME ABANDONED BIRDS YEAR AFTER YEAR, UM, WE CAN LEARN, WE CAN MONITOR POPULATIONS, UM, AND LEARN AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO ESTIMATE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRDS WITHIN A POPULATION.
SO, UH, WHEN DOING RESEARCH ON A TARGET SPECIES LIKE WE DO ON THE BCP WITH GOLDEN SHEETS, IT'S REALLY KEY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS.
SO THAT WAY WE CAN GET ACCURATE, ACCURATE INFO ABOUT THE NUMBER OF TERRITORIAL MALES, THE TERRITORY DENSITIES AND THINGS LIKE PRODUCTIVITY.
SO HOW MANY YOUNG ARE BEING PRODUCED EACH YEAR? IT'S ALSO USED FOR, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, A GAME BIRD MONITORING, UM, THE HUNTING REGULATIONS ARE ACTUALLY INFORMED BY BANDING RETURNS AND THIS DATA HELPS ASSESS HOW VARIOUS AGENT AND SEX CLASSES ARE REACTING TO HUNTING PRESSURE AND THEN INFORM, UM, BAG LIMITS OR SEASONED LINKS AND WHETHER THEY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED.
AND THEN FINALLY, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT IT'S USEFUL FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.
UM, MANY BANDING STATIONS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AND THIS IS REALLY A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE PEOPLE TO BIRDS UP CLOSE WHEN THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NEVER GET TO SEE THEM THAT CLOSE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT LEADS TO PEOPLE CARING AND CARING ABOUT CONSERVATION, CARING ABOUT BIRDS.
UM, I KNOW FIRSTHAND THAT IT CAN DEFINITELY INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF BIOLOGISTS.
I USED TO WORK AT ABANDONED STATION, UM, AND COULD SEE HOW IT IMPACTED.
IT ALSO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING BIOLOGISTS THAT WILL THEN GO ON TO DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH ON BIRDS.
SO JUST TO GO OVER THE PROCESS OF BANDING OR BIRD FIRST, YOU HAVE TO USE A MIS NET.
IF YOU'RE CATCHING THE SMALLER BIRDS, LIKE, UM, MOST MIGRATORY BIRDS ARE, SO THESE MISMATCHES ARE JUST REALLY FINE NETS.
YOU CAN BARELY SEE IT IN THIS PICTURE.
YOU CAN KIND OF SEE IT BILLOWING IN THE WIND THERE, BUT THEY ARE TYPICALLY EITHER SIX OR 12 METER NETS, UM, AT ABANDONED STATION.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THEY'LL USE A LOT OF THESE NETS AND THEY'LL SIT THEM OUT, SET THEM UP THROUGHOUT THE AREA SO THAT AS BIRDS ARE FLYING THROUGH, JUST EVERYTHING WILL GO IN.
THAT IS, YOU KNOW, AT LOW DOWN AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, IF YOU ARE USING, IF YOU'RE TARGET NETTING, LIKE WE DO ON THE BCP, THEN YOU'RE JUST GOING TO USE ONE, TYPICALLY A SIX METER NET, AND YOU WILL HAVE TO LURE YOUR SPECIFIC MAIL TO COME INTO THE NET.
SO THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO CATCH TERRITORIAL MALES IS TO PLAY A RECORDING OF ANOTHER SINGING MALE.
THEY ARE REALLY NOT FOND OF HAVING OTHER MALES COMING ONTO THEIR TERRITORY.
SO THEN ONCE YOU HAVE CAPTURED THE BIRD, THEN YOU HAVE TO SAFELY EXTRACT FROM THE MISS NET.
AND THIS, OF COURSE, THIS REQUIRES TRAINING AND WE ONLY HAVE A FEW OF OUR BIOLOGISTS THAT ARE PERMITTED TO DO THIS.
ONCE, UH, YOU HAVE THE BURDEN HAND, THEN YOU WILL PUT ON THE USDA SILVER BAND OF THE CORRECT SIZE, USE SPECIALIZED BANDING PLAYERS TO DO THIS.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER KIND OF MEASUREMENTS THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN TAKING, UH, OR OTHER KINDS OF SAMPLES.
LIKE SOME PEOPLE TAKE OTHER BLOOD SAMPLES.
UH, THE MOST COMMON DATA THAT YOU'LL SEE COLLECTED IS THE AGE, THE SEX, THE AMOUNT OF FAT, THE WING LENGTH AND THE WEIGHT OF THE BIRD.
SO I'M SHOWING IN THIS PICTURE HERE, THE WING OF THE BIRD.
AND I CAN TELL BY LOOKING, JUST BY LOOKING AT THAT, THAT THE GUY ON THE LEFT IS WHAT WE CALL A SECOND YEAR MALE, UH, MEANING HE WAS BORN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND THEN THE GUY ON THE RIGHT IS AN OLDER MALE CALLED AN AFTER SECOND YEAR MALE, WHO
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WAS BORN SOMETIME IN THE YEAR BEFORE THAT PREVIOUS YEAR.AND THEN AT THAT POINT, ONCE YOU'RE DONE TAKING DATA, THE DATA THAT YOU'RE WANTING TO COLLECT, AND YOU JUST RELEASE THE BIRD AT THE SITE OF CAPTURE, AND TYPICALLY THEY GO BACK ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS PRETTY QUICK.
LIKE WHENEVER I RELEASE A TERRITORIAL GOLDEN CHEEK MALE, HE USUALLY STARTS SINGING WITHIN 30 SECONDS, AGAIN, OF BEING RELEASED BECAUSE HE'S MOSTLY VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE OTHER MALE THAT HE HAD JUST HEARD SINGING IN HIS TERRITORY.
SO AUXILIARY MARKERS CAN BE, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO, UM, THIS WOULD BE WHATEVER YOU ADD TO THE BIRD IN ADDITION TO THE USDA SILVER BAND.
IT COULD BE RADIO OR SATELLITE.
IT COULD BE GEO LOCATOR OR SOMETHING CALLED A PIT TAG FOR OUR WORK ON THE BCP.
WE USE COLOR BANDS SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH INDIVIDUAL BIRDS.
EVERY COLOR COMBO IS UNIQUE SO THAT NO OTHER BIRD IS GOING TO HAVE THAT SAME COMBINATION.
AND WE COORDINATE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
THAT'S DOING RESEARCH ON GOLDEN SHEEP WARBLERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO REPEATS ON THE LIST OF COMBINATIONS THAT ARE BEING GIVEN OUT TO EACH SET OF RESEARCHERS.
SO WE INITIATED OUR COLOR BANDING STUDY IN 2009.
WE ARE JUST NOW FINISHING UP OUR 13TH YEAR OF BANDING.
SO HERE'S SOME OF THE GUYS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN OVER THE YEARS.
ACTUALLY, I THINK MOST OF THESE GUYS ARE FROM LAST YEAR.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT COLORS.
THERE ARE TYPICALLY ONE SILVER BAND AND THREE COLOR BANDS ON EACH BIRD, AND WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT COLOR OPTIONS SO THAT THE COMBINATIONS ARE ALMOST ENDLESS.
AND THEN THEY GET RECYCLED AFTER ABOUT 10 YEARS, I THINK BECAUSE THAT'S THE OLDEST THAT WE KNOW OF, UH, A MALE, UH, UH, GOLDEN SHEET BOARD THEY'RE LIVING SO FAR, WE HAVE BANDED 1,426 SCHOOL AND CHIEF WARBLERS ON THE BCP.
THIS IS NOT INCLUDING THE BIRDS FROM THIS YEAR.
THAT'LL ADD PROBABLY ANOTHER HUNDRED OR SO ON AVERAGE, WE CAPTURE MORE THAN 70% OF THE ADULT MALES, UM, FOR PLOT AND COLOR BANDING REALLY PROVIDES THE BEST AND THE MOST ACCURATE DATA REGARDING THE NUMBER OF TERRITORIES THAT ARE WITHIN OUR STUDY PLOTS, WHO ENDS UP RETURNING YEAR AFTER YEAR AND WHO IS SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCING YOUNG.
SO WITHOUT BANDS, WE'D JUST BE STARING AT BIRDS, YOU KNOW, WITH NOTHING ON THEIR LEGS.
AND WE WOULD HAVE NO WAY OF BEING ABLE TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM EACH OTHER.
SO I'LL TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR METHODS FOR MONITORING BANDED BIRDS ON THE BCP.
WE HAVE 16 TO 18 INTENSIVE STUDY PLOTS DEPENDING ON THE YEAR.
AND THEN THESE AREAS THAT ARE OUTLINED HERE IN BLACK, UH, SHOW WHERE OUR INTENSIVE PLOTS ARE LOCATED.
SO WE HAVE BIOLOGISTS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO MULTIPLE OF THESE INTENSIVE PLOTS EACH YEAR.
AND TYPICALLY IN THE EARLY PART OF THE SEASON, WE'LL, WE'LL WORK TO IDENTIFY EVERY GOAL AND CHIEF WARBLER THAT ARE WITH, YOU KNOW, HAVE TERRITORIES WITHIN THE PLOT TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE ALREADY ABANDONED AND THEY'RE RETURNING FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR OR UNBRANDED, UH, MEANING THEY'RE NEW TO THE PLOT.
AND IN THAT CASE, WE'LL TRY TO GET THEM BANDED.
UH, WE WILL ONLY BAN THE MALES THAT HAVE TERRITORIES THAT ARE WITHIN THE INTENSIVE PLOT, OR THAT ARE PARTIALLY WITHIN THE INTENSIVE PLOT.
HOWEVER, BIRDS MOVE AROUND BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN SEASONS.
SO WE, IN ORDER TO HAVE ACCURATE DATA, WE NEED TO KNOW IF ANY, HAVE MOVED OUTSIDE THE PLOTS, UH, TO GET THE ACCURATE DATA ON DISPERSAL AND SURVIVAL.
SO IN THAT CASE, WE USE ABOUT 40 TO 60 VERY ENTHUSIASTIC VOLUNTEERS EACH YEAR TO HELP US SEARCH THESE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED AREAS THAT ARE AROUND EACH INTENSIVE THOUGHT.
AND IT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY TO GET PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED MORE INVOLVED WITH THE BCP TO COME TO CARE ABOUT THE PRESERVE, UM, AND ALSO GIVES VOLUNTEERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE PARTS OF THE PRESERVE THAT AREN'T OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WHILE THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING TO HELP, UM, GO ON G WARBURG POPULATIONS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, UM, WE HAVE 16 TO 18 PLOTS THAT ARE INTENSIVELY MONITORED BY BIOLOGISTS.
UH, WITHIN THESE INTENSIVE STUDY PLOTS, OUR GOAL IS TO BASICALLY LEARN EVERYTHING WE CAN ABOUT THE GHOMESHI WARBLERS THAT ARE LIVING THERE.
SO WE SURVEY EACH PLOT AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK BETWEEN MARCH 15TH, TO MAY 25TH AND RECORD LOCATIONS OF SENDING MALES WHO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE BECAUSE THEY'RE ABANDONED.
UM, THIS WILL, THIS CAN ALLOW US TO CREATE TERRITORY MAPS AND KNOW THE POPULATION DENSITIES AND THE CHANGES IN DENSITIES OVER TIME.
WE'LL TRY TO, UM, IDENTIFY PAIRING SUCCESS OF EACH MALE AND THEN LOCATE AS MANY NECES WE CAN
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AND MONITOR THE NEST UNTIL THEY EITHER FLETCHER FAIL SO THAT WE KNOW HOW MANY YOUNG ARE PRODUCED PER TERRITORIAL MALE.UH, IF THE NEST CAN'T BE FOUND, WE CAN STILL LEARN ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY BY DOING THE FLEDGLING SEARCHES, WHICH WE DO THROUGH THE TYPICALLY MID TO END OF JUNE.
UM, WE KNOW THROUGH BANDING THAT MAIL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE IT WILL SEE HIM, YOU KNOW, FLEDGLINGS BEING FED THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE MALE, UM, AND SEE IF HE'S ONE OF OUR ABANDONED MEALS.
SO THIS INFORMATION, IT HELPS US TO DETERMINE PRODUCTIVITY FOR EACH INTENSIVE PLOT AND HOW THAT COULD BE CHANGING OVER TIME.
SO SOME OF THE PRIMARY THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED THAT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT BANDING FIRST, I'LL TALK ABOUT DISPERSAL.
SO WE KNOW THAT GOLDEN CHEEKS ARE CAPABLE OF DISPERSAL AND WE'VE DOCUMENTED GOLDEN SHEETS DISPERSING UP TO 16 KILOMETERS, UM, BOTH WITHIN THE BCP.
AND WE HAD ONE, I BELIEVE TWO YEARS AGO THAT CAME TO THE BCP THAT WAS BANDED ON CAMP BULLS THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND I BELIEVE THIS YEAR WE HAD A GUY THAT WAS ON THE CAMP BUTLER TRACK LAST YEAR.
HE WAS, UM, SITED UP AT ABOUT PREMIERE CANYON LAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE THIS YEAR.
UH, HOWEVER GREATER THAN 90% OF THE BANDED BIRDS THAT RETURN ARE FOUND IN OR NEAR THE SAME TERRITORY YEAR AFTER YEAR.
MOST OF THE DISPERSAL EVENTS THAT WE DO SEE ARE EITHER FEMALES OR THE YOUNGER MALES MOVING FROM LOWER QUALITY AND SMALL HABITAT PATCHES PATCHES TO HIGHER, LARGER PATCHES.
SO IF WE HAVE A LOCATION ON A PRESERVE WHERE WE'RE CONSISTENTLY SEEING MALES DISPERSING AWAY FROM IT, EITHER WITHIN OR BETWEEN SEASONS AND THIS SORT OF AS A WAY TO ALERT US THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING ON THAT SPECIFIC SITE, UM, AND WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE HABITAT THERE.
SO THIS IS FROM OUR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT.
WE FROM OUR INTENSIVE SURVEYS, ABANDONED BIRDS WERE ABLE TO GET TO TERRITORY MAPS SHOWING THE TERRITORIES OF EACH INDIVIDUAL MALE WITHIN THE INTENSIVE PLOTS.
SO THIS, THIS ONE IS, LOOKS PACKED FULL OF BIRDS IS OUR KENT BUTLER TRACT, WHICH IS IN BULL CREEK.
AND IT'S ONE OF OUR HIGHEST DENSITY AND MOST PRODUCTIVE THOUGHTS, UM, INDICATING THAT IT'S A VERY HIGH QUALITY HABITAT.
AND IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE GOLDEN SHEET POPULATION ON THE BCP.
IN CONTRAST TO THAT, WE HAVE OUR BARTON CREEK PLOT, WHICH IS THE SAME EXACT SIZE, BUT IT ONLY HAS THREE TERRITORIAL MALES.
SO NOT ONLY IS THIS A MUCH LOWER POPULATION DENSITY, BUT, UM, WE HAVE SEEN THIS DENSITY DECLINE OVER TIME WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS FROM AN AVERAGE OF SEVEN TO 10 MALES PER YEAR DOWN TO THREE NOW.
UM, SO WHEN WE HAVE LOTS THAT ARE LOWER DENSITY, THIS IS AN INDICATION THAT THE HABITAT QUALITY IS LOWER AND IT NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED.
IN SOME CASES WE CAN DO THIS USING HABITAT RESTORATION, WHICH IS NOW ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON A LARGE SCALE ON OUR, ON OUR DOUBLE J AND T PROPERTY, WHICH IS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR, UH, LOWER DENSITY PLOTS.
WHEN WE SEE POPULATION DENSITY, DECLINES HAPPENING WITHIN PLOTS LIKE AT BARTON CREEK, BUT WITH NO CORRESPONDING CHANGE IN THE PHYSICAL HABITAT, UM, THEN THIS INDICATES THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT MIGHT BE GOING ON THERE AND THE REASONS FOR THOSE KINDS OF DECLINES.
SO SIMILAR TO BARTON CREEK, THIS IS, THESE GRAPHS ARE GOING TO BE SHOWING CHANGE IN, UM, TERRITORY DENSITY OVER TIME FROM 2009 TO 2019.
SO, UM, SO SIMILAR TO BARTON CREEK, OUR EMMA LONG PLOT HAS ALSO HAD A DECLINE IN POPULATION DENSITY OVER TIME, UM, WITH NO CORRESPONDING CHANGE TO THE PHYSICAL HABITAT STRUCTURE.
SO THE ONLY, UM, ONE OF THE VARIABLES THAT IS SIMILAR BETWEEN THE TWO IS THAT THEY'RE BOTH OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND HAVE WHAT WE USED AND EVEN MORE HEAVILY USED FROM 2016 ON IT SEEMED LIKE, UH, SO THIS COULD BE A FACTOR IN THESE DECLINES.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO FURTHER.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, DOUBLE J AND T IS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR LOWER DENSITY PLOTS.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LOW DENSITY.
AND THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE, UM, LAND USE HISTORY THERE.
AND SO IT'S PRETTY MUCH STAYED THE SAME OVER THE YEARS.
UM, BUT THIS IS A SITE THAT WE'RE NOW ACTIVELY RESTORING TO TRY TO INCREASE HABITAT QUALITY, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN TERRITORY.
DENSITY, RYKER RANCH IS WHERE OUR OFFICE IS LOCATED.
THIS ONE IS ANOTHER ONE THAT REALLY HASN'T CHANGED MUCH OVER TIME, BUT IT'S ALSO A LOWER DENSITY OF PLOTS.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A SLIGHT INCREASE, BUT IT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT.
SO WE NEED MORE YEARS OF DATA TO SEE IF THAT'S
[00:30:01]
A TRUE CHANGE.AND THEN OVERALL LOOKING AT ALL PLOTS, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT DECREASE ACROSS ALL THOUGHTS.
AGAIN, I THINK WE NEED MORE YEARS OF DATA TO SEE IF THIS IS A LONG-TERM TREND, UM, OR JUST, YOU KNOW, A BLIP IN TIME.
BUT, UM, IT IS WORRISOME A LITTLE BIT, AND IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ARE BEGINNING SOME OF THESE RESTORATION PROJECTS.
SO WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT LIFESPAN AND SURVIVAL WHEN IT COMES TO SURVIVAL.
WE'VE SEEN MALE RETURN RATES VARYING FROM ABOUT 35 TO 56% ABANDONED MALES RETURNING EACH YEAR.
FORT HOOD HAS EXTREMELY SIMILAR NUMBERS.
AND THIS IS ALSO WITHIN THE RANGE OF, UM, STUDIES, OTHER BIRD THAT HAVE HAD STUDIES DONE ON THEM, PARTICULARLY OTHERWISE WITH LORI WARBLERS, WE, THE OLDEST MALE THAT WE'VE EVER DOCUMENTED ON THE BCP WAS AT LEAST 10 YEARS OLD.
I BELIEVE HE WAS THE, HIS NAME WAS CANDY, AND HE LIVED ON, UM, WILD BASIN.
HE STOPPED RETURNING IN 2019, UH, RETURN RATE, HOWEVER, IS NOT THE SAME AS SURVIVAL BECAUSE WE NEED TO ALSO ACCOUNT FOR THIS BURSAL, WHICH WE KNOW ABOUT MORE ABOUT NOW, THANKS TO ALL THE RECITING FROM THE VOLUNTEERS.
SO AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR DISPERSAL, WE HAVE FOUND THAT SURVIVAL APPEARS TO BE CONSTANT ACROSS THE BCP, MEANING THAT, UM, DOESN'T MATTER WHICH LOCATION THE BIRD IS AT THEIR SURVIVAL SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME.
UM, AFTER ALSO AFTER COUNTING PART IS PERSONAL, WE OH THE MEAN PREDICTED SURVIVAL IS 0.57.
SO THAT MEANS FROM YEAR TO YEAR, ABOUT 47 OUT OF A HUNDRED ADULT BIRDS SURVIVE.
AND THIS IS JUST FOR ADULT BIRDS.
AGAIN, THIS NUMBER OF 0.57 IS WITHIN THE RANGE OF OTHER MIGRATORY WARBLERS.
IT'S ABOUT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OTHER STUDIES.
UM, WHAT OTHER STUDIES HAVE FOUND.
SO THIS INFORMATION ABOUT SURVIVAL'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE CAN THEN USE IT TO DETERMINE POPULATION VIABILITY ALONG WITH INFORMATION ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT NOW.
SO FROM OUR NEST MONITORING AND FLEDGLING COUNT DATA, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT EACH GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER PAIR PRODUCES AN AVERAGE OF 2.6, FOUR FLEDGLINGS PER TERRITORY PER YEAR.
UH, RAISING YOUNG IS EXTREMELY RISKY.
AND SO LOTS OF NESQUICK PREDATED.
UM, MOST OF THE PREDATION IS HAPPENING FROM SNAKES AND JAYS.
WE FOUND THAT PRODUCTIVITY IS HIGHEST IN BULL CREEK, WHICH IS ALSO THE SAME AREA THAT HAS THOSE REALLY HIGH POPULATIONS IN CITIES LIKE THAT MAP OF CAMP I SHOWED.
UM, AND ALSO IN AREAS THAT ARE MORE INTERIOR PORTIONS OF BCP, BECAUSE THESE TEND TO HAVE, UH, LESS PREDATORS LIKE FACING SNOOZE BECAUSE THE PREDATORS REALLY TEND TO PREFER EDGE HABITATS.
SO THESE GRAPHS ARE FROM A PAPER THAT CAME OUT IN 2018, UM, BY OUR COLLABORATOR, JENNIFER REIDY, SHOWING SOME OF THE VARIABLES VARIABLES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED THE NUMBER OF FLEDGLINGS PRODUCED PER TERRITORY.
SO THIS FIRST ONE SHOWS THAT NUMBER OF LEGENDS INCREASES AS THE PROPORTION OF WOODLAND COVER INCREASES.
UM, B SHOWS THAT THE NUMBER OF FLEDGLING DECREASES AS THE LANDSCAPE EDGE INCREASES AND MISSES BECAUSE THAT'S ALLOWING MORE PREDATORS TO GET IN THROUGH THE EDGES.
UM, C IS KIND OF A MORE STRANGE, BUT IT IS SHOWING THAT FLEDGLINGS DECREASE AS YOUR VARIATION IN CANOPY HEIGHT INCREASES.
SO LIKE YOU SEE THIS MORE WHERE YOU'RE ON A SLOPE BASICALLY.
AND WHAT WE THINK IS THAT PREDATORS OR AVIAN PREDATORS ARE MORE ABLE TO SEE NEST EASILY WHEN THE TREES ARE KIND OF ON A SLOPE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BETTER VIEW TO SEE WHERE THE NESTS ARE LOCATED.
SO COMBINING THAT INFORMATION ABOUT SURVIVAL AND PRODUCTIVITY ALLOWS US TO CALCULATE POPULATION VIABILITY.
SO THIS MEANS WHETHER THE POPULATION IS GOING TO INCREASE, DECREASE, OR STAY THE SAME OVER TIME.
WE CAN USE THE NUMBER OF TERRITORIAL MALES WITHIN THE BCP THAT WE ESTIMATED USING OUR TERRITORY DENSITY INFO, AND THEN PLUG THAT INTO AN EQUATION WITH ADULT SURVIVAL AND PRODUCTIVITY TO CALCULATE WHAT THE POPULATION NUMBERS WILL BE IN THE NEXT 10, 20, 50 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE.
THE MAIN ISSUE WITH CALCULATING THIS, UM, IS THAT JUVENILE SURVIVAL IS STILL SOMETHING THAT'S UNKNOWN.
AND THIS IS REALLY A PROBLEM FOR ALL, UH, RESEARCHERS STUDYING MIGRATORY BIRDS IS THAT JUVENILES DON'T COME BACK TYPICALLY TO THE SAME AREAS
[00:35:01]
WHERE THEIR PARENTS WERE.UM, SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THEM SURVIVE FROM ONE YEAR FROM WHEN THEY WERE BORN TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
BUT WHAT WE DID WAS IN A PAPER THAT JUST CAME OUT LAST YEAR WAS THAT WE VARIED JUVENILE SURVIVAL.
IF YOU LOOK AT C OF THIS GRAPH, UM, AND WE USED RANGES THAT OTHER STUDIES HAVE FOUND TO GET A RANGE OF POSSIBLE SCENARIOS.
SO WE KNOW THAT WELL, WE DON'T KNOW, BUT WE'VE ESTIMATED THAT OUR NUMBER OF MALES ON THE BCP 1,779 BASED OFF OUR TERRITORY DENSITIES.
SO IF WE PLUG IN ADULT SURVIVAL AT 0.5, SEVEN AND PRODUCTIVITY AT 2.6, FOR THAT, THAT IS IN A, THAT WOULD BE THIS LINE HERE.
AND B, THAT WOULD BE THIS LINE HERE.
UH, WE COULD SEE THAT THE NUMBERS KIND OF BOUNCE AROUND A LITTLE BIT, BUT GENERALLY THEY STAY RELATIVELY STABLE FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS.
AS LONG AS JUVENILE SURVIVAL IS AROUND 0.4.
SO JUVENILE SURVIVAL WAS LESS THAN THAT.
THEN WE WILL SEE POPULATIONS THAT ACTUALLY DECLINE OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS SINCE WE HAVE REALLY NO CONTROL OVER JUVENILE SURVIVAL, UM, BUT CAN POTENTIALLY IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY NUMBERS THROUGH IMPROVING HABITAT QUALITY.
THIS IS WHERE WE KIND OF NEED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORT ON THE BCP TO HELP ENSURE THAT POPULATION NUMBERS ARE STAYING STABLE OVER TIME.
SO THIS IS WHY WE'RE INITIATING THESE, UM, RESTORATION PROJECTS.
SO ONE MORE THING I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY MENTION BEFORE I WRAP IT UP IS THAT ANOTHER AREA OF RESEARCH THAT'S RELATED TO BANDING, UM, IS OUR CURRENT RANGE, WHY A GENETIC STUDY? SO WE ARE DOING THIS IN COLLABORATION WITH DR.
AND THESE DATA WILL HELP CONTRIBUTE TO THE UPCOMING SPECIES STATUS ASSESSMENT.
THAT'S COMING UP, UM, BY THE U S FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
SO THAT'S SOME EXCITING RESEARCH THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN DR.
SO IT'S TIME TO, TO DO IT AGAIN.
CAN YOU, I'M NOT SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE HERE.
IT SAYS, UM, REDUCED GENETIC DIVERSITY AND INCREASING GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION, I GUESS I DON'T.
SO THAT MEANS THAT THAT MEANS THAT THE POPULATIONS ARE BECOMING SEPARATED SO THAT THEY'RE BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER.
SO THAT IT'S NORMALLY IN MIGRATORY POPULATIONS.
WHAT YOU SEE IS ONE LARGE PAN MICKTEC POPULATION, SO THAT THEY'RE ALL EQUALLY RELATED ACROSS THE WHOLE BREEDING RANGE.
BUT WHEN YOU START TO SEE ISSUES WITH GENE FLOW, THEN YOU'LL SEE ONE GROUP KIND OF START TO SEPARATE OFF, AND THAT'S HOW SPECIES ARE FORMED.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S HOW SPECIES EVOLVE.
SO THAT'S HOW GOLDEN CHIEFS INITIALLY EVOLVED IS THAT THEY USED TO BE BLACK, THIRD OF GREENS, AND THEN ONE GROUP STAYED IN TEXAS AND IT EVOLVED TO BECOME A DIFFERENT SPECIES.
BUT WHEN YOU'RE SEEING THAT IN, WITHIN A SPECIES, IT'S, IT'S NOT A GOOD THING BECAUSE IT'S AN INDICATION THAT THERE'S SOME SORT OF BARRIER TO GENE FLOW, WHICH TYPICALLY IS BECAUSE THE HABITAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED AND THEY'RE NO LONGER ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, MOVE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THESE AREAS THAT ARE NO LONGER HABITAT.
SO NOT A SIGN OF THEM EVOLVING FURTHER AND DEVELOPING A DIFFERENT, UM, NOT IF ALONG WITH THAT, THE GENETIC DIVERSITY IS DECREASING.
SO IF THOSE ARE COMBINED WITH, IT'S NOT A GOOD TRAJECTORY FOR A SPECIES THAT'S ALREADY IN DANGER.
SO, YEAH, WE WANT TO LOOK AT THAT DATA AGAIN AND ADD MORE LOCATIONS.
WE ALSO MADE SURE TO GO TO THE VERY, FOR THIS RANGE OF STREAMS TO SEE WHAT THOSE ARE LOOKING LIKE, UM, AND JUST INCREASE THAT SAMPLE SIZE.
AND ALSO A LOT OF NEW TECHNIQUES HAVE COME OUT SINCE 12 YEARS AGO WITH GENETICS AND GENOMICS.
SO WE'LL BE APPLYING SOME OF THOSE AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE PAPERS THAT I TALKED ABOUT TODAY, AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYBODY MIGHT HAVE.
SO, UH, ARE YOU ABLE TO, UM, DID YOU USE FROM SOME OF THE DATA THAT YOU'RE COLLECTING AND THE, AND THE TRENDS THAT YOU'RE SEEING, UM, SORT OF WHERE THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER IS, UM, WITH REGARD TO ITS OVERALL HEALTH AND THRIVING AND VIABILITY.
[00:40:02]
SO OUR DATA FROM THE BCP, THAT'S SORT OF ALL WE CAN SPEAK ABOUT SEEMS TO BE RELATIVELY STABLE, UH, WHICH IS GOOD.WE, IT IS WORRISOME THAT WE'RE SEEING THESE DECLINES IN CERTAIN PLOTS AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THAT MIGHT BE AND WHETHER IT'S JUST A TEMPORARY THING, OR IF IT'S A LONGER TERM DECLINE, THIS IS WHY THESE LONG-TERM STUDIES ARE SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU REALLY CAN'T KNOW ANYTHING BY JUST LOOKING AT A SHORT SNAPSHOT.
UM, BUT IT WILL ALSO BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW, WHAT HAPPENED THIS LAST YEAR DURING COVID AND IF A D DECREASE IN PUBLIC USE ACTUALLY INCREASED DENSITIES, UM, TO SEE IF THAT'S AT ALL CORRELATED.
BUT YEAH, LONG-TERM DATA SETS ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
WELL, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY FASCINATING.
ALSO, ARE YOU SEEING ANY IMPACTS FROM, UM, THE, THE, THE FREEZE I'VE, I'VE HEARD FROM SO MANY ARBORISTS THAT OLD, YOU KNOW, LARGE LONG-LIVED TREES ARE, HAVE REALLY BEEN HARMED? SO, YEAH.
IT'S BEEN STRANGE OUT THERE BECAUSE A LOT OF THE OAKS ARE ONLY LIKE A QUARTER LEAFED OUT THIS YEAR.
UM, AND I DID NOTICE THAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE TO SWITCH.
SO THEY, THEY, IT'S MAINLY THE CATERPILLAR'S THAT USE THESE OAKS THAT THE BIRDS REALLY LOVE AND THEY LOVE TO FEED THEIR YOUNG.
THE ONLY THING THAT I JUST NOTICED ANECDOTALLY THIS YEAR IS THAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE TO SWITCH FROM CATERPILLAR'S TO OTHER FOOD SOURCES EARLIER THAN NORMAL.
SO THEY'RE KIND OF FEEDING MORE SPIDERS AND KATIE DOES, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR EARLIER ON THAN THEY NORMALLY WOULD.
BUT I THINK IT BEING SUCH A WET YEAR ALSO HAS KIND OF HELPED MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THE LESS LEAKING OUT.
AND WE DID HAVE A LOT OF THOSE, UH, WEIRD SILKWORM THINGS THIS YEAR, TOO, BUT I THINK THEY WERE ABLE TO EAT, UM, I, I HAD A FINAL QUESTION.
THAT'S MAYBE A LITTLE FRIVOLOUS THAT IT STRUCK ME AS BIRD JEWELRY, BUT IS THERE ANY POINT AT WHICH THE BANDING BECOMES A NUISANCE FOR THE BIRDS OR GETS IN THE WAY? YEAH, SO THE WAY I WOULD EXPLAIN IT AT THE BANDING STATION IS SORT OF LIKE WHEN YOU FIRST PUT ON A NEW WATCH OR SOMETHING OR A BRACELET, IT KIND OF ANNOYS YOU AT FIRST AND THEN AFTER A WHILE, YOU SORT OF FORGET IT'S THERE.
SO I THINK THAT'S HOW IT IS ON THEIR LEGS.
THEY'LL DEFINITELY WHEN YOU RELEASE THEM, YOU'LL DEFINITELY SEE THEM PICKING AT IT FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THEY KIND OF GO ON ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS.
THE ONLY, UM, WAY THAT WE'VE SEEN NEGATIVE IMPACTS IS IF SOMETIMES IF THESE PLASTIC BANDS ARE NOT FULLY CLOSED, CLOSED ON THE BIRD'S LEG, IT'LL HAVE LIKE A LITTLE OPENING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY NICK THE SIDE OF THE BIRD'S LEG, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO DO.
SO WE'RE REALLY CAREFUL ABOUT MAKING SURE THEY'RE COMPLETELY SEALED AROUND THE LEG.
UM, IN REALLY WET YEARS, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN WHEN THERE'S AN INCREASE IN MOSQUITOES, WE SEE AN INCREASE IN THIS THING CALLED POCS AVIAN POX, AND THAT KIND OF MESSES UP THEIR LEGS, BUT WE REALLY AREN'T SURE IF IT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE BANDS OR THE BANDS KIND OF EXACERBATED, OR IF, UM, IT WOULD BE THE SAME IN AN ABANDONED BIRD.
CAUSE WE DON'T REALLY HAVE UNBRANDED BIRDS TO COMPARE IT TO, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S RELATED TO BANDING OR NOT, BUT WE HAVE TRIED VARIOUS METHODS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PLASTIC BANDS JUST IN CASE.
SO WE'VE USED PLASTIC BANDS THAT HAVE TWO CULTURES.
SO INSTEAD OF HAVING TO PUT ON TWO BANDS ONLY HAVE ONE THAT HAS TWO COLORS AND WE'VE ALSO SWITCHED TO USING, UM, COLORED METAL BANDS.
CAUSE THE METAL BANDS DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT AT ALL.
UM, SO YEAH, WE'VE BEEN USING THOSE FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS JUST IN CASE THERE'S ANY ISSUE WITH THAT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO START UP A THUMBS UP FOR THE, UM, GREAT REPORT, REALLY DETAILED AND GOOD INFORMATION.
ESPECIALLY THE HISTORY AND KNOW THAT, UM, IS THERE ANY ACTION THAT WE NEED TO TAKE OR IS THIS, UH, JUST, UH, A PRESENTATION FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE'RE TRACKING AND STUDYING THE GOLDEN CHEEK? IT'S JUST A PRESENTATION, A DEEP DIVE INTO SOME OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF PERMIT COMPLIANCE.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS REQUIRED UNDER OUR PERMIT THAT WE TRACK AND DOCUMENT SO THAT WE HAVE GOOD DATA AND GOOD SCIENCE TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF A THREAT TO THE SPECIES, UM, THE VIABILITY OF THE SPECIES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO MENTION TOO, ALONG THOSE LINES THAT IF
[00:45:01]
THE PERMIT IS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE, WE STILL HAVE AN OBLIGATION FOREVER TO DO THIS GOOD WORK WITH THE BIRDS AND CONSERVE THAT LAND.UM, THE PERMIT EXPIRING WOULD PUT A STOP TO THE HABITAT MITIGATION PROGRAM, BUT NOT RECESS FROM OUR, UH, THANK YOU.
YEAH, I THINK WE CAN'T REMIND PEOPLE OF THAT, UM, TOO OFTEN BECAUSE THERE'S, I THINK A MISCONCEPTION THAT EFFORTS TO DEEPEST SPECIES MEANS THAT THEIR HABITAT WOULD THEN GO AWAY AND WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT, WHICH NOBODY WHO LIVES NEXT TO THESE PRESERVED LANDS WANTS TO SEE.
AND TO JUST BE SUPER CLEAR WITH EVERYONE, THE REQUIREMENTS ARE PERMANENT FOR PERMANENT PRESERVATION OF THE PRESERVE LAND.
THAT IS THE ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL PIECES THAT MUST BE MAINTAINED FOR THE SPECIES TO EXIST AT ALL.
UM, WELL IF, UH, IF THAT'S ALL WE HAVE ON THIS ITEM, UM, LET'S
[5. Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Online Resources]
MOVE ON TO AGENDA NUMBER FIVE, BALCONIES CANYON LAND PRESERVE ONLINE RESERVE, UH, RESOURCES, EXCUSE ME.THEN WE HAVE JOHANNA AND KATE WITH US AND KATE I'VE GIVEN YOU THE PRESENTER ROLE SO THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE THIS REALLY BEAUTIFUL STORY MAP THAT YOU AND GIOVANNA HAVE WORKED SO HARD ON AND MANY OTHER FOLKS AS WELL, LOTS OF HELP ON THIS.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE IT REAL QUICK.
UM, MY NAME IS JOHANNA ERRAND WITH TRAVIS COUNTY BACONE IS KAYLA'S PRESERVE.
AND, UM, SO FOR TODAY THE ONLINE RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT IS GOING TO BE ON THIS AMAZING STORY MAP THAT THE, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN BCP FOLKS PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO AND HAVE BEEN COLLABORATING WITH OTHER PARTNERS TO MAKE IT AS USEFUL AND, UM, EFFECTIVE AS IT CAN BE.
AND I LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS KIND OF A ONLINE INTERACTIVE BROCHURE WHERE, UM, IT'S REALLY COLORFUL AND ATTRACTIVE AND DRAWS PEOPLE IN AND THEN THEY CAN GO DEEPER INTO WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN.
AND THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF THE OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES THAT VARIOUS OTHER PARTNERS HAVE.
SO, UM, I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO KATE FOR A TOUR OF THIS RESOURCE AND THEN I'LL CHIP IN LATER ON WHEN WE, UM, VISIT A COUPLE OF COUNTY RESOURCES THAT ARE ALSO CONNECTED TO THIS.
SO AS JOANNA SAID, THERE'S A LOT HERE AND I WON'T SHOW IT ALL TO YOU, BUT WE'LL ENJOY SOME PHOTOS AND KIND OF GET THE LAY OF THE LAND.
SO THE IDEA HERE IS YOU'LL SEE SEVERAL TABS AT THE TOP AND WE'LL LOOK AT WHAT, UM, IS INCLUDED THERE.
THE SHORT LINK FOR THIS, WHICH IS IN THE MEETING NOTES AND WILL BE POSTED AS AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/BCP STORY.
AND SO, UH, COULD I JUST ASK YOU TO DROP ANY OF THESE LINKS INTO THE CHAT AS THAT'LL BE PART OF, I THINK THE PERMANENT RECORD OF THIS PRESENTATION AND PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
WELL, JOHANNA DID A GOOD JOB, BUT I'LL SAY HELLO, I'M KATE MCCANN.
UM, I WORK ON, UM, THE CITIES, UH, BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE.
SO AUSTIN WATER WILDLANDS AND THE BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE.
UM, AND JOANNA, DO YOU WANT TO SAY HELLO AGAIN? SURE.
I'M A COMMUNITY LIAISON FOR THE NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAM WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, WHICH, UM, PRIMARILY WORKS WITH THE BALCONIES KING LENS FOR SURF.
SO THIS STORY MAP GIVES PEOPLE AN IDEA OF, UM, HOW ABOUT CODY'S CANYONLANDS PRESERVE OR PRESENTS, UM, SOME OF OUR LAST WILD PLACES THAT ARE PROTECTED AND, UM, WHERE THAT NEED CAME FROM.
SO AS AUSTIN GREW AND DEVELOPED, UM, AND AS THERE WERE SEVERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTED, UM, IT GIVES THIS OVERVIEW OF THIS GREAT COMPROMISE, UM, THIS GREAT COMING TOGETHER OF BOTH HABITAT PROTECTION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY THAT THE PRESERVE REPRESENTS.
UM, IT, UH, DOES A GREAT JOB OF INTRODUCING THIS SPECIES, UM, PROTECTED, UM, AND THEIR HABITAT ON THE PRESERVE, UM, AND KIND OF PLACES PEOPLE, I THINK OFTENTIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE PEOPLE SAY, OH YEAH, I'VE BEEN THERE AND THEY'RE THINKING OF A REFUGE, THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE NORTH OF TOWN.
SO THE IDEA HERE IS TO GIVE PEOPLE A MORE INTERACTIVE WAY TO SEE ALL THESE WONDERFUL PLACES IN TOWN THAT MAKE UP THE CONSTELLATION OF BIKINIS CANDYLANDS PRESERVE PROPERTIES.
AND TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, UM, INCLUDING SOME OF THESE ICONIC OUTDOOR PLACES THAT ARE PART OF THE PRESERVE FROM CHANEL TO BARTON CREEK BULL CREEK HAMILTON POOL, UM, ALONG PARK AND SO MANY MORE, UM, THERE'S MORE INFORMATION TOO, ABOUT HOW TO, UM,
[00:50:01]
ABOUT THE PROTECTION AND WE'LL MOVE OVER TO THE GET INVOLVED TAB.SO WE HAVE A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO JUMP IN, TO LEND A HAND, UM, ON GUIDED HIKES, UM, THROUGH VOLUNTEERING, UM, AND SOME OF THOSE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES REALLY RUN THE GAMUT FROM, UM, HABITAT RESTORATION.
SO CHIPPING IN TO NATIVE PLANT WORK, UM, PROTECTING OUR URBAN FOREST WORK, UM, MULCHING SEEDING, UM, ON THE VERIO RESEARCH PRESERVE AND ON SO MANY PROPERTIES ACROSS, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY AND ACROSS THE PRESERVE.
UM, BUT ALSO A LOT OF BIOLOGICAL MONITORING.
SO, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF GOLDEN CHEEK, WARBLER RECITING, UM, WE JUST FINISHED PRACTICE TWIST FLOWER SURVEYS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING KEEP PERFECT COUNTS.
AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CITIZEN SCIENTISTS THAT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTE TO THAT HELP OUR BIOLOGISTS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO KNOW WHAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND WITH THESE SPECIES.
UM, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE A LEAD VOLUNTEER TO LEAD GROUPS, UM, EITHER IN HABITAT RESTORATION OR IN INTERPRETIVE HIKES TO SEE SOME OF THE PARTS OF THE PRESERVE THAT ARE ONLY ACCESSIBLE, UM, IN THAT WAY WITH A GUIDE.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE'LL GO AND TAKE A LOOK AT OUR VCP PARTNER EVENTS CALENDAR, UM, THAT JOHANNA WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TURN IT FOOD.
SO THIS IS THE, UH, GOOGLE CALENDAR THAT INCLUDES, UM, EVENTS ALL ACROSS THE BCP FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
SO IT'S BOTH VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES LIKE THIS ONE THAT, UH, KATE HAS CLICKED ON.
SO THIS IS OUR REGULAR, UH, NATIVE PLANT GARDENING OPPORTUNITY ON WEDNESDAYS AT SNOWDEN TRACKED ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY BCP.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S GOT THE DATE AND TIME, THE LOCATION, WHERE TO SIGN UP AND THEN A DESCRIPTION.
SO EACH ONE OF THESE, UM, LISTINGS HERE WILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT'S A CENTRAL PLACE TO FIND EVENTS ACROSS THE BCP, BUT IT'LL LINK BACK TO THOSE INDIVIDUAL PARTNER WEBSITES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, UM, SIGN UP THERE.
SO IT'S A PRETTY GREAT TOOL THAT, UH, I THINK ALSO HELPS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE ALL SORT OF UNDER THE SAME UMBRELLA, UM, AND ALSO HELPS FOLKS WHO, YOU KNOW, MAY ALREADY BE VOLUNTEERING WITH ONE PARTNERS, LEARN ABOUT ALL THE OTHER ONES AND, AND LEARN HOW WE'RE CONNECTED.
SO THAT'S BEEN PRETTY USEFUL TO HAVE, YEAH, THANKS TO COUNTY STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS FOR KEEPING THAT UPDATED.
IT'S A LOT OF WORK I'M GOING TO SEE IF I CAN CLICK ON OUR NEXT TAB WITHOUT ACCIDENTALLY NOT SHARING.
I HAVE A BAR OVER THE TOP OF MY SCREEN.
OKAY, WELL, WE'LL DO IT THIS WAY.
UM, THE NEXT THING WE'LL LOOK AT IS THE, UM, WHERE CAN I HIKE, MAP JAMAICA AND HAVE PULLED UP HERE? JOHANNA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOO? SURE.
SO THIS IS, UM, A MAP THAT HAS BEEN OUT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, BUT IT'S NOW, YOU KNOW, EVEN MORE ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE STORY MAP.
UM, AND IT IS A PUBLIC ACCESS MAP, BUT IT'S ALSO JUST OUR INTERACTIVE MAP THAT I SENT OUT JUST ABOUT ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW WHERE THE PRESERVE IS BECAUSE IT ALSO CONNECTS TO THE REST OF THE WEBSITE SO THEY CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT, UM, THE BCP FROM HERE.
UH, BUT SIMILARLY WITH THE CALENDAR, UM, EACH OF THESE TRACKS HAS INDIVIDUAL INFORMATION ABOUT IT, ABOUT WHO MANAGES IT, WHAT ITS NAME IS, UM, WHETHER OR NOT IT HAS PUBLIC ACCESS AND WHAT TYPE, AND WHEN IT DOESN'T HAVE REGULAR PUBLIC ACCESS, WE SAY IT HAS GUIDED HIKES AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE THAT'S GENERALLY THE WAY THAT FOLKS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THE PRESERVE WHEN THERE ISN'T REGULAR PUBLIC ACCESS.
AND THEN IT'LL HAVE A WEBSITE LINK FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL PARTNER WHO MANAGES IT.
SO FOLKS CAN LEARN MORE AND GET IN CONTACT WITH SOMEBODY.
I SEND IT OUT TO PEOPLE ALL THE TIME AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN NEIGHBORS WHO WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE PRESERVE IS AND WHO MANAGES THE TRACK NEAR THEM, UM, IT'S BEEN A REALLY HELPFUL RESOURCE.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO JUST A GREAT WAY TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, OKAY.
I HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, TRAVIS AUDUBON BAKER SANCTUARY HAS SOME ACCESS, BUT I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT IT IS, SO YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND SEE THAT IT'S HAS ACCESS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, AUDUBON MEMBERS.
AND THEN YOU CAN LINK TO GO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AUDUBON.
SO IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, PRETTY GOOD WAY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE VCP.
I THINK IT'S BEEN SO USEFUL AS A TOOL FOR NEIGHBORS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE EMPOWERED ABOUT WHAT IS THAT TRACKS NEXT TO MY HOUSE.
AND, YOU KNOW, HERE, YOU CAN SEE, OH, THIS ONE IS THE KENT BUTLER ECOLOGICAL RESERVE.
UM, KIND OF SOMETHING TO MAKE THE BCP
[00:55:01]
A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE.AND I'M ASSUMING YOU GUYS DO THIS BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT SUCH WONDERFUL, UM, OUTREACH PROGRAMS, BUT IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE, UH, UH, REACHED OUT TO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE A KIND OF A STANDING LINK TO IT ON THEIR WEBSITES SINCE THERE'S SO MUCH TURNOVER AND NEW PEOPLE COMING AND PEOPLE MOVING AWAY, I SHOULD THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT, A GREAT TOOL FOR JUST HELPING PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT WHAT'S AROUND THEM.
OH, UM, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, I'VE DEFINITELY SENT IT TO A LOT OF OUR, YOU KNOW, UH, NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES.
UM, I'VE FOUND THAT IN GENERAL, A LOT OF THEM NOW HAVE STOPPED USING WEBSITES FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES AND STARTED JUST BEING ON NEXT DOOR OR FACEBOOK.
UM, AND LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S A LOT OF TURNOVER OFTEN.
SO I JUST TRY TO KEEP CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THEM AND JUST KEEP ON SENDING THEM OUR RESOURCES AND POSTING IT IN THEIR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO THAT THEY'RE AWARE THAT WE'RE HERE AND THIS IS HOW YOU CAN GET IN CONTACT, BUT WOULD LOVE FOR FOLKS TO, YOU KNOW, LINK TO US SO THAT THEIR RESIDENTS KNOW WHO WE ARE.
AND I KNOW STEINER RANCH DOES THAT ON THEIR WEBSITE.
THEY HAVE A WHOLE SECTION ABOUT THE BCPA AND THEIR COMMUNICATIONS FOLKS HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH TRYING TO INCREASE THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE BCP.
SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT TAB, WHICH IS NOTES FROM THE FIELD.
SO THESE ARE KIND OF, UM, THEY'RE OBSERVATIONS FROM, FROM FIELD STAFF.
UM, AND I'LL GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE MOST RECENT ONES WAS BY LAUREL, WHO JUST, YOU JUST SAW A PRESENTATION, UM, AND SHE'S DESCRIBING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT GENETIC DIVERSITY AND GENE FLOW WITHIN GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS.
UM, SO IT'S A NICE WAY FOR, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS LONGER THAN A FACEBOOK POST, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE LIKE TO SHARE, UM, WITH, WITH ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED WITH NEIGHBORS OR WITH FOLKS, FOR WANTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRESERVE, THIS IS A WAY THAT WE CAN, UM, GO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT SOME OF THOSE TOPICS.
UM, MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT TAB, WHICH IS, UM, RESOURCES.
SO, YOU KNOW, EARLIER WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHERE CAN YOU FIND ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT WEBSITE LINKS? AND THIS IS WHERE THIS IS KIND OF THE ONE-STOP SHOP, UM, IN THE ONLINE BROCHURE FOR EVERYTHING FROM WRITTEN PUBLICATIONS, FROM STAFF, UM, TO WEBINARS SERIES LIKE THE MONTHLY, UH, WILD NEIGHBORS SERIES THAT THE COUNTY AND CITY COLLABORATE ON, OR THE GREAT FOREST RESTORATION SERIES THAT BIOLOGISTS LED EARLIER THIS YEAR, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE YOUTUBE CHANNEL OF CAVE SPECIES, UM, THE EVENTS PAGE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, UM, ALL OF OUR EDUCATION PARTNERS WEBSITE.
SO AS JOHANNA SAID, THIS ISN'T, UM, THIS IS NOT, DOESN'T HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION HERE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, MITIGATION OR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO ONE OF THE MANY PARTNERS.
UM, THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO FIND THAT, UM, AND FINALLY, UM, SOME THE ABILITY TO ADD INFORMATION AS WE NEED TO.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE SEEN MORE INVASIVE, TINY, CRAZY ANTS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LINK TO HAVE SIGNS POINT TO THIS WEBSITE, UM, AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW TO LIMIT THE SPREAD OF THIS SPECIES.
SO IN THAT WAY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, UM, ADD AND SUBTRACT TO.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, UP COMING IS, UM, AUSTIN CAVE DAY ON JUNE 6TH.
AND SO WE'LL ADD IN, UM, ANOTHER TAB TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT, UM, JUNE 6TH IS NATIONAL CAVES AND CAR STAY WILL INCLUDE THE PROCLAMATION THAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL RECENTLY READ AND ALL KINDS OF VIDEOS AND TOURS AND WAYS FOR EVEN WHILE WE'RE STILL A LITTLE BIT APART, UM, WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO INTERACT WITH THAT.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW THERE'S AN EXHIBIT HAPPENING, UM, IN THE BASEMENT, HOW FITTING OF THE CAPITOL, UM, OF, UH, PAINTINGS, THOSE PORTRAITS OF CAR SPECIES.
SO IT'S A GOOD WAY OVERALL, THESE STORY MAPS FOR US TO, UM, CONNECT TANGIBLE ON THE GROUND, HIKES, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE KNOWLEDGE.
UM, AND, UH, CERTAINLY SHOWING THAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN PARTNERS.
I OPENED UP THE LINK IN THE CHAT, UM, AND I, I W I DEFINITELY AM GOING TO PUT IT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT'S SUCH A, IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY SUCCINCT AND POWERFUL DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THE BCCP IS.
[01:00:01]
KNOW, WHAT THESE PRESERVED SYSTEMS ARE, UM, HOW IT'S HISTORIC ONE OF THE FIRST IN THE NATION, THE ONLY ONE THAT'S A MULTI-SPECIES PLAN, UH, AND THAT IT WAS PART OF HOW, UM, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS CAME TOGETHER AND, UM, FOUND, UM, A MECHANISM FOR BOTH ALLOWING FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, BUT ALSO PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE THINGS THAT ARE SPECIAL AND UNIQUE, UM, AND TREASURED IN OUR ENVIRONMENT.SO, GREAT JOB TELLING THAT STORY, UM, REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL INFORMATION IN THIS.
UH, UM, DID YOU CALL IT A STORYBOARD OR WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO DESCRIBE IT? YES, IT'S CALLED A STORY MAP.
UM, BUT YES, THE IMPORTANT PART IS JUST THAT, UM, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/BCP STORY, UM, THAT'S WHERE IT'S HOUSED NOW, BUT IT IS TRULY AN EFFORT FROM, UM, WITH INFORMATION FROM ALL PARTNERS.
SO, UM, MY URL SAYS AUSTIN, WATER DOT MAPS, DOC DOT ARC, GIS.COM, THEN A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF, OH, PUT THE SHORT EASY ONE IN THE CHAT.
UM, AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT'S, UH, I KNOW KIMBERLY HAS INCLUDED, UM, PREVIOUSLY, AND WE CAN INCLUDE AGAIN, BUT YES, I'LL PUT THE SHORTENED ONE IN THE CHAT NOW, AND IT'S REALLY JUST A LITTLE BIT THE SHORT THAT SHOULD BE IN THE CHAT SHORTLY ONE DIDN'T FACE THE FIRST TIME, BUT IT SHOULD BE THERE.
NOW, IF YOU SCROLL ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CHEST, IF I POST THIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, I GET A, UM, A LITTLE TRIANGLE SIGN THAT SAYS EXTERNAL SITE, I GUESS THAT'S PROBABLY JUST THE TRAVIS COUNTY STUFF.
I JUST WANT TO POST IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SO THAT PEOPLE CAN BE REMINDED AND GET ACCESS TO IT, BUT IT'S BEAUTIFULLY DONE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? REALLY JUST HUGE, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STAFF.
THIS CAN BE, UM, A DAUNTING TASK TO PULL THIS ALL TOGETHER IN A COMPELLING WAY THAT REALLY HELPS TELL THE STORY.
AND THIS IS PHENOMENAL AND THE TIMING IS REALLY GOOD, TOO.
AS PEOPLE ARE JUST LIKE NEARLY DESPERATE TO GET OUT AND, UH, UM, LIVE THEIR LIVES AGAIN FULLY.
SO, UM, AGAIN, PRETTY KIMBERLY THERE'S NO ACTION REQUIRED, CORRECT.
THIS IS JUST A PRESENTATION OF, AND IS THIS A RELATIVELY NEW STORY MAP THAT YOU ALL HAVE PUT TOGETHER? I'M WORKING ON IT FOR A WHILE, BUT THERE WAS A RECENT PUSH TO REALLY INTEGRATE SO MUCH MORE OF THE INFORMATION.
SO EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN OUT IN SOME FORM FOR A LITTLE BIT, IT'S NEW, ROBUST, BEAUTIFUL FORUM IS WILLING TO VOLUNTARILY.
WELL, EXCELLENT THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, TO ALL OF THE STAFF THAT, UM, THAT WORKED ON IT AND THE, AND THE VOLUNTEERS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I THINK THE FINAL ITEM
[6. Receive BCP Partner Reports– BCP Staff]
ON OUR AGENDA IS TO RECEIVE THE BCP PARTNER REPORTS, UH, FROM OUR BCP STAFF.SO I DON'T MEAN TO GO AHEAD TO THAT.
I HAVE, UH, MEMBERS FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE STAFF REPORT.
HOW ABOUT THE COUNTY COUNTY FOLKS? WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? YEAH, MELINDA MALLEE.
I'M GOING TO COVER THE REPORT TODAY FOR LINDA LOCKE.
OUR FIELD OFFICE SUPERVISOR USUALLY REPORTS ON THIS, BUT SHE GAVE ME A FEW HIGH POINTS FROM THE REPORT THAT'S IN YOUR PACKET.
SO THIS, UH, REPORT TODAY JUST COVERS THE PERIOD, UH, OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER LAST FALL.
AND, UM, DURING THAT TIME, OF COURSE, ONE OF THE THAT'S A REAL ACTIVE TIME, UH, PEAK SEASON FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION WORK.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS THE, THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS, UH, HAVE, HAVE GONE, THEN WE TRY TO GET IN THERE AND GET AS MUCH FUEL MITIGATION WORK DONE AS WE CAN.
OUR PRIMARY TECHNIQUE, THERE IS SOME SHADED FUEL BREAKS THAT HELP PREVENT FIRE FROM MOVING INTO THE, PRESERVE UP INTO THE CANOPY.
IF WE HAVE A REALLY BAD YEAR, UM, IT ALSO HELPS TO PROMOTE A CLOSED CANOPY, UH, WOODLAND, THE, UH, DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THERE WAS JUST A COUPLE OTHER THINGS.
IT WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR, UM, OUR FERAL HOG AND WHITETAIL DEER MANAGEMENT BECAUSE THE ACORN CROP WAS POOR AND THEY LIKED THE, UH, THE FEED.
SO IT WAS A GOOD YEAR FOR, UM, REMOVAL OF THOSE INVASIVES.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO, THERE'S SOME PICTURES IN YOUR PACKET OF THE NEW CAVE GATES.
PEOPLE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THOSE, I THINK, UM, WELL, NOT ONLY ARE THEY
[01:05:01]
MORE BAD FRIENDLY, THEY ALSO, UH, REDUCE THE RISK OF LOSING FINGERS AND BUMPING YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU OPEN AND CLOSE THE GATE.SO, UM, THEY'RE HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
AND, UM, THE LAST I WAS GOING TO TOUCH ON WAS JUST THE BUILDING, UH, THAT WE BOUGHT.
WE, UM, DURING THIS PERIOD, WE DEVELOPED A SCOPE OF SERVICES TO HIRE, UM, AN ARCHITECT.
UH, WE'RE REALLY A TEAM ARCHITECT, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, ENGINEERING, AND INTERPRETIVE DESIGN SERVICES.
AND, UM, THAT WENT OVER TO PURCHASING OFFICE IN, UM, THE, THE COUNTY'S PURCHASING OFFICE EXPECTS TO ISSUE A SOLICITATION FOR THAT TEAMS, UH, SOMETIME IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS.
UH, AT LEAST THAT'S OUR CURRENT TIMELINE.
SO, UM, ALL GOES WELL AND WE CAN STAY ON TRACK.
WE'LL BE, UH, WE'LL BEGIN OUR DESIGN PROCESS BY THE END OF THE SUMMER OR THE EARLY FALL.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE TODAY FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, I, UH, I KNOW WE'RE NOT READY TO, UH, TO TALK ABOUT IT IN DETAIL YET, BUT, UM, WATCH THIS SPACE BECAUSE AT SOME POINT, UM, WE WILL BE MAKING A PRESENTATION ON PLANS FOR A VISITOR CENTER, WHICH I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, BUT WE CAN'T GO INTO ANY DETAIL YET BECAUSE IT'S NOT AVAILABLE.
SO ARE WE READY FOR THE, THE CITY REPORT? UM, SURE.
I'M THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE AUSTIN WATER BACK ON HIS CANINE PRESERVE PROGRAM.
HELLO, Y'ALL UM, SO FIRST ON THE REPORT, I WAS GOING TO, UM, UPDATE YOU ABOUT ACQUISITIONS.
UM, ONE OF THE ACQUISITIONS WE'RE WORKING ON NOW IS THE BRIGHTLEAF PRESERVE, WHICH IS 216 ACRES, UM, NEAR MOUNT BUCKNELL.
AND AS USUALLY WHAT WE DO WITH, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, KARA LEE IS WE REACH OUT TO THE NEIGHBORS BEFORE WE ACQUIRE THEM, CINEMA GREETINGS THAT, OR TELL THEM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE INTO A LIE, THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT IT.
AND WE MET WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FOR THE HIGHLAND PARK WEST NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION TO A COUPLE OF TIMES TO KIND OF FILL THEM IN ON WHAT WAS GOING ON.
UM, SO WE EXPECT WE MAY BE ACQUIRING THAT PRESERVE SOMETIME IN JULY OR AFTER JULY.
AND WE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
UM, SO ALSO WE'RE, UM, UH, POTENTIALLY BEEN OFFERED SOME PRESERVE LAND, UM, NEAR A MILKY WAY IN RIVER PLACE, WHICH IS ADJACENT TO OUR EXISTING PARKWEST PRESERVE.
UM, SO WE HOPE, WE HOPE THAT BE A NEW LITTLE ACQUISITION, 10 ACRE SIZE OF IT, UM, WHERE WE HAD SOME POTENTIAL MITIGATION MONEY OFFERED FOR ATLANTA ACQUISITION.
SO WE, UM, WE CONSIDERED THIS ONE TRACK ON BULL CREEK CALLED KAREN MOUNTAIN TRACT, UM, FOR POTENTIAL ACQUISITION AND DID AN APPRAISAL ON IT.
AND, UM, UM, THE OWNER IS INTERESTED IN SELLING TO, FOR, FOR A PRESERVER, BUT CURRENTLY WE DON'T HAVE ANY FUNDING, THE APPRAISAL OPPORTUNITY WENT AWAY.
UM, SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING IN THE FUTURE, IF WE CAN RAISE MONEY TO ACQUIRE THIS TRACT, UM, ON ADJACENT TO OUR EXISTING PRESERVES IN THE TRAVIS COUNTY, EXISTING PRESERVES, UM, ONE COOL THING IN, IN A WESTLAKE HILLS AREA, WE HAVE AN 18 ACRE, UM, THERE'LL BE CREEK PRESERVE THAT HAS ONE OF FOUR CAVES WITH THE ENLISTED ENDANGERED BEE CREEK HARVESTMAN.
AND, UM, THE NEIGHBORS HAD RECENTLY APPROACHED US ABOUT WANTING TO EXPAND THAT PRESERVE, WHICH IS AWESOME WHEN WE HAVE NEIGHBORS COME INTO US, WANTING TO SUPPORT OUR PRESERVED LANDS.
AND SO THEY, UM, TOOK US AROUND AND SHOWED US CAVES ON THEIR PROPERTY THAT WERE FILLED HISTORICALLY, AND SOME THAT WERE OPENED.
UM, AND SOME OF THEM WERE EVEN WORKING ON TRYING TO GET FUNDING SOURCES TO, TO HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, INCORPORATE INTO A PRESERVE, UM, SOME OF THE TRACKS THAT ARE MARKETED FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA, ALONG THE CREEK THERE, UM, W WE'RE HOPING THAT PERHAPS THEY'LL, UM, ALLOW US TO CONSIDER MARKETING FOR PRESERVE LAND AND LET US COME TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
UM, USUALLY MOST OF THE CAVES ARE FILLED IN THIS AREA, SO WE HAVE TO, UM, OPEN UP THE CAVES, BUT BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE, ONCE WE OPEN UP THE CAVES, THAT ECOSYSTEM COMES BACK.
SO WE'RE FULLY EXPECTING ANY CAVES ALONG THAT AREA.
WE'RE GOING TO FIND THE, THE ENDANGERED BEE CREEK HARVEST.
AND THERE'S ALSO A RARE FLOWER CALLED THE BRACKET TWIST FLOWER, WHICH IS ON OUR 18 ACRE PRESERVE THAT WE EXPECT WE MAY FIND FURTHER IN THE CREEK, UM, SO WE CAN GET BETTER PRESERVATION FOR IT.
AND, UM, SO ALSO ON DUAL MANAGED PROPERTIES, UM, FOR A FEW YEARS,
[01:10:01]
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PART ON, UH, ON AN INTER-DEPARTMENT AGREEMENT THAT, UM, FORMALLY FORMALIZES OUR DUAL MANAGEMENT OF THE PRESERVE PORTIONS THAT WE BOTH, THAT THEY MANAGE AND WE CAN CO-MANAGE MANAGE WITH THEM.AND WE'RE HOPING THAT'LL COME TO BE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, WE, WE'VE GOT SOME, SOME FIELD CAVES ON THE PARKLAND THAT HAVE, ARE ON A PERMIT FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES.
WE CAN HOPE TO DO EXCITING, TO DO CAVE RESTORATION ON THOSE, TO BRING THE ECOSYSTEMS BACK, UM, TO ALLOW FENCING, TO PROTECT THE PRESERVES.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO PESTICIDES, YOU KNOW, EFFLUENT IRRIGATION, STORM WATER TREATMENT, MAKE SURE ALL THE PERMIT RESTRICTIONS ARE UPHELD IN THE PRESERVE AREAS.
AND OUR PERMIT REQUIRES THAT WE, WE MAKE THESE FORMAL AGREEMENTS.
UM, AND WHILE, UM, SOME OF THE PARD MANAGE PRESERVES SITES ON A PERMIT, UM, DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC ACCESS MOST OF THEM DO.
AND THEN WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON FACILITATING THE, THE PUBLIC ACCESS ON THOSE.
SO, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL MAKE SOME PROGRESS ON THAT.
UM, THIS YEAR, AS FAR AS PERSONNEL GOES, WE HIRED TWO NEW PERMANENT, UM, BIOLOGISTS.
UM, JIM O'DONNELL, UM, SERVED IN THEIR REGIONAL, UM, BIOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, AND HE WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH ACQUISITION OF SOME OF THAT VERY EARLY PRESERVES.
HE SERVED AS A TEMPORARY BIOLOGIST FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS.
AND SO NOW WE'VE BROUGHT HIM IN AS A PERMANENT BIOLOGIST AND HE HEADS A LOT OF OUR RESTORATION, UM, ON THE LAND THAT LAND RESTORATION, UH, COLLINS STRICKLAND WAS IN THE CAPE COMMUNITY, HIS WHOLE LIFE.
UM, HE'S BEEN WORKING AS A TEMPORARY FOR, UM, OUR PROGRAM FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS AND DID A LOT OF VOLUNTEER WORKFORCE BEFORE THEN.
AND SO NOW HE'S BEEN JOINED US AS A PERMANENT EMPLOYEE.
UM, SO TWO NEW, TWO NEW, UH, PERMANENT ACQUISITIONS AND, UM, LAURA KIND OF BRIEFED YOU ON THE STATUS OF THE GOLDEN SHEET WARBLER AND THE STUDIES WE'RE DOING ALONG THOSE ASPECTS.
UM, AND I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS YEAR, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN ABOUT 25 YEARS INTO OUR PERMIT.
WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF COMPLETING A, UM, COURSE COMPLETION STATUS ANALYSES TO KIND OF UPDATE OF, UH, WHERE WE ARE ON COMPLETING THE PERMIT, UM, ALMOST TOWARD THE END OF THE PERMIT NOW.
UM, SO WE EXPECT TO HAVE THAT IN A FEW MONTHS, UM, AND BE ABLE TO PRESENT ON THAT TO YOU AS WELL.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED WORKING TOGETHER WITH FISH AND WILDLIFE TO COLLECT SOME, UM, ALYSSA VETRO SONGS IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY CAVES, UM, FOR, FOR A DNA ANALYSIS.
SO OUR S OUR CAVE STAFF HAVE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THAT.
UM, WHEN IT REALLY EXCITING, UM, DISCOVERY ON OUR STOVEPIPE RESERVE, WHICH IS AROUND 22, 22, 6 20 AREA, UM, STOVEPIPE RESERVE IN 1990 WAS JUST A SHALLOW SOUL FILLED DEPRESSION.
UM, THE CAVERS DUG ABOUT 13 FEET THROUGH THE FILL TO ENCOUNTER A CAVE SYSTEM.
AND IT'S BECOME, IT'S BEEN ONE OF OUR SACRED CAVES BECAUSE SUCH A HIGH DIVERSITY OF CAVE INVERTEBRATES IN THIS CAVE.
UM, AND SO FOR THE, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEN, WE'VE ONLY KNOWN ABOUT THAT ONE CAVE ON THE PRESERVE, BUT LIKE MANY OF OUR COURSE PRESERVES, UM, ON THIS PARTICULAR PRESERVE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ABOUT 20 POTENTIAL CAVES ON THE PRESERVE.
AND SO WE'D BEEN WORKING TOGETHER WITH FUNDING FROM TECH STOTT.
WHO'S HELPED SUPPORT US IN, UM, IN EXCAVATING RESTORING SOME OF THE CAVES.
UM, ONE OF THE CAVES ON THIS SITE WE WORKED ON LAST YEAR, UM, WENT DOWN ABOUT 18 FEET THROUGH THE CAVE, THROUGH THE RANCH.
PHIL FOUND A LOT OF ARTIFACTS.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION ON, UM, ON ARCHIVING THOSE ARTIFACTS.
BUT THE NEXT DAY WE DID, UM, BACK IN FEBRUARY, UM, BROKE THROUGH, INTO A VERY LARGE CAVE SYSTEM, WALKING CAVE SIZE 600 FOOT LONG, UM, VERY EXCITING DISCOVERY THAT, UM, IS OTHERWISE UNHEARD OF IN THE 2222 AREA TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT LARGE.
AND AGAIN, RIGHT NEXT, YOU KNOW, A FEW HUNDRED FEET AWAY FROM ONE OF MOST SACRED KATE'S ON THE, IN THE BCP PERMIT.
SO THAT'S AN EXCITING DISCOVERY.
UM, WE HOPE WE WILL FIND SOME MORE AS WELL, AND THANKS TO TXDOT FOR PROVIDING MITIGATION FUNDING TO ALLOW US TO DO THAT.
UH, WE FINISHED A, UM, A HYDROLOGIC STUDY IN THE, IN THE CIRCLE C AREA, UM, PARTICULARLY A PIPELINE K, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR PERMIT CASE ON THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE SITE.
UM, SO WE FINISHED THAT IN FEBRUARY, UM, AND GOT SOME MORE DATA ON SOME OF THE OTHER PERMIT CAVES IN THE AREA AS WELL.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING ON SOME STUDIES OF AIRMAN'S CAVE, UM, WITH THE PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT OF THE, OF THE BRODY X SMALL, UM, THAT OVERLAYS IT.
AND, UM, WE INITIAL LOOK AT IT.
WE DON'T EXPECT THERE TO BE MUCH OF AN IMPACT FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THEM ALL
[01:15:01]
BECAUSE OF THE FIC DEL RIO CLAY THAT DID THAT SEPARATES THE CAVE FROM THE OVERLYING AREA, BUT WE'RE DOING A MORE THOROUGH STUDY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT KIND OF IMPACTS THERE COULD BE.AND THEN, UM, WE'RE STILL ACTIVE IN, IN, UM, REMOVING HOGS, FERAL HOGS IN, UH, IN DEER FOR MORE PRESERVES AND WE'VE REMOVED 10, 10 FERAL HOGS FROM MORE PRESERVES DURING THAT QUARTER.
UM, KATE MENTIONED ABOUT THE TONIC CRAZY AND SIGNS WHERE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AS THIS SPREADING OUT ACROSS AUSTIN, WE'RE TRYING TO EDUCATE PEOPLE.
AND WE HAVE BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE THROUGH, UM, UT INTEGRATED BIOLOGY AND IN TREATING THE CHRONIC CRAZY ANTS IN SOME AREAS OF THE CONVICT KILL, UM, UH, MOPAC AREA USED TO BE HIGHLY INFECTED WITH IT.
WE DON'T SEE THEM ANYMORE THANKS TO THE WORK OF, OF UT INTEGRATED BIOLOGY THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING I WAS JUST GOING TO MENTION IS THE, UM, THE, UM, THE, UH, KATE MENTIONED ABOUT THE JUNE SIX AUSTIN CAVE DAY, WHICH IS A SUNDAY AND, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, LESLIE PULLED IT INTO AWESOME VIDEO, READ, READING OUT THE PROCLAMATION ABOUT, ABOUT IT.
IT'S ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT SHE WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE INTERNATIONAL, UM, YEAR OF CAVES IN KARST.
UM, SO WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT CELEBRATING.
WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE VIRTUAL CAVE TOURS AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO ONLINE BECAUSE OF COVID THIS YEAR, INSTEAD OF ACTUAL CAVE TOURS.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO FINISH THEM DONE WITH MY, UM, PORTION OF THE REPORT CASE ANYONE HAD ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, I KNOW WE DON'T REVEAL THE LOCATION OF THESE CAVES BECAUSE OF THE SENSITIVITY OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES WITHIN THEM, BUT, UM, THE, THE ONE THAT YOU WERE DESCRIBING, UH, HOW RECENTLY WAS THIS DISCOVERED AND WAS IT KIND OF A LANDOWNER HAD SAID, WE KNEW THERE WERE CAVES THEY GOT FILLED IN, YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED.
I MEAN, WAS IT SORT OF THAT KIND OF THING? I MEAN, IS THAT HOW WE'RE DESCRIBING? YEAH, SO THAT PROPERTY IS ACTUALLY, UM, AN AUSTIN WATER BCP PRESERVE CAVE SYSTEM OR PRESERVE WE'RE WE'RE WITH THE COURSE COMPLETION, WE'RE FORMALLY ESTABLISHING THE COURSE PRESERVES.
SO IT HASN'T BEEN FORMALLY DESIGNATED AS A COURSE PRESERVE YET, BUT IT WILL BE SHORTLY.
UM, AND IT IS MANAGED BY AUSTIN WATER BCP.
UM, THERE, WE CAN RECOGNIZE THEM BECAUSE THE RANCH FUEL CAVES ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
AND SO WE CAN, WE'VE LEARNED TO RECOGNIZE THEM.
AND WE DID ONE AT A TIME ON THEM AND, AND, AND, UM, SOME OF THEM TURNED OUT TO BE LIKE THIS ONE, IT WAS 13 FEET OF, OF, UH, NEXI, 18 FEET OF DIG DOWN.
WE FOUND, UM, CATTLE RIBS AT THE BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, SO KIND OF VERIFY THAT IT WAS BRANCHVILLE, WHICH IS WHAT WE THOUGHT.
UM, SOME CASE WE HAVE, UH, EXCAVATED AND FOUND WE CARBON DATE THE FILL TO BE 14,000 YEARS OLD.
UM, BUT, BUT IN THIS CASE, IT'S LIKE MOST CASES IT'S A RECENT, UH, RANCH FILL.
UH, MANY OF THEM ARE FILLED WITH TRASH IS PATRIOT, TYPICALLY USED TO GET RID OF TRASH, AND THEN THEY WERE FILLED TO KEEP CATTLE AND LIVESTOCK FROM FALLING IN, BUT THEN ALSO TO MAKE THEM MARKETABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE A LARGE TRACK, YOU KNOW, ON THE, ON THE RECHARGE AREA, THAT WHERE THERE'S NO CAVES, YOU CAN, THE SUSPECT, THEY JUST HAVEN'T FOUND THEM YET.
THEY'RE THERE, YOU KNOW, UM, WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK FOR THEM, TAKE THEM OUT FOR ONE AND, AND MIGHT THESE AT SOME POINT, UM, BE, UM, UH, AVAILABLE FOR GUIDED TOURS OR, UH, OR PUBLIC, UH, CONTROLLED AND LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS.
YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN'T MENTION, WE HAVE SOME AGREEMENTS GOING IN.
ONE OF THEM WE JUST FINISHED WITH TEXAS CAME MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION IN NORTH AUSTIN.
THEY HAVE AVERY RANCH CAVE, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE SHARING THAT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.
I'M ALSO WORKING ON AGREEMENT, THE WILDFLOWER CENTER, CAUSE WE'VE IN THE PAST WHERE YOU DIG OUT TO OTHER CAVES WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION GOING ON, AND THAT HELPS TO TAKE THE TRAFFIC OFF THE PERMIT CAVES.
UM, BUT ALSO PROMOTING THE CAVE EDUCATION.
THE WILDFLOWER CENTER HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER ON THAT.
AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW US TO OPEN UP MORE THAN THAT.
THOSE CAVES TOO, SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE PRESERVED CAVES.
SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE, UM, FOR EDUCATION.
AND THIS IS KATE THAT SOME OF THE CAVES THAT NICO JUST MENTIONED, UM, I JUST PUT IN THE CHAT, SOME VIRTUAL TOURS OF THEM.
SO, UM, SOME CAVES LOCALLY ARE ALREADY USED FOR EDUCATION ON A RESPONSIBLE WAY.
UM, BUT THIS ONLINE RESOURCE IS A NEAT ONE TOO.
I DON'T SEE IT IN THE CHAT YET, BUT, UM, THAT, THAT'S GREAT TO KNOW.
AND AGAIN, UH, UH, IF PEOPLE ARE NOT VIEWING TODAY, BUT ACCESS THIS LATER, THEY CAN STILL ACCESS THE CHAT AND THE LINKS TO THE, UM, THE INFORMATION IN IT.
[01:20:01]
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GREAT WORK AND, UM, UM, THIS, UM, INFORMATIVE UPDATE.DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I JUST WANTED TO THANK OUR STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING.
AND I'VE LEARNED A WHOLE LOT ABOUT CATERING JUST FROM THE SHORT SIX YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON, ON THIS DYESS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S A PARTICULAR FOCUS BECAUSE HE'S BROUGHT THAT PASSION THAT IS SHARED SO BROADLY ACROSS NOT ONLY THE STAFF, BUT, UM, OUR, OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED BY THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT HAVE THAT LINED UP TO BE PART OF THE, UH, THE CAVING, UM, THE CAVING EFFORT.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT I FELT LIKE I HAD ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING BY SAYING SPEEDING ILLOGICAL CORRECTLY.
DID I SAY IT RIGHT? SPELEOLOGY CAVING AND, AND, UM, CARS.
AND THEY'RE GOING TO LOVE THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME PRESS RELEASES BY THE WAY.
SO WE MAY SEE THAT MORE IN THE NEWS ONCE WE HAVE THE STORY BOOK, YOU KNOW, ALL READY TO GO.
AND I LOVE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WILDFLOWER CENTER TOO.
THAT'S JUST A PERFECT ALIGNMENT.
I'M DOING THE VR TOUR RIGHT NOW AND IT'S A LITTLE DIZZYING, BUT FASCINATING.
UM, SO I THINK THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR MEETING AGENDA.
WE STILL HAVE THE OUTREACH REPORT AND THAT'LL BE OUR LAST STAFF REPORT.
AND THEN AFTERWARDS, UM, ADAMS RENNER AND, UH, THOMAS SUMMER ARE BOTH HERE WITH THE SERVICE.
AND ADAM WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING VERY QUICKLY AFTER WE HEAR ON HOW WE TREAT.
AND THEN KIMBERLY, COULD YOU ALSO REVIEW THE DATES FOR OUR LAST, FOR THE REST OF OUR MEETINGS FOR, UH, 2021? OKAY.
SO I'M JOHANNA ART WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AGAIN, AND I'LL MAKE IT SHORT AND SWEET SINCE WE ALREADY SPENT QUITE A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT OUTREACH.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, UH, INTERESTINGLY, MOST OF THE, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAD TO REPORT FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT PARTNERS WERE ALSO ONLINE RESOURCES.
UH, SINCE THIS COVERS THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER, EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME AT THE HEIGHT OF COVID TRANSMISSION WAS REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE BASIN HAD THIS REALLY COOL, I THINK IT WAS CALLED, UM, GOT IT WRITTEN DOWN HERE, SCIENCE LIVE, WHERE THEY HAD, UM, LIVE SCIENCE EDUCATION OUT IN THE FIELD THAT WAS FILMED AND THEN, UH, BROADCAST TO, I BELIEVE IT WAS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO COULD THEN ASK QUESTIONS FROM THE SCIENTISTS.
UM, IT WAS REALLY COOL PROGRAM AND THEY ALSO HAD SOME, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A CHILDREN'S BOOK READING OUTSIDE THAT THEY WERE FILMING AND BROADCASTING.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THE WILD, WILD NEIGHBORS, UM, VIDEO, UM, SPEAKER SERIES, WHICH IS LIVE AND WE'VE BEEN HAVING ABOUT AN AVERAGE ABOUT PEOPLE SHOW UP FOR EACH ONE AND THEN THOSE VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE FOR PEOPLE TO GO BACK AND REVISIT.
I ACTUALLY JUST REWATCHED THE BAT ONE BECAUSE I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT BATS AND, UH, I WANTED TO GO BACK AND SEE THAT, UM, AND THE, UH, FOREST RESTORATION TRAINING SERIES THAT KATE MENTIONED THAT THE CITY PUT TOGETHER IS REALLY COOL.
IT'S VERY JUST CHOCK-FULL OF INFORMATION AND VERY ACCESSIBLE, UM, REALLY WELL COMMUNICATED.
I'VE BEEN ENJOYING JUST WATCHING THEM, YOU KNOW, WHILE I'M COOKING, BECAUSE IT'S JUST INTERESTING INFORMATION.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE LISTENING TO NPR, BUT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT MY REGION AND MY JOB.
SO, UH, I'VE REALLY ENJOYED THAT I THINK Y'ALL WOULD DO SO.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF A, JUST A REAL SHORT SUMMARY OF IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL STARTING TO INCREASE OUR VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES AND START TO PUT THE TOE BACK IN THE WATER A BIT WITH, UH, OUTDOOR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES TOO, BUT WE'LL HAVE MORE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT LATER ON IN THE YEAR.
SO THANK YOU, JOHANNA, WAS THAT A PODCAST THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT YOU, YOU WERE ABLE TO LISTEN TO ALL COOKING BECAUSE AGAIN, ANY LINKS THAT WE CAN PUT TO THESE THINGS WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, THE FOREST RESTORATION TRAINING SERIES THAT KATE MENTIONED, THAT'S A VIDEO SERIES THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN PUT TOGETHER, UM, ON TOPICS LIKE, YOU KNOW, USING FUNGUS IN A REMEDIATION TO IMPROVE SOIL QUALITY OR, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOK AT WHAT A HEALTHY SOIL LOOKS LIKE VERSUS, YOU KNOW, UH, MORE THE GRADED SOIL AND JUST REALLY INTERESTING, UM, COMPONENTS TO WHAT MAKES A FOREST HEALTHY AND HOW TO INCREASE THE HEALTH OF A FOREST.
AND THE REASON I SAY IT'S KIND OF COOL TO HAVE ON IN THE BACKGROUND IS IT'S MOSTLY, UM, SPOKEN THE INFORMATION.
THERE ARE SOME GRAPHICS, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF JUST HAVE THE LAPTOP LIKE I DO ON THE COUNTER, I CAN JUST LOOK OVER WHATEVER THEY SWITCH THE SLIDE, BUT THEN LISTEN TO IT WHILE I'M COOKING.
AND THE, UM, THE WILD NEIGHBORS SERIES IS GOOD FOR THAT TOO.
CAUSE IT'S ALSO A POWERPOINT BASED.
SO MOST OF IT'S GOING TO BE VERBAL
[01:25:01]
INFORMATION AND THEN YOU CAN JUST TURN AND LOOK AT IT.SO I, UH, I THINK IF WE CAN DROP THOSE INTO THE CHAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT AS WELL.
IT JUST MAKES IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO ACCESS THEM AND THEY, AND THEY SOUND LIKE THEY'D BE FASCINATING TO LISTEN TO, AND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE YOUR EYES GLUED TO THE, TO THE VIDEO.
SO THAT'S THE, UH, OUTREACH REPORT? IS THERE A CITY OUTREACH REPORT? I NEVER KNOW HOW MANY AND WHICH PARTIES, SO THAT'S THE OUTREACH REPORT FOR ALL OF THE BCP PARTNERS.
AND THEN, UH, ADAM SERENA, WHY DON'T YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELVES, UH, TO ALL OF US AND, UM, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR NEWS OR UPDATE.
YEAH, WELL, UH, UH, GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY AND I ENJOY TODAY'S MEETING AS ALWAYS JUST GREAT TO LEARN ABOUT ALL THE SCIENCE AND OUTREACH AND CONSERVATION WORK THAT THE PCP IS DOING.
UM, YOU HAVE SOME, UH, BITTERSWEET NEWS, UH, TONYA SUMMER WHO HAS WORKED AT THE AUSTIN, UH, FIELD OFFICE FOR, UH, ABOUT 10, UH, AND HAS WORKED VERY CLOSELY IN HELPING THE BCCP BE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT TIMEFRAME HAS TAKEN ANOTHER ROLE.
UH, AND SHE WILL BE, UH, UH, THE PROJECT LEADER, UH, IN ARCATA, CALIFORNIA, WHERE SHE'LL BE DOING ENDANGERED SPECIES WORK THERE.
SO, UH, MY COLLEAGUE COUNTERPART, UH, IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND, UH, WORKING ON NEW SPOTTED OWLS AND OTHER, UH, NEAT, UH, ENDANGERED SPECIES THERE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TANYA HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF, UM, GREAT WORK WHILE SHE'S BEEN HERE, UH, IN TEXAS, BOTH HELPING WITH THIS HCP AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER HCPS THROUGHOUT CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND, UH, IT'S JUST DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF BALANCING, UH, ECONOMIC, THE ECONOMY WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY AND HELPING THE REGION, UH, GET TO A PLACE WHERE THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THE, HOW TO FOLLOW THE RULES AND THE PROCESSES, AND, UM, JUST GET TO A BETTER PLACE.
SO, UH, IT'S A BIG LOSS FOR US, UM, YOU KNOW, HERE IN THE OFFICE AS WELL AS, UH, JUST, UH, HER EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE, BUT IT'S GREAT TO SEE HER MOVE ON TO SOMETHING BIGGER AND EXCITING, AND YOU'LL TAKE THE REINS OF HER OWN OFFICE.
SO REALLY PROUD AND HAPPY FOR, WELL, PLEASE GIVE HER OUR BEST.
UM, OH, SHE'S HERE ON THE, ON THE MEETING.
DO YOU WANT TO SAY A FEW THINGS, UM, TINY WE'VE REALLY APPRECIATED WORKING WITH YOU OVER THE YEARS AND ALL OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.
SO MAYBE SHARE AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
IT REALLY HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL WORKING WITH THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.
SO IN A LOT OF CHANGEOVER AND FACES WITH THE BCCP DURING THAT TIME.
UM, AND, UH, AND I, IT'S BEEN JUST WONDERFUL JUST WORKING WITH, WITH ALL OF YOU AND, AND, UM, I WILL MISS ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING, BUT, UM, I WILL BE THINKING ABOUT YOU AS I'M BACK IN THE, ON THE WEST COAST.
AND, AND I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN THE DECISIONS THAT YOU HAVE, UH, COMING UP REGARDING THE PERMIT AND ALL THAT, THAT WILL ENTAIL.
SO BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU AND KEEP IN TOUCH.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WORK AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR NEW ASSIGNMENT.
UM, UH, BEFORE WE WRAP UP, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MENTION HERE THE, UH, THE MEETING SCHEDULES.
UM, SO THE, UH, THE NEXT, SO THIS TODAY'S MEETING WAS A RESCHEDULE OF THE FEBRUARY MEETING THAT COULDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THE STORM.
AND SO, UM, OUR NEXT MEETING WAS SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 18TH, BUT THAT MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELED THE TIME WE WILL ALL GET TOGETHER.
WE'LL BE FRIDAY, AUGUST 6TH FROM 1:00 PM TO 3:00 PM, AND IT WILL AGAIN BE A WEBEX EVENT.
WE HAVE ANOTHER WEBEX EVENT, THE FINAL MEETING OF THE YEAR SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER EIGHT, FROM ONE TO THREE.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE ABLE TO GET TOGETHER AT THAT TIME AND LEAVE SOME OPTIONS OPEN, BUT THOSE ARE THE DATES THAT WE ARE TALKING TO THEM.
SO POTENTIALLY BE BACK IN PERSON FOR THE OCTOBER EIGHT MEETING, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE SAYING? WHAT I HAVE TO DO IS IN ORDER TO BE IN PERSON, I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE AND OUR TV TEAMS ARE AVAILABLE AND THE AB TEAMS ARE AVAILABLE AND DECIDE WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE AT A CITY OR COUNTY LOCATION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF US WANTING TO GET TOGETHER AS ONE THING, AND THEN US FINDING THE SPACE TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND TO BE ABLE TO RECORD IT AS ANOTHER.
SO I'M GOING TO START WORKING MY MAGIC AND I'LL KEEP YOU ALL POSTED.
[01:30:01]
I WOULD PRESUME THOUGH THAT BOTH 700 LAVACA AND CITY HALL, THE, WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE HAD THE MEETINGS BEFORE 2020 SHOULD STILL ACCOMMODATE US.I KNOW COUNCIL IS GOING TO BE STARTING TO, TO BE COMING BACK IN JUNE.
AND I KNOW, UM, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, YOU HAVE ABOUT THREE PEOPLE WHO ARE SITTING ON THE DICE FOR THE MEETINGS, IS THAT RIGHT REGION FOR THE TIME BEING, UM, WE WILL PROBABLY BE ADJUSTING OUR, UM, IN PERSON, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE, AS WE GO FORWARD, UM, LEGALLY WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, A HYBRID OF A QUORUM IN PERSON.
AND, UM, SO FAR COMMISSIONER GOMEZ AND I HAVE CONTINUED TO MEET VIRTUALLY, RIGHT.
I'M JUST FINDING THAT THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND INTERRUPTIONS ARE REALLY STARTING TO WEAR PEOPLE OUT, PARTICULARLY I'M FINDING IT IN OUR CITIZEN COMMISSIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE COMMISSIONS FOR THE CITY, UM, MEET LIKE TWICE A MONTH.
AND, UM, IT'S A HEAVY BURDEN IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES WITH THIS IS MAKING THE MEETINGS LAST EVEN LONGER.
BUT ANYWAY, AND I, HERE, WE WILL BE THAT I THINK THAT THE, THAT THE, UM, US COMING BACK INTO WHERE WE WERE IN THE BEFORE TIMES WILL BE ANOTHER ADJUSTMENT.
WE ALL ADJUSTED A YEAR PLUS AGO TO NOT BEING IN PERSON AND, AND ADJUSTED OUR EXPECTATIONS.
AND NOW WE WILL HAVE TO ADJUST THEM AGAIN, FRANKLY.
AND SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT ALL KIND OF WORKS OUT, BUT I AM JUST ON A PERSONAL BASIS, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO GET BACK TO ON THE NORMAL COMMERCE AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY IN SITU AND FACE WITH, WITH OUR COMPANY OF FRIENDS.
AND I WILL ALSO JUST PUT IN A PLUG FOR A CONTINUED OPTION FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY.
I HEAR FROM MANY, MANY, UH, YOU KNOW, ORDINARY RESIDENTS THAT IT'S SO HARD FOR THEM TO GET PHYSICALLY TO A MEETING THAT THEY APPRECIATE HAVING THE ABILITY TO, UH, JOIN VIRTUALLY.
SO I THINK WE WILL, YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT A HYBRID MODEL.
SO WE'RE NOT FORCING EVERYBODY TO BE STUCK IN TRAFFIC.
IT'S TRYING TO DRIVE TO AND FROM MEETINGS AT ANY RATE, IF THAT'S A, IS THAT ALL FOR OUR, UH, DISCUSSION TODAY? I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE AGENDA.
WE DON'T NEED TO, UH, TAKE ANY ACTION ON THE POTENTIAL FUTURE MEETING DATE.
DO WE? OKAY? I THINK I WAS EVEN SUGGESTING THAT WE NOT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT TRYING TO BOOK IT.
I MEAN, IT'S WITHIN OUR AUTHORITY TO SKIP A MEETING IF NECESSARY.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THE REST OF IT WILL BE HARD FOR ME TO FIND, UH, AN OPEN DATE AT THIS LATE DATE IN THE AIR.
SO, UM, MY WE'LL TAKE ACTION ON THAT.
I'M REDUCING THE MEETINGS THIS YEAR.
WE CAN, WE'LL PUT AN ACTION ITEM IN AUGUST, UH, OKAY.
REALLY? YOU WOULD HAVE TO TAKE, UH, AN ACTUAL AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO CANCEL A MEETING LIKE THAT.
I WAS SAYING IF WE DO, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO, BUT I'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND JUST REVIEW THE LANGUAGE, BUT I IT'S, IT'S UP TO YOU TO DETERMINE WHEN YOU MEET.
SO I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO, BUT IF IT TURNS OUT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF ARE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH US DOING IT THAT WAY, THEN WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AT THE NEXT UNIT.
AND WE WOULD CERTAINLY NOTE PUBLICLY THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING IT, BUT IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A REQUIRED, YOU KNOW, SORT OF VOTING ITEM.
AND I WILL JUST SAY I, UH, I WAS A SLIGHTLY DISTRACTED WITH THAT MEETING DATE, DISTRACT, UH, CONVERSATION.
ARE WE STILL SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 18TH? THAT'S ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY.
SO THAT ONE WERE CANCELED, RIGHT? YEAH.
I, I MAY BE OUT OF TOWN FOR AUGUST 6TH, SO THAT MAY BE A PROBLEM FOR ME.
UM, UH, I'LL WORK WITH YOU AND YOUR STAFF AND WE'LL DO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO.
I WAS ASSUMING IF WE WERE OUT OF TOWN THAT WE WOULD SIMPLY JOIN VIRTUALLY, I MAY BE IN A VERY DIFFERENT TIME ZONE.
SO THUS THE DIFFICULTIES IN FINDING, UH, DATES ON THE CALENDAR, AND THAT WAS ONE THAT WE AGREED TO A YEAR AGO.
SO I THINK WE'RE JUST, IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN JUST DO TWO MORE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, IF WE CAN FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR AUGUST SIX, OTHERWISE, THEN ANOTHER DATE FOR THAT ONE, OR WE JUST LEAVE, INTERRUPT OVER EIGHT AND I'LL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU KIMBERLY ABOUT, UM, OUR TRAVEL PLANS.
UM, AND WE HAVE TO WORK AROUND OUR, OUR BUDGET, UH, TIMELINES, UM, BECAUSE THOSE ARE MANDATORY AND IT'LL
[01:35:01]
BE JUST FINE.THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED.
THESE ARE REALLY FABULOUS, UM, AND EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE PRESENTATIONS.
AND, UM, WE'RE JUST DOING SO MUCH IN THIS ARENA THAT I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF.
I'M PROUD OF ALL OF OUR STAFF AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE CREATED FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO ENJOY AND FOR THE SPECIES TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE.
ANYWAY, WE ALL TAKE MAYBE KIMBERLY AND UPDATE ON WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE PERMIT.
SINCE TANIA MENTIONED THAT WHEN SHE WAS GIVING US HER FAREWELLS AND STUFF TO SKIP KIND OF A TOUCHBACK AND AT OUR NEXT MEETING, WHENEVER THAT IS, YEAH.
WE'RE DEFINITELY MAKING PROGRESS.
KIMBERLY ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU AND ADAM AND THE REST OF OUR GREAT STAFF.
EVERYBODY STAY SAFE, EVERYONE.