NEWSLETTER

ROLLING PLAINS

CHAPTER

Vol. 2, No. 4 April 2010http://grovesite.com/tmn/rpc

LOCALE V E N T S

April 6: Rolling Plains Chapter monthly meeting is at River Bend Nature Center. location: 2200 3rd Street, Wichita Falls, Texas. Time: 7:00 p.m. We will not be meeting this month.

April 10: Butterfly Garden. location: Lake Arrowhead. Time: 9:00 a.m.. For those that would like to earn some volunteer credits,the Rolling Plains chapter will be at Lake Arrowhead tomorrow morn-ing putting in a butterfly garden by the headquarters building. Bring rakes, hoes, trowels, plants and a little elbow grease as well as water and work gloves. If we finish early, we will check out the group’s nature trail to see what work needs to be done.

April 1-29: Master Naturalist Training Class. location: Bo-lin Hall, Midwestern University. Time: 7:00 p.m. Every Tuesday and Thursday in April. Chap-ter members attendance counts as volunteer hours. Topics to be covered: Ornithology, Grassland Ecology and Management, Weather and Climate. Vertebrate Biology, Archeology. Herpetology, Plant Nomenclature, Grasslands, Wild-flower Ecology, Entomology and Geology and Soils.

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 1 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

On March 2, Mayor Lanham Lyne presented Terry McKee, Penny Miller and Mark Howell with a proclamation marking March 2, 2010 as Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist Day. What an honor!

Chapter Presented withProclamation from the City

Chapter WinsEnvironmental Awareness

AwardThe League of Women Voters of Wichtia Falls nominated the Texas Master Naturalists for the bi-annual League of Women Voters of Texas Environmental Awareness Award in the non-profit category. Since this is a state-level award, we elected to nominate the TMN of Texas, although we relied heavily on the activities of the local Rolling Plains chapter to illustrate the point, since we have the best information there.

I am pleased to announce that the Texas Master Naturalists were se-lected for this award, which will be presented at the State Convention in April. Thanks to the Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalists for all you do.

Penny MillerPresident, League of Women Voters of Wichita Falls

TPWDE V E N T S

April 2010 — Copper Breaks SP — Campsite Talks — Every Saturday Programs will include workshops on geocaching, moun-tain biking, camping first aid; pre-sentations on cowboy poetry, native American story telling, animal call-ing, Texas history and archaeology, photography, and more! Call for times and more information. (940) 839-4331.

MAy 6, 9, 21, 30, 2010 — Cap-rock Canyons SP & Trailway — Early Birding — Get a closer look at the birds who find food, water and shelter in Caprock Canyons. This slow-paced exploration allows new and experienced birders to work together to identify and learn about the lives of our feathered friends. Bring your binoculars and field guide or borrow some from the park. 8-10 AM (806) 455-1492.

MAy 22, 2010 — Palo Duro Canyon SP — CCC Hike — Hike the only trail that goes from the rim to the floor and learn about the Civilian Conservation Corps contribution to the park. Geology, flora, fauna and other information will be given. Some areas of this 1-3/4-mile trail have steep places, so you may want to bring a walk-ing stick. No pets please. 10 AM-12 PM (806) 488-2227.

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 2 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

Don’t Forget! Turn your hours into Jane McGough. A form for keeping up with your hours is available on the web site. Hours needed for recertification are: 40 hours of public service and 8 hours of advanced training. Advanced training MUST be approved in advance. Fill out the form and submit along with any other information about the class to the Executive Committee at least one week before the event.

InvadersofTexasinvasive Spotlight: Malta-star thistle (Centaurea melitensis)

Malta-star thistle is an erect an-nual with a spiny, yellow-flowered head that typically reaches 1 m

tall. Stem leaves are alternate, and mostly linear or narrowly oblong to oblanceolate. Malta-star thistle is easily recognizable by its spiny bud that is produced before flowering.

Plants can produce 60 or more seeds per head and 100 or more heads per plant. The heads stick to clothing, animal fur and vehicles, allowing for long distance seed

dispersal. When malta-star thistle infestations are high, native species can experi-ence drought conditions even in years with normal rainfall.

Malta-star thistle usually occurs in open, disturbed sites such as grasslands, rangeland, open wood-lands, fields, pastures, roadsides, waste places and fields.

Learn more about malta-star thistle and other Texas Invasives at www.texasinva-sives.org

Missi’s StoryHow a One-eyed Mississippi Kite Became

a Avian Ambassador To read Missi’s Story, visit her blog at www.missismew.blogspot.com. where you can keep up with her trials and tribulations while she is learning how to work on the glove and meet people.

If you would like to help Wild Bird Rescue build Missi a mew, You can mail a donation to Wild Bird Rescue, 4611 Lake Shore Drive, Wichita Falls, TX 76310. Be sure to designate that the donation is for Missi’s mew. Her aviary is in memory of a young girl and her family who died in a plane crash about 4 years ago. It will be called the Brittani Gossett Memorial Aviary. She loved birds and her grandparents are avid bird watchers. Of course your donation is also tax deductible!

Plum Lake Clean-up CrewChapter members enjoyed some good clean fun March 6th at the annual Plum Lake Clean-up. Eleven members showed up for the Kid Fishing Rodeo and Plum Lake cleanup. Not pictured are Mark (who was still working), Tami (who had to leave after the fishing) and Jane (taking the picture).

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 3 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

Chapter Contacts:Terry McKee, President 766-4097; Dian Hoehne, Vice President 692-7234; Laura Gillis, Secretary 592-5319; Bill Setzler, Treasurer 692-4466 Committees Chairperson:Leslie Fernandez, RiverBend Liaison 767-0843; Paula Savage, Newsletter 691-0231; Martha Ford and Ev-elyn Staten, Social Committee; Patsy Petcoff, Grants/Fundraising 940-923-4478; Lila Arnold, Communica-tion Chair 696-2471Advisor:Mark Howell, TPWD Advisor 766-2383

RESOURCECO

RN

ERpublisher: Firefly BooksAuthor: Firefly Bookslanguage: EnglishiSBN: 1552978125No. of pages: 192price: $14.95

A giraffe has twelve-inch hooves and legs that can kick in all four directions with incredible power. Giraffe kicks have been known to decapitate lions.

FUN

FACT

OID

S A rat can compress its body to fit through an opening as small as a half-inch in diameter, making it almost impossible to rat-proof a building or home.

“A practi-cal guide to identi-fying, un-derstand-ing and hunting for fos-sils.”

The Fire-fly Guide to Fossils is a prac-tical, pocket-sized and beautifully illustrated field guide. Its introduc-tion explains how fossils form and the history of ancient life. Fossil classification and distribution are described, providing essential background information for stu-dents and collectors.

Fossil hunting is described in detail with practical advice on everything from finding sites to displaying specimens. The main part of the book presents major groups of fos-sils, from trilobites to tree ferns in a wide international range, from the common and easy-to-find, to dino-saur bones that would crown any collection. The entries are illustrat-ed with color images accompanied by clear descriptive text.

A quick reference identification key organizes the 400 specimens by the major fossil classification, making it easier to find detailed information for each one.

If any one in the city doesn’t know who we are, they are living in a glass bubble.

Thanks to all for promoting our group- KUDOS!

Thank-You Chapter Members!

Above: Mark Howell measures a young fisherman catch at the Plum Lake Kid Fish-ing Rodeo March 6, 2010.

All of our members deserve acco-lades for spreading the word about us. March has been busy with lots of publicity for our group.

Thanks to those who worked the Home and Garden Show, Lila for her talk at the same event- she drew a good crowd, Dian for organizing three television appearances, Mark appeared on Gardenline with Paul Dowlern, and I killed an hour with Big Jim and Paul on their Saturday radio show.

We’ve been mentioned in the news-paper, Mark was even interviewed by KFDX at the Kid Fishing Radio.

If a swan hisses at you, take heed. Swans have been known to capsize boats, at-tack humans on jet skis, and strangle dogs to death. They kill by holding their victim’s head under the water until it drowns.