Kristen Baum, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University
Conservation Considerations for Monarchs in the Southern Great Plains: Monarchs migrate through the southern Great Plains during both spring and fall migration, and reproduce in this region during spring and fall breeding periods. This presentation will introduce what is known about how land use and management practices influence milkweed and nectar resource availability, monarch distribution and abundance, and monarch-parasite interactions, including a discussion of the implications for monarch conservation in this region.
Dr. Kristen Baum has studied pollinators in the southern Great Plains for more than 20 years. Her current research focuses on the effects of land use and management practices on monarch butterflies AND native bees. She studies monarch-milkweed-parasite interactions in range lands, roadsides, and other managed grasslands in response to prescribed fire, grazing, and mowing, with important implications for conservation efforts for monarchs.
Conservation Considerations for Monarchs in the Southern Great Plains: Monarchs migrate through the southern Great Plains during both spring and fall migration, and reproduce in this region during spring and fall breeding periods. This presentation will introduce what is known about how land use and management practices influence milkweed and nectar resource availability, monarch distribution and abundance, and monarch-parasite interactions, including a discussion of the implications for monarch conservation in this region.
Dr. Kristen Baum has studied pollinators in the southern Great Plains for more than 20 years. Her current research focuses on the effects of land use and management practices on monarch butterflies AND native bees. She studies monarch-milkweed-parasite interactions in range lands, roadsides, and other managed grasslands in response to prescribed fire, grazing, and mowing, with important implications for conservation efforts for monarchs.
Jessica Beckham, Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Texas, PowWow Steering Committee
Texas Bumblebees and Urban Systems Management: Bumble bees are declining worldwide, in part due to the habitat changes associated with urban sprawl. However, establishing and maintaining urban green spaces may help to attenuate those declines. This presentation will discuss ongoing research at the University of North Texas about the use of urban green spaces by bumble bees.
Jessica Beckham is a native Texan whose research involves an interdisciplinary approach to studying the bumble bees of this great state. In particular, she is interested in finding ways that humans and bees can coexist in urban environments. Her research has included studying bumble bees in community gardens and other urban spaces in Denton County, as well as roadside surveys across northeast Texas to catalog bumble bee species presence. Before returning to graduate school she taught high school biology in Austin ISD. When she’s not stalking bees she enjoys baking, taking pictures and spending time with her husband and their three-year-old son.
Texas Bumblebees and Urban Systems Management: Bumble bees are declining worldwide, in part due to the habitat changes associated with urban sprawl. However, establishing and maintaining urban green spaces may help to attenuate those declines. This presentation will discuss ongoing research at the University of North Texas about the use of urban green spaces by bumble bees.
Jessica Beckham is a native Texan whose research involves an interdisciplinary approach to studying the bumble bees of this great state. In particular, she is interested in finding ways that humans and bees can coexist in urban environments. Her research has included studying bumble bees in community gardens and other urban spaces in Denton County, as well as roadside surveys across northeast Texas to catalog bumble bee species presence. Before returning to graduate school she taught high school biology in Austin ISD. When she’s not stalking bees she enjoys baking, taking pictures and spending time with her husband and their three-year-old son.
Chris Best, State Botanist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Importance of Ecotypes in Habitat Restoration: Ecotypes are distinct populations of a species that are genetically adapted to specific habitats or ecological regions. Plant ecotypes that are poorly adapted to habitat restoration sites do not form self-sustaining populations. Time, effort, and money are wasted, landowners become discouraged, and remnant populations of rare native ecotypes may be harmed. The collective efforts of landowners and “citizen scientists” are essential for the conservation of specific native ecotypes.
Chris Best is a native Midwestern ecotype from St. Louis, Missouri. He planted a vegetable garden when he was 8 and has been learning how to make things grow ever since. He conducted research on the revegetation of abandoned coal strip mine spoil, and served for 4 years as an agroforestry extensionist with the Peace Corps in Guatemala. From 1990 until 2006, he directed an ecological restoration program at Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR. Since 2006 Chris has served as State Botanist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Texas, where he is dedicated to the conservation of rare plants and their habitats.
The Importance of Ecotypes in Habitat Restoration: Ecotypes are distinct populations of a species that are genetically adapted to specific habitats or ecological regions. Plant ecotypes that are poorly adapted to habitat restoration sites do not form self-sustaining populations. Time, effort, and money are wasted, landowners become discouraged, and remnant populations of rare native ecotypes may be harmed. The collective efforts of landowners and “citizen scientists” are essential for the conservation of specific native ecotypes.
Chris Best is a native Midwestern ecotype from St. Louis, Missouri. He planted a vegetable garden when he was 8 and has been learning how to make things grow ever since. He conducted research on the revegetation of abandoned coal strip mine spoil, and served for 4 years as an agroforestry extensionist with the Peace Corps in Guatemala. From 1990 until 2006, he directed an ecological restoration program at Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR. Since 2006 Chris has served as State Botanist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Texas, where he is dedicated to the conservation of rare plants and their habitats.
Lincoln Brower, PhD., Research Professor of Biology, Sweet Briar College, Virginia
9/12/2015 - THIS SPEAKER HAS CANCELLED!
Lincoln's PowWow presentation can be found here in this interview, complete with PPT: "Life Among The Monarchs" http://nctc.fws.gov/resources/knowledge- resources/video-gallery/conservation-action.html. It is one hour long, and you are welcome to view it before the conference and come with any of your questions. If a scientist cannot satisfactorily answer you on Lincoln's behalf, we will try our best to get you his answer by email and share it with all the attendees.
The Grand Saga of the Monarch Butterfly: For more than half a century Professor Lincoln Brower has been investigating the biology of the monarch butterfly. Many of the widely known facts about monarchs which are presented in biology classes and nature documentaries have come out of his research on the monarch butterflies' chemical defense against predators and the ecological chemistry of the butterflies' interactions with their milkweed host plants.
In 1977 Professor Brower made his first visit to the monarch butterflies' winter retreats, in the high mountains of central Mexico. Captivated by the extraordinary phenomenon of hundreds of millions of butterflies aggregating in the rugged fir forests, he began to explore new questions about the butterflies' migration and overwintering physiology, and these questions have taken him back to the overwintering sites on more than fifty expeditions. During his first expedition he also realized that the phenomenal migration and overwintering biology was threatened by logging in the winter roost areas, and he began conservation work with WWF-Mexico, government agencies in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and numerous colleagues, that continues to the present day.
In this lecture, copiously illustrated with photographs ranging from electron micrographs to satellite images, Professor Brower will present a first-person account of his field expeditions and lab explorations, and describe the conservation issues that threaten the butterflies' unique migration and wintering biology. Professor Brower hopes that his audience will include curious naturalists and ardent conservationists of all ages and backgrounds.
Lincoln Pierson Brower is Distinguished Service Professor of Zoology, Emeritus at the University of Florida. Since 1997 he has been Research Professor of Biology at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. He received his B.A. degree from Princeton University and his Ph.D. from Yale, and taught at Amherst College for 22 years before moving to the University of Florida.
Professor Brower's research interests include the overwintering and migration biology of the monarch butterfly, insect chemical defense, ecological chemistry, insect mimicry, scientific film making, and the conservation of endangered biological phenomena.
Professor Brower has authored and coauthored more than 200 scientific papers, eight films, and two edited books, and is currently writing his magnum opus on the monarch butterfly. Awards he has received include the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale University, the Medal for Zoology from the Linnean Society of London, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animal Behavior Society, the Royal Entomological Society of London Marsh Award and The Harris Conservation Action Prize. He has served as President of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the International Society of Chemical Ecology, and the Lepidopterists’ Society.
He is collaborating with governmental and nongovernmental groups, and other scientists and private individuals, to protect and restore the overwintering forests of the monarch butterfly in Mexico and is actively promoting the conservation of milkweeds throughout the USA.
Professor Brower and his wife, Sweet Briar Professor of Ecology Linda Fink, live with their two lovely German shepherds and two friendly cats, and are surrounded by abundant wildlife in Nelson County (all protected by conservation easement, ad infinitum).
9/12/2015 - THIS SPEAKER HAS CANCELLED!
Lincoln's PowWow presentation can be found here in this interview, complete with PPT: "Life Among The Monarchs" http://nctc.fws.gov/resources/knowledge- resources/video-gallery/conservation-action.html. It is one hour long, and you are welcome to view it before the conference and come with any of your questions. If a scientist cannot satisfactorily answer you on Lincoln's behalf, we will try our best to get you his answer by email and share it with all the attendees.
The Grand Saga of the Monarch Butterfly: For more than half a century Professor Lincoln Brower has been investigating the biology of the monarch butterfly. Many of the widely known facts about monarchs which are presented in biology classes and nature documentaries have come out of his research on the monarch butterflies' chemical defense against predators and the ecological chemistry of the butterflies' interactions with their milkweed host plants.
In 1977 Professor Brower made his first visit to the monarch butterflies' winter retreats, in the high mountains of central Mexico. Captivated by the extraordinary phenomenon of hundreds of millions of butterflies aggregating in the rugged fir forests, he began to explore new questions about the butterflies' migration and overwintering physiology, and these questions have taken him back to the overwintering sites on more than fifty expeditions. During his first expedition he also realized that the phenomenal migration and overwintering biology was threatened by logging in the winter roost areas, and he began conservation work with WWF-Mexico, government agencies in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and numerous colleagues, that continues to the present day.
In this lecture, copiously illustrated with photographs ranging from electron micrographs to satellite images, Professor Brower will present a first-person account of his field expeditions and lab explorations, and describe the conservation issues that threaten the butterflies' unique migration and wintering biology. Professor Brower hopes that his audience will include curious naturalists and ardent conservationists of all ages and backgrounds.
Lincoln Pierson Brower is Distinguished Service Professor of Zoology, Emeritus at the University of Florida. Since 1997 he has been Research Professor of Biology at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. He received his B.A. degree from Princeton University and his Ph.D. from Yale, and taught at Amherst College for 22 years before moving to the University of Florida.
Professor Brower's research interests include the overwintering and migration biology of the monarch butterfly, insect chemical defense, ecological chemistry, insect mimicry, scientific film making, and the conservation of endangered biological phenomena.
Professor Brower has authored and coauthored more than 200 scientific papers, eight films, and two edited books, and is currently writing his magnum opus on the monarch butterfly. Awards he has received include the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale University, the Medal for Zoology from the Linnean Society of London, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animal Behavior Society, the Royal Entomological Society of London Marsh Award and The Harris Conservation Action Prize. He has served as President of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the International Society of Chemical Ecology, and the Lepidopterists’ Society.
He is collaborating with governmental and nongovernmental groups, and other scientists and private individuals, to protect and restore the overwintering forests of the monarch butterfly in Mexico and is actively promoting the conservation of milkweeds throughout the USA.
Professor Brower and his wife, Sweet Briar Professor of Ecology Linda Fink, live with their two lovely German shepherds and two friendly cats, and are surrounded by abundant wildlife in Nelson County (all protected by conservation easement, ad infinitum).
Wendy Caldwell, Community Program Specialist, Monarch Joint Venture
Joining Forces: Successful Partnerships to Conserve the Monarch Migration: The Monarch Joint Venture is a national conservation partnership consisting of organizations ranging from nature centers to federal agencies who are joining forces to protect the monarch butterfly migration. Established in 2009, the MJV is focused on implementing the North American Monarch Conservation Plan, and has grown to over 30 partners who engage in habitat creation or enhancement, education and outreach, and research and monitoring. Under the umbrella of the MJV, programs work together in a coordinated fashion to more effectively and efficiently help monarchs and other pollinators. As a flagship species for pollinator conservation, the MJV has developed a successful framework for conserving an iconic species.
Wendy is the coordinator of the Monarch Joint Venture, a national conservation partnership to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. With over 30 partners, she engages many different audiences with the same goal of creating or enhancing habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. She is an alumni of the University of Minnesota, where she began studying monarchs through an undergraduate research position with Dr. Karen Oberhauser at the Monarch Lab. In addition, Wendy works with citizen science volunteers as a coordinator of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, which is an effort to track the distribution and abundance of monarch eggs and larvae throughout North America.
Joining Forces: Successful Partnerships to Conserve the Monarch Migration: The Monarch Joint Venture is a national conservation partnership consisting of organizations ranging from nature centers to federal agencies who are joining forces to protect the monarch butterfly migration. Established in 2009, the MJV is focused on implementing the North American Monarch Conservation Plan, and has grown to over 30 partners who engage in habitat creation or enhancement, education and outreach, and research and monitoring. Under the umbrella of the MJV, programs work together in a coordinated fashion to more effectively and efficiently help monarchs and other pollinators. As a flagship species for pollinator conservation, the MJV has developed a successful framework for conserving an iconic species.
Wendy is the coordinator of the Monarch Joint Venture, a national conservation partnership to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. With over 30 partners, she engages many different audiences with the same goal of creating or enhancing habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. She is an alumni of the University of Minnesota, where she began studying monarchs through an undergraduate research position with Dr. Karen Oberhauser at the Monarch Lab. In addition, Wendy works with citizen science volunteers as a coordinator of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, which is an effort to track the distribution and abundance of monarch eggs and larvae throughout North America.
Russell Castro, USDA/NRCS State Wildlife Biologist and PowWow Steering Committee; panelist
Russell Castro is the State Wildlife Biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is headquartered in Temple, Texas. Castro provides leadership for the NRCS biology discipline in Texas. He coordinates and leads the efforts for the five NRCS Zone Biologists to meet the demands of landowner interest for conservation efforts addressing wildlife, wetlands, threatened and endangered species, etc. Castro also provides guidance for NRCS state leadership addressing policy and technical issues. He has worked 35 years with the NRCS as a Range Management Specialist in Zapata, Bandera, and Tulia counties; as a District Conservationist in Edna; as a Zone Biologist in Terrell/Weatherford covering 51 counties; as a Water Resources Biologist; and, presently, as the State Wildlife Biologist. Castro serves as lead on the Texas NRCS Riparian Team and on several national NRCS working groups; is on the Boards of the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture and Rio Grande Joint Venture; and is a member of the State Comptroller's Science Team and the Endangered Species Task Force.
Russell Castro is the State Wildlife Biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is headquartered in Temple, Texas. Castro provides leadership for the NRCS biology discipline in Texas. He coordinates and leads the efforts for the five NRCS Zone Biologists to meet the demands of landowner interest for conservation efforts addressing wildlife, wetlands, threatened and endangered species, etc. Castro also provides guidance for NRCS state leadership addressing policy and technical issues. He has worked 35 years with the NRCS as a Range Management Specialist in Zapata, Bandera, and Tulia counties; as a District Conservationist in Edna; as a Zone Biologist in Terrell/Weatherford covering 51 counties; as a Water Resources Biologist; and, presently, as the State Wildlife Biologist. Castro serves as lead on the Texas NRCS Riparian Team and on several national NRCS working groups; is on the Boards of the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture and Rio Grande Joint Venture; and is a member of the State Comptroller's Science Team and the Endangered Species Task Force.
Cathy Downs, Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas Chairman; panelist
Cathy is a Texas Master Naturalist with the Hill Country Chapter. She was born and raised in New England and retired to Comfort, TX in 2004 from a 30 year career owning and operating her own retail businesses. She is an outdoor educator, Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch (www.monarchwatch.org) and participates in the tagging program through tagging demos and home release. Cathy currently chairs and provides outreach and education for the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas (BBMT) program for Native Plant Society of Texas (www.npsot.org) and is a certified Monarch Larval Monitoring Project educator (www.mlmp.org). Cathy raises caterpillars for education purposes as well as propagating native milkweeds. She hosts workshops and live Butterfly Pavilions for Texas Master Naturalist Chapters, Native Plant Society of Texas Chapters, garden clubs, nature centers, state parks and elsewhere throughout Texas.
Cathy is a Texas Master Naturalist with the Hill Country Chapter. She was born and raised in New England and retired to Comfort, TX in 2004 from a 30 year career owning and operating her own retail businesses. She is an outdoor educator, Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch (www.monarchwatch.org) and participates in the tagging program through tagging demos and home release. Cathy currently chairs and provides outreach and education for the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas (BBMT) program for Native Plant Society of Texas (www.npsot.org) and is a certified Monarch Larval Monitoring Project educator (www.mlmp.org). Cathy raises caterpillars for education purposes as well as propagating native milkweeds. She hosts workshops and live Butterfly Pavilions for Texas Master Naturalist Chapters, Native Plant Society of Texas Chapters, garden clubs, nature centers, state parks and elsewhere throughout Texas.
Ben Eldredge, Director of Education, Cibolo Nature Center & Farm; panelist
Ben Eldredge is the Director of Education at the Cibolo Nature Center & Farm. In this capacity he oversees the children and adult education, citizen science programs, as well as a significant program expansion to the neighboring Herff Farm, including agriculture, permaculture, and land restoration education. He also oversees land stewardship of the nature center and farm’s four habitats, including planning the teaching garden, restoration practices and permaculture design as well as associated citizen science projects. Prior to working at the nature center, Ben was the manager of a 5,000-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Ben Eldredge is the Director of Education at the Cibolo Nature Center & Farm. In this capacity he oversees the children and adult education, citizen science programs, as well as a significant program expansion to the neighboring Herff Farm, including agriculture, permaculture, and land restoration education. He also oversees land stewardship of the nature center and farm’s four habitats, including planning the teaching garden, restoration practices and permaculture design as well as associated citizen science projects. Prior to working at the nature center, Ben was the manager of a 5,000-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Randy Johnson, Dallas Zoo Horticulture Manager, Randy Johnson Organics, and PowWow Steering Committee
Pollinators and Natives: An Ancient Marriage: Plants and pollinators form a perfect union, co-evolving with and for each other. Together they form the foundation for almost every ecosystem on Earth, life as we know it could not exist without them. Today, native flora and fauna are facing huge challenges to their existence: habitat loss and degradation, environmental toxins and a general lack of knowledge of what they are and the important role they serve. This presentation is intended to introduce you to native plants and their role in the support of pollinators and biodiversity.
Randy Johnson is from Mesquite, TX and graduated from Texas A&M with his degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Randy is the past Director of Horticulture at Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. His planning and native plant design won TDG recognition as the first public garden in Texas to be officially designated as "organic". Randy is the current Horticulture Manager at the Dallas Zoo. He also offers organic horticulture and environmental consultations through his personal business, Randy Johnson Organics. Randy grows and sells organic native plants (including milkweed) from seed he collects from local prairie remnants and forests. He is the current president of the Dallas chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and he serves on the Board of Directors for the Lake Highlands Community Garden. John Fairey recently appointed Randy to a lifetime board member position for Peckerwood Gardens, and Randy's work has been featured on two segments of PBS' This Old House.
Pollinators and Natives: An Ancient Marriage: Plants and pollinators form a perfect union, co-evolving with and for each other. Together they form the foundation for almost every ecosystem on Earth, life as we know it could not exist without them. Today, native flora and fauna are facing huge challenges to their existence: habitat loss and degradation, environmental toxins and a general lack of knowledge of what they are and the important role they serve. This presentation is intended to introduce you to native plants and their role in the support of pollinators and biodiversity.
Randy Johnson is from Mesquite, TX and graduated from Texas A&M with his degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Randy is the past Director of Horticulture at Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. His planning and native plant design won TDG recognition as the first public garden in Texas to be officially designated as "organic". Randy is the current Horticulture Manager at the Dallas Zoo. He also offers organic horticulture and environmental consultations through his personal business, Randy Johnson Organics. Randy grows and sells organic native plants (including milkweed) from seed he collects from local prairie remnants and forests. He is the current president of the Dallas chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and he serves on the Board of Directors for the Lake Highlands Community Garden. John Fairey recently appointed Randy to a lifetime board member position for Peckerwood Gardens, and Randy's work has been featured on two segments of PBS' This Old House.
Ridlon (Kip) Kiphart, M.D. Texas Master Naturalist, Monarch Larval Monitoring Project Trainer, Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist, Small Landowner; Panelist
In 1996, Kip Kiphart retired from his Dallas medical practice- some time after his son Tim had developed a native plant garden in front of Kip’s townhouse- much to the chagrin of his St. Augustine-mowed Asian Jasmine-Begonia and Petunia-loving neighbors. In 1998, Kip became a Texas Master Naturalist and in 2001, he moved to a new house on 4 acres in a 4200-acre Hill Country development in suburban Bergheim. Conservation/restoration highlights to date include creation of contour berms, a seasonal wetlands, a dry creek bed and detention pond for drainage issues, the restoration of understory and the planting of a pollinator garden. The property is a certified TPWD Texas Wildscape, a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat and a Monarch Waystation.
Science projects practiced on the property include the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project, TPWD's Texas Hummingbird Round-Up and Cornell's Project Feeder Watch. In 2002, Kip started the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project (MLMP@CNC) at the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne. It is the most-monitored MLMP milkweed patch in the country. He has traveled over much of Texas preaching monarchs and milkweeds. Kip has volunteered over 15,000 hours for the Texas Master Naturalist Program and has been awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Participation in 2008, the Cibolo Nature Center Stewardship Award in 2012, and a US Forest Service Wings Across America Conservation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Conservation (Monarch Larval Monitoring Project) in 2014.
In 1996, Kip Kiphart retired from his Dallas medical practice- some time after his son Tim had developed a native plant garden in front of Kip’s townhouse- much to the chagrin of his St. Augustine-mowed Asian Jasmine-Begonia and Petunia-loving neighbors. In 1998, Kip became a Texas Master Naturalist and in 2001, he moved to a new house on 4 acres in a 4200-acre Hill Country development in suburban Bergheim. Conservation/restoration highlights to date include creation of contour berms, a seasonal wetlands, a dry creek bed and detention pond for drainage issues, the restoration of understory and the planting of a pollinator garden. The property is a certified TPWD Texas Wildscape, a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat and a Monarch Waystation.
Science projects practiced on the property include the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project, TPWD's Texas Hummingbird Round-Up and Cornell's Project Feeder Watch. In 2002, Kip started the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project (MLMP@CNC) at the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne. It is the most-monitored MLMP milkweed patch in the country. He has traveled over much of Texas preaching monarchs and milkweeds. Kip has volunteered over 15,000 hours for the Texas Master Naturalist Program and has been awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Participation in 2008, the Cibolo Nature Center Stewardship Award in 2012, and a US Forest Service Wings Across America Conservation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Conservation (Monarch Larval Monitoring Project) in 2014.
Ricky Linex, USDA/NRCS Wildlife Biologist and Author, PowWow Steering Committee; Landowner/Conservationist Panel Moderator
Ricky Linex is a wildlife biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service headquartered in Weatherford, Texas. Linex works 51 counties in north central Texas covering the Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah vegetational regions. He has worked 33 years with NRCS in Goldthwaite, Snyder, and Abilene with the past 12 of those years in Weatherford. He serves as an instructor with the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade and the North Texas Buckskin Brigade. In 2009 he was selected as Educator of the Year by the Texas Chapter, The Wildlife Society. He is the author of the brand new Range Plants of North Central Texas: A Land Users Guide to Their Identification, Value and Management, a plant identification book for north central Texas. This book has 324 grasses, forbs and woody plants of the area, and is full of photos. A valuable addition within this book is the detailed browsing, grazing and seed value of each plant for cattle, sheep, goats, deer, dove, quail and turkey. Nearly all the plant species listed in this book can be found throughout the state of Texas and beyond.
Ricky Linex is a wildlife biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service headquartered in Weatherford, Texas. Linex works 51 counties in north central Texas covering the Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah vegetational regions. He has worked 33 years with NRCS in Goldthwaite, Snyder, and Abilene with the past 12 of those years in Weatherford. He serves as an instructor with the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade and the North Texas Buckskin Brigade. In 2009 he was selected as Educator of the Year by the Texas Chapter, The Wildlife Society. He is the author of the brand new Range Plants of North Central Texas: A Land Users Guide to Their Identification, Value and Management, a plant identification book for north central Texas. This book has 324 grasses, forbs and woody plants of the area, and is full of photos. A valuable addition within this book is the detailed browsing, grazing and seed value of each plant for cattle, sheep, goats, deer, dove, quail and turkey. Nearly all the plant species listed in this book can be found throughout the state of Texas and beyond.
Carrie McLaughlin, Texas Master Naturalist, PowWow Coordinator and Moderator
Carrie has been a certified Texas Master Naturalist since 2007, and has completed over 4,000 hours of volunteer time for that worthy organization. She has planned and coordinated several successful, well-attended training seminars for naturalists, botanists, field researchers and others in the North Central Texas area in the past few years. Carrie has also labored intermittently at plant nurseries and grower's farms for the last decade, and has gardened since her earliest childhood when she stubbornly persisted in transplanting Alleghany Highland woodland wildflowers to the Shenandoah Valley year after year in spite of overwhelming and continual defeat. She is an Audubon Society Master Birder, a Botanical Research Institute of TX herbarium volunteer, a Texas Bluebird Society member, and a volunteer park ranger at Dinosaur Valley State Park.
Carrie is a born-bred-and-raised Virginian who has visited in Texas for an awfully long time now. She is deeply committed to being a good steward of the precious gifts of nature that God has given us, and is a passionate lover of same.
Carrie has been a certified Texas Master Naturalist since 2007, and has completed over 4,000 hours of volunteer time for that worthy organization. She has planned and coordinated several successful, well-attended training seminars for naturalists, botanists, field researchers and others in the North Central Texas area in the past few years. Carrie has also labored intermittently at plant nurseries and grower's farms for the last decade, and has gardened since her earliest childhood when she stubbornly persisted in transplanting Alleghany Highland woodland wildflowers to the Shenandoah Valley year after year in spite of overwhelming and continual defeat. She is an Audubon Society Master Birder, a Botanical Research Institute of TX herbarium volunteer, a Texas Bluebird Society member, and a volunteer park ranger at Dinosaur Valley State Park.
Carrie is a born-bred-and-raised Virginian who has visited in Texas for an awfully long time now. She is deeply committed to being a good steward of the precious gifts of nature that God has given us, and is a passionate lover of same.
Gail Morris, Coordinator of the Southwest Monarch Study
Chasing the Monarch Migration through Arizona: What we’ve learned and the questions that still remain.
A recently published paper, “Status of Danaus plexippus in Arizona” established the importance of riparian areas as crucial monarch migration and breeding corridors in the Southwest. Monitoring data collected by the Southwest Monarch Study through tagging 2,088 monarchs by 384 individuals in 276 locations, and with 134 unique sighting locations of monarch adults and/or immatures, led to the identification of key migration destinations, favored breeding Asclepias spp and nectar flora resources preferred by D. plexippus by elevation. Monarch butterflies were also reported puddling in slow moving streams and seeps especially when temperatures are high with low humidity, an uncommon behavior in monarch butterflies. Nearby riparian trees, especially Cottonwoods and Goodding Willows, were utilized for night roosts. This study also identified small overwintering monarch aggregations in Phoenix, Yuma, Parker, Lake Havasu and Tucson.
Gail is the Coordinator of the Southwest Monarch Study, a Citizen Science endeavor, studying the migration and breeding patterns of monarch butterflies in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, western Colorado and the deserts of California. She is an alumnus of Michigan State University and the University of Notre Dame and the principal author of “Status of Danaus plexippus in Arizona” published in June, 2015. Gail is a frequent workshop presenter and blogger on monarch conservation in the Southwest, bridging citizen scientists in the field with the academic community and government agencies.
Chasing the Monarch Migration through Arizona: What we’ve learned and the questions that still remain.
A recently published paper, “Status of Danaus plexippus in Arizona” established the importance of riparian areas as crucial monarch migration and breeding corridors in the Southwest. Monitoring data collected by the Southwest Monarch Study through tagging 2,088 monarchs by 384 individuals in 276 locations, and with 134 unique sighting locations of monarch adults and/or immatures, led to the identification of key migration destinations, favored breeding Asclepias spp and nectar flora resources preferred by D. plexippus by elevation. Monarch butterflies were also reported puddling in slow moving streams and seeps especially when temperatures are high with low humidity, an uncommon behavior in monarch butterflies. Nearby riparian trees, especially Cottonwoods and Goodding Willows, were utilized for night roosts. This study also identified small overwintering monarch aggregations in Phoenix, Yuma, Parker, Lake Havasu and Tucson.
Gail is the Coordinator of the Southwest Monarch Study, a Citizen Science endeavor, studying the migration and breeding patterns of monarch butterflies in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, western Colorado and the deserts of California. She is an alumnus of Michigan State University and the University of Notre Dame and the principal author of “Status of Danaus plexippus in Arizona” published in June, 2015. Gail is a frequent workshop presenter and blogger on monarch conservation in the Southwest, bridging citizen scientists in the field with the academic community and government agencies.
Bill Neiman, Founder/Owner, Native American Seed; panelist
Bill Neiman started his first company in 1974 when he was nineteen. He borrowed a shovel, a rake and lawn mower and advertised offering “total outdoor care.” After fifteen years in the landscape and nursery business, Native American Seed was formed. Today, he continues to specialize in the harvest and sale of seed harvested entirely from native plants. Bill is a leader in the movement to conserve natural resources and to restore and maintain the health of the environment including pollinators and all native wildlife. He is passionate about preserving night skies, has recently started living on total rainwater and is an inspirational and entertaining speaker.
Bill Neiman started his first company in 1974 when he was nineteen. He borrowed a shovel, a rake and lawn mower and advertised offering “total outdoor care.” After fifteen years in the landscape and nursery business, Native American Seed was formed. Today, he continues to specialize in the harvest and sale of seed harvested entirely from native plants. Bill is a leader in the movement to conserve natural resources and to restore and maintain the health of the environment including pollinators and all native wildlife. He is passionate about preserving night skies, has recently started living on total rainwater and is an inspirational and entertaining speaker.
Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, Ph.D, Executive Director, Forests for Monarchs -- La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, Inc.
Conservation and Forest Restoration of the Monarch Butterfly Wintering Habitat: Monarch butterflies returning to the forests of México occupied less than 1 hectare of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) during the winter of 2013. This was the third consecutive year of dramatic decreases in the Monarch butterfly population: a topic of great concern for all scientists and conservationists. Another hazard for the Monarch butterfly population is the extraction of timber, agricultural conversion, and domestic wood harvest by a rapidly growing population of subsistence farm families living in and around the MBBR. One way to help is by preserving the natural habitats of the Monarch butterflies. Forests for Monarchs, a program of La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, helps by reforesting the Monarchs’ wintering habitat in Central Michoacán, México. Learn more about the successful conservation and forest restoration strategy of La Cruz, which since 1997 has distributed almost 8 million native tree seedlings, and in 2014 distributed and planted one million tree seedlings!
Dr. Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón earned her Doctorate in Geomatics Engineering from the University of Calgary Geomatics Department, in Alberta, Canada, where she majored in Environmental Engineering and minored in Forest Hydrology. Her scientific contributions are related to the topics of estimating hydrologic data error propagation, scaling actual evaporation and transpiration to large scales, and improving techniques to accurately measure actual transpiration. Boreal, Tropical and Temperate Forests have been part of her areas of study. In 2010 and 2011, Dr. Quiñonez-Piñón led a project funded by the Ecosystems Network (ECORed) of CONACYT, whose main topic was to initiate the creation of a National Environmental Monitoring System in Mexico. By 2011, CONACYT decided to support a larger effort to consolidate this project, and she is part of the evaluating Committee of such effort. Along her career, she has either led or participated in 14 research projects. Dr. Quiñonez-Piñón supervised two MSc Dissertations, up to six Bachelor’s Treatises, and served as a member of the CONACYT physics and mathematics scientific evaluation committee for two years. She has fifteen years of experience as a University Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, and about three years of consulting experience, primarily for Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). She resides now in Austin, Texas and is writing several journal papers and serving as a reviewer for the International Journal of Remote Sensing. In 2013, she became the Executive Director of La Cruz Habitat Protection Project where she focuses most of her efforts on increasing the forest restoration rates in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve through the Forests for Monarchs program.
Conservation and Forest Restoration of the Monarch Butterfly Wintering Habitat: Monarch butterflies returning to the forests of México occupied less than 1 hectare of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) during the winter of 2013. This was the third consecutive year of dramatic decreases in the Monarch butterfly population: a topic of great concern for all scientists and conservationists. Another hazard for the Monarch butterfly population is the extraction of timber, agricultural conversion, and domestic wood harvest by a rapidly growing population of subsistence farm families living in and around the MBBR. One way to help is by preserving the natural habitats of the Monarch butterflies. Forests for Monarchs, a program of La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, helps by reforesting the Monarchs’ wintering habitat in Central Michoacán, México. Learn more about the successful conservation and forest restoration strategy of La Cruz, which since 1997 has distributed almost 8 million native tree seedlings, and in 2014 distributed and planted one million tree seedlings!
Dr. Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón earned her Doctorate in Geomatics Engineering from the University of Calgary Geomatics Department, in Alberta, Canada, where she majored in Environmental Engineering and minored in Forest Hydrology. Her scientific contributions are related to the topics of estimating hydrologic data error propagation, scaling actual evaporation and transpiration to large scales, and improving techniques to accurately measure actual transpiration. Boreal, Tropical and Temperate Forests have been part of her areas of study. In 2010 and 2011, Dr. Quiñonez-Piñón led a project funded by the Ecosystems Network (ECORed) of CONACYT, whose main topic was to initiate the creation of a National Environmental Monitoring System in Mexico. By 2011, CONACYT decided to support a larger effort to consolidate this project, and she is part of the evaluating Committee of such effort. Along her career, she has either led or participated in 14 research projects. Dr. Quiñonez-Piñón supervised two MSc Dissertations, up to six Bachelor’s Treatises, and served as a member of the CONACYT physics and mathematics scientific evaluation committee for two years. She has fifteen years of experience as a University Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, and about three years of consulting experience, primarily for Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). She resides now in Austin, Texas and is writing several journal papers and serving as a reviewer for the International Journal of Remote Sensing. In 2013, she became the Executive Director of La Cruz Habitat Protection Project where she focuses most of her efforts on increasing the forest restoration rates in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve through the Forests for Monarchs program.
Mike Quinn, Texas Entomologist, Pres. Austin Butterfly Forum
Importance of Pollinating Beetles: Beetles represent the greatest diversity of pollinators, and were among the earliest known. They provide homes for countless pollinators and perform other services of value. Beetle families important as pollinators include Cerambycidae, Buprestidae, Scarabaeidae, Cantaridae, Meloidae, Cleridae, Mordellidae, Nitidulidae, Melyridae, and Dermestidae.
Mike Quinn earned degrees in Entomology and Wildlife from Texas A&M. He has worked on various ornithological, botanical and entomological projects for local, state and federal agencies, and was the first state-wide invertebrate biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, where his outreach activities leaned strongly toward monarch butterflies. Mike served as a consultant during the establishment of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, and has been active with the Texas Butterfly Festival since its inception. He has served as a longtime board member of the Austin Butterfly Forum, and is currently working on a guide to the lady beetles of Texas and the surrounding states. Mike co-authored, along with Dr. Karen Oberhauser and Ba Rea, a very popular educational book called Milkweed, Monarchs and More. He is also a top contributor to www.bugguide.net, which is a North American online resource for insects, spiders and their kin, and has photographed over 20 percent of the beetles of Texas. Mike's website is at www.texasento.net.
Importance of Pollinating Beetles: Beetles represent the greatest diversity of pollinators, and were among the earliest known. They provide homes for countless pollinators and perform other services of value. Beetle families important as pollinators include Cerambycidae, Buprestidae, Scarabaeidae, Cantaridae, Meloidae, Cleridae, Mordellidae, Nitidulidae, Melyridae, and Dermestidae.
Mike Quinn earned degrees in Entomology and Wildlife from Texas A&M. He has worked on various ornithological, botanical and entomological projects for local, state and federal agencies, and was the first state-wide invertebrate biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, where his outreach activities leaned strongly toward monarch butterflies. Mike served as a consultant during the establishment of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, and has been active with the Texas Butterfly Festival since its inception. He has served as a longtime board member of the Austin Butterfly Forum, and is currently working on a guide to the lady beetles of Texas and the surrounding states. Mike co-authored, along with Dr. Karen Oberhauser and Ba Rea, a very popular educational book called Milkweed, Monarchs and More. He is also a top contributor to www.bugguide.net, which is a North American online resource for insects, spiders and their kin, and has photographed over 20 percent of the beetles of Texas. Mike's website is at www.texasento.net.
Scott Richardson, Coordinator and manager of the Opal Robert's Landscape of Hopes and Dreams for Conservation Awareness at Junction Middle School; panelist
Scott graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a degree in Forestry, later earning a teacher certification from University of Texas-Arlington in Biology and Math. After moving to rural property in Junction, TX in 1980, Scott and his wife, Martha, began a new life of educating themselves and others in various aspects of the natural world. They have applied what they have learned, in terms of the best land management practices, to encourage a diversity of native flora and fauna on their land. These practices have increased rainwater retention on the property and resulted in the proliferation of native grasses and forbs.
Scott taught science and math at Junction Middle School. As a teacher, Scott coordinated several outdoor field trips for his 8th grade students. Scott retired from formal education in 2004. Scott is also a past director and president of the Llano River Watershed Alliance, and a past director of the Upper Llano Prescribed Burn Association.
In 2004, Scott and his wife Martha co-founded the Western Edwards Plateau Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists. As Texas Master Naturalists, Scott and Martha ran three training classes for their TMN local chapter. In 2008 Scott initiated and coordinated the development of a memorial landscape in memory of his dear friend and teaching mentor, Opal B. Roberts, at Junction Middle School. Billy Kniffen, state rainwater specialist, designed and helped with the initial construction of the landscape. It features seven rain gardens and over 40 native plant species. The landscape not only serves as a model for water conservation, but also as a habitat for students and a variety of animals, especially pollinators. With Martha and three other TMN volunteers' help, Scott manages and learns from the landscape throughout the year. Read the story here: http://www.seedsource.com/downloads/2012LandscapeFullofLessonsLR.pdf
Scott graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a degree in Forestry, later earning a teacher certification from University of Texas-Arlington in Biology and Math. After moving to rural property in Junction, TX in 1980, Scott and his wife, Martha, began a new life of educating themselves and others in various aspects of the natural world. They have applied what they have learned, in terms of the best land management practices, to encourage a diversity of native flora and fauna on their land. These practices have increased rainwater retention on the property and resulted in the proliferation of native grasses and forbs.
Scott taught science and math at Junction Middle School. As a teacher, Scott coordinated several outdoor field trips for his 8th grade students. Scott retired from formal education in 2004. Scott is also a past director and president of the Llano River Watershed Alliance, and a past director of the Upper Llano Prescribed Burn Association.
In 2004, Scott and his wife Martha co-founded the Western Edwards Plateau Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists. As Texas Master Naturalists, Scott and Martha ran three training classes for their TMN local chapter. In 2008 Scott initiated and coordinated the development of a memorial landscape in memory of his dear friend and teaching mentor, Opal B. Roberts, at Junction Middle School. Billy Kniffen, state rainwater specialist, designed and helped with the initial construction of the landscape. It features seven rain gardens and over 40 native plant species. The landscape not only serves as a model for water conservation, but also as a habitat for students and a variety of animals, especially pollinators. With Martha and three other TMN volunteers' help, Scott manages and learns from the landscape throughout the year. Read the story here: http://www.seedsource.com/downloads/2012LandscapeFullofLessonsLR.pdf
Dara Satterfield, PhD candidate, University of Georgia; Monarch Health Coordinator
Fueling the flight: How Texas is crucial to monarch migration, health, and conservation: Monarchs undertake a long-distance migration from the northern U.S. and Canada to Mexico each fall, and the state of Texas makes up a critical portion of their journey. As monarchs suffer a severe decline in North America, the future for monarch butterflies will largely depend on conservation and citizen science efforts in Texas. Dara will discuss how Texas milkweeds can help bring back healthy monarchs; she will highlight recent research that points to the need for native milkweeds in particular, which provide seasonal (rather than year-round) habitat and help prevent the build-up of monarch parasites. Dara will also talk about opportunities for Texans to contribute to scientific discoveries about monarchs through citizen science projects.
Dara Satterfield is a doctoral student studying monarch butterflies and infectious disease ecology at the University of Georgia with Dr. Sonia Altizer. Fascinated with animal migration, Dara has been privileged to study monarchs in all stages of their annual journey, from their Midwest summer breeding locations to their Mexico overwintering sites. For the past three years, she focused on monarchs in the southern coastal U.S., where some butterflies skip the migration and breed year-round. As the program coordinator for Monarch Health, Dara collaborates with citizen scientists and others to monitor disease in monarchs and to understand how to improve milkweed habitat.
Fueling the flight: How Texas is crucial to monarch migration, health, and conservation: Monarchs undertake a long-distance migration from the northern U.S. and Canada to Mexico each fall, and the state of Texas makes up a critical portion of their journey. As monarchs suffer a severe decline in North America, the future for monarch butterflies will largely depend on conservation and citizen science efforts in Texas. Dara will discuss how Texas milkweeds can help bring back healthy monarchs; she will highlight recent research that points to the need for native milkweeds in particular, which provide seasonal (rather than year-round) habitat and help prevent the build-up of monarch parasites. Dara will also talk about opportunities for Texans to contribute to scientific discoveries about monarchs through citizen science projects.
Dara Satterfield is a doctoral student studying monarch butterflies and infectious disease ecology at the University of Georgia with Dr. Sonia Altizer. Fascinated with animal migration, Dara has been privileged to study monarchs in all stages of their annual journey, from their Midwest summer breeding locations to their Mexico overwintering sites. For the past three years, she focused on monarchs in the southern coastal U.S., where some butterflies skip the migration and breed year-round. As the program coordinator for Monarch Health, Dara collaborates with citizen scientists and others to monitor disease in monarchs and to understand how to improve milkweed habitat.
Robinson Sudan, Biologist, Pollinator Partnership
Forests and pollinators: succession, disturbance, and the forgotten habitat: Forests around the world are valued for providing numerous ecosystem services, but the role of these habitats in supporting diverse communities of pollinators has been largely understudied. Fortunately, recent research is beginning to shed light on how management of forests relative to their structure and successional processes are impacting pollinator communities. Such insights create opportunities to ask more fundamental questions about the ecology of these important animals and to develop more informed management strategies.
Born and raised in Houston, Robinson has called Austin home since 2001. He began his graduate studies at Texas State University in Agricultural Education but soon realized his academic goals leaned more toward ecology and conservation. This led him to the University of New Orleans where he pursued a master's degree in conservation biology. His thesis research explored the effects of forest succession on bee communities and began a four year relationship with The Pollinator Partnership which continues to this day. Gaining a solid background in conservation, ecology, and policy, Robinson moved back to Texas to develop the Pollinator Partnership’s southwest regional operations and to found New Leaf Consulting and Restoration. As a native Texan, he is passionate about promoting and maintaining not only healthy ecosystems across our state, but also healthy, diverse, and sustainable human communities.
Forests and pollinators: succession, disturbance, and the forgotten habitat: Forests around the world are valued for providing numerous ecosystem services, but the role of these habitats in supporting diverse communities of pollinators has been largely understudied. Fortunately, recent research is beginning to shed light on how management of forests relative to their structure and successional processes are impacting pollinator communities. Such insights create opportunities to ask more fundamental questions about the ecology of these important animals and to develop more informed management strategies.
Born and raised in Houston, Robinson has called Austin home since 2001. He began his graduate studies at Texas State University in Agricultural Education but soon realized his academic goals leaned more toward ecology and conservation. This led him to the University of New Orleans where he pursued a master's degree in conservation biology. His thesis research explored the effects of forest succession on bee communities and began a four year relationship with The Pollinator Partnership which continues to this day. Gaining a solid background in conservation, ecology, and policy, Robinson moved back to Texas to develop the Pollinator Partnership’s southwest regional operations and to found New Leaf Consulting and Restoration. As a native Texan, he is passionate about promoting and maintaining not only healthy ecosystems across our state, but also healthy, diverse, and sustainable human communities.
Catalina Aguado Trail, Monarch panelist
A Seminal Moment: an interview by Carrie McLaughlin
Catalina Aguado Trail is from Michoacan, Mexico and has lived in Austin, Texas since 1974. She is the only surviving member of the two person team, she and her husband Kenneth Brugger, who discovered the Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Colonies in Mexico in 1975 while working as field assistants for Canadian Zoologist, Dr. Fred Urquhart. Catalina is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. She likes gardening, astronomy, nature, solitude, and photography.
Catalina was a free spirit and itinerant traveler of the hemisphere when this photo was taken of her in the 1970s inside one of the winter monarch colonies.
A Seminal Moment: an interview by Carrie McLaughlin
Catalina Aguado Trail is from Michoacan, Mexico and has lived in Austin, Texas since 1974. She is the only surviving member of the two person team, she and her husband Kenneth Brugger, who discovered the Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Colonies in Mexico in 1975 while working as field assistants for Canadian Zoologist, Dr. Fred Urquhart. Catalina is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. She likes gardening, astronomy, nature, solitude, and photography.
Catalina was a free spirit and itinerant traveler of the hemisphere when this photo was taken of her in the 1970s inside one of the winter monarch colonies.
Merlin Tuttle, Ph.D, Founder & CEO, Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, Inc.
Bats, Pollination and a Novel Approach to Conservation: Merlin will share with us his knowledge and photography of bats, pollination and conservation worldwide.
Merlin Tuttle, a resident of Austin, Texas, has studied and photographed bats worldwide for 55 years. He founded and led Bat Conservation International for 30 years. He has published five articles in National Geographic, most recently on sophisticated bat pollinators. His research has appeared in the world’s most prestigious journals, and he continues a busy schedule of lecturing and teaching workshops worldwide, most recently as a plenary speaker for the annual Asia-Pacific, 22-nation annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His new book, The Secret Lives of Bats, My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Mammals, will be released on October 20, 2015.
Bats, Pollination and a Novel Approach to Conservation: Merlin will share with us his knowledge and photography of bats, pollination and conservation worldwide.
Merlin Tuttle, a resident of Austin, Texas, has studied and photographed bats worldwide for 55 years. He founded and led Bat Conservation International for 30 years. He has published five articles in National Geographic, most recently on sophisticated bat pollinators. His research has appeared in the world’s most prestigious journals, and he continues a busy schedule of lecturing and teaching workshops worldwide, most recently as a plenary speaker for the annual Asia-Pacific, 22-nation annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His new book, The Secret Lives of Bats, My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Mammals, will be released on October 20, 2015.
Michael Warriner, Program Leader of Nongame and Rare Species Program, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and PowWow Steering Committee
Native Bees of Texas: Native bees are critical to native plant reproduction and are key players in the maintenance of Texas’s natural ecosystems. A large number of native plants pollinated by these bees produce fruit, nuts, or seeds that thousands of animal species depend upon for food, including some popular game animals. Native bees also play economically important roles in agricultural production. The value of native bees to U.S. agriculture is estimated to be approximately $3 billion annually.
Michael Warriner is an invertebrate biologist, and the Program Leader of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Nongame and Rare Species Program. Prior to coming to Texas, he worked as the invertebrate zoologist for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and as a research associate working on forest entomology at Mississippi State University. He is also the coordinator of TPWD's Texas Bumblebee Watch, which he founded in 2011, and is the author of nativebeecoop.com and is the administrator of their increasingly popular FB page https://www.facebook.com/texasnativebees.
Native Bees of Texas: Native bees are critical to native plant reproduction and are key players in the maintenance of Texas’s natural ecosystems. A large number of native plants pollinated by these bees produce fruit, nuts, or seeds that thousands of animal species depend upon for food, including some popular game animals. Native bees also play economically important roles in agricultural production. The value of native bees to U.S. agriculture is estimated to be approximately $3 billion annually.
Michael Warriner is an invertebrate biologist, and the Program Leader of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Nongame and Rare Species Program. Prior to coming to Texas, he worked as the invertebrate zoologist for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and as a research associate working on forest entomology at Mississippi State University. He is also the coordinator of TPWD's Texas Bumblebee Watch, which he founded in 2011, and is the author of nativebeecoop.com and is the administrator of their increasingly popular FB page https://www.facebook.com/texasnativebees.
