The Texas Master Naturalist Annual conference this year on October 21 – 23, 2011 was at Mo Ranch in Hunt, Tx again this year. The weather was perfect… not too hot and not too cold. There were 275 registered attendees at the conference, with 36 of the 42 Texas chapters represented. There were 10 members of the Elm Fork Chapter present, 4 of which are from this year’s training class. Read more about the meeting by Jan Deatherage on page 5, 6, & 7 of December 2011 newsletter.

Welcome New Chapters and New Members in 2011

Bluestem Chapter

Bois d’Arc Chapter

Longleaf Ridge Chapter

 

Awards & Recognition Ceremony Saturday night

Attendees at 500 Service Hours Milestone: Judi Elliott & Van Elliott

Attendees at 1,000 Service Hours Milestone: Marian Kester, Diane Wetherbee, Judi Elliott & Van Elliott

Congratulations to the Elm Fork Chapter of the Master Naturalists and to the many Master Naturalist volunteers at LLELA, in particular, for winning the third place exemplary project award in the statewide contest. The award was received at the state meeting.

This award is a result of the thousands of hours of service the Elm Fork chapter, with assistance from the Blackland Prairie and North Texas chapters, provides to LLELA each year. One acre of prairie, wetlands, and bottomlands restoration, one foot of trail, and one child at a time, we are having an impact on creating a showplace project for the Master Naturalists. More importantly, we are helping to introduce to the people of the metroplex an outdoors experience that showcases what our area of Texas once looked like, and providing them with a chance to reconnect to nature right here in our own backyards.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have volunteered at LLELA. You truly deserve this recognition!

Diane Wetherbee

LLELA Project Manager

 

Elm Fork Chapter won 3rd place for a LLELA Project Presentation thanks to Diane Wetherbee. Diane was awarded a $100 check for the chapter and a gate sign.

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2012 Annual Re-Certification Pin

Artwork by Jan Redden, Gideon Lincecum Chapter

 

Save the date!

2012 Statewide Annual Meeting & Advanced Training

October 26 – 28, 2012

Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas

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Bumblebees of Texas

 by Susan Pohlen

One of my favorite sessions at the 2011 annual Master Naturalist conference was about bumblebees of Texas.  Michael Warriner, Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, provided an interesting look into the life cycle of bumblebees.  He began by differentiating between honeybees and bumblebees, and then provided examples of insects that are often mistaken for bumblebees.  He identified Texas species of bumblebees, and the bumblebee life cycle.

What a bumblebee isn’t:  Bumblebees are not honeybees.  It’s actually quite easy to distinguish between honeybees and bumblebees because bumblebees are roughly twice the size of honeybees.  Two flying insects often confused with bumblebees are the Snowberry Clearwing (moth), and the eastern carpenter bee.  Whereas bees will actually land on plants, the moth will hover in front of the plant much like a hummingbird.  The eastern carpenter bee is the insect most often confused as a bumblebee.  You can identify the carpenter bee by the lack of hair on its abdomen.  The black abdomen of the carpenter bee is smooth and shiny.  There are also two flies that you might mistake for bumblebees, but they only have one pair of wings and are smaller.  They do not gather pollen, and are parasitic, feeding on other insects including bumblebees.

Believe it or not, there are nine species of bumblebees in the state of Texas alone, although only a few are found in north Texas.  (For a list of bumblebee species check the following sites:  www.texasbumblebees.com; www.inaturalist.org ; www.bugguide.net).  Unlike honeybees, the bumblebee has an annual life cycle.  That means they’ve got to get right down to business because they’ve only got part of the year for their contribution to the species. read more…..

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Texas Master Naturalist Program Accomplishments

 

The Texas Master Naturalist program began as a statewide initiative during 1998. The program is jointly sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and is supported by more than 300 additional partnerships through local chapters statewide.

  •  Through December 2010, with combined efforts of 42 recognized local chapters, the Master Naturalist program has trained 6,737 volunteers.

 

  • Master Naturalist volunteers dedicated over 256,157 service hours in 2010, directed toward natural resource community projects, research, and outreach resulting in a cumulative total of 1,482,329 hours of service to date.

 

  • The economic impact of Texas Master Naturalist volunteer service throughout 2010 is valued at $4,995 Million and $29 Million to date.

 

  • These 6,700+ volunteers also obtained 37,980 advanced training hours in 2010.

 

  • TMN volunteers conducted over 2,700 outreach, education and technical guidance events in 2010 with over 70% of those events being direct contact programs where volunteers provided hands-on outreach, education or consultation to nearly 170,000 youth, adults and private landowners.

 

  • To date Texas Master Naturalist volunteers have made over 2.5 Million public contacts through their volunteer service while spreading a conservation and natural resource message.

 

  • Program volunteers have impacted or conducted projects on areas of land that involve roughly 155,000 acres of habitat while also developing or maintaining some 1,350 miles of interpretive trails.

 

  • 30 International, National, State and Local  Awards have been received for Texas Master Naturalist program, chapter and individual volunteers’ efforts to date.

 

  • Over 70% of Texas counties (178 counties) are served by a recognized Texas Master Naturalist Chapter.