[00:00:11]
I WILL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.CAUSE I THINK I'M CHAIRING, RIGHT.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, LESLIE POOL ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND IT IS FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020.
AND AS CHAIR OF THIS, UH, SESSION OF THE BACKWATERS KENYANS CONSERVATION PLAN COORDINATING COMMITTEE, I WILL CALL US TO ORDER.
AND I SEE THAT TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER BRIGID, SHEA IS WITH US AND THEN OUR SECRETARY, KIMBERLY HARVEY IS WITH US.
AND I SEE THAT, OH, AND I SEE ADAMS RUNNER.
AND THEN WE HAVE VARIOUS STAFFERS FROM BOTH SIDE.
WHICH YES, I THINK I MIGHT GO OUTSIDE TO WHICH, AND THEN WE HAVE STAFF FROM, UH, THE COUNTY AND THE CITY WAITING, UM, TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M GOING TO OPEN UP THE AGENDA ON THIS PAGE OVER HERE.
KIMBERLY, YOU TOLD ME EARLIER TODAY THAT WE HAVE NO ONE SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
IS THAT STILL THE CASE? CORRECT? NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEED.
[1. Approve Record of Decisions for the November 22, 2019 Regular Meeting]
WILL THEN MOVE TO, UM, ITEM ONE APPROVE RECORD OF DECISIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER 22ND, 2019 REGULAR MEETING.DO I HAVE A MOTION MOVE APPROVAL.
AND I'LL SECOND THAT, AND I IMAGINE IT'S UNANIMOUS AND YES IT IS.
[2. David Steed Remembrance - Secretary]
STEVE REMEMBRANCE, UH, SECRETARY HARVEY ARE ON AND YOU MUTED.KIMBERLY, CAN YOU, YES, HERE I AM.
UM, STAFF MEMBER, DAVID, STEVE ARMIDA, DAVID GIMNESS WILL BE HELPING TO SHOW A PICTURE.
UH, BUT THIS AGENDA ITEM IS REALLY A REMEMBRANCE OF DR.
DAVID STEED PASSED AWAY ON FEBRUARY 16TH, 2020 DAVID DEDICATED OVER 30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE BETHANY'S CANYON LANDS CONSERVATION PLAN, AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BALCONY.
HE SERVED AS AN ORIGINAL MEMBER OF THE BCCP BIOLOGICAL ADVISORY TEAM IN 1980 MARINE AND BECAME AN ADVOCATE AND TRUSTEE OF THE BALCONIES, ANY LAMBS PRESERVES.
HE PROVIDED LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE WHILE SERVING AS CHAIR OF BCCP SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE FROM 2003 TO 2014 AND REMAINED A COMMITTEE MEMBER UNTIL HIS PASSING HIS DEDICATION AND CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION AND SCIENCE HAS AN INVALUABLE.
DAVID WAS A MENTOR AND A FRIEND OF MANY, AND THEN HE'S BEHIND A TEAM OF COLLEAGUES TO CARRY ON HIS LEGACY.
HIS UNWAVERING SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE, PASSION AND FRIENDSHIP WILL BE GREATLY MISSED BY MANY WHO WORK ON THE PRESERVE.
I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT HIS WIFE IS WATCHING TODAY AND JUST, UM, IS VERY THANKFUL TO STAFF FOR THE WORDS AND THE RECOGNITION MADAM CHAIR, THAT HIS BED IS LOVELY.
YOU JUST REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE DR.
STEVE'S CONTRIBUTION AND VERTICALLY.
UH, WE DEPEND ON CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS.
LESLIE, COULD YOU MUTE YOUR MICROPHONE PLEASE? THERE'S A LOT OF MOVEMENT NOISE, I THINK ON YOUR END, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY REALLY, UM, UH, WE ARE DEPENDENT ON PEOPLE LIKE DR.
STEED TO DONATE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF THEIR TIME AND THEIR EXPERTISE FOR AN ENORMOUS GIFT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR THE, UH, THE SPECIES THAT ARE ENDANGERED AND DEPEND ON US TRYING TO CORRECT THE IMBALANCE THAT WE'VE CREATED.
SO I JUST, I REALLY JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS INCREDIBLE GIFT TO THIS COMMUNITY AND SAY, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU TO HIS FAMILY MEMBERS AS WELL, BECAUSE, UM, HE GAVE TIME TO THIS EFFORT AND, UM, TOOK IT AWAY FROM OTHER THINGS, BUT I JUST REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT A GIFT HE'S GIVEN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I JOINED YOU IN THOSE WORDS AND THANKS AGAIN TO STAFF FOR THAT LOVELY YES.
RECOLLECTION OF HIS WORK ON THE PRESERVE AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH HIS FAMILY.
[00:05:01]
ABSOLUTELY.[3. FY2019 BCCP Annual Report Posted and Submitted to the USFWS– Secretary]
SO FISCAL YEAR 29, BCCP ANNUAL REPORT POSTED AND SUBMITTED THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE IS THE NEXT ITEM.AND THAT IS ITEM NUMBER THREE.
I JUST WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE DID TURN IN OUR 2019 BCCP ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SERVICE, AND IT IS POSTED ON TRAVIS STARKEY'S WEBSITE.
UH, FOR EVERYBODY TO VIEW IT HAS ALL OF THE DIFFERENT APPENDICES OF WHAT HAPPENED AS WELL AS ALL OF THE DIFFERENT RESEARCH REPORTS, UH, THAT TOOK PLACE ON THE PRESERVE IN 20 MONTHS, IT'S AVAILABLE FOR A PUBLIC VIEW, AND WE'RE JUST REALLY PROUD OF ALL THE STAFF THAT PUT THIS TOGETHER EVERY YEAR.
IT'S A, IT'S A LARGE THAT'S GREAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER.
SHAY, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS YOU WANTED TO MAKE? UM, REALLY JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK STAFF, UM, FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO.
UM, UM, MADAM SECRETARY, DO WE NEED TO, UM, UH, TAKE AN ACTION ON THIS REPORT? NO, BUT JUST AS A NOTIFICATION THAT IT'S BEEN SUBMITTED, IT'S A PART OF THE PERMIT COMPLIANCE THAT WE SUBMIT THIS TO THE SERVICE EVERY YEAR, BY THE END OF JANUARY FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND THEN, SO IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE DO WITH NO ACTION ITEM.
IT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR AND ACTUALLY ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY WEBSITE, YOU'D BE ABLE TO FIND OLDER, UM, ANNUAL REPORTS AS WELL.
SO FOR ANYBODY WHO'S CURIOUS AND INTERESTED GO TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY BCC WEBSITE, AND THERE ARE MANY REPORTS ON THERE.
THE ANNUAL REPORTS, THE LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS, EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESERVE HIS MORALS FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING.
[4. Golden-cheeked Warbler Lawsuit Update – BCP Staff]
TO ITEM FOUR GOLDEN SHAKE, WARBLER LAWSUIT UPDATE, AND THIS IS BCP STAFF, MELINDA MALLEY GAY WITH TRAVIS COUNTY HERE.FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT IN NEW ORLEANS HEARD THE, UM, OR ARGUMENTS OF JLO'S APPEAL OF JUDGE SPARKS RULING IN DECEMBER, 2019.
AND THEN THE COURT, UM, ORDERS CAME DOWN IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
THE, UM, THE UPSHOT IS THE GOLDEN CHEEK.
WARBLER HAS NOT BEEN DELISTED.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THAT SEEMED TO BE A COMMON PERCEPTION OR QUESTION THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD A LOT.
WHAT DID HAPPEN WAS THE, THE COURT WEIGHED IN ON THREE ARGUMENTS THAT GLO MADE AND TWO OF THEM, THEY DID NOT AGREE TO.
THEY DIDN'T AGREE WITH JLO'S POSITION ON NEPA CLAIMS AND THEY DID NOT AGREE THAT THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE HAD FAILED TO DESIGNATE CRITICAL HABITAT.
WHAT THEY DID AGREE ON WAS THAT THE SERVICE HAD NOT APPLIED THE CORRECT LEGAL STANDARD, UH, FOR THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER IN DIRECTED THE SERVICE TO CONDUCT A NEW SPECIES STATUS ASSESSMENT.
THE, UH, DECISION OF THE COURT WAS NOT APPEALED.
AND SO THAT WINDOW HAS CLOSED NOW, WHICH MEANS THAT THE NEXT STEPS IN THIS CASE ARE FOR THE SERVICE TO, UM, REDO THOSE SPECIES STATUS ASSESSMENT OR DO AN UPDATE TO IT.
I'LL DEFER TO ADAM ON ANY DETAILS ABOUT THAT, THAT HE MAY CARE TO SHARE.
UM, AND THEN DEPENDING ON WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THAT ASSESSMENT IS, UM, UH, THE COR THE, UH, CASE COULD END UP BACK IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT IN AUSTIN TO, TO RECONSIDER GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER, DELISTING, IF WARRANTED.
AND DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO COMMENT ON? YEAH.
UM, THANK YOU, MELINDA, FOR PROVIDING A SUMMARY ON THAT.
UM, I DO WANT TO MAKE SOME, UH, JUST POINTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS YOU SAID, UH, TO ADD SOME, UH, DIFFERENCES OF, OF TERMS, UH, AND THEY'RE IMPORTANT TERMS, UM, IN EVERYTHING YOU LAID OUT IS, IS ACCURATE.
UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND CERTAINLY I'D WANT TO VERIFY THIS WITH MY COUNCIL.
WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS ON IT, BUT IT, IT, IT, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE IT CIRCUIT HAS ASKED US TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT OUR, UH, FINDING, UH, BASED ON, UH, THE USE OF, UH, THE STANDARD THAT WE APPLIED AND THEY, UH, DECIDED THAT WE USE THE WRONG STANDARD.
SO THEY'VE IN ESSENCE, REMANDED IT BACK TO US TO REVISIT,
[00:10:02]
UH, THE PETITION, FINDING YOUR DECISION ON THE PETITION, UH, IN LIGHT OF THE CORRECT, CORRECT, UH, STANDARD.UH, SO THE SERVICE IS, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO GO BACK, LOOK AT IT'S A 90 DAY FINDING, UH, IN LIGHT OF THE APPROPRIATE STANDARD AND DECIDE IT'S A NEXT, UH, WORST ACTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIES STATUS ASSESSMENT THAT YOU, UH, THE WINDOW IS ACTUALLY A SEPARATE DOCUMENT, UH, IN A DIFFERENT DOCUMENT THAT PULLS TOGETHER THE SCIENCE, UH, ON THE GOLDEN CHIEF WARBLER LOOKS AT, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SERVICES DOCUMENT PULLS TOGETHER.
THE SCIENCE LOOKS AT, UM, YOU KNOW, THREATS TO THE SPECIES STATUS OF THE SPECIES.
AND THAT INFORMATION, UH, FEEDS INTO, UH, ANOTHER, UH, DOCUMENT THAT IS FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD, WHICH IS A 12 MONTH FINDING, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY A DECISION OR A FIVE-YEAR REVIEW, UH, AND A 12 MONTH FINDING THAT OUR DECISIONS, WHETHER OR NOT TO MOVE FORWARD, YOU KNOW, CHANGE IN STATUS.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE STEPS IN THE PROCESS AND REALLY, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE AT THE STEP OF THE 90 DAY FINDING.
AND, UM, YOU SAID THE, AT THE STANDARD, WHICH THE COURT, UH, DECIDED THAT, YOU KNOW, MADE THE DECISION, THAT WAS THE REC STANDARD.
SO IT'S THAT WE HAVE TO REVISIT.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU EXPLAIN AGAIN, TO ME WHAT THIS DIFFERENT STAMP, WHAT THE STANDARD IS THAT THEY THOUGHT WAS NOT CORRECT THAT HAD BEEN USED IN THE PAST? SORRY, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T FOLLOW THAT.
UM, IT WAS THE USE OF, UM, WE, WE, IN OUR 90 DAY FINDING, WHICH WAS THE EVALUATION OF THE PETITION TO DELIST THE SPECIES, UM, WE HAD, PRIOR TO THAT 90 DAY FINDING, WE HAD DONE A FIVE-YEAR REVIEW, A STATUS REVIEW OF THE SPECIES, AND WE EVALUATED THE SCIENCE, AND WE DETERMINED THAT THE SPECIES STATUS SHIP CHAIN, WE SUBSEQUENTLY GOT A PETITION AND WE MADE IT EFFICIENT BUYING ON THAT IN THE 90 DAY, FINDING WE, AND OUR 90 DAY FINDING WE SPOKE ABOUT NO NEW INFORMATION HAD BEEN RECEIVED SINCE OUR PREVIOUS DOCUMENTS.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE, THE FOREHEAD IS AN ISSUE WITH IS THE USE OF, UH, UH, THAT STANDARD OF NO NEW INFORMATION.
THE, THE, THE STANDARD IS WHETHER SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION AS BRITTANY PRESENTED SUCH THAT A REASONABLE PERSON MAY, WHETHER YOU KNOW, THAT THE PETITION, UH, COULD BE WARRANTED.
SO IT'S REASONABLE PERSON, THE ACTION THAT'S BEING PETITIONED, MAYBE WARRANTED.
UH, AND IT'S LOOKING AT THE INFORMATION THAT IS ON ITS FACE AND THE PETITION, AND NOT WHAT WE HAD INCLUDED IN OUR FINDINGS REGARDING A NEW INFORMATION.
DOES ALL THAT MEAN THAT THE FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT SAID THAT WILL FIVE YEARS HAS PASSED.
AND SURELY THERE HAD TO BE NEW INFORMATION TO CONSIDER, OR THAT FOUR, THAT THE NUMBERS OF GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS SHOULD HAVE CHANGED, OR WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MEASURE CHANGE IN THEIR AND THEIR NUMBERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, THAT I CAN'T, THAT I DON'T KNOW, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, US REVISITING OUR 90 DAY FINDING AND SORT OF WHERE WE, UH, USE THE POINT AT WHICH TO, UH, SAY, YOU KNOW, HERE'S WHERE WE MAKE THAT A DECISION USING THE, UH, THE STANDARD THAT THE, THE, THE PORT HAS, UH, REMANDED TO US, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S DISCUSSION WITH OUR COUNCIL.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? UH, I, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, JUMPS IN LOGIC.
AND THEN BRIDGET, YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, I DON'T REMEMBER BEING NOTIFIED ABOUT THE, UM, THE COURT'S RULING.
DID WE, WERE WE BRIEFED ON THAT OR COPIED ON THAT? KIMBERLY, I WILL LOOK TO SEE, I, I THOUGHT I SENT OUT A LINK TO THE REGISTER ANNOUNCEMENTS, BUT I'LL LOOK TO SEE, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WENT OUT AND I DID OUR STAFF BRIEFING TO THE COMMISSIONER AND ME SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE A MORE LAY PERSON'S UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT BY WHEN I WAS RELEASED, UM, LINDA, MOLLY ON IT.
AND SO I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANY
[00:15:01]
QUESTIONS, BUT I OCCASION AT THE BEGINNING IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE SPECIES WAS NOT DELISTED.AND I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE RULING AND AS A RESULT, MISINFORMATION WAS PUT OUT.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT TO JUST REINFORCE.
AND I DO REMEMBER THAT THE PART ABOUT THE APPEAL AND THE REJECTION BY THE COURT OF THE METHODOLOGY OR THE METRICS THAT WERE USED THOUGH, THAT'S THE PIECE THAT WHAT I'D LIKE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF.
AND SO KIMBERLY, COULD YOU SET UP, UM, REEFING FOR ME SOMETIME IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS? SO I HAVE A BETTER APPRECIATION OF WHAT THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE, AND YES, I AGREE RIGID THAT, THAT, AND THAT WOULD BE FOR ME AS WELL.
I HAVE TO, I HAVE TO ADMIT, I DON'T HAVE THE DETAIL ON THE, ON THE NUANCE THAT WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH A MEETING THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
AND IF WE NEED TO DO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO HAVE A DISCUSSION OF, UH, THE LAWSUIT AND THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS, SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH MR. RENNER, THAT WOULD BE ALSO, I THINK I USEFUL OR USEFUL STEP.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON ITEM FOUR ON THE WARBLER LAWSUIT? I THINK THAT'S ALL FOR ME.
I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS IS A LOT OF STEPS AND IT'S COMPLICATED AND I APOLOGIZE NOT BEING ABLE TO GIVE A REALLY SUCCINCT EXPLANATION OF IT.
AND, AND NO APOLOGIES NECESSARY.
AND IF WE NEED TO HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE WILL DO SO.
[5. Wildfire Mitigation on the BCP – BCP Staff]
TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WILDFIRE MITIGATION ON THE BCP, WHICH IS BCP STAFF, WHO DO WE HAVE ON THIS? JULIE, LARRY IS, UH, BRINGING UP HER SCREEN NOW AND WE'LL PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO YOU.WE ALSO HAVE A MELINDA ELBOW TALK AND JUSTICE JONES, AND THE BALL ARE HERE AS WELL TO SPEAK AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
UM, I'M, UH, I'M A BIOLOGIST WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND I HELPED TO COORDINATE THE FUEL MITIGATION ACTIVITIES ON THE BALCONIES.
CAITLIN'S PRESERVE PROPERTIES, THE COUNTY PROPERTIES.
AND I'M HERE TODAY JUST TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF, OF WHAT WE HAD TO GO IN AND SOME OF THE STUFF THAT YOU GUYS ALREADY KNOW VERY WELL, BUT I PRESENT THIS TO OTHER, OTHER GROUPS AS WELL.
SCREEN'S NOT, IT'S NOT WORKING.
CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN? THERE WE GO.
THERE'S A LITTLE LAG TIME, I THINK.
SO AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROTECTING OVER 30,000 ACRES OF HABITAT.
NORTHWESTERN, TRAVIS COUNTY HERE ARE OUR BELOVED SPECIES.
MY SCREEN SMUDGE HELPING ME IT'S SLOW.
UM, SO THE, IT WAS DEDICATED TO THE PROTECTION OF HABITAT FOR THESE ENDANGERED AND RARE SPECIES.
YOU ALL KNOW THE, THE ENDANGERED GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER, NEITHER ONE OF THE FIRST WARBLERS TO ARRIVE HERE FROM TEXAS FROM THEIR WINTERING GROUNDS.
AND THEY'RE IN FULL PARENT ROAD MODE RIGHT NOW, JUST CRAMMING THOSE CATERPILLARS DOWN THOSE LITTLE BABIES THROATS.
UM, THE BLACK CAT BARRIOS BELOW THEM ARE A LITTLE MORE ON A LITTLE MORE RELAXED SCHEDULE.
THEY'RE STILL BUILDING NESTS AND TENDING TO NESTLINGS, NOT QUITE AS CRAZY.
UM, YOU MAY NOT BE AS FAMILIAR WITH ARE LESS CUDDLY ENDANGERED CARSON VERTEBRATES.
THEY ARE INTROVERTS AND THEY'RE HAPPIEST SCUTTLING AROUND IN THE DARK, BUT WITH THE BCP HELPS PROTECT HABITAT FOR OUR ENDANGERED SPECIES.
AND THOSE PROTECTIONS ALSO SERVE AS AN UMBRELLA TO INCLUDE ALL THE DIVERSE AND FASCINATING WILDLIFE THAT CALLS THE HILL COUNTRY HOME.
ONE OF THE THREATS TO THIS RICH ECOSYSTEM IS WILDFIRE, WHICH BECAME ABUNDANTLY CLEAR LABOR DAY OF 2011.
SO THAT THE FIRES THAT SPARKED UP PARTICULARLY AROUND STEINER RANCH, SERVED A TO FOCUS A COMMUNITY'S ATTENTION ON THE WILDFIRE THREAT.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE BEGAN TO REALLY FOCUS OUR EFFORTS TO MITIGATE THE RISK.
SO, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, UH, GOT TOGETHER
[00:20:01]
WITH OTHER WILDFIRE EXPERTS TO DEVELOP BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, TO TRY TO MITIGATE THAT WILDFIRE RISK AND CAME UP WITH, UH, A SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH TO REDUCE THOSE RISKS, TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY AND THE HABITAT AT THE SAME TIME.SO THOSE MITIGATION EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON THE AREAS OF HIGHEST RISK, WHICH ARE THE WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACES.
UH, WE CALL IT THE WOOEY FOR SURE.
AND THE WORLD WHO IS OFTEN SPLIT BY THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE COUNTY LAND OR THE CITY LAND AND PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND DO DEFENDING CONSTRAINTS AND PROPERTY RIGHTS.
WE CAN ONLY ADDRESS HALF OF THE INTERFACE AND NEED PARTNERSHIPS WITH NEIGHBORS, HOS AND ESTS TO HAVE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT.
ONE OF OUR FIELD MITIGATION STRATEGIES IS TO REDUCE FUEL ALONG BOUNDARY PROP, PROPERTY BOUNDARIES, UH, REMOVAL OF FUELS AND ACCUMULATED ALONG THE FENCE LINE HELPS TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF GROUND FIRES UP INTO THE CANOPY, WHICH IS WHEN THEY CAN BECOME CATASTROPHIC AND VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN.
SO YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE, THIS IS A FENCE LINE WITH A NEIGHBOR WHERE THEIR YEARS OF BRUSH HAVE BEEN PILING UP ON THE FENCE.
ANOTHER STRATEGY IS TO INSTALL SHADE, TO FEEL BREAKS.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE REMOVE THE DEAD AND DOWN MATERIAL THAT CONNECTS THE FINE GRASSES TO THE REST OF THE FOREST.
SO WE PRUNE THOSE LADDER FUELS THAT WOULD MOVE FIRE FROM THE GRASS UP INTO THE CANOPY.
UH, WE MAINTAIN THESE TO ENCOURAGE SHADE, TO HIT INHIBIT THE GROWTH OF GRASSES THAT ARE EASILY FLAMMABLE.
YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE HERE, THE ONE ON THE LEFT, IT'S JUST UNTREATED THICK FOREST WITH THE GRASSES WERE RUNNING RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE OF THE, OF THE VEGETATION.
AND THEN THE MIDDLE PHOTO, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE BRANCHES HAVE BEEN TRIMMED DOWN.
THOSE WERE THE CUT BRANCHES LANDED ON THE GROUND.
AND THEN THE FINAL CH IS THE COMPLETION OF THE TREATMENT.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE TREES HAVE BEEN LOLLIPOPS, BUT THERE, THERE ARE NO BRANCHES REACHING DOWN TO THE FIRE FIELD THAT WOULD ELEVATE THE FIRE HIGHER INTO THE CANOPY.
SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN WORKING ON SOME FUEL MITIGATION STRATEGIES ON THEIR BCP LANDS.
HERE'S AN OVERVIEW MAP, AND I'LL LET THEIR STAFF PIPE IN IF THEY HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS HERE.
UM, HERE'S A ZOOMED IN VIEW, THE AREAS IN RED HAVE BEEN TREATED AND THE PURPLE AREAS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR FUTURE TREATMENTS.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE BECAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF BIG MAPS ARE TO SEE THE COUNTY HAS ALSO BEEN DOING FUEL MITIGATION PROJECTS FOR A WHILE NOW.
ALL THE YELLOW DOTS ARE PROJECT AREAS, AND WE HAVE OVER 60 MILES OF WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE JUST WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY BCP.
SO FAR, WE'VE TREATED ABOUT 10 MILES OF THAT TOTALING, 120 ACRES OF SHADED FUEL BREAKS THAT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED.
HERE'S A ZOOM IN OF THE STEINER RANCH AREA.
ALL THE PARTS IN YELLOW HAVE ALREADY BEEN TREATED AND WE'RE CYCLING BACK THROUGH AND DOING MAINTENANCE ON SOME OF THESE SEG SEGMENTS AS WELL.
UM, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE HERE, UH, WITH THE HELP OF LAKE TRAVIS, FIRE AND RESCUE.
UM, THEY'VE DONE ALL THAT WORK IN STEINER.
PLUS THEY'VE WORKED ON OTHER PARTS OF THE PRESERVE AS WELL.
UH, THESE NUMBERS MIGHT NOT BE QUITE AS QUITE UP TO DATE YET, BUT IF THEY'VE TREATED THE JASON TO 227 HOMES AND INSTALLED OVER ABOUT 50 ACRES OF SHADED FUEL BREAKS HERE, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE, THE BELOVED MACHINE, I FORGET THE NAME OF IT.
SO THEY'LL HAVE TO TELL ME, BUT IT'S A, AN AMAZING WOODCHIPPER ON TREADS.
ANOTHER OF OUR PARTNERS IS THE TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS, UH, THROUGH AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS AND THEY TAKE ON ABOUT HALF THE OTHER HALF OF THE COUNTY FIELD MITIGATION PROJECTS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE IN THIS, THESE PICTURES, THAT'S LIKE TRAVIS, TRAVIS'S AMAZING CHIPPER AND USED BY THE TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS.
SO IT SERVES TO ILLUSTRATE HOW ESSENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS ARE TO SUCCESSFUL MITIGATION PROJECTS.
THE LAUREL MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROJECT IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION.
THE PROXIMITY TO A SCHOOL MADE TREATING THIS AREA AT A TOP PRIORITY, BUT THE COMPLEX CONFIGURATION AND CIRCUMSTANCES MADE FOR ADDED CHALLENGES.
THERE, A DENSE UNDERSTORY, VERY STEEP TERRAIN THAT CREATED LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS AND THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE THIS WILD SPACE LABORATORY BETWEEN COUNTY BOUNDARY AND THE SCHOOL, IT WAS, THEY USED FOR OUTDOOR EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES.
[00:25:01]
WITH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION OF AFD, TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS AND ROUND ROCK ISD, UH, TO PULL THIS ONE OFF.SO TRAVIS COUNTY TREATED THIS AREA IN YELLOW, OR I'M SORRY, TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS TREATED THE AREA ON THE COUNTY PROPERTY IN YELLOW.
THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TREATED THE AREA IN BLUE.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, THEY BROUGHT IN EQUIPMENT SO THAT THE TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS COULD HAUL ALL THAT MATERIAL OUT AND THEN AFD CHIPPED IT UP AND HAULED OFF THE MATERIAL.
I THINK THEY TOOK IT TO ANOTHER BCP PROPERTY WHERE IT BECAME PART OF ANOTHER GREAT PROJECT.
UM, AND THEN ROUND ROCK ISD TREATED ON THEIR SIDE OF THE FENCE WITHIN THE SCHOOL YARD.
SO IT WAS, UH, THE RESULT IS A SHADING SHADED FUEL BREAK THAT SERVES TO REDUCE THE RISKS TO THE SCHOOL WHILE MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF THE WILD SPACE THAT INSPIRES THE STUDENTS AT LITTLE MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY, MAYBE IT'S ON THE LEFT.
YOU CAN SEE THIS BIG PILOT PILES OF BRUSH THAT HAVE ACCUMULATED AND ON THE RIGHT, THEY'RE NOT THERE.
THAT'S, IT'S REALLY TOUGH TO SHOW THESE PICTURES.
UM, ANOTHER PROJECT THAT WE WORKED ON WAS THE SANTA CANYON NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT.
UM, IT'S A PRETTY COMPLEX LOUIE.
WE'VE GOT TRAVIS COUNTY BOUNDARY SEPARATED FROM THE HOA LAND BY A PEC EASEMENT.
SO LOTS OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES, AND YOU GOT TO TREAT ALL THREE TO HAVE ANY KIND OF EFFECTIVE FUEL BREAK.
SO IT WAS A COLLABORATION WITH THE TEXAS CONSERVATION CORPS TREATED ON THE COUNTY LAND, UM, FOR SUNDAY FIREWISE COMMUNITY FOR SUNDAY CANYON FIREWISE COMMUNITY IN COLLABORATION WITH AFD AND THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE TREATED THE AREAS IN THE, ON THE HOA SIDE.
AND THEN PEC ALSO HELPED BY SHIPPING A LOT OF THE FUEL.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY STAFF ALSO CAME OUT WITH OUR CHIPPER TO HELP IN THE IN-BETWEEN ZONE.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE THE RISK ALL ACROSS THE BOARD, A VERY INVOLVED COMMUNITY.
I WON'T GO INTO TOO MANY DETAILS, BUT WE'VE WORKED WITH THE FOREST SERVICE OR TRACKED OUT IN JONESTOWN.
UM, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL OTHER, UH, COLLABORATIONS WITH AFD THAT JUST FINISHED A BIG SHADE FUEL BREAK IN THE WESTMINSTER GLEN HERE, RIGHT? SO IN THE FUTURE WE'RE PLAN TO CONTINUE IDENTIFYING TREATMENT AREAS, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR WORK ON AREAS THAT WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED.
UM, AND AS NEW LAND ACQUISITIONS COME IN, WE EVALUATE WHETHER THOSE NEED TO BE TREATED AS WELL.
AND AS OUR NEIGHBORS NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPS, WE IDENTIFY AS THAT.
WE, WE EXPANDS IF WE NEED TO ADDRESS THOSE AREAS TOO, WE'VE STARTED OUR CYCLE OF MAINTENANCE.
IT'S ABOUT EVERY FIVE YEARS, WE'LL GO BACK THROUGH AND, AND TRIM OUT ANY VEGETATION THAT MAY HAVE GROWN IN, IN THE MEANTIME.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE BEST WAYS TO MITIGATE IN THE BUOY.
SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO FACE ARE, UM, OH, WE'RE GOOD.
CONTINUING TO WORK ON EFFORTS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC.
UM, WE'VE ENCOUNTERED SEVERAL CASES WHERE FEAR OF WILDFIRE HAS DRIVEN OUR NEIGHBORS ONTO THE PRESERVE, WHERE THEY CLEAR CUT TREES.
AND NOT ONLY IS THIS PRACTICE ILLEGAL, IT ACTUALLY INCREASES THE WILDFIRE RISK BECAUSE THEY'RE TAKING OUT THE SHADE PRODUCERS AND LETTING THE GRASSES GROW RAMPANT.
UM, WE ALSO ENCOUNTERED THE OTHER VIEW WHERE ENABLED NEIGHBORS WILL PILOT BRUSH ALONG THE FENCE LINE OR DUMPED OR DUMP IT OVER THE FENCE ONTO THE PRESERVE, ESSENTIALLY BRINGING THEIR PROPERTY WITH FUEL.
SO WE NEED TO FIND A HAPPY MEDIAN HERE.
UM, ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE COME IN TO RUN INTO A LOT IS TRYING TO GET NEIGHBORS TO UNDERSTAND THAT SHADED FUEL BREAKS AREN'T ALWAYS APPLICABLE BEHIND THEIR HOUSE.
AND, AND REALLY THAT IT'S A PARTNERSHIP LIKE WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN ON OUR SIDE AND THEY HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY CAN ON THEIR SIDE.
SO WE NEED HOME HARDENING AND DEFENSIBLE SPACE ON PRIVATE PROPERTIES AND A CENTRAL COMPONENT TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK, EVEN FOR PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT ADJACENT TO THE WIFI SINCE SPARKS CAN FLY UP TO MILES AWAY.
SO YOU ENCOURAGE OUR NEIGHBORS TO ACCESS TO MANY RESOURCES FOR MITIGATION STRATEGIES ON THEIR PROPERTY WITH MITIGATION ON BOTH SIDES OF THE WOOEY.
WE CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE AND KEEP OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PRESERVES SAFE.
INVITE JUSTICE TO HAVE SOME COMMENTS HERE, IF YOU'D LIKE OR QUESTIONS, IF YOU HAVE ANY, THANK YOU, JULIA.
THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT OVERVIEW, VERY COMPREHENSIVE.
AND ALWAYS ENJOY SEEING THE GREAT WORK THAT TRAVIS COUNTY, NATURAL RESOURCES PCP ARE DOING JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR
[00:30:01]
END.Y Y UH, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENTS ON THIS CALL, UM, WELL IN AFTER THE 2011 FIRE SEASON, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE CITY AND COUNTY JOINED FORCES TO DEVELOP A TASK FORCE AND, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN COVERS BOTH AUSTIN AND COMMUNITIES WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, THAT CLINT PLAN WAS COMPLETED AND ADOPTED BY THE WHOLE CITY COUNCIL ON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, NOVEMBER OF 2014.
AND UPON THAT, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO FORM A MORE PERMANENT WILDFIRE COALITION, WHICH WE DID, WHICH WE'LL REFER TO AS THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY WILDFIRE COALITION.
AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS GROUP WAS TO TAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN AND IMPLEMENT THOSE TO ENSURE THAT AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE COMMUNITIES WITHIN ARE ADAPTED TO OUR FIRE ENVIRONMENT.
A BIG PART OF THAT WAS FORMING SUB WORKING GROUPS THAT FOCUS ON KEY ELEMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE LIFE SAFETY IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY.
WE FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING A CITY COUNTY WILDFIRE EVACUATION PLAN, UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IT'S THE ONLY CITY COUNTY WILDFIRE EVACUATION PLAN AND THE STATE, AND THAT PLAN OUTLINED COOPERATIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING AN EFFECTIVE LIFE SAFETY MEASURES DURING A WILD LAND URBAN INTERFACE EVACUATION.
ONE OF THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO ADDRESS STRUCTURE RISK IN THE WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE.
AND AS JULIE MENTIONED, FUELS MITIGATION ALONG, WON'T FIX OUR FIRE PROBLEM.
IT'S GOTTA BE A BOTH SIDE OF THE FENCE SOLUTION.
AND SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, WITH SUPPORT FROM OUR PARTNERS IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE CODE, WHICH WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL, UH, THIS SPRING, AND WE'RE WORKING ON OUR IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY.
AND OUR QUESTION ARISES IS VERY OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOUIE CODE IS THAT IT'S NOT INTENDED TO ADDRESS LANDSCAPE-SCALE OR FUELS MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
IT'S SOLELY FOCUSED ON HOME HARDENING AND IN SOME INSTANCES OF EXTREME RISKS, DEFENSIBLE SPACE.
SO THE IMPETUS IS BEHIND REDUCING AMBER IGNITIONS AND FIRE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY THAT COULD AFFECT THAT STRUCTURE TO SUPPLEMENT AND SUPPORT ANY FUELS MITIGATION EFFORTS THAT ARE ABLE TO OCCUR.
AND AS JULIE MENTIONED, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
WE CAN'T DO FUELS MITIGATION EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE CITY AND COUNTY BECAUSE OF TOPOGRAPHY OR OTHER NATURAL FEATURES THAT DON'T ALLOW FOR FACILITATION OF THAT, WHICH REALLY REINFORCES THE NEED OF THAT STRUCTURAL HARDENING AND DEFENSIBLE SPACE ON THE PRIVATE LANDOWNER SIDE.
SO THIS IS CERTAINLY A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS WE DO TO SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS INVOLVE FIRE MITIGATION IN THE CITY COUNTY IS MANAGED THE CITY COUNTY'S WILDFIRE RISK MAPPING ALONG WITH DAVID KIM NICHE WHO LOST A WATER UTILITY WHO HELPED WITH THE ORIGINAL RISK ANALYSIS.
AND WE MAINTAIN THAT ON A COUNTYWIDE BASIS AND PROVIDE THAT RISK ANALYSIS PER PRICE TO OPERATORS IN THE PUBLIC SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR WILDFIRE RISK IS.
AND THAT'S A KEY TO SOLVING THIS ISSUE MEANS BEING ABLE TO PINPOINT WHERE WE SHOULD FOCUS OUR EFFORTS AND MAXIMIZE THE LIMITED RESOURCES.
AND WE ALSO WORK VERY CLOSELY TO ASSIST OUR LAND MANAGEMENT PARTNERS AND IMPLEMENTING FUELS MITIGATION.
SOMETIMES THAT'S ON CITY PROPERTY, AND SOMETIMES THAT'S FOR EXAMPLE, WITH TRAVIS COUNTY NATURAL RESOURCES ON THEIR PROPERTY THAT, UH, UH, BUTTER ADJACENT TO THE CITY, THE BOSTON COMMUNITY.
SO WE REALLY TRY TO TAKE A NO BOUNDARIES APPROACH TO REDUCING RISK AND SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS WHEREVER WE CAN.
UM, WE WORK TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT ARE TREATABLE, AS JULIE MENTIONED, AND PRIORITIZE THOSE.
SO WE CAN PLAN OUR EFFORTS OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO ADDRESS ALL OF THE AREAS THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM FUELS MITIGATION.
AND SO WE WANT TO TAKE A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO HOW WE DO THAT BY PRIORITIZING THESE AREAS.
AND WE ALSO FOCUS VERY HEAVILY ON COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AUSTIN HAS FORMED AN ALLIANCE OF OUR 16 BY WISE AND NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FIREWISE COMMUNITIES, UH, WITH LEADERSHIP FROM EACH COMMUNITY REPRESENTING THEIR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS AND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS AND HOW THEY CAN TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE THEIR RISK.
AND, UH, AUSTIN LEADS THE STATE AND THE NUMBER OF THOSE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FIREWISE COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE WERE LEADING THE EFFORT ON COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS.
AND WE DO A LOT OF INTERNAL TRAINING FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS, SO THEY CAN EFFECTIVELY RESPOND WHEN THE NEXT WILDFIRE DOES OCCUR.
UH, WE CAN KEEP OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE
[00:35:01]
AND PROTECT THE PUBLIC EVENT OF ANOTHER CATASTROPHIC FIRE SEASON THAT WE KNOW IS A MATTER OF TIME WITH THAT.I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE TO SHARE A LINK TO THE INFORMATION THAT I PROVIDED AND MORE, OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EFFORT WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE BY GOING TO ATX WILDFIRE.ORG, AND THAT'LL HAVE A LINK TO OUR RISK MAP AND ANY OF THE RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS WHERE YOU USE TO ENGAGE IN WORK WITH THE PUBLIC.
SO JUST WANT TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF OUR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS, HOW IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE OR PARTNERS, AND THERE'LL BE CCP ARE TO SOLVING THESE ISSUES AND HOW APPRECIATIVE WE ARE OF ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITIES AND PROPERTIES, SO THAT, UM, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND WE'LL HANG OUT ON THE CALL, HAVE QUESTIONS ARISE.
THANKS JUSTICE FOR THAT REALLY GOOD PRESENTATION.
AND JULIE ALSO FOR YOURS, UM, COMMISSIONER SIDE, DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH, THIS IS, THIS IS A FAVORITE ISSUE OF MINE.
I ACTUALLY RAN FOR OFFICE, UM, BECAUSE I FELT LIKE WE NEEDED TO DO MORE TO PROTECT PEOPLE AND HELP THEM GET OUT OF HARM'S WAY FROM INCREASINGLY DEADLY AND DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER EVENTS CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND SO WILDFIRE IS OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THOSE, UM, AS IS FLOODING AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER EXTREME WEATHER, UM, AND PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT I, UH, I WANTED TO JUST SAY THANKS TO BOTH JULIE AND, UM, JUSTICE FOR THE, UM, THE GREAT PRESENTATIONS, THERE'S JUST, IT'S SO MUCH RICH INFORMATION.
UM, JULIE, I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE, UH, TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT GETTING, UM, UM, SORT OF NEIGHBORHOOD, MORE NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC PRESENTATIONS, UM, WITH SOME OF THIS INFORMATION, THERE'S BEEN A PRETTY ONGOING, UM, BOTH DISCUSSION AND REQUESTS FROM THE STEINER AREA, UM, TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THAT REGARD.
AND I THINK, UM, IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO SEE THE MAPPING SHOWING ALL THE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, JUST WITHIN STEINER RANCH, UM, WHERE WE'VE BEEN DOING THE, UH, THE FUEL BREAKS AND, UM, THE, THE, UM, THE FUEL MITIGATION WORK.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR THEM ON THE, UH, QUESTION FOR, UM, FOR JUSTICE.
UM, I'M RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE INITIATIVE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED, UM, THAT WOULD CREATE A CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS MODEL, UM, SORT OF BASED ON WHAT, UH, UH, PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT DID DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION TO PUT PEOPLE BACK TO WORK ON PROJECTS THAT BENEFITED THE COMMUNITY.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, UH, WILDFIRE FUEL MITIGATION WAS ONE OF THE ITEMS INCLUDED ON THE LIST OF, UM, A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE COULD BE, COULD PUT TO WORK DOING TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK I'VE UNDERSTOOD THAT, UH, THE FEDERAL RULES WOULD NOT ALLOW ANY OF THAT WORK TO BE DONE ON PUBLIC LAND ONLY ON PRIVATE LAND.
UM, BUT I WONDER IF YOU HAVE ANY UPDATE OR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION, UM, ABOUT THAT EFFORT, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT OBVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE GREAT BENEFITS FOR, FOR MANY SECTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE VERY ABOUT BOSTON SIDE IS ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM ALL SUPPORT FROM THE CONSERVATION CORPS RIGHT NOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE'RE ONLY PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR FUELS MITIGATION ON PRIVATE LAND.
AND SO WE'LL HELP PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS, HOS CONDUCTION IN FUEL BREAKS AND ALIGNMENT WITH OUR BEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A MECHANISM TO HELP COMMUNITIES IMPLEMENT THOSE STRATEGIES AND NOT EVERY COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN HAS NECESSARILY THE MEANS TO DO SO.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, W I OBVIOUSLY WE'D LOVE TO GET UPDATES ON THAT, IS THAT, DOES THAT MOVE? SO, UM, AND SINCE WE HAVE QUARTERLY MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SPRING TO UPDATE ON, SO KIMBERLY, MAYBE THAT COULD BE AN ITEM THAT WE, UM, AT LEAST UPDATE ON IN OUR QUARTERLY MEETING, UM, WANT TO ASK ABOUT AND ADJUST, AS YOU MAY KNOW THIS AS WELL.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A DISCUSSION, UM, WITH A GROUP OF, UM, SORT OF TECH ENTREPRENEURS WHO WERE WANTING TO SEE IF ANY OF THEIR TECHNOLOGY OR THEIR ABILITY TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY COULD BE OF HELP WITH COMMUNITY PROBLEMS AND UNBEKNOWNST TO, UH, EACH SIDE I PRESENTED, UH, FROM TRAVIS COUNTY WITH A REQUEST FOR HELP ON SOME ONGOING, UH,
[00:40:01]
JUST DIFFICULT ISSUES, UH, DURING WILDFIRES.AND I THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN PRESENTED WITH A SOMEWHAT SIMILAR REQUEST.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S BEEN SOME MEETINGS, UH, IN THE MEANTIME THAT I, UH, THOUGHT RESULTED IN, UM, AN AGREEMENT TO USE AN ESRI HUB CROWDSOURCING TOOL TO JUST GET MORE INFORMATION RELATED TO WILDFIRES IS, DO YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION THAT YOU COULD UPDATE US ON? CAUSE I ONLY HAVE A SKETCHY UNDERSTANDING OF IT, I'M SURE DOING IT.
SO OUT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND OUR, UM, OUR COLLECTIVE PROPOSALS THROUGH THE, THE, THE CITY UP PROGRAM, UM, AND NICKEL ADVICE THAT WE GOT FROM THE TECH SIDE, UM, IT, UM, EVOLVED THE DISCUSSION, EVOLVED TOWARDS THE LEGALIZATION AS READ HUB.
AND, AND SO ESSENTIALLY IF YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THIS AS A DASHBOARD OF ALL, UH, RELEVANT INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION EFFORTS IN A CITY AND POTENTIALLY A BROADER COUNTY LEVEL WHERE WE CAN TRACK OUR PROGRESS IN ONE PLACE FROM KILZ MITIGATION, WE CAN CAPTURE THE EFFORTS OF COMMUNITIES DEVELOPING COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS, AND LOCAL LEVEL EVACUATION STRATEGIES.
AND SO IT'S AN EFFECTIVE TOOL, BOTH INTERNALLY TRACKING OUR PERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS AND MAKING THAT TRANSPARENT TO THE PUBLIC, BUT ALSO PROVIDING PUBLIC FACING RESOURCES THAT THEY CAN UTILIZE TO PLAN THEIR EFFORTS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
AND SO WE HAVE A CONTRACT ON REQUESTS THROUGH CTM THAT WE UNDERSTAND HAS BEEN APPROVED, PURCHASE THE HUB, AND WE'RE JUST GOING THROUGH, UM, BUREAUCRATIC STEPS TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.
UH, ONCE WE HAD SECURED THE HUB AND WE HAVE THAT AS A POINT OF CONVERSATION, WE'LL EXPAND INPUT TO OUR CITY AND COUNTY PARTNERS AS TO HOW WE CAN DEVELOP THAT IN A WAY THAT'S MOST REFLECTIVE OF OUR COLLECTIVE NEEDS.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPTIMALLY.
UM, AGAIN, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO UPDATES ON THAT AND THAT CAN MAYBE BE PART OF AN UPDATE THAT WE GET HERE.
I'M ACTUALLY TRYING TO LOOK UP ATX WILDFIRE DOT OREGON.
I KEEP GETTING A NOTE THAT SAYS THIS DOMAIN IS ALREADY REGISTERED.
UM, SO MAYBE THERE'S A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION OF THE URL TO REACH IT AT ANY RATE.
UM, THE OTHER, UH, POINT I WOULD JUST MAKE IS, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AROUND, UM, WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS, UM, AT THE COUNTY IS, UM, WILTED IN WHAT WE THINK IS THE FIRST EVER, UM, TEXAS, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED WILDFIRE EVACUATION DRILL.
AND WE WORKED WITH, UH, JUST A HUGE NUMBER OF PARTNERS.
AND I THINK THE CITY WAS, UH, POTENTIALLY INVOLVED AT SOME POINT AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT RESULTED IN, UH, A WILDFIRE EVACUATION DRILL WITH THE COMANCHE TRAIL NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND WE'VE NOW BOILED THAT DOWN INTO A TEMPLATE ON HOW TO DO A NEIGHBORHOOD FIRE DRILL, UM, UH, WHICH WE HAVE AVAILABLE AT, UM, AT TRAVIS COUNTY THROUGH THE FIRE MARSHALL'S OFFICE.
UM, BUT, UM, I JUST THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A, UM, A POINT TO ADD TO THE ONGOING, UH, EFFORTS FROM BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO TRY AND MAKE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, BETTER PREPARED FOR, UH, WILDFIRES AND TO ALSO TRY AND MINIMIZE THE HARM.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE DID AS PART OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD FIRE DRILL, UH, WAS WE, UH, URGED EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT WAS BROKEN DOWN INTO A BLOCK CAPTAINS BY BLOCK.
UM, AND WE URGED EVERYONE IN EACH BLOCK THROUGH THOSE BLOCK CAPTAIN MEETINGS TO HAVE A HOME IGNITION ZONE ASSESSMENT DONE, AND, UH, HERE'S ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS HARDENING, UH, TIPS FOR HARDENING YOUR HOME AGAINST WILDFIRE.
UM, AND WE GOT A PRETTY, A PRETTY HIGH PARTICIPATION RATE.
UM, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, IF THEY DO ONE OF THOSE ASSESSMENTS AND FOLLOW THE, THE SHEET OF GUIDELINES OF THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO TO REDUCE THE THREAT OF WILDFIRE TO THEIR HOMES, UM, THEY CAN USE THAT IN, UM, DISCUSSIONS WITH THEIR INSURER, THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY, UH, AND IN, IN SOME CASES THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A REDUCTION IN THEIR HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE, BECAUSE OF, SO, UM, I'M JUST SO APPRECIATIVE OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES AND EFFORTS THAT BOTH OF OUR STAFF HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO BETTER PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY.
I'LL ADD MY THANKS AS WELL TO COMMISSIONER CHAISE, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE HARDENING OF THE HOUSES, UH, THAT IS AN ASPECT AT THE CITY LEVEL THAT WE, UM, INSERTED INTO THE WOOEY ORDINANCE CHANGE THE CODE CHANGE.
[00:45:01]
JUST AS YOU WERE TALKING, I THINK IT WAS YOU AND WAS REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE HOMEOWNERS WHO STILL THINK THAT CLEAR CUTTING IS THE WAY TO GO.AND, UM, DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE, UH, AND CAN I ASK FOR THE, UH, SHARING AS AN ASSAD, CAN WE GO BACK TO THE BRADY BUNCH PANELS SO WE CAN SEE PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING? I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH THE SLIDESHOW.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
SO, UM, IT OCCURS TO ME THAT, UM, RIGID IN YOUR MENTION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES.
HAVE WE TALKED WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES ABOUT, UM, UH, BOTH THE HARDENING AROUND THE HOMES AND ALSO THE FACT THAT A HEALTHY TREE CANOPY IS IN FACT, A, UM, UH, A DAMPER ON THE SPREAD OF A WILDFIRE IS OUR CONVERSATION GONE BEYOND THE NEIGHBORS AND NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE BOY SCOUTS AND SO FORTH OVER TO TALK WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES.
I CAN TELL YOU WHAT I'VE DONE, YOUR, YOUR STAFF AT THE CITY MAY, MAY HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, BUT, UM, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, USA HAD A STAFF PERSON SPECIFICALLY, UM, DEDICATED TO THIS ISSUE, AND THEY DID A LOT OF WORK WITH THE EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY.
I THINK THEY ALSO WORKED WITH AFD.
IT WAS ROB GOLDBERG, UM, BUT HE HAS TAKEN A DIFFERENT POSITION AND THEY, UM, I DON'T, I'VE NOT HEARD YET THAT THEY FILLED HIS POSITION, BUT I, I HAVE NOT HAD CONTACT WITH ANYONE SINCE THEN.
UM, AND I'VE, UM, ATTEMPTED TO REACH OUT TO OTHER INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT I KNOW OFFER VERY, UM, I WOULD SAY, UH, ADVANCED, UM, INSURANCE, UM, PROGRAMS THAT YOU COULD PURCHASE THAT PROVIDE ESSENTIALLY LIKE PRIVATE FIREFIGHTING FOR YOUR HOMES.
BUT I, IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION THAT YOU ASK.
AND I DO THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE A MORE INTENTIONAL, UM, COMMUNITY WIDE COUNTY AND CITY CONVERSATION, UM, WITH THESE LARGE INSURANCE COMPANIES, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A SELF-INTEREST IN TRYING TO REDUCE THE HARM TO PEOPLE BECAUSE IT REDUCES WHAT THEY HAVE TO PAY OUT.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING FOR US TO PURSUE.
AND I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STRATEGY IS TO DO THAT.
I'M NOT SURE IF TALKING WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE IS IMPORTANT, DO WE, TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF STATE FARM, FOR EXAMPLE, OR ANY OF THE OTHER, UM, INSURANCE, LARGE INSURANCE COMPANIES, I JUST DON'T KNOW, BUT, UM, MAYBE, UH, MAYBE STAFF, WE CAN HAVE A KIND OF A CONVERSATION ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT.
IF THERE'S A PROCESS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD RECOMMEND, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL CAUSE CLEARLY TALKING ONE-ON-ONE WITH NEIGHBORS AND EVEN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
ISN'T REALLY HAVING, I MEAN, IT'S HAVING SOME EFFECT, BUT IF WE HAVE PEOPLE STILL SPENDING MONEY TO GO OUT AND DAMAGE THE PRESERVE THEM, WE ARE NOT REACHING EVERYBODY OR WE'RE NOT CONVINCING PEOPLE.
WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
I WANT TO DO THAT OFFLINE WITH THAT EXTENSIVE DIALOGUE WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES OVER THE YEAR.
SO IT WOULD BE GLAD TO SHARE WITH YOU THOSE EFFORTS AND THE OUTCOMES.
THANK YOU, JUSTICE FOR THAT AS WELL, JUSTICE, AND MAYBE I THINK THE PUBLIC IS VERY INTERESTED IN THIS, THIS ISSUE AS WELL.
SO IT MAY BE IT'S PART OF ANOTHER PRESENTATION FOR A FUTURE OF PCP MEETING.
WELL, WE'LL GET SOMETHING SET UP ON THAT.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ANYBODY WANTS TO OFFER FOR THIS ITEM? NUMBER FIVE? YES, ADAM.
HEY ADAM, THANK YOU, JUSTICE JULIE, FOR A GREAT PRESENTATION.
AND THAT'S GREAT TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY BEING PROACTIVE TO PROTECT PEOPLE AND ALSO PROTECT SPECIES HABITAT FOR MODBAR RISK.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMMISSIONER SHANE SAID, UM, I I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT, UH, AND I WAS WONDERING IF, UH, ANYBODY'S AWARE OF, UH, ANY UNIVERSITY OR SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT'S LOOKING AT THIS AND THAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE POTENTIALLY INCREASING THE RISK OF WILDFIRE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD FROM FOLKS WHO WORK IN THIS AREA, UH, AND YOU KNOW, HYPOTHESIS THAT'S BEEN PUT FORWARD IS THAT IT'S THE SUMMERTIME TEMPER NIGHT, TEMPERATURES GET HIGHER, THAT INCREASES THE RISK OF WILDFIRE.
SO SOMETHING MORE ALONG THE LINE OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, HEARING THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF RISK COULD BE MORE PREVALENT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, IT CERTAINLY MAKES ME NERVOUS AND MAKES ME NERVOUS, REPEATABLE, AND IT MAKES ME NERVOUS FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT
[00:50:01]
UTILIZE THESE AREAS THAT EVERYBODY'S AT A GREATER RISK.UM, YOU KNOW, I'M WONDERING IF, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT ISSUE HAS BEEN EXPLORED, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THIS FROM A, UH, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE PERSPECTIVE AND RESILIENCY ADAPTATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE AND, UH, OR FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, HAS ANYBODY DONE ANYTHING SORT OF MODELING OR THE TECHNICAL THAT SORT OF WE'LL GET INTO HOW IS CLIMATE CHANGE PLAY A ROLE IN THIS? MAYBE WE CAN GET STAFF INPUT AND THEN BRIDGET, YOU CAN WEIGH IN FROM EFFORTS THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE COUNTY LEVEL.
AND THEN I CAN TALK ABOUT IT, THE CITY STAFF, I CAN SPEAK TO A CITY OFF OF AUSTIN, VULNERABILITY, RESILIENCY EFFORTS, IF YOU LIKE.
WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THAT'S MADE WILDFIRE RESILIENCY, ONE OF OUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES.
AND SO THROUGHOUT THEIR PLANNING PROCESSES, THEY'VE INTEGRATED WILDFIRE RISK AND RESILIENCY INTO THOSE EFFORTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, ARE A FAIRLY RECENT, UM, UH, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT, UH, LOOKED AT FOR WILDFIRE IMPACTS TO STEADY PROXIMITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.
AND WE ALSO WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM TO DEVELOP A WILDFIRE WILDFIRE, VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN WILDFIRE, OR THIS KID SPEAKS TO INDIVIDUAL'S ABILITY TO EFFECTIVE AND RECOVER FROM THE IMPACTS OF WILDFIRE.
IN ADDITION, SUSTAINABILITY DID A WILDFIRE SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT AND THE PREDICTIONS, UM, ADAM, WHEREAS YOU INDICATED, UM, HIGHER OVERALL TEMPERATURES, LONGER GROWING SEASONS WITH, UH, FEWER HARD FREEZES AND SO VEGETATION TO CONTINUE TO GROW INTO WHAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE THE DORMANT SEASON, NOT NECESSARILY LESS RAIN, BUT MORE SPORADIC RAINFALL.
UM, POST-FIRE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FIRE EVENT AND THEN EROSIONAL ISSUES WITHIN THE MAJOR RAINFALL.
AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THE CHALLENGES IN THE AUSTIN, WHICH IS SEDIMENTATION FOR OUR WATER SYSTEMS. SO THERE'VE BEEN SOME PRETTY ROBUST EFFORTS TO LOOK AT THE CLIMATE IMPACTS THE OFF SUSTAINABILITY STUDY PREDICTED THAT OUR BEST CASE SCENARIO WILL BE 2011 INTO THE FUTURE.
AND SO WE CAN BE VERY CONFIDENT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE GET AGGRESSIVELY AND WE'LL KEEP IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE PUBLIC AND OUR PARTNER'S MINDS THAT THERE IS SOME ADDED COMPLEXITIES AND MAYBE IT CONTINUED IN FLORENCE'S TRANSPORTS VERSUS WHAT KIND OF SHOPPING.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING PROACTIVE.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT OUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY AND THE IMPACT ON HABITAT CONSERVATION PLANS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS WAS A PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL HABITAT, CONSERVATION PLANNING, UH, COALITION.
AND, UH, WE WERE FORTUNATE TO GET IN WITH THE BCP TO BE ONE OF TWO CASE STUDIES OF THIS YEAR'S EFFORT TO REALLY LOOK, UM, UM, ALONG WITH THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY HABITAT AGENCY, WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A STUDY LOOKING SPECIFICALLY HOW CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT OUR HCP.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ACTUALLY ANOTHER, THERE'S SEVERAL EFFORTS SPINNING UP TO LOOK AT THIS FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES, BUT, UM, THIS SEEMED LIKE THE PERFECT SEGUE TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS GOING TO REVISIT TO LOOK, TO TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT ONE OF THE TECHNIQUES THAT WE THINK, UH, WE EXPECT TO BE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL IN HOW WE ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIFICALLY ON THE BALCONIES CANYON LANDS PRESERVE.
I WOULD JUST SAY, UM, JUST A, UM, A LITERATURE SEARCH.
UM, THERE'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF, UM, INFORMATION AT THE UNION OF CONCERNED.
SCIENTISTS WRITES ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND WILDFIRES.
UM, THE CARBON BRIEF, UH, HOW GLOBAL WARMING HAS INCREASED US WILDFIRE SCIENCE DAILY CLIMATE CHANGE INCREASES THE RISK OF WILDFIRES CONFIRMS A NEW REVIEW FROM JANUARY OF 2020 NASA SATELLITE DATA RECORDS SHOW CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON FIRES.
AND I KNOW THE, UH, GROUP AT UT HEADED UP BY J BANNER, UM, UH, UH, HOW I THINK IT'S CALLED, UH, THE, UH, FORGOTTEN WHAT'S CALLED 2050 PROJECT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THEY'VE, UM, THEY'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT A NUMBER OF THESE INDICES, UM, RELATED TO FUTURE PROJECTIONS FOR TEXAS AND, UM, THEY, AND FRANKLY, ALL OF THE CLIMATE DATA
[00:55:01]
THAT I'VE SEEN ALL AGREE THAT OUR REGION IS BECOMING HOTTER AND DRIER.AND THOSE ARE OBVIOUSLY FACTORS THAT, UH, THAT INTERSECT TO, UH, CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE THREAT OF WILDFIRE.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S, THERE IS A LOT OF EVIDENCE OUT THERE THAT, UM, CLIMATE CHANGE IS INCREASING THE RISK OF WILDFIRES, AND WE WE'RE CERTAINLY SEEING IT THE HOTTER AND DRIER TEMPERATURES.
AND, UM, AND I THINK, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S OF SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTION, THAT WE WILL FORESEE THIS 2011 SCENARIOS INTO THE FUTURE.
AND THAT WAS, UH, THE 2011 FIRES WERE DEVASTATING.
THEY BURNED MOST MUCH OF BASTROP TO THE GROUND.
AND THAT WAS WHEN THE STEINER RANCH FIRE, UH, BROKE OUT.
AND FROM EVERY FIREFIGHTER THAT I'VE SPOKEN WITH WHO WAS ON THE GROUND THERE, UM, THEY ALL AGREE THAT, UH, IT WAS REALLY JUST THE CHANGE IN THE WIND DIRECTION.
THAT'S SAVED MUCH OF STEINER RANCH.
UM, SO WE'VE, WE HAVE GOT TO DO MORE, TO BETTER PREPARE OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND I UNDERSTAND IT'S SORT OF OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S RAINING AND EVERYTHING SEEMS LUSH AND GREEN, IT'S HARD TO GET PEOPLE CONCERNED AND FOCUSED ON PREPARING FOR WILDFIRE SEASON.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT IS OF WHAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO.
AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S VALUABLE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING.
THE WORK ON THESE SHADED FUEL BREAKS IS, IS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF IT.
THE, THE CREATION OF THE, UH, OF THE EVACUATION, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY EVACUATION PLAN IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S WELL.
SO THAT'S AN, THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO COMMUNICATE THESE, UH, ACTIVITIES TO, UM, OUR, OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITIES DID ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS, BRIDGET, ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE EVACUATION PLANNING PROCESS WOULD BE THE FOLKS AT RIVER PLACE.
WE HAD A ZONING CASE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO THAT WOULD ALLOW A NEW DEVELOPMENT, VERY DENSE DEVELOPMENT TO HAPPEN AT THE END OF THE REPLACE, UH, OR, UH, CAN'T REMEMBER THE ROAD THERE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, I'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH RANDALL JAMISON ABOUT IT.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD, UH, WE DID A PRESENTATION TO COUPLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS OUT THERE WAS THAT THE, I THINK IT WAS AT THE RE IT WAS AT ONE OF THE COUNTRY CLUBS OUT THERE AND, UM, UH, GAVE THEM AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT, THAT HAD BEEN DONE IN PARTICULARLY TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD BASED FIRE DRILL THAT WE'D DONE AT COMMAND BETRAYAL AND, UM, OUR, UH, WILDFIRE EDUCATION, UM, STAFF PERSON WILL BITTNER TALKED ABOUT THE WORK THAT HE HAD DONE TO, UM, UH, ESSENTIALLY CERTIFY THAT, UM, COUNTRY CLUB AS A, UM, SHELTER IN PLACE LOCATION.
AND PART OF IT WAS BECAUSE THERE WAS A POND NEARBY AS PART OF THE GOLF COURSE SET UP WITH A FLAT AREA, UH, THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR STAR FLIGHT TO GET THEIR WATER BUCKETS INTO THE BOP, THE POND, UM, AND BE ABLE TO USE THAT FOR FIREFIGHTING IN THE VICINITY.
BUT, UM, WHAT STRIKES ME IS THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITIES GOING ON AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW, JUSTICE AT ATX WILDFIRE IS THE, IS THE RIGHT PLACE TO CENTRALIZE THAT INFORMATION.
BUT, UM, I CONTINUE TO LEARN NEW THINGS AND, AND THIS IS MY DAILY DIET.
SO IF I'M LEARNING NEW THINGS, BUT I'M CONSUMING IT ALL THE TIME, I THINK IT'S NOT GOING TO BE AS WELL KNOWN OR ACCESSIBLE TO THE AVERAGE PERSON.
SO I THINK THAT THAT ISN'T A VALUABLE, UH, TASK TO BE UNDERTAKEN, NOT SURE HOW, BUT I AGREE, BRIDGETTE, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MISSPEAKING EARLIER, WE JUST TRANSITIONED.
UM, BUT THE CITY AND COUNTY IS, UH, REFINING A JOINT, UM, A WILDFIRE AWARENESS WEBSITE THAT HELPS FUNNEL ANYBODY IN TRAVIS COUNTY TO THE RIGHT ENTITY, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHERE HE ESD PARTNER AND OUTLINES THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO WE CAN FORWARD A LINK TO THE PILOT WEBSITE.
SO WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT EFFORT AND WE HOPE THE HUB WILL HELP TRACK AND REFLECT THINGS SPATIALLY AS WELL.
AND IT, ALL OF THIS WORK THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AT THE CITY AND, UH, THE ESTS AND, UH, OUR, UH, PRESERVED STAFF, UM, AT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, ALL OF THE WORK IS WORKING TOWARD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.
I BROUGHT I, UH, A RESOLUTION TO CREATE A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE OFFICER SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF DISCUSSION IN THE COMMUNITY TO GUIDE THE COMMUNITY.
EVERYBODY, NOT JUST THE CITY AS AN ENTITY
[01:00:01]
OR THE COUNTY OR THE, UH, AS A, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS ENTITY OR THE COUNTY AS A BUSINESS ENTITY, WITH THE THINGS THAT WE CAN CONTROL DIRECTLY, BUT PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE BUSINESSES AND THE MANUFACTURERS AROUND TRAVIS COUNTY AS A WHOLE CAN WORK TOWARD, UM, BEING THE FIREWISE AWARE OF FLOOD AND WHAT THE MITIGATION, UM, NEEDS ARE.HOW DO WE ZONE FOR, UH, RESILIENCE, UM, OUR AIR QUALITY, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO POSITION US.
WE'RE GOING THROUGH A REALLY HARD TIME NOW WITH THE PANDEMIC, BUT FRANKLY, ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE TAKING, WE CAN USE, UM, WE FORWARD SO THAT, CAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT DONE.
THERE WILL BE NEW WAVES OF WHATEVER THE NEXT, UM, PHYSICAL DISLOCATION WILL BE FOR ALL OF US.
AND THE MORE WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES, WHAT THE LEARNING IS WE'VE HAD FROM COVID GOING FORWARD AND CODIFYING IT AND SETTING OUT OUR, OUR MANUALS AND OUR, OUR, UH, PROCESSES WE'LL BE ABLE TO RESPOND EVEN MORE NIMBLY TO FUTURE DISLOCATIONS, BV, ECONOMIC, OR ENVIRONMENTAL OR WEATHER-WISE.
SO I THINK JUST TO WRAP UP THIS PIECE, EVERYONE IS WELL AWARE OF THE THREATS OF WHATEVER KIND AND, UH, ALSO EQUALLY INTERESTED IN FINDING WAYS TO, UM, MITIGATE FOR THEM AND TO PLAN FOR THEM.
[6. Rehydration / Flood Mitigation on the BCP Landscape – BCP Staff]
HAVE ANYTHING MORE ON WILDFIRE? BECAUSE THEN WE CAN GO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE, UM, OF THE CONTINUUM AND TALK ABOUT FLOOD MITIGATION AND REHYDRATION ON THE LANDSCAPE.AND THE STAFF HAS A PRESENTATION ON THIS SOUNDS GOOD.
MITCH IS GOING TO SHARE HIS SCREEN AND PULL UP A PRESENTATION AND KATE MCCANN WILL BE TALKING ABOUT, SO LET'S GET THEM PREPARED.
SO WE'LL SHOW THIS VIDEO, UM, THAT WE MADE EARLIER THIS YEAR, YOU KNOW, PRESERVED NOT KIND OF NARRATE WHAT THE VIDEO USUALLY SAYS.
UM, SO WEST OF AUSTIN, TEXAS, THE BALCONY'S CANDY LAND PRESERVE PROTECT SOME OF THE LARGEST REMAINING PATCHES OF FOREST IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY AND IS MANAGED FOR A DIVERSITY OF ENDANGERED AND RARE SPECIES IN AREAS WHERE TOP SOILS HAVE BEEN LOST DUE TO EROSION PLANT GROWTH AND WATER-HOLDING CAPACITY OR LIMITED INSIGHTS LIKE THESE WE'RE USING REGENERATIVE RESTORATION TECHNIQUES TO JUMPSTART THE REFORESTATION PROCESS FROM THE GROUND UP.
WE STARTED THIS PROJECT BY DIGGING THREE LARGE BIOSWELLS ON CONTOUR 5S, WHALES, OR SHALLOW PROFS, THE SLOPING SIDES THAT WE PLANT WITH NATIVE SPECIES TO HELP RESTORE THE ECOSYSTEM SIMILAR TO TERRACING ON A SLOPE BIOS, WHALES, REHYDRATE, DRY HILLSIDES BY CAPTURING SPREADING, AND THINKING WATER INSTALLED HIGH IN GAPE.
THEY HELP CONTROL EROSION, SLOW RAINFALL, RUNOFF, PROMOTE AQUIFER RECHARGE AND REDUCE FLOODING.
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO RESTORE AN ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO ONCE THESE BIOSWELLS WERE DUG, VOLUNTEERS ADDED A LAYER OF COMPOST AND SOIL PLANTED MORE THAN 130 NOW, MORE THAN 189, I THINK IS THE COUNT TREES AND SHRUBS, UM, ON AN IN-BETWEEN THOSE BIO SWALES AND COVER THEM WITH MULCH.
UM, THIS IS A PRETTY UNIQUE PART OF THE BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE THE LIVING LABORATORY, WHERE THE COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO LEARN ABOUT LANDSCAPING PRACTICES THAT CAN BE USED IN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS AND BACKYARD TO STRONG AND WELCOMING COMMUNITY OF VOLUNTEERS.
THAT'S AT THE HEART OF THE CITY'S PART OF THE BIKINIS CANYON LANDS, UM, THEIR OPPORTUNITIES TO VOLUNTEER HERE ABOUT FOUR TIMES A WEEK, UM, AND REALLY IT'S THIS PRACTICE, UM, THAT HELPS TO CREATE AN ABUNDANCE OF LIFE ON A FORMERLY DEGRADED LANDSCAPE.
SO WE'RE SO GRATEFUL TO THIS COMMUNITY OF VOLUNTEERS, THE HARD WORK OF JIM O'DONNELL OF LISA O'DONNELL AND ALL THE PCP STAFF, UM, AND THE HARD WORK OF A VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, AUDREY STEWART FOR, UM, SUPPORTING ALL OF THAT AND COORDINATING, UM, GETTING THOSE VOLUNTEERS OUT.
UM, SO THEY CAN HEAR FROM JIM AND BE PART OF THIS, KATE, THIS IS GREAT.
DO YOU HAVE MORE THERE OR ARE YOU DONE? NO, THAT'S ABOUT IT.
I, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR US TO BE OUTSIDE TOGETHER,
[01:05:01]
AGAIN, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU OUT THAT AREA THAT WE WERE JUST FLYING OVER IN THAT DRONE SHOT.UM, I GOT TO WATER A FEW WEEKS AGO BECAUSE OF COURSE THESE 189 TREES NEED A LITTLE HELP AS IT GETS HOTTER.
UM, AND THAT AREA IS JUST TRANSFORMED.
IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THIS DIRT CULICHI HILLTOP, UM, THAT WAS FORMERLY, SO DEGRADED TURNED INTO WHAT WILL BE A VERY DIVERSE FOREST.
IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE WOODLAND.
I SAW SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT JIM O'DONNELL HAD PUT UP ON FACEBOOK.
I THINK IT WAS, AND IT WAS A BEFORE AND AFTER.
AND THAT WAS EVEN, I DON'T KNOW IF THE TIMING WISE IS FROM THESE SHOTS, BUT IT WAS REMARKABLE.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, I THINK IT'S, IT'S A REALLY, THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL WORK.
AND ALSO I THINK THAT ANY VOLUNTEER WHO COMES OUT TO DO THE WORK ON THE BUYER SWELLS AND HELP WITH THE PLANTING, THEY TAKE THAT LEARNING BACK WITH THEM TO THEIR OWN PROPERTY AND PUT IT TO USE, AND HOPEFULLY ARE ALSO SHARING IT AND EDUCATING OTHERS LIKE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR FRIENDS ON WHAT THEY LEARNED BY WORKING AS VOLUNTEERS ON THESE PROJECTS.
WE DO HAVE SOME OF THOSE PICTURES AND WE WILL HAVE JIM A BOTTLE OF JOINING US AT A FUTURE MEETING TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS.
BUT DAVID, IF YOU WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT FEW SIDES, SLIDES, WE HAVE PICTURES OF THIS PROJECT AFTER A RECENT RAIN, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S DOING EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO DO.
DAVID, WE GO TO THE NEXT ONE, ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL WATER THAT WAS CAPTURED IN STORE.
I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE A BARREN HILLSIDE.
I'M GOING TO, I WANT TO AMPLIFY THESE SHOTS, UM, IN SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN MY NEWSLETTER.
SO IF YOU GUYS HAVE A LINK TO SOME OF THESE, UH, A LITTLE WRITE UP KATE, IF YOU OR SOMEBODY HAS A WRITEUP TO YOU.
SO PLEASE SEND IT TO ME AS WELL.
WELL, YEAH, ON THE, UM, AUSTIN WATER, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FACEBOOK PAGE, AND ALSO THE AUSTIN BCP INSTAGRAM, UM, THESE HAVE BEEN FEATURED PROMINENTLY AND WE'LL SEND YOU A LINK TO THAT TOO.
IS THIS WORK CONTINUING ON WITH THE VOLUNTEERS, EVEN DESPITE OUR CURRENT SOCIAL DISTANCING, UH, SITUATION QUESTION, UM, WE TOOK A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME OFF, UM, AND ONLY THIS TUESDAY, HAVE WE, UH, BEGUN TO INCORPORATE A HANDFUL OF VOLUNTEERS? SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE NO MORE THAN FIVE PEOPLE, VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF ON THAT BIG CHUNK OF LAND AT ONE TIME, AND THEY WERE MASKS AND THEY WEREN'T GLOVES THE WHOLE TIME.
AND THERE'S A PREPONDERANCE OF, UM, THIS INFECTED, BUT YES, UH, YOU KNOW, JIM O'DONNELL AND CARES FOR THE VERIO PRESERVE, UM, YOU KNOW, RAIN OR SHINE PANDEMIC OR NO.
AND SO WITH A LITTLE BIT OF HELP FROM OTHER STAFF, UM, HE'S BEEN CONTINUING TO WATER THESE PLANTS, WHICH, UM, NEEDED A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP FOR MONTHS TO COME AS THEY ESTABLISH.
UM, NOW WE HAVE, UM, JUST A VERY FEW NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS THAT WERE ABLE TO DISTANCE, BUT THEY ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE A LITTLE PIECE OF THAT COMMUNITY COME BACK TOGETHER.
AGAIN, IT'S BEEN A HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEK FOR SURE.
WELL, I'M, HERE'S HOPING THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING EVEN MORE VOLUNTEERS BACK IN AND RESUME THE, UH, REALLY DILIGENT WORK, UH, GOING FORWARD.
UM, AS WE HOPEFULLY GET BACK TO SOME NORMALITY, ONE OF THESE DAYS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, NUMBER SIX, JUST THAT IT'S EXQUISITE MIX.
IT'S SUCH A POWERFUL, IT'S SUCH A POWERFUL DEMONSTRATION OF HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW THE ENVIRONMENT CAN REGENERATE, UM, WITH JUST A LITTLE, UH, HELP FROM US TO UNDO THE HARM THAT HUMANS HAD DONE PREVIOUSLY.
YEAH, THAT'S A REAL HEART LIFT FOR SURE.
SO WE'RE MOVING INTO OUR LAST, UM, REPORT ITEM, WHICH IS SEVEN BCP PARTNER REPORTS, AND THEN OUR LAST ITEM IDENTIFIED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO BCP
[7. Receive BCP Partner Reports– BCP Staff]
PARTNER REPORTS.WE WILL HAVE LINDA LAX SPEAKING FIRST FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
[01:10:02]
UH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE NICO HOWARD AND SHERRY POOL TALK FOR THE CITY, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SHAHADA TO TALK ABOUT THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.I'M LINDA LOCKE, NATURAL RESOURCES FIELD SUPERVISOR FOR TRAVIS COUNTY AND OUR TABLETS COUNTY FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER REPORTS ARE INCLUDED IN YOUR BACKUP DOCUMENTS.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO COVER A FEW HIGHLIGHTS.
SO AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, UH, MANY OF OUR FIELD ACTIVITIES WERE IMPACTED BY THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER THAT OCCURRED IN LATE MARCH MOST SIGNIFICANTLY WAS THAT WE WERE ONLY A WEEK INTO OUR GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER SURVEYS, UH, WHEN WE HAD TO SUSPEND THOSE EFFORTS.
AND WE DID RESUME IN A LIMITED CAPACITY, UM, STARTING BACK IN LATE APRIL, BUT BECAUSE WE MISSED THE PEAK OF THE SEASON, UH, OUR YEAR TO YEAR DATA, WON'T BE COMPARABLE.
UM, AND WE ALSO LOST A SEASON OF TAWNY CRAZY AUNT RESEARCH, WHICH WE DO IN COLLABORATION WITH, UH, DR.
AILERON OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PATROLLING.
HOWEVER, WAS CONSIDERED AN ESSENTIAL DUTY DURING THE SHELTER IN PLACE.
AND WE ACTUALLY INCREASED PATROLLING DURING THIS TIME BECAUSE WE SUSPECTED THAT TRESPASSING AND OTHER MISCHIEF MIGHT BE ON THE RISE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN MANY PEOPLE WERE AT HOME AND INDEED, UH, WE DID FIND, UH, BOTH AN INCREASE IN TRESPASSING AND IN, UM, TREE TREE CLEARING, UH, ALONG OUR BOUNDARY BEHIND PEOPLE'S LOTS.
AND, UH, YEAH, THE TEA TREE CLEARING WAS ESPECIALLY CONCERNING BECAUSE WE WERE SOMETIMES FINDING SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT CASES A WEEK.
AND WE HAVE ABOUT 10 OPEN CASES RIGHT NOW WHERE WE'RE WORKING TO SEEK REPARATIONS FOR THE DAMAGE.
SO ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE, WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME HABITAT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, UH, THIS WINNER, UH, PRIMARILY TO IMPROVE OR ENHANCE CAT VERIO HABITAT.
AND ONE OF THESE PROJECTS WAS A 15 ACRE PRESCRIBED BURN ON THE QUARTERLY UNIT AND THAT BURN WENT WELL.
AND THE EXCITING NEWS IS THAT THIS SPRING, WE ACTUALLY HAD A PAIR OF BLACK CAP VIREOS USING THAT AREA THAT WE HAD JUST RECENTLY BURNED.
AND IN ADDITION, YOU'VE ALSO HAD ANOTHER TWO PAIR OF VARIOS USING AN ADJACENT AREA THAT WE BURNED IN, UH, UH, IN 2019.
SO IT'S, IT'S REWARDING TO SEE THE FRUITS OF OUR, OUR MANAGEMENT EFFORTS, UH, PROVIDE, UH, UH, AN IMMEDIATE BENEFIT FOR THE SPECIES.
AND THEN FINALLY, I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME INTERESTING SALAMANDER RESEARCH THAT'S GOING ON IN THE PRESERVE AND SOME WESTERN COUNTY PARKS FACTOR, TOM DEVIN WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, IS STUDYING THE TAXONOMY OF CENTRAL TEXAS BROWNWATER SALAMANDERS.
AND HE'S IN THE PROCESS OF DESCRIBING A NEW SPECIES IN THE, UH, PERTINENT ALICE RIVER BASIN.
AND AFTER, UM, DIVOT CAME OUT IN JANUARY AND COLLECTED A SALAMANDER ON THE PRESERVE, AND WE ALLOWED A, A VIDEO CREW TO COME OUT WITH, UM, THAT IS, UH, THAT DID A SEGMENT FOR A NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL CALLED RUGGED RESEARCH.
AND THIS CHANNEL IS IT'S DESIGNED TO BRING SCIENCE TO THE PUBLIC IN AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE FORMAT.
AND, UH, WE WERE HOPING TO SHOW YOU THE VIDEO TODAY, BUT WE WERE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES EARLY ON.
SO, UM, WE'LL PROBABLY TRY AND SHOW THAT TO YOU NEXT TIME.
ITS LINK IS IN THE CORPORATE REPORT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
IS THERE A, IS THERE A BRIEF LINK THAT YOU CAN JUST TELL US FOR ANYONE WHO'S LISTENING, IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO CHECK IT OUT? UM, THERE IS QUARTERLY REPORT.
IT'S ALSO ON OUR TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, BELL COUNTY LANDS, PRESERVE, UH, WEBSITE.
AND EITHER OF THOSE PLACES WOULD BE THE EASIEST, EASIEST WAY TO GET IT, TO GET IT RUGGED RESEARCH ON YOUTUBE.
THEY MIGHT TRY THESE SERIES AND I THINK IT'S TITLED HOW TO FIND A NEW SPECIES IS THE TITLE OF THAT PARTICULAR SEGMENT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THEN? WE'LL MOVE TO NICO AND SHERRY.
[01:15:15]
I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.HEATHER SAID HEADPHONE DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD MIC.
UM, DID YOU WANT TO GO FIRST SHERRY OR, WELL, I WAS JUST GOING TO BE HERE REALLY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, BUT WE, UM, HAD A VERY SIMILAR OPERATION AS TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE WERE IN STEP WITH THEM ON, UM, KIND OF WHAT WE HAD TO DO IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID SITUATION.
AND SO WE ALSO HAD TO SHUT DOWN OUR RESEARCH ON THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS FOR AWHILE.
ALSO SOME OF THE K WORK THAT INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE THAN ONE PERSON IN A K.
AND WE, UM, DID KIMBERLY DID NOTIFY THE SERVICE THAT WE WERE HAVING TO STOP SOME OF THAT RESEARCH.
SO WE DID PICK IT UP A LITTLE LATER, UM, AS TIME WENT ON.
SO AS A BIOLOGIST, WE'RE ABLE TO GO OUT SO LOW AND DO SOME OF THAT WORK.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO CAPTURE SOME DATA FOR THE SEASON.
AND I THINK NICO'S GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THAT WITH, PARTICULARLY WITH BLACK HAT BARRIOS, CAUSE IT WAS GETTING KIND OF LATER IN THE SEASON, BUT I'M HERE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ALL THAT SHERRY, UM, AND, AND PART OF, SO WE, WE, UM, GOT KIND OF A LATE START ON THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER SURVEYS.
WE NORMALLY WE'LL DO INTENSIVE PLOTS ABOUT 10 OF THEM STARTING AROUND MARCH 1ST.
SO WE JUST, UH, WE STARTED LATE.
UM, BUT FROM THE DATA WE'VE SEEN, WE'VE ANALYZED FROM, UM, 2011 TO 2019, WE'VE BEEN SEEING A 30% DECREASE ACROSS THOSE 10 PLOTS AND WE'LL SEEK WARBLER TERRITORIES.
AND, UM, SOME PLOTS ARE, IS, IS LOW.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY HOPING TO SEE THIS YEAR, UM, WERE THE INITIAL IMPLICATION FROM THERE SEEM TO BE MORE, UM, ONCE YOU, THEY SEEM TO BE HIGHER THAN BEFORE.
SO YOU'RE KIND OF HOPEFUL TO SEE IF MAYBE THEY REBOUNDED OR REALLY WHERE THEY'RE REALLY DIMINISHING ACROSS THE SQUATS.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LACK OF BARRIOS, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE THAT MANY FLATS AREA, THEY'RE MOSTLY TO THE WEST OF US AND WE'VE SEEN MORE OF A MISS YEAR, UM, PICKED ME ON THE VERIO PRESERVE.
WELL, WE HADN'T SEEN THEM MAKOS.
I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM, UM, CAN EVERYONE HEAR? AND CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME, DAVID? YES.
ARE YOU ABLE TO FILL IN A LITTLE UPDATE WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR NICO TO I'M BACK ALL? UM, I'LL DO A LITTLE BIT, I, I KNOW WHAT HE START WAS STARTING TO SAY ABOUT, ABOUT BLACK CAT BARRIOS WAS THAT WE HAD ONE THIS YEAR AT DARIO PRESERVE, WHICH IS REALLY AMAZING.
AND, UM, CAUSE THAT POPULATION THERE USED TO BE A STRONG POPULATION THERE AND IT DECLINED OVER THE YEARS, BUT WITH ALL THE WORK OF JIM AND THE VOLUNTEERS THAT KATE WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT THOSE THAT MAYBE WE'LL GET SOME VIDEOS BACK THERE WOULD BE AMAZING.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAD A SECOND VERIO AT WILD BASIN, SO THOSE ARE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER.
AND WE HAD ADDITIONAL VARIOUS, I THINK BACK IN SOME OTHER LOCATIONS THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD THEM THE LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS.
SO YOU GO, ARE YOU BACK? CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME NOW WE CAN MOVE ON TO HERE.
YOU MIGHT SHOOT ON THAT POWERPOINT.
UM, AND SO, UM, SO ALSO WE'VE, WE'VE WE RESUMED OUR, UM, RESIGNING OF THE GOLDEN SEAT WORE BLUE SUIT OR BANDED IN.
SO THEN WE STARTED THAT RECENTLY THAT THESE ARE THE
SO IT'S, WE'RE GETTING GOOD INFORMATION
[01:20:01]
FROM, FROM THAT AS WELL.UM, ALSO WE'VE GOT THE, SOME CITIES YOU'RE RECORDING IN PLACES LIKE A LONG 22, 22 AND EMMA LONG PARK AND THE WILD BASIN.
AND IT'S GONNA BE AN INTERESTING YEAR TO SEE THE, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF DIMINISHED TRAFFIC TO SEE THE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19, UM, ON THE, ON THE BIRDS THIS YEAR WITH THE AUTO RECORDING.
SO WE HAVE THAT THAT'S GOING ON AS WELL.
WHEN GOING SLAP OVER TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS, BY THE WAY, THE PAINTING BY WE COMMISSIONED BY AN ARTIST MARGRET.
WELL, JUST SOME OF THE, UM, GOLDEN SEABOARD WAR BLUES ON BARTON CREEK WILDERNESS FEEDING A FLEDGLING AND THEN, UM, A BLACK CAT, VERY EXPANDED ON PORT TANYA, ONE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO ONE, UM, YEAH, NEXT ONE HERE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID THIS YEAR THAT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MARCH REQUIRED, UM, THE MAJORITY OF WHIRLPOOL CAPE RESERVE, WHICH IS OUR THIRD LONGEST OF THE 62 PERMIT CAVES.
AND, UM, WE DIDN'T GET GO THE ENTRANCE, WHICH IS OWNED BY TEXAS CASE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION, BUT WE GOT MOST OF THE CAVE ACQUIRED AND WE'RE WORKING WITH TEXAS CASE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TO, TO CO-MANAGE IT AS A COURSE PRESERVE.
UM, SO THAT WAS A BIG SUCCESS IN ACQUIRING THE PORTIONS OF THE THIRD LONGEST CAVE ON OUR, ON OUR FEDERAL PERMIT SLIP OVER TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE MOBILITY CORRIDOR PROJECT.
UM, THEY WANT TO DO SOME WORK ALONG SLAUGHTER LANE.
AND SO THEY'VE, UM, THEY'VE WORKED WITH US TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARD A, HOW DID YOUR LOGIC STUDY OF THE CAVES ALONG SLAUGHTER LANE, INCLUDING PIPELINE CAVE, UM, WHICH IS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PHOTOS BACK IN 2018, THIS IS ONE OF OUR, OUR PERMIT, BY THE WAY, IT'S ON PRIVATE PROPERTY BY THE ALAMO DRAFT HOUSE AT MOPAC AND SLAUGHTER LANE.
AND, UM, FROM UP TO 2018, IT WAS REALLY JUST ONE ROOM FULL OF TRASH IT'S FOR US.
AND SO FROM 2018 TO 2019, WE WORKED TOGETHER WITH, UM, FOLKS CONTRACTED FROM SAR, ENVIRONMENTAL BY THE CORRIDOR MOBILITY PROJECT.
AND WE CLEARED THE TRASH OUT OF THE CAGE AND WE DISCOVERED A MUCH LARGER CONTINUATION OF THE CAVE, UH, GO UNTIL NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S AN EXTENSION OF THE CAVE NOW, WHICH WAS A VERY LARGE ROOM, PRETTY MUCH EXTENDS ALMOST UNDER THE ALAMO DRAFT HOUSE, AS BEST WE CAN TELL, UM, WAS A FORMER BAT ROOST.
UM, SO, UH, SO THAT WAS A BIG SUCCESS IN BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, RESTORE ONE OF OUR PERMIT CAVES.
AND NOW WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF DOING A HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY FOR THE CASE.
SO WE'VE, UH, WE'RE MONITORING THE DRIP NICO, BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, YOU'D SAID THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH BELOW THE, UM, THE ALAMO DRAFT HOUSE, IS THAT, UH, IS, UH, SOUTHWEST NEAR.
I I'D HEARD THAT THEY DISCOVERED A NUMBER OF CAVES ON THOSE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
IS THIS PART OF WHAT WHAT'S BEING UNCOVERED OR FOUND DURING THOSE, UM, EXTENSION OF MOPAC CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OR WAS THIS DIFFERENT? IT WAS KNOWN SINCE THEN ABOUT THE 1980S SEVENTIES.
UM, SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT ONE DISCOVERED AND IT WAS PUT ON THE FEDERAL PERMIT OR PERMIT IN 1996.
WE KNEW ABOUT IT AT LEAST, AT LEAST THAT FAR WITH THIS, UM, JUST HAVING RESTORED IT UNTIL NOW, RIGHT.
THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW THAT WE'VE RESTORED IT.
AND NOW WE'RE STUDYING THE WATER SOURCE AREAS TO THIS TRIP.
AND ALONG WITH ABOUT FIVE OTHER CAVES IN THAT AREA, WE'RE STUDYING TO SEE WHERE, WHERE THE WATER SOURCE SERIES FOR, HOW DID YOU MULTIPLE STUDIES? UM, SO, SO YEAH, SO THAT'S KIND OF A SUCCESS RECENTLY IT'S BEEN HAPPENING.
UM, AND NOW WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO OVER ALL THE STUFF IN THE REPORT SINCE YOU CAN READ THAT, BUT I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THIS STUFF, UM, THANK YOU.
UM, COMMISSIONER, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? YOU KNOW, I'M JUST LOOKING AT MY AGENDA AND MAYBE I, MAYBE I'M NOT PUTTING UP THE WHOLE PACKET.
UM, DID YOUR EMAIL INCLUDE BOTH THE AGENDA AND IN THE, UH, A SEPARATE DOCUMENT? WOULD THAT INCLUDE THE FULL BACKUP KIMBERLY? YES.
THE FULL BACKUP, UH, SHOULD HAVE BEEN LINKED IN THE EMAIL.
UM, THE FULL POP-UP HAS BEEN POSTED ON THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
THANKS FOR FILLING IN AS WELL.
[01:25:01]
UM, UH, INFORMATION AND IN JOHANNA, I THANK YOU OUR NEXT HI, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME AND SEE YOU? HELLO? HELLO, LIAISON DENNIS TONY NOW FOOD RESOURCES.AND I'M GOING TO JUST GIVE YOU GUYS A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE, UM, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH REPORT.
SINCE YOU HAVE THAT IN YOUR PACKET, JUST TOUCH ON SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
SO THIS WILL BE FOR QUARTER ONE AND QUARTER TWO.
UM, I'M GOING TO BRING UP THE FIRST ONE.
LET'S SEE IF I CAN YOU SEE IT POP UP SHORT LATER, IT'S ALWAYS A BIT OF A LAG IF YOU SHARE YOUR SCREEN SHARED MY SCREEN AND I BROUGHT THE, UM, THE REPORT UP.
I DON'T SEE, DOES ANYBODY SEE IT? I DON'T SEE THE REPORT EITHER.
JOHANNA, DO YOU WANT ME TO MOVE THE PRESENTER OVER TO DAVID? HAS THE REPORT READY TO BRING UP AS WELL? UM, SO I CAN JUST GO OVER THE NUMBERS REAL QUICK, AND THEN IF WE NEED TO REFER TO ANYTHING, WE CAN HAVE DAVID BRING IT UP.
UM, SO THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR FROM OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER WAS FANTASTIC.
UH, WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY GREAT EVENTS GOING ON.
UM, THE NUMBER OF EVENTS FROM, UH, THIS YEAR OVER LAST YEAR AND THIS QUARTER INCREASED BY 47%.
UM, THE NUMBER OF YOUTH REACHED INCREASED BY 67%.
THE NUMBER OF ADULTS INCREASED BY 81% AND VOLUNTEER HOURS INCREASED BY 44%.
AND, UM, I WAS THINKING THROUGH LIKE, WHAT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD HAVE, UH, WE ALL WORK HARD ALL THE TIME.
HOW ARE WE, UM, CREATING THESE BIG JUMPS AND BESIDES JUST GETTING BETTER AND SMARTER AT OUR JOBS? UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT IS AN INCREASE IN PARTNERSHIPS THAT A LOT OF US HAVE WITH OUTSIDE GROUPS WHO ARE COMING INTO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES ON THE BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE TO FURTHER THEIR MISSIONS, WHICH THEN ALSO HELPS FURTHER OUR MISSION.
UM, I KNOW WHILE MASON IN THAT QUARTER PARTNERED WITH TEXAS FOREST SERVICE TO HOST A PROJECT LEARNING TREE WORKSHOP, UM, THAT BROUGHT A LOT OF PEOPLE IN TO ENJOY WHILE BASIN AND LEARN ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.
THEY ALSO, UM, HAD REI HOST SOME STAR WALK EVENTS AT WILD BASIN, UM, WHERE THEY BROUGHT IN PEOPLE TO DO SOME STARGAZING.
UH, TRAVIS COUNTY PARTNERED WITH NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY WHO HELD A DAY LONG WORKSHOP AT OUR SNOWDEN TRACT.
UM, AND THEY SCOPED IT OUT AHEAD OF TIME AND, UH, CREATED A LIST OF PLANTS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BRING PEOPLE AROUND TO SEE THAT ARE ON OUR PROPERTY.
AND THEN THEY UTILIZE THE, UH, BUILDING THERE FOR THE CLASSROOM ITSELF.
UM, AND WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH OUTDOOR AFRO A NATIONAL GROUP THAT HAS A LOCAL CHAPTER THAT, UM, ENCOURAGES AFRICAN-AMERICANS, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE, YOU KNOW, UH, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO JOIN IN THIS GROUP THAT IS A WELCOMING INCLUSIVE GROUP FOR, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO WOULD LIKE TO HIKE.
AND SO THEY DID A HIKE WITH US.
UH, I THINK THAT WAS THEIR SECOND OR THIRD WITH US.
UM, THIS ONE WAS AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY AND WAS LED BY ZACH STARK, UM, AND MYSELF, AND HE'S THE HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY THERE.
SO LOTS OF PARTNERSHIPS GOING ON AND SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT WAYS TO LEVERAGE ALL OF THE, UM, CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY AND ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE SIMILAR, UM, MISSIONS.
AND, UH, SO, UH, SORT OF THE ULTIMATE PARTNERSHIP WOULD BE IN THE NEXT QUARTER, THE QUARTER TO THE CITY, UM, SPEARHEADED AGAIN, THE, UM, AUSTIN CAVE FESTIVAL, WHICH HAD OVER 2000 ATTENDEES AND THEY PARTNERED WITH OTHER CITY AGENCIES OR DEPARTMENTS I'M SORRY.
UM, AND, UH, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND WE HELP OUT WITH THAT A BIT, BUT THEY DO THE LION'S SHARE ON THAT FOR SURE.
AND KATE CAN ADD IN ANYTHING THAT I'VE MISSED ON THAT, BUT THAT WAS KIND OF ONE OF THE FEW BRIGHT SPOTS, UNFORTUNATELY FOR QUARTER TWO, UM, THERE WAS GOING PRETTY WELL, BUT, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAD TO STOP, UM, OUR GUIDED HIKES AND, UH, VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES.
UM, MANY OF US STOPPED THEM WITH, UH, IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH BEFORE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER, UH, WAS CREATED JUST OUT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, OUT OF CAUTION TO TRY TO PREVENT
[01:30:01]
THE TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19.UM, AND SO THE QUARTERLY NUMBERS ARE QUITE DOWN AND, AND ALSO ACTUALLY BEFORE THAT, THERE WAS, AS YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER A VERY RAINY SPRING.
SO WE HAD, YOU KNOW, VOLUNTEER AFTER DAY AFTER VOLUNTEER DAY HAVING TO BE CANCELED BECAUSE OF THE RAIN.
SO THAT ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO THE LOWER NUMBERS.
UM, SO IN QUARTER TWO, THERE WAS A DECREASE IN 14 BY 14% IN EVENTS FROM THE YEAR BEFORE.
AND THAT TIME PERIOD, UH, DECREASE A 49% OF YOUTH REACHED.
UM, AND THERE WAS ACTUALLY AN INCREASE OF 19% OF ADULTS REACH, WHICH I THINK MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE, UM, THE CAVE FESTIVAL, BUT THEN, UH, DECREASED BY 42% IN VOLUNTEER HOURS.
BUT BEFORE THAT HAPPENED, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF COOL PROJECTS.
THE TRAVIS AUDUBON AT BAKER, UM, HAD AN EAGLE SCOUT CREATE A TRAILHEAD KIOSK AND A CHIMNEY SWIFT TOWER, UM, WEST CAVE HOSTED AT 174 STUDENTS AND 17 TEACHERS FROM EIGHT AISD SCHOOLS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GIRL'S OUTDOOR PROGRAM.
UM, WHILE BASIN HOSTED 137 KIDS IN 47 ADULTS ON GUIDED HIKES IN THE FIRST HALF OF MARCH AND TRAINED SEVEN NEW HEIGHT GUIDES AND HAD LOTS PLANNED FOR THE SECOND HALF OF MARCH.
UM, SO WE ARE ALL BEING VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THINKING ABOUT FUTURE PLANS, BUT WE ARE ALL HOPING TO GET PEOPLE BACK ONTO THE PRESERVE, UM, WHEN POSSIBLE, BECAUSE IT'S JUST SUCH A AMAZING HEALING, INSPIRING EXPERIENCE FOR SO MANY PEOPLE AND WANT TO SHARE IT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
UM, SO WE ARE, AS KATE MENTIONED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS, STARTING TO, UM, BRING PEOPLE BACK OUT FOR, UH, SOME VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES.
KATE MENTIONED THE VERIO PRESERVE.
I THINK IT WAS, UM, FIVE PEOPLE, INCLUDING STAFF WHO HAVE STARTED TO WORK THERE.
W SIMILARLY ON THE COUNTY SIDE, IT'S OUR SNOWDEN SURROUNDED BY A NATIVE PLANT GARDENS THAT REALLY, REALLY WERE GETTING OVERGROWN WITH A COMBINATION OF RAIN AND NOT HAVING THE CARE OF THE VOLUNTEERS.
WE ALSO WE'VE BROUGHT BACK TWO OF OUR CORE VOLUNTEERS, AND THEN WE HAVE TWO STAFF, PEOPLE, MYSELF AND JEREMY HALL, UM, ARE, UH, MANAGED TO HELPING WITH THAT.
AND WE'RE GETTING THE, THE WEEDS BACK INTO SHAPES TO SOME EXTENT.
UM, AND WE ALSO THE RECITING PROGRAM FOR THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER BANDED RECITING, UH, RECITING PROGRAM THAT HAS RESUMED AS WELL THOUGH.
I THINK THIS WAS THE LAST WEEK FOR IT.
SO THERE WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT THAT GOT TO BE DONE IN THE, UM, THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND THAT'S ALMOST ALL EITHER SOUL, UH, VOLUNTEERS OR PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING FROM THE SAME HOUSEHOLD, YOU KNOW, TWO PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER.
UM, THERE MAY BE OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT THAT I'VE MISSED.
I THINK ALL ARE A COUPLE OF OUR, UH, PHOTO PERMIT HOLDERS ARE, HAVE COME BACK OUT TO START TAKING PICTURES AND THEY'RE SOLO AS WELL.
UM, BUT IN THAT LIST, IT MADE ME REALIZE THAT I DIDN'T MENTION THE MOST EXCITING THING IN OUR, UH, SIDE FOR THE QUARTER TO OF, OF, UH, THIS SCHOOL YEAR IS THAT WE HIRED A NEW VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR NAMED JEREMY HALL.
AND, UM, HE STARTED A VERY STRANGE TIME AND HE ACTUALLY STARTED JUST AS IT WAS, UM, WE WERE GOING INTO SHUTDOWN, BUT HE HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL ADDITION.
HE HAS A BIOLOGY BACKGROUND, A LOT OF FIELD WORK BACKGROUND.
UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SORT OF A LOT OF THE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE SINCE WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF, UM, SUSPENSION OF OUR REGULAR ACTIVITIES.
AND ALSO HE'S BEEN HELPING A LOT WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY RAMPING UP, ESPECIALLY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEBINARS SERIES THAT WE JUST STARTED.
SO, UH, VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HIM ON BOARD AND, UH, CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE IS JEREMY ON THE CALL, YOU GO ON CAMERA AND AT LEAST WAVE.
SO WE KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE, JEREMY, I JUST ADDED YOU TO THE LIST.
SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY, OR INTRODUCE YOURSELF, I JUST TURNED ON MY CAMERA.
SO YOU SHOULD BE SEEING ME NOW.
HI, JEREMY, HAPPY TO BE THERE.
COME ON BOARD, KATE, WHERE YOU SAYING YOU HAD SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO ADD, THANKS TO JOHANNA FOR GIVING THE OVERVIEW AT A COUPLE OTHER THINGS.
UM, WE, IN ADDITION TO THE VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES THAT JOHANNA OVERVIEWED THAT ARE, UM, PHASING BACK IN SLOWLY AND THOUGHTFULLY, UM, ARE ALSO THE FUEL MOISTURE MONITORS.
SO THESE ARE VOLUNTEERS THAT, UM, CLIP NEW GROWTH FROM ASKED JUNIPER AND TO GIVE US A, UM, AN IDEA
[01:35:01]
EVERY TWO WEEKS OF WHAT THE, UH, MOISTURE OF LIVE FUEL, WHICH I WOULD CALL VEGETATION ENTRIES, UM, IS, AND THAT HELPS US IN OUR, UM, KIND OF PLANNING FOR REDUCING WILDFIRE RISK.UM, SO THAT'S HAPPENING AS WELL BY INDIVIDUALS OR BY FOLKS FROM THE SAME HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND I WANTED TO APPLY JOHANNA FOR, UH, THE WORK THAT SHE DID TO CREATE THIS ONLINE WEBINAR.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A WILD NEIGHBORS SERIES, UM, HIKE AND LECTURE SERIES FOR NEIGHBORS FOR A LONG TIME IN PERSON.
AND, UM, JUST THIS WEEK, SHE, UH, HAD US PARTNER WITH BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL AND IT WAS, UM, A GREAT WELL ATTENDED, UM, ONLINE WEBINAR THAT SHARED SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE WANT NEIGHBORS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRESERVE, UM, WITH THEM ONLINE, WE WERE ABLE TO REPORT IT AND NOW IT'S GOING OUT OF NEWSLETTERS, IT'S ON FACEBOOK.
UM, AND IT JUST HAD GREAT RESOURCES LIKE WHAT TO PLANT IN YOUR YARD FOR BATS AND KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED, UM, SOME OF THE LARGER ECOSYSTEM PROTECTIONS THAT COME WHEN WE FOCUS ON HABITAT FOR OUR ENDANGERED SPECIES.
UM, WE HAVE TWO NEW STAFF PEOPLE, UM, WHO ARE ON A TEMPORARY PROJECT BASED, UM, ROLES, UM, THAT WE HOPE TO HAVE THEM FOR A LONG TIME ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN BCP, UM, MARISSA RICHARDSON AND JAYA TORRES, UM, WHO LIKED JEREMY STARTED THE DAY THAT WE WENT INTO, UM, SHELTER IN PLACE TO STAY AT HOME.
AND SO THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF LEARNING THEIR JOBS WITHOUT BEING IN THE FIELD FOR THE MOST PART.
UM, WE WE'RE REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE THEM HELP TELL OUR STORY.
AND WE ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO STAFF FOR THOSE STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE IN THE FIELD TO SHARE PHOTOS OF, UM, THE ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND THINGS THAT THEY'RE SEEING.
I THINK IT'S BEEN REALLY NICE TO, UM, SHARE THOSE DURING THIS TIME AS SO MANY OF US ARE STUCK INSIDE AND, AND TO, UH, CONTINUE TO PRESERVE THEIR ENTHUSIASM FOR THE CORE, THE WORK WITHOUT ACTUALLY KNOWING WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE YET, REALLY.
UM, AS FAR AS BEING OUT IN THE, IN THE FIELD, I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET STAFF OUT INTO THE FIELD A LITTLE BIT MORE NOW, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TODAY STARTED WELL, AT LEAST AT THE CITY, THE CITY MANAGER RELEASED SOME INFORMATION ON HOW TO START BREAK SLOWLY, BRINGING DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS, FACTS, AND AGAIN, SMALL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT BACK INTO THE OFFICE WITH ALL OF THE CARE AND CONCERN, OBVIOUSLY FOR PHYSICAL SAFETY, UH, ACCOMPANYING ALL OF THAT.
SO, UM, I'M HOPEFUL THAT YOUR OUT MORE WORK WILL BE ABLE TO START COMING BACK IN LARGER NUMBERS, PEOPLE, THE MARGIN NUMBERS, AND JUST A QUICK UPDATE.
WE ARE STILL WORKING AT THE CUNY ON, WE RETURN OUR STAFF TO THE WORKPLACE AND, UM, OUR ORDER, UH, EXPIRES JUNE 15TH, BUT WE, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON HOW TO BE ABLE TO REFER THEM SAFELY.
WE HAVE SO MANY, WE HAVE SO MANY PLACES WHERE THERE ARE LARGE NUMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT COME IN FOR SERVICES.
AND, UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON HOW TO DO THAT SAFELY.
SO I THINK WE WILL NOT, WE WILL DEFINITELY NOT BE OPEN TO FOR JUNE 15TH.
ALL RIGHT, JOHANNA, THANK YOU.
AND, UM, NICE TO MEET THE NEW FOLKS WHO ARE ON THE TEAM.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ITEM THAT WE'RE MISSING? UM, COMMISSIONER, DID YOU HAVE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS I'VE GONE BACK? I'VE GONE BACK TO THE, UH, THE CLERK'S WEBSITE AND I'M SCROLLING THROUGH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT FIRST QUARTER, SECOND QUARTER, UM, UPDATES.
I MEAN, THE CAVE OF THE CAVE INFORMATION THAT I THOUGHT THERE WAS A LINK TO EITHER A VIDEO OR PHOTOS OR SOMETHING, AND I'M JUST NOT FINDING IT IN A SPECIFIC SITE FOR THAT.
I'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THOSE PHOTOS, BUT I'M, I'M NOT FINDING A LINK TO THE, MAYBE I'M LOOKING IN THE WRONG QUARTER, BUT IT'S NOT CLEAR.
I'LL SEND THOSE DIRECTLY TO YOU AFTER, UH, THE MEETING AND CHECK UP ON HER HELPFUL.
IT WOULD ALSO BE USEFUL FOR THIS TO BE A LITTLE MORE USER-FRIENDLY.
UM, THE, THE, IT, MAYBE IF THERE'S A WAY TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, ON THE LIST OF EACH OF THE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, IF THERE'S A SEPARATE LINK THAT COULD BE PROVIDED TO, YOU KNOW, VIDEOS OR PHOTOS OF
[01:40:01]
SPECIFIC ITEMS, BECAUSE OTHERWISE YOU HAVE TO OPEN UP EACH OF THE QUARTERS, THE, FOR BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AND READ THROUGH EACH OF THEIR DOCUMENTS, WHICH ARE VALUABLE AND VERY INTERESTING.BUT IF YOU'RE WANTING TO SEE A VISUAL PRESENTATION, IT'S NOT CLEAR WHERE TO FIND THAT.
SO IF WE COULD ELICIT IN THE, IN THE, UM, THE ONLINE, UH, AGENDA IN A MORE USER-FRIENDLY FORMAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I DON'T MAKE IT LIKE THE BACKUP FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDAS AND PROBABLY WHAT YOU DO ON THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
IT'S GOT THE LINKS RIGHT UNDERNEATH EACH OF THE ITEMS. OKAY.
[8. Identify Future Agenda Items]
ITEM IS TO IDENTIFY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, COMMISSIONER SHAY HAD MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THINGS, COUPLE OF REPORTS, AND FOLLOW-UPS THAT SHE WANTED, UM, KIMBERLY, YOU GOT ALL THOSE, RIGHT? YES, I DO.AND THAT ALSO INCLUDES HAVING AN ADDITIONAL FOLLOW ON CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY WITH ADAM.
ANYTHING ELSE? JUST THANK YOU.
ESPECIALLY THE WILDFIRE DISCUSSION WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING AND USEFUL, AND I THINK THAT IS THE KIND OF THING THAT THE PUBLIC DEFINITELY WANTS MORE INFORMATION ON.
SO IF THAT CAN BE A RUNNING ITEM WITH THE UPDATES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT AS WELL.
UM, YEAH, ONE OF THE PREVIOUS, UH, COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS, THERE WAS ALSO A LITIGATION UPDATE ON THE BONE PAIN PARCHMENT, UH, INVOLVING THE LITIGATION, UH, AROUND, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO REGULATE A WITHIN STATE, UH, SPECIES, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGING THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO THE COMMERCE CLAUSE, UH, CONNECTION, WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT, UH, AND IN FACT, UH, YOU HAVE THE REGULATORY AUTHORITY WITH A SPECIES SUCH AS THE HARVESTMAN, UH, THAT, THAT CA THAT CASE WENT TO THE FIFTH CIRCUIT.
AND WE RECEIVED THE DECISION TODAY, UH, THAT, UH, UH, WHERE THE GOVERNMENT WON, UH, IT WAS ON, UH, SOME TECHNICALITY LEGAL ASPECTS THAT I COULDN'T EVEN BEGIN TO SUMMARIZE FOR YOU.
THEY DIDN'T GET INTO THE SUBSTANCE OF IT, BUT, UM, UH, THE, THE PLAINTIFFS WHO WERE BRINGING FORWARD THAT CHALLENGE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT, UH, DID NOT PREVAIL ON THE GOVERNMENT ONE.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF THEY PLAN TO APPEAL.
AND, UM, I KNOW THERE'S TIME LIMITS.
I THINK YOU HAVE, WHAT, 30 DAYS FOR AN APPEAL ON MATTERS FROM THAT LEVEL OF RECORD, IS THAT RIGHT? UH, I DON'T KNOW THE TIMELINES ON APPEAL OR WHAT PROCEDURES GO TO THEM.
UM, BUT IT, YEAH, I'M CERTAIN THERE ARE.
UM, YEAH, I'M NOT THE EXPERT IN, AND THOSE MATTERS, UM, ADAM WHO WERE THE PLAINTIFFS ON THAT CASE, I BELIEVE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND AN INDIVIDUAL LIVES IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, A PROPERTY OWNER THERE, AND THE, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT IS REPRESENTING THEM, UH, IS TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION, AND ALSO THE AMERICAN STEWARDS FOR LIBERTY UGLY.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF WORKSTATIONS COUNTY PLUS, UM, UH, INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNER.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY WAS A PARTY TO IT.
THEY PETITIONED THE LIST OF THE SPECIES AND BECAME INVOLVED IN THIS ASPECT OF THE LITIGATION AS WELL.
I'D LIKE TO GET A BRIEF ON WHAT THE, UM, I'D LIKE TO GET A LINK TO THE DECISION AND THEN KIMBERLY, IF YOU COULD GET OUR LEGAL FOLKS TO GIVE US A SUMMARY ON WHAT IT MEANS, AND THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR, UM, COMING TOGETHER IN THIS REALLY AWKWARD FASHION, ALTHOUGH I DO LIKE THE VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS THAT I'M SEEING FOR EVERYBODY, IT MAKES ME WISH I'D GONE OUTSIDE.
WELL, THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT TIME.
WHENEVER WE CAN HAVE THAT, EVERYBODY LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.
I HAVE TO SAY LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, I HEAR NEWS OR WHATEVER.
WE'VE HAD SOME CRAZY OTHER CALLS TODAY WHERE IT WASN'T SO GOOD, BUT ANYWAY,
[01:45:01]
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOLKS.I CAN'T SEE FOLKS WHO ARE LISTENING IN THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
AND HERE'S TO HOPING THAT OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS ON WHAT DAY IS IT? OCTOBER OR AUGUST.
WHEN'S OUR NEXT MEETING NEXT STEP, KIMBER.
IF WE ARE ABLE TO MEET, LIKE, HAVE A REGULAR OLD FASHIONED KIND OF MEETING THAT WILL BE COMMISSIONER SHADE AS CHAIR AT TRAVIS COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING 700 LAVACA, UH, FYI, EVERYBODY, I DIDN'T SAY WHAT TIME IT WAS WHEN I CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER.
SO JUST MAKE SURE THAT IT'S REFLECTED WHATEVER IT WAS, ONE 15 OR WHATEVER IT WAS, UH, IN THE MINUTES.
AND, UM, UNTIL THEN, THANKS EVERYONE STAY HEALTHY.
HERE'S WISHING EVERYONE CONSUMER AND JUST FYI.
MY OFFICE IS ON A FULL TELECOMMUTE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
UM, NO ONE HAS AN IMMUNITY TO THIS VIRUS.
AND SO UNLESS THEY'VE GOT A VACCINE BY SEPTEMBER, I WILL BE, UH, PARTICIPATING VIRTUALLY REMOTELY.
AND WE CAN MANAGE THAT OR DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO MANAGE IT.