Texas Drought May Have Killed 500 Million Trees
Forests are among the most long-established habitats on the planet, forming their delicately balanced ecosystems over centuries -- and a new study in light of Texas's ongoing drought proves how quickly they can be decimated. According to the Texas Forest Service, as many as 500 million trees in the state -- roughly 10 percent of the forests there -- have been killed within the last year alone as a result of 2011's bizarre lack of rainfall. To make matters worse, the massive die-off may just be the first in a long line as climatologists predict more severe drought to come as climate change worsens over the next century.
Forestry officials recently surveyed trees throughout 63 million acres of drought-riddled Texas and say what they found that months of record heat and stiflingly arid conditioned have left anywhere between 100 million to as many as half-a-billion trees dead. Texas Forestry Service directory Tom Boggus calls the findings "very shocking", adding that they've witnessed "a significant change in the landscape."
According to the American-Statesmen, the loss of plant-life in Texas due to the drought may be worse yet. The study did not factor in the millions of trees that perished due to drought-related wildfires, which, in 2011, were particularly damaging.
The survey is based on the collective reports of local forestry professionals who were asked to measure the drought's toll in their areas.
They were asked to focus only on trees that had died from the 2011 drought and exclude "background mortality" from earlier droughts or drought-aided diseases, such as oak wilt.
Only trees of 5 inches or more in diameter, the point at which saplings become trees, were counted.
While it may be too soon to tell what role climate change has had on this tree-killing drought, it already has surpassed previous records; experts say that the dry-spell is the worst to hit Texas since rainfall data was first collected in 1895. Climatologists have already warned of a lack of rainfall associated with the global warming phenomena, but perhaps never before has the scale of a damage that results been measured so close to home.
In light of the Forest Service's survey, and the economic hit suffered by Texas's lumber industry from the undeniably abnormal drought, state officials may have no other choice but to address climate change as a reality.
http://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/texas-drought-may-have-killed-500-million-trees.html
Showing posts with label texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label texas. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Prehistoric Pig Remains Found At Texas Excavation Site
Construction workers excavating the site of a new high-explosive pressing facility in Amarillo, Texas, discovered the remains of an extinct, prehistoric pig.
According to Bobby Cervantes of the Amarillo Globe-News, workers at the Pantex Plant discovered the fragmented remains embedded approximately eight feet down in the walls of the site after returning to the location one morning.
“If we’d have taken another bucket of dirt out of the wall of that pit, we’d have never known they (the bones) were there,” Project Contractor Don Lankford said. “The next morning, the light was hitting the bones just right, and one of the workers spotted them.”
Lankford told Cervantes that the large excavator bucket used by the crew would have definitely destroyed the bone fragments had it taken another chunk out of the wall.
An Associated Press (AP) report notes that “Dr. Gerald Schultz, a geology professor at West Texas A&M University in nearby Canyon, identified the bones as belonging to a Platygonus, an extinct prehistoric pig related to a modern javelina. The professor says Platygonus became extinct at least 11,000 years ago, but the bones could be as old as 23 million years old.”
B&W Pantex spokesman Bill Cunningham told the Amarillo Globe-News that Plant historian Monica Graham, a wildlife biologist, and a geologist worked together to excavate the bones.
Reporter Eric Ross of Amarillo television station NewsChannel 10 said that the discovery was “a big find… this could only be the second time a peccary fossil has been discovered in our area.”
Ross added that Pantex told the station that Pantex was “looking into the possibility of displaying them at the Panhandle Plains Museum,” which is located on the West Texas A&M University campus. Graham told the television station that pictures would be sent to the museum, and for the time being, the fossils would be preserved at Pantex.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112416412/prehistoric-pig-remains-found-at-texas-excavation-site/index.html
According to Bobby Cervantes of the Amarillo Globe-News, workers at the Pantex Plant discovered the fragmented remains embedded approximately eight feet down in the walls of the site after returning to the location one morning.
“If we’d have taken another bucket of dirt out of the wall of that pit, we’d have never known they (the bones) were there,” Project Contractor Don Lankford said. “The next morning, the light was hitting the bones just right, and one of the workers spotted them.”
Lankford told Cervantes that the large excavator bucket used by the crew would have definitely destroyed the bone fragments had it taken another chunk out of the wall.
An Associated Press (AP) report notes that “Dr. Gerald Schultz, a geology professor at West Texas A&M University in nearby Canyon, identified the bones as belonging to a Platygonus, an extinct prehistoric pig related to a modern javelina. The professor says Platygonus became extinct at least 11,000 years ago, but the bones could be as old as 23 million years old.”
B&W Pantex spokesman Bill Cunningham told the Amarillo Globe-News that Plant historian Monica Graham, a wildlife biologist, and a geologist worked together to excavate the bones.
Reporter Eric Ross of Amarillo television station NewsChannel 10 said that the discovery was “a big find… this could only be the second time a peccary fossil has been discovered in our area.”
Ross added that Pantex told the station that Pantex was “looking into the possibility of displaying them at the Panhandle Plains Museum,” which is located on the West Texas A&M University campus. Graham told the television station that pictures would be sent to the museum, and for the time being, the fossils would be preserved at Pantex.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112416412/prehistoric-pig-remains-found-at-texas-excavation-site/index.html
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Monarch butterflies face plight of flight in hot Texas
For the monarch butterflies, life is complicated enough even in a good year. Now, though, they’ve got to deal with Texas.
The monarchs in recent weeks have been beating their way south and west across eastern North America, riding winds a thousand feet above the ground, covering 25 miles or more every day. Now they’ve reached a vast area in Texas stricken by drought and charred by wildfires.
The butterflies are on their way to Mexico. They come from as far north as Winnipeg, Manitoba, and as far east as the islands of Maine. Many take a well-flapped route down the Eastern Seaboard before veering across the Gulf Coast. If they can make it through the gantlet of Texas, they will cross the Rio Grande and converge on a few acres of forest in mountains about 60 miles west of Mexico City. There, they spend the winter roosting, thick as quilts, on the branches of oyamel fir trees. In spring, they’ll head back north.
But it’s not clear how many will make it this year to their Mexican retreat, or what kind of condition they’ll be in when they get there.
They need water. They need flowers. They need nectar. The monarch butterfly is a hardy and vigorous insect, but whatever compels it to migrate south does not tolerate much flexibility in the itinerary. Going through Texas on the way to Mexico is what they’re hard-wired to do. And Texas is scorched.
“They’re going to be encountering a thousand miles of hell as they go through a nearly waterless, flowerless, nectarless landscape,” said Chip Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and the director of the nonprofit organization Monarch Watch.
The migrating monarchs must overcome a host of challenges to their way of life, and their numbers have dropped in recent years. A critical problem is the widespread adoption throughout North America of herbicide-tolerant corn and soybeans, said Lincoln Brower, a professor of biology at Sweet Brier College who has been studying monarchs for decades.
These genetically modified crops enable farmers to spray herbicides on their fields and wipe out weeds without hurting the corn or soybeans. But the milkweeds that are eradicated are crucial to the life cycle of the butterflies. Scorned by farmers, milkweeds are a diverse genus of plants, with more than 120 species identified, that co-evolved over the millennia with the butterflies.
“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of acres of land that are virtually sterilized except for human food crops,” Brower said.
Conservation groups have encouraged people to plant milkweeds to help the monarchs. And in Mexico, where illegal logging has damaged some of the butterfly’s winter habitat, the Washington-based conservation organization American Forests has teamed with other groups to plant more than 900,000 trees in the past five years, said American Forests spokeswoman Lea Sloan.
But nothing is constant in any ecosystem. Climate change is driving wetter winters that leave soggy butterflies exposed to cold snaps, Taylor said. The butterfly population that migrated north this year was smaller than normal, he said, as is the number heading south. As they fly through southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and into northern Mexico, they are encountering areas hit by what the U.S. government rates as “exceptional drought.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/can-monarch-butterflies-make-it-through-texas/2011/10/07/gIQAEt8ySL_story.html
The monarchs in recent weeks have been beating their way south and west across eastern North America, riding winds a thousand feet above the ground, covering 25 miles or more every day. Now they’ve reached a vast area in Texas stricken by drought and charred by wildfires.
The butterflies are on their way to Mexico. They come from as far north as Winnipeg, Manitoba, and as far east as the islands of Maine. Many take a well-flapped route down the Eastern Seaboard before veering across the Gulf Coast. If they can make it through the gantlet of Texas, they will cross the Rio Grande and converge on a few acres of forest in mountains about 60 miles west of Mexico City. There, they spend the winter roosting, thick as quilts, on the branches of oyamel fir trees. In spring, they’ll head back north.
But it’s not clear how many will make it this year to their Mexican retreat, or what kind of condition they’ll be in when they get there.
They need water. They need flowers. They need nectar. The monarch butterfly is a hardy and vigorous insect, but whatever compels it to migrate south does not tolerate much flexibility in the itinerary. Going through Texas on the way to Mexico is what they’re hard-wired to do. And Texas is scorched.
“They’re going to be encountering a thousand miles of hell as they go through a nearly waterless, flowerless, nectarless landscape,” said Chip Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and the director of the nonprofit organization Monarch Watch.
The migrating monarchs must overcome a host of challenges to their way of life, and their numbers have dropped in recent years. A critical problem is the widespread adoption throughout North America of herbicide-tolerant corn and soybeans, said Lincoln Brower, a professor of biology at Sweet Brier College who has been studying monarchs for decades.
These genetically modified crops enable farmers to spray herbicides on their fields and wipe out weeds without hurting the corn or soybeans. But the milkweeds that are eradicated are crucial to the life cycle of the butterflies. Scorned by farmers, milkweeds are a diverse genus of plants, with more than 120 species identified, that co-evolved over the millennia with the butterflies.
“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of acres of land that are virtually sterilized except for human food crops,” Brower said.
Conservation groups have encouraged people to plant milkweeds to help the monarchs. And in Mexico, where illegal logging has damaged some of the butterfly’s winter habitat, the Washington-based conservation organization American Forests has teamed with other groups to plant more than 900,000 trees in the past five years, said American Forests spokeswoman Lea Sloan.
But nothing is constant in any ecosystem. Climate change is driving wetter winters that leave soggy butterflies exposed to cold snaps, Taylor said. The butterfly population that migrated north this year was smaller than normal, he said, as is the number heading south. As they fly through southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and into northern Mexico, they are encountering areas hit by what the U.S. government rates as “exceptional drought.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/can-monarch-butterflies-make-it-through-texas/2011/10/07/gIQAEt8ySL_story.html
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monster-gator killers face charges of illegal hunting
Dallas attorney Levi McCathern II is likely not smiling so widely now.
McCathern, 42, a former Baptist minister whose website says he's represented Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys in court, became something of a celebrity in his own right after claiming that he shot a 14-foot, 880-pound alligator on his first reptile hunt June 11.
Photos of him posing next to the beast along the Trinity River in Leon County were flashed on television, carried by newspapers and bounced around the Internet.
Turns out the alligator was actually 13 feet 1 inch and was no record as asserted.
Worse, arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for McCathern and his three guides for illegally hunting the big gator and an 8-footer on private property, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said.
The four were expected to turn themselves in Wednesday at the Leon County Sheriff's Department in Centerville, about 145 miles southeast of Fort Worth, department spokesman Mike Cox said in a news release.
However, McCathern's attorney said that he was out of state on a scheduled family vacation and that the Leon County attorney has been informed. The attorney, George Milner III of Dallas, said his client will fight the charge, saying he understood that the guides had permission to be on the land to hunt.
"I can tell you he will be acquitted," Milner said.
Moreover, McCathern performed a public service, his lawyer asserted.
"As big as this alligator was, they should have given him a medal," Milner said.
One of the guides, Steve Barclay, insisted in a brief telephone interview that the landowner had given his OK.
"We did in fact have permission to kill alligators on that land," Barclay said.
Taking wildlife without a landowner's consent is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $4,000, a one-year jail sentence or both. The department will also seek more than $5,000 in restitution for the two alligators, the release said.
Both gators have been seized by authorities.
Game wardens in Leon and Houston counties began the investigation when an unidentified property owner reported that a large alligator had been killed without his permission on his land on the Trinity River. A smaller gator was taken on his property the day before.
McCathern said in at least one interview that his 14-year-old son had killed an alligator the day before he did. Cox said that earlier shooting is still under investigation.
The lawyer's guides were identified by Parks and Wildlife as Barclay, 47; Sam Lovell, 56; and Ryan Burton, 21. Barclay and Lovell operate a Kennard-based hunting-guide service called the Gar Guys.
It's not clear whether McCathern will represent himself on the misdemeanor charge.
His website boasts that he "has enjoyed unusual success in the historically more liberal courts of the northern and eastern parts of Texas. ... His strength is the same in and out of the courtroom -- relating to all people, from janitors to CEOs, on their level."
It's not the first time that Barclay, Lovell and a client faced an alligator-hunting misdemeanor in Leon County.
In 2007, a charge over the shooting of a 13-foot gator was dismissed "for lack of evidence," Leon County Attorney Jim Witt told Texas Fish & Game magazine. Witt is still the county attorney and handles such misdemeanor case.
By Barry Shlachter
bshlachter@star-telegram.com
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/20/3235450/monster-gator-killers-face-charges.html
McCathern, 42, a former Baptist minister whose website says he's represented Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys in court, became something of a celebrity in his own right after claiming that he shot a 14-foot, 880-pound alligator on his first reptile hunt June 11.
Photos of him posing next to the beast along the Trinity River in Leon County were flashed on television, carried by newspapers and bounced around the Internet.
Turns out the alligator was actually 13 feet 1 inch and was no record as asserted.
Worse, arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for McCathern and his three guides for illegally hunting the big gator and an 8-footer on private property, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said.
The four were expected to turn themselves in Wednesday at the Leon County Sheriff's Department in Centerville, about 145 miles southeast of Fort Worth, department spokesman Mike Cox said in a news release.
However, McCathern's attorney said that he was out of state on a scheduled family vacation and that the Leon County attorney has been informed. The attorney, George Milner III of Dallas, said his client will fight the charge, saying he understood that the guides had permission to be on the land to hunt.
"I can tell you he will be acquitted," Milner said.
Moreover, McCathern performed a public service, his lawyer asserted.
"As big as this alligator was, they should have given him a medal," Milner said.
One of the guides, Steve Barclay, insisted in a brief telephone interview that the landowner had given his OK.
"We did in fact have permission to kill alligators on that land," Barclay said.
Taking wildlife without a landowner's consent is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $4,000, a one-year jail sentence or both. The department will also seek more than $5,000 in restitution for the two alligators, the release said.
Both gators have been seized by authorities.
Game wardens in Leon and Houston counties began the investigation when an unidentified property owner reported that a large alligator had been killed without his permission on his land on the Trinity River. A smaller gator was taken on his property the day before.
McCathern said in at least one interview that his 14-year-old son had killed an alligator the day before he did. Cox said that earlier shooting is still under investigation.
The lawyer's guides were identified by Parks and Wildlife as Barclay, 47; Sam Lovell, 56; and Ryan Burton, 21. Barclay and Lovell operate a Kennard-based hunting-guide service called the Gar Guys.
It's not clear whether McCathern will represent himself on the misdemeanor charge.
His website boasts that he "has enjoyed unusual success in the historically more liberal courts of the northern and eastern parts of Texas. ... His strength is the same in and out of the courtroom -- relating to all people, from janitors to CEOs, on their level."
It's not the first time that Barclay, Lovell and a client faced an alligator-hunting misdemeanor in Leon County.
In 2007, a charge over the shooting of a 13-foot gator was dismissed "for lack of evidence," Leon County Attorney Jim Witt told Texas Fish & Game magazine. Witt is still the county attorney and handles such misdemeanor case.
By Barry Shlachter
bshlachter@star-telegram.com
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/20/3235450/monster-gator-killers-face-charges.html
Friday, July 15, 2011
Possible Chupacabra Sighting In Texas (VIDEO)
Don't resign yourself to chupacabra nightmares just yet. Even Jack Crabtree, the supplier of photos to The Facts, his local Texas paper, doesn't think that he witnessed a real chupacabra, or "The Bigfoot of Latin Culture," as dubbed by CNN during a previous chupacabra sighting.
According to a report by ABC News, the retired wildlife biologist and his wife Linda saw the slow-moving, hairless creature wandering by a creek at the back of their house on the Fourth of July. They took photos, and Crabtree sent them to the newspaper, jokingly calling it a Chupacabra.
However, the paper either didn't get the joke, or didn't care, and they ran it on the front page, stirring excitement similar to the other Texas Chupacabra sighting a few months ago. When that creature was spotted, Animal Control Officer Frank Hackett described the animal: "All I know is, it wasn't normal. It was ugly, real ugly. I'm not going to tell no lie on that one."
Crabtree told ABC News that he can't believe people's reactions:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/chupacabra-texas-sighting_n_896374.html?ir=Weird+News
According to a report by ABC News, the retired wildlife biologist and his wife Linda saw the slow-moving, hairless creature wandering by a creek at the back of their house on the Fourth of July. They took photos, and Crabtree sent them to the newspaper, jokingly calling it a Chupacabra.
However, the paper either didn't get the joke, or didn't care, and they ran it on the front page, stirring excitement similar to the other Texas Chupacabra sighting a few months ago. When that creature was spotted, Animal Control Officer Frank Hackett described the animal: "All I know is, it wasn't normal. It was ugly, real ugly. I'm not going to tell no lie on that one."
Crabtree told ABC News that he can't believe people's reactions:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/chupacabra-texas-sighting_n_896374.html?ir=Weird+News
Friday, June 24, 2011
Giant Gator Killed In Trinity River
An episode of 'Swamp People’ inspired Dallas attorney Levi McCathern to go on a hunt for bigger game.
"Something I wanted to do was hunt something that could hunt me and alligators seemed like a challenge,” said McCathern, who has hunted since the age of six.
Read on...
"Something I wanted to do was hunt something that could hunt me and alligators seemed like a challenge,” said McCathern, who has hunted since the age of six.
Read on...
Friday, April 8, 2011
Stop the turtle massacre on Texas Hwy 190 (Via HerpDigest)
Stop the turtle massacre on Texas Hwy 190!!
OVERVIEW
Fellow Texans and Wildlife Enthusiasts,
We are only weeks away from another spring nesting season for freshwater turtles in Texas. We will soon find these turtles crossing highways and neighborhood streets looking for the perfect place to dig their nests. Unfortunately, in a shrinking and fragmented landscape, they rarely find that perfect place. In the process, many concerned citizens will stop their cars and try to help these turtles across roads, or swerve to keep from hitting them, putting their lives in danger as well.
Right here in Texas, a 2 mile stretch of Hwy 190 crossing Jasper and Tyler counties is currently one of the most deadly roads for freshwater turtles in the world. Shockingly, right outside of a state park and
running through a wildlife management area, researchers have counted over 700 dead turtles on this stretch of road during the last 3 years. Starting any day now, hundreds more will be killed by passing motorists. A lucky few will be killed instantly; however many more will suffer for hours if not days as they slowly bleed to death as they bake on the hot asphalt.
Countless photographs have been taken of female turtles that even after being struck by passing cars, continued crawling across the road with their organs and eggs spilling out and trailing behind them, still driven by their motherly instinct to produce offspring. These images are too gruesome and graphic to be shown to public audiences.
Everyone believed that there was victory for these turtles after the highway department told the public that a wildlife barrier would be constructed this summer to prevent the turtles from accessing the road.
They are aware that this mortality puts the population of the turtles in the lake in jeopardy, and thereby the health of this recreational lake.
Additionally, this site also poses a serious public safety risk to
motorists. Texans demanded this fence be constructed back in August of 2010 when the public was alerted to this crisis.
Something stinks in this story, and it's not just the dead turtles rotting alongside the highway!
Shockingly, two weeks ago, the Texas Department of Transportation abruptly announced out of nowhere that they would not be building a turtle barrier at Steinhagen Lake. They are saying that the public is
not in favor of the fence due to the tough fiscal times, even though funds have already been allocated for this project.
Additionally, the claim that the public was not in favor of this fence is puzzling as a
local poll by a radio station in Woodville, Texas found a 60% approval rating for the fence among its listeners. Sadly, this fence and the preservation of the turtles in this area could actually bring in
economic opportunities which would greatly benefit many citizens and businesses of Tyler and Jasper County.
Representatives and the Texas Department of Transportation officials know that Texans are overwhelmingly in favor of this project, but still refuse to build this fence. It is the proactive, economic, and morally responsible thing to do. We are the only state on the "Top 5" offender list for highest turtle road-related mortality that has not addressed the problem.
The decline of turtle and tortoise populations worldwide has been cause for serious concern among conservationists over the last several decades. Turtles are among the world's most endangered vertebrates, with about half of the 300 plus species threatened with extinction. Additionally, in conjunction with the expansion of the nation's transportation network, aquatic turtle populations across the United States have become male-biased because so many female turtles are being hit on roadways. Turtles live very long lives, take a very long time to reach sexual maturity and newly hatched turtles have low survivorship. Because of this, turtle populations cannot effectively compensate for the loss of any additional unnatural adult mortality without suffering long term and catastrophic consequences. This is well documented in scientific journals and peer reviewed publications.
Cassidy Johnson, Houston, TX
PETITION LETTER
Greetings,
I am writing to urge you to support the construction of a wildlife barrier on Hwy 190 crossing Steinhagen Lake in Jasper and Tyler counties. This is currently one of the highest ranked spots for vehicular mortality for freshwater turtles in North America.
Every other state in the Top 5 list, except for Texas, has taken action to protect turtles. Turtles are an important part of the ecosystem, and one of the most imperiled groups of animals on the planet. They keep in balance the health of this recreational reservoir, performing an invaluable ecological service to the local citizens and tourist that utilize this area for fishing, canoeing, and wildlife watching. The long term economic costs of not mitigating this problem now, with the addition of the potential costs incurred to state and individuals from motorist accidents, far outweigh the cost of the currently proposed Tx-DOT barrier. Mass scale turtle migration on this stretch poses a serious public safety concern. Motor vehicle accidents involving turtles and other wildlife are a serious and legitimate concern and people have been seriously injured or worse in other locations where you see a confluence of turtles and vehicular traffic.
I support taking every opportunity to protect Texas wildlife and urge you to support construction of a turtle barrier along this highway. Delay is short-sighted and inaction is not an option for this unsustainable mortality. More than seven hundred dead turtles have already been killed in the last three years on this short stretch of road, and hundreds more will perish in 2011 without your action.
Thank you for your consideration.
To sign Go to http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-turtle-massacre-on-texas-hwy-190#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=t ____________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Oil in Gulf of Mexico (Via Herp Digest)
Oil in Gulf of Mexico: Biologists Cite Need for Critical Data to Determine Ecological Consequences
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2011) - Twenty years after biologists attempted to determine the ecological damages to marine life from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists dealing with the BP disaster find themselves with the same problem: the lack of critical data to determine the ecological consequences of human-induced environmental disasters, a University of Florida researcher said.
Writing in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Science, Karen A. Bjorndal, a University of Florida biology professor and director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, and other biologists said the United States needs "strategic national research plans for key marine species and ecosystems based on evaluation of cause and effect and on integrated monitoring of abundance and demographic traits."
"It is sad to see that we are in the same place now," said Bjorndal, adding that not much has changed since the Valdez oil spill when it comes to getting the data needed to assess and restore a marine ecosystem after an environmental disaster. She hopes it will provide an impetus for action.
"We know how to create these research plans -- what is needed now is the political will and leadership to do so," she wrote.
"Achieving mandated recovery goals depends on understanding both population trends and the demographic processes that drive those trends," Bjorndal's article states.
Her team argues it "is not too late to invest funds from BP to support teams of experts to develop effective strategic plans that identify, prioritize and provide methodologies for collecting essential data."
The team identified seven elements that need to be included in most of the plans.
"In the wake of the BP oil spill, the need for this policy shift is as clear as it is compelling. The largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history should provide the impetus and opportunity to effect this policy shift." Bjorndal wrote in her article.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Florida. .
Journal Reference:
K. A. Bjorndal, B. W. Bowen, M. Chaloupka, L. B. Crowder, S. S. Heppell, C. M. Jones, M. E. Lutcavage, D. Policansky, A. R. Solow, B. E. Witherington. Better Science Needed for Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. Science, 2011; 331 (6017): 537
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2011) - Twenty years after biologists attempted to determine the ecological damages to marine life from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists dealing with the BP disaster find themselves with the same problem: the lack of critical data to determine the ecological consequences of human-induced environmental disasters, a University of Florida researcher said.
Writing in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Science, Karen A. Bjorndal, a University of Florida biology professor and director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, and other biologists said the United States needs "strategic national research plans for key marine species and ecosystems based on evaluation of cause and effect and on integrated monitoring of abundance and demographic traits."
"It is sad to see that we are in the same place now," said Bjorndal, adding that not much has changed since the Valdez oil spill when it comes to getting the data needed to assess and restore a marine ecosystem after an environmental disaster. She hopes it will provide an impetus for action.
"We know how to create these research plans -- what is needed now is the political will and leadership to do so," she wrote.
"Achieving mandated recovery goals depends on understanding both population trends and the demographic processes that drive those trends," Bjorndal's article states.
Her team argues it "is not too late to invest funds from BP to support teams of experts to develop effective strategic plans that identify, prioritize and provide methodologies for collecting essential data."
The team identified seven elements that need to be included in most of the plans.
"In the wake of the BP oil spill, the need for this policy shift is as clear as it is compelling. The largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history should provide the impetus and opportunity to effect this policy shift." Bjorndal wrote in her article.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Florida. .
Journal Reference:
K. A. Bjorndal, B. W. Bowen, M. Chaloupka, L. B. Crowder, S. S. Heppell, C. M. Jones, M. E. Lutcavage, D. Policansky, A. R. Solow, B. E. Witherington. Better Science Needed for Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. Science, 2011; 331 (6017): 537
Race on To Save Sea Turtles (Via Herp Digest)
Race on To Save Sea Turtles , S. Padre Island, TX
2/4/11, Valley Star, TX, by Steve Sinclair
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - From Boca Chica beach to South Padre Island, cold-stunned sea turtles are being found by the dozens and fears are the numbers could swell by the time the cold front leaves the Rio Grande Valley.
As of noon Thursday, 100 cold-stunned sea turtles had been found. That number swelled to 330, seven of which died. Volunteers are racing the clock to save as many turtles as possible. "This is really a bad one," Sea Turtle Inc. curator Jeff George said.
"If the sea turtles are in this 20-degree temperature tonight (Thursday), they're going to die. I don't think the little ones will survive."
As many as 40 volunteers are looking for the turtles, but the U.S. Coast Guard and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department have also reported finding cold-stranded turtles.
Plans were to keep searching for more turtles until sunset on Thursday, then resuming the search this morning. Boats are also being used in the search.
All the turtles found thus far have been green sea turtles, which are an endangered species. George said the turtles range in size from 8 or 9 pounds to 100 pounds. Rescue facilities are strained. Besides Sea Turtle Inc. on the Island, turtles are being sent to the University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies lab on the Island and Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge also has an emergency facility available. The record number of cold-stunned sea turtles found came following a freeze in the 1980s when 300 were discovered.
According to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, when the water temperature drops, stunned sea turtles may float listlessly or wash onto shore. Although these turtles may appear to be dead, they are often still alive. However, in this listless condition, they are especially vulnerable to further impacts from the weather and may become prey to scavengers. George said it is critically important to find the sea turtles as soon as possible. He said the longer they remain in the listless state, their chances of recovery drop.
Sea turtle experts, including a veterinarian, are available to offer assistance.
People who find cold-stunned or dead turtles should immediately call Sea Turtle Inc., day or night, at 956-761-4511 and they will be advised of an emergency number to call.
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=87787&db=vmstar
36 photo slide show of rescue as of 2/4/11
2/4/11, Valley Star, TX, by Steve Sinclair
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - From Boca Chica beach to South Padre Island, cold-stunned sea turtles are being found by the dozens and fears are the numbers could swell by the time the cold front leaves the Rio Grande Valley.
As of noon Thursday, 100 cold-stunned sea turtles had been found. That number swelled to 330, seven of which died. Volunteers are racing the clock to save as many turtles as possible. "This is really a bad one," Sea Turtle Inc. curator Jeff George said.
"If the sea turtles are in this 20-degree temperature tonight (Thursday), they're going to die. I don't think the little ones will survive."
As many as 40 volunteers are looking for the turtles, but the U.S. Coast Guard and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department have also reported finding cold-stranded turtles.
Plans were to keep searching for more turtles until sunset on Thursday, then resuming the search this morning. Boats are also being used in the search.
All the turtles found thus far have been green sea turtles, which are an endangered species. George said the turtles range in size from 8 or 9 pounds to 100 pounds. Rescue facilities are strained. Besides Sea Turtle Inc. on the Island, turtles are being sent to the University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies lab on the Island and Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge also has an emergency facility available. The record number of cold-stunned sea turtles found came following a freeze in the 1980s when 300 were discovered.
According to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, when the water temperature drops, stunned sea turtles may float listlessly or wash onto shore. Although these turtles may appear to be dead, they are often still alive. However, in this listless condition, they are especially vulnerable to further impacts from the weather and may become prey to scavengers. George said it is critically important to find the sea turtles as soon as possible. He said the longer they remain in the listless state, their chances of recovery drop.
Sea turtle experts, including a veterinarian, are available to offer assistance.
People who find cold-stunned or dead turtles should immediately call Sea Turtle Inc., day or night, at 956-761-4511 and they will be advised of an emergency number to call.
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=87787&db=vmstar
36 photo slide show of rescue as of 2/4/11
Stunned Turtles Hit Record of 1,040 (Via Herp Digest)
Stunned Turtles Hit Record of 1,040 - Volunteers Scramble to Find Places to Keep Them
By Mike Naird, Rhiannon, Valley Morning Star, TX
February 5, 2011 - CORPUS CHRISTI - Forty-two motionless turtles blanketed the floor of a bait shop along JFK Memorial Causeway.
"One that was marked dead came alive," said Kevin Weatherbee, who spent Friday and Saturday rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles, sometimes wading into chilly water along the causeway, in the largest such event since 1980.
A record-breaking 1,040 cold-stunned green sea turtles have been rescued since Thursday, topping a record set last year when 450 were found, said Donna Shaver, division chief of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore.
"We're snowed under with sea turtles," she said.
So was Weatherbee.
When Texas Parks and Wildlife officials walked over the closed causeway Friday to retrieve turtles, they found the Red Dot Pier bait shop, which Weatherbee was watching for a family member, filled with them.
There were so many that he ran out of blankets and towels to wrap each one.
Because turtles are reptiles with a body temperature that fluctuates with the temperature of their environment, cold stuns the turtles. It leaves them motionless, and they float to the surface. If not found soon enough, they die.
"They're coldblooded creatures, but the water was 40.2 degrees, so cold they can't raise their heads out of the water and they drown," Weatherbee said. "It's hard not to try to help when you see these creatures in distress. It's the right thing to do."
Shaver said rescuers have been scrambling to find places to rehabilitate the turtles.
"We've had hundreds of volunteers find more turtles in two days than have been found on the Texas coast in any individual year," Shaver said.
Unlike the cold-stunning event in January 2010, many of the turtles found since Thursday are alive, and have a good chance at survival, Shaver said.
"We're working really hard and I feel optimistic at this point that we've done a really good job," Shaver said. "Those turtles are going to get back out into the wild, safe and sound, in a few weeks."
Shaver said three factors contributed to the high numbers of cold-stunned turtles: This cold snap was more severe than the one in January 2010, the juvenile green sea turtle population has been growing and volunteers have been scouring beaches for them since the cold snap started.
Some rescued turtles have been moved to Animal Rehabilitation Keep in Port Aransas to be warmed and rehabilitated. Others have been moved to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Marine Development Center in Flour Bluff and the Texas State Aquarium.
The Port Aransas group had 42 turtles in kiddie pools Saturday, Director Tony Amos said.
"We're getting pretty full and are exploring other avenues," Amos said. "We have always taken animals when we're past capacity, and we'll find a way somehow."
Turtle tips
-- Report stranded, cold-stunned turtles immediately by calling the Padre Island National Seashore Turtle Lab at 361-949-8173, extensions 226 or 228. If calling after business hours, dial 361-851-4255.
-- Immediately remove the turtle from the wind and cold water. Try to cover it with a dry towel or blanket to prevent further damage from the wind chill. If the animal is too heavy or too difficult to reach, do not attempt to recover it alone. Wait until help arrives.
-- Do not warm the turtle too quickly, as rapidly raising its core temperature can be dangerous or fatal. Be careful not to impede the weakened turtle's ability to breathe.
-- Try to keep a log of where you found the turtle and note any identifying characteristics (barnacles, injuries, missing flipper, size) so officials can tell them apart, once recovered. Photographs also can help with the identification.
Source: Padre Island National Seashore Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery
By Mike Naird, Rhiannon, Valley Morning Star, TX
February 5, 2011 - CORPUS CHRISTI - Forty-two motionless turtles blanketed the floor of a bait shop along JFK Memorial Causeway.
"One that was marked dead came alive," said Kevin Weatherbee, who spent Friday and Saturday rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles, sometimes wading into chilly water along the causeway, in the largest such event since 1980.
A record-breaking 1,040 cold-stunned green sea turtles have been rescued since Thursday, topping a record set last year when 450 were found, said Donna Shaver, division chief of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore.
"We're snowed under with sea turtles," she said.
So was Weatherbee.
When Texas Parks and Wildlife officials walked over the closed causeway Friday to retrieve turtles, they found the Red Dot Pier bait shop, which Weatherbee was watching for a family member, filled with them.
There were so many that he ran out of blankets and towels to wrap each one.
Because turtles are reptiles with a body temperature that fluctuates with the temperature of their environment, cold stuns the turtles. It leaves them motionless, and they float to the surface. If not found soon enough, they die.
"They're coldblooded creatures, but the water was 40.2 degrees, so cold they can't raise their heads out of the water and they drown," Weatherbee said. "It's hard not to try to help when you see these creatures in distress. It's the right thing to do."
Shaver said rescuers have been scrambling to find places to rehabilitate the turtles.
"We've had hundreds of volunteers find more turtles in two days than have been found on the Texas coast in any individual year," Shaver said.
Unlike the cold-stunning event in January 2010, many of the turtles found since Thursday are alive, and have a good chance at survival, Shaver said.
"We're working really hard and I feel optimistic at this point that we've done a really good job," Shaver said. "Those turtles are going to get back out into the wild, safe and sound, in a few weeks."
Shaver said three factors contributed to the high numbers of cold-stunned turtles: This cold snap was more severe than the one in January 2010, the juvenile green sea turtle population has been growing and volunteers have been scouring beaches for them since the cold snap started.
Some rescued turtles have been moved to Animal Rehabilitation Keep in Port Aransas to be warmed and rehabilitated. Others have been moved to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Marine Development Center in Flour Bluff and the Texas State Aquarium.
The Port Aransas group had 42 turtles in kiddie pools Saturday, Director Tony Amos said.
"We're getting pretty full and are exploring other avenues," Amos said. "We have always taken animals when we're past capacity, and we'll find a way somehow."
Turtle tips
-- Report stranded, cold-stunned turtles immediately by calling the Padre Island National Seashore Turtle Lab at 361-949-8173, extensions 226 or 228. If calling after business hours, dial 361-851-4255.
-- Immediately remove the turtle from the wind and cold water. Try to cover it with a dry towel or blanket to prevent further damage from the wind chill. If the animal is too heavy or too difficult to reach, do not attempt to recover it alone. Wait until help arrives.
-- Do not warm the turtle too quickly, as rapidly raising its core temperature can be dangerous or fatal. Be careful not to impede the weakened turtle's ability to breathe.
-- Try to keep a log of where you found the turtle and note any identifying characteristics (barnacles, injuries, missing flipper, size) so officials can tell them apart, once recovered. Photographs also can help with the identification.
Source: Padre Island National Seashore Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery
Fishing Closures announced; turtle patrols begin (Via Herpdigest)
Fishing Closures announced; turtle patrols begin
February 03, 2011 Valley-Star, TX
By STEVE SINCLAIR
The powerful winter storm that has pummeled half the nation forced the closure of Rio Grande Valley fishing spots.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department announced the closing of the Brazos-Santiago Pass South Jetty along the beach for ½ mile and out from shore for 1,000 yards, and part of Port Isabel. Also included is the area from shore out to a line from the high point of the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge on the northwest and the end of the old causeway on the southeast, including the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway bounded by Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge on the north and Port Isabel Swing Bridge on the south. It does not include the adjacent canal in Port Isabel. Also closed is the entire harbor at Port Mansfield from the corners of the bulkheads on either side of the harbor to the harbor mouth.
There has been no announcement of plans to shut down the Rio Grande Valley's three state parks or three national wildlife refuges.
That, however, could change.
"There are no closures planned, but any decision will be made on a day-to-day basis," said Kelly McDowell, project leader for the South Texas Refuge Complex, which includes Laguna Atascosa, Santa Ana and Lower Rio Grande national wildlife refuges.
The Valley's three state parks are Resaca de la Palma in Brownsville, Estero Llano Grande in Weslaco and Bentsen-Rio Grande in Mission.
Jody Mays, a biologist at Laguna Atascosa, said ocelot trapping has been temporarily suspended because of the winter storm and all 15 traps have been pulled.
"It would be too risky putting traps out," she said. "In the wild, the cats have ways to deal with the cold but in a trap, they have limited mechanisms," she said.
Three ocelots have been trapped this season, including one on Monday. The three ocelots include two males, one of which is 14 years old, and a female, 1 to 1 ½ years old that was deemed too young to be fitted with a radio-transmitting collar.
The cold weather could take a toll on salt water fish and a TPWD release said coastal residents can report freeze-related fish kills or cold-stunned fish to the agency's law enforcement communications office at 281-842-8100 or 512-389-4848.
In addition, dozens of volunteers are patrolling the Laguna Madre for signs of cold-stunned sea turtles.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, none had been found, but officials expect cold-stunned to start showing up by today.
Jeff George, curator at Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island, said 75 staff and volunteers are taking part in the patrols.
"We'll be particularly looking along the Laguna Madre," George said. "The Laguna Madre is only 3-feet deep and significant cold will drop the temperature significantly and turtles will not be able to take that change."
George said nearly all the turtles will be green sea turtles.
He said that if a cold-stunned turtle is found in the first 48 hours, "chances of survival are almost 100 percent."
After 72 hours, George said the survival rate is only about 10 percent.
Persons who find cold-stunned or dead turtles should immediately call Sea Turtle Inc., day or night, at 956-761-4511 and they will be advised of an emergency number to call. A veterinarian and other turtle experts will be on call.
______________________________________________________________
February 03, 2011 Valley-Star, TX
By STEVE SINCLAIR
The powerful winter storm that has pummeled half the nation forced the closure of Rio Grande Valley fishing spots.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department announced the closing of the Brazos-Santiago Pass South Jetty along the beach for ½ mile and out from shore for 1,000 yards, and part of Port Isabel. Also included is the area from shore out to a line from the high point of the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge on the northwest and the end of the old causeway on the southeast, including the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway bounded by Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge on the north and Port Isabel Swing Bridge on the south. It does not include the adjacent canal in Port Isabel. Also closed is the entire harbor at Port Mansfield from the corners of the bulkheads on either side of the harbor to the harbor mouth.
There has been no announcement of plans to shut down the Rio Grande Valley's three state parks or three national wildlife refuges.
That, however, could change.
"There are no closures planned, but any decision will be made on a day-to-day basis," said Kelly McDowell, project leader for the South Texas Refuge Complex, which includes Laguna Atascosa, Santa Ana and Lower Rio Grande national wildlife refuges.
The Valley's three state parks are Resaca de la Palma in Brownsville, Estero Llano Grande in Weslaco and Bentsen-Rio Grande in Mission.
Jody Mays, a biologist at Laguna Atascosa, said ocelot trapping has been temporarily suspended because of the winter storm and all 15 traps have been pulled.
"It would be too risky putting traps out," she said. "In the wild, the cats have ways to deal with the cold but in a trap, they have limited mechanisms," she said.
Three ocelots have been trapped this season, including one on Monday. The three ocelots include two males, one of which is 14 years old, and a female, 1 to 1 ½ years old that was deemed too young to be fitted with a radio-transmitting collar.
The cold weather could take a toll on salt water fish and a TPWD release said coastal residents can report freeze-related fish kills or cold-stunned fish to the agency's law enforcement communications office at 281-842-8100 or 512-389-4848.
In addition, dozens of volunteers are patrolling the Laguna Madre for signs of cold-stunned sea turtles.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, none had been found, but officials expect cold-stunned to start showing up by today.
Jeff George, curator at Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island, said 75 staff and volunteers are taking part in the patrols.
"We'll be particularly looking along the Laguna Madre," George said. "The Laguna Madre is only 3-feet deep and significant cold will drop the temperature significantly and turtles will not be able to take that change."
George said nearly all the turtles will be green sea turtles.
He said that if a cold-stunned turtle is found in the first 48 hours, "chances of survival are almost 100 percent."
After 72 hours, George said the survival rate is only about 10 percent.
Persons who find cold-stunned or dead turtles should immediately call Sea Turtle Inc., day or night, at 956-761-4511 and they will be advised of an emergency number to call. A veterinarian and other turtle experts will be on call.
______________________________________________________________
Monday, December 20, 2010
Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Proposed for Endangered Listing in ESA
More than eight years after the Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned to earn protection for the imperiled dunes sagebrush lizard, this week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally proposed to declare the species endangered. The light-brown, yellow-eyed lizard -- about the length of a human hand from nose to tail -- dwells in the dunes of New Mexico and Texas, where it buries itself in cool, white sand in the shade of shinnery oaks to avoid predators and regulate its body temperature. Unfortunately, oil and gas development and herbicide spraying are fast destroying the habitat of this rare reptile -- which already has the second-smallest range of any North American lizard. The species was first found to warrant federal protection in 2004 following our 2002 petition, but instead of adding it to the endangered species list, the feds made it a "candidate" for Endangered Species Act status -- putting off real protection indefinitely.
"The unique dunes sagebrush lizard may finally be receiving the help it needs to survive," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. "Unfortunately, during eight years of delay, the lizard lost more of its habitat to oil and gas development, putting it at greater risk of extinction and making recovery harder."
Herp Digest Volume # 10 Issue # 54 12/16/10
"The unique dunes sagebrush lizard may finally be receiving the help it needs to survive," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. "Unfortunately, during eight years of delay, the lizard lost more of its habitat to oil and gas development, putting it at greater risk of extinction and making recovery harder."
Herp Digest Volume # 10 Issue # 54 12/16/10
Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Proposed for Endangered Listing in ESA
More than eight years after the Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned to earn protection for the imperiled dunes sagebrush lizard, this week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally proposed to declare the species endangered. The light-brown, yellow-eyed lizard -- about the length of a human hand from nose to tail -- dwells in the dunes of New Mexico and Texas, where it buries itself in cool, white sand in the shade of shinnery oaks to avoid predators and regulate its body temperature. Unfortunately, oil and gas development and herbicide spraying are fast destroying the habitat of this rare reptile -- which already has the second-smallest range of any North American lizard. The species was first found to warrant federal protection in 2004 following our 2002 petition, but instead of adding it to the endangered species list, the feds made it a "candidate" for Endangered Species Act status -- putting off real protection indefinitely.
"The unique dunes sagebrush lizard may finally be receiving the help it needs to survive," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. "Unfortunately, during eight years of delay, the lizard lost more of its habitat to oil and gas development, putting it at greater risk of extinction and making recovery harder."
Herp Digest Volume # 10 Issue # 54 12/16/10
"The unique dunes sagebrush lizard may finally be receiving the help it needs to survive," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. "Unfortunately, during eight years of delay, the lizard lost more of its habitat to oil and gas development, putting it at greater risk of extinction and making recovery harder."
Herp Digest Volume # 10 Issue # 54 12/16/10
Friday, December 17, 2010
Area Man Kicked Off Mineola Nature Preserve Trying to Bait Bigfoot in His Toyota
Mineola Police Capt. Jack Newman tells Unfair Park he responded to a trespassing call Tuesday morning to find the man camped out in his car along the Sabine River, with bait on the roof of the car he said was meant to draw the reclusive forest giant out of hiding.
"He had some pieces of orange and a piece of steak and some nuts right on the top of his car," Newman says. Next to a tree about 20 yards away, he says, the man had scattered a few more orange pieces. "I don't know if he'd been trying to coax him over to the car or what."
"He'd heard something about Bigfoot down around the Sabine River," Newman says, though as far as he knows, the biggest wildlife draws around the preserve are deer and wild hogs. Fanning the flames of mystery, Newman says he can't release the name of the man, who he says left the scene when asked. "He didn't know he wasn't supposed to be in there," Newman says.
A report from KMOO radio in Mineola, though, says there have been fresh rumors of a Bigfoot sighting on private property near the preserve. One possible explanation: the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy held its annual conference in nearby Tyler in late October, though as Noah Bailey pointed out after hearing me on the phone this afternoon, Mineola has been a hotbed of Sasquatch activity for years.
Buster Green, a Mineola Nature Preserve caretaker who works for the city, says he spotted the man Tuesday morning and spoke to the would-be hunter briefly before calling police. "He was rolled up there sleeping in his vehicle when I come by," he says. Green says the man had a camera in his car; KMOO reports he was otherwise unarmed. "He said he'd come down here on kind of a whim," Green says.
"He was a big boy. He's over six-foot, 230-ish," Green says. "He didn't need nothing to be hunting Bigfoot. He could've gone down there with just a switch."
By Patrick Michels
Area Man Kicked Off Mineola Nature Preserve Trying to Bait Bigfoot in His Toyota
Mineola Police Capt. Jack Newman tells Unfair Park he responded to a trespassing call Tuesday morning to find the man camped out in his car along the Sabine River, with bait on the roof of the car he said was meant to draw the reclusive forest giant out of hiding.
"He had some pieces of orange and a piece of steak and some nuts right on the top of his car," Newman says. Next to a tree about 20 yards away, he says, the man had scattered a few more orange pieces. "I don't know if he'd been trying to coax him over to the car or what."
"He'd heard something about Bigfoot down around the Sabine River," Newman says, though as far as he knows, the biggest wildlife draws around the preserve are deer and wild hogs. Fanning the flames of mystery, Newman says he can't release the name of the man, who he says left the scene when asked. "He didn't know he wasn't supposed to be in there," Newman says.
A report from KMOO radio in Mineola, though, says there have been fresh rumors of a Bigfoot sighting on private property near the preserve. One possible explanation: the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy held its annual conference in nearby Tyler in late October, though as Noah Bailey pointed out after hearing me on the phone this afternoon, Mineola has been a hotbed of Sasquatch activity for years.
Buster Green, a Mineola Nature Preserve caretaker who works for the city, says he spotted the man Tuesday morning and spoke to the would-be hunter briefly before calling police. "He was rolled up there sleeping in his vehicle when I come by," he says. Green says the man had a camera in his car; KMOO reports he was otherwise unarmed. "He said he'd come down here on kind of a whim," Green says.
"He was a big boy. He's over six-foot, 230-ish," Green says. "He didn't need nothing to be hunting Bigfoot. He could've gone down there with just a switch."
By Patrick Michels
Monday, November 1, 2010
Does Bigfoot live in East Texas?
TYLER, TEXAS (KLTV) - Tyler's Caldwell Auditorium played host to the 10th Annual Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy Conference, Saturday.
Bigfoot aficionados came from across the country to sort through latest findings and to separate what was fact and fiction surrounding the legend. A 44 inch lock of hair was also on display, reportedly found hanging in a tree in the Sabine National Forest.
"We certainly think that it lives [in East Texas]," said Alton Higgins, a wildlife biologist. Higgins is also board chairman of the TBRC. He said there have been a number of very credible sightings in the East Texas area, and the habitat is sufficient.
Daryl Colyer detailed his encounter with Sasquatch before an audience of conference goers. Colyer is now an investigator with the TBRC. "It's good to be skeptical about something like this," he said. "We expect people to have difficulty with this, after all, what we're talking about is extremely unusual."
Proceeds from the conference go to help the non-profit continue investigating future sightings.
By Layron Livingston
Bigfoot aficionados came from across the country to sort through latest findings and to separate what was fact and fiction surrounding the legend. A 44 inch lock of hair was also on display, reportedly found hanging in a tree in the Sabine National Forest.
"We certainly think that it lives [in East Texas]," said Alton Higgins, a wildlife biologist. Higgins is also board chairman of the TBRC. He said there have been a number of very credible sightings in the East Texas area, and the habitat is sufficient.
Daryl Colyer detailed his encounter with Sasquatch before an audience of conference goers. Colyer is now an investigator with the TBRC. "It's good to be skeptical about something like this," he said. "We expect people to have difficulty with this, after all, what we're talking about is extremely unusual."
Proceeds from the conference go to help the non-profit continue investigating future sightings.
By Layron Livingston
Does Bigfoot live in East Texas?
TYLER, TEXAS (KLTV) - Tyler's Caldwell Auditorium played host to the 10th Annual Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy Conference, Saturday.
Bigfoot aficionados came from across the country to sort through latest findings and to separate what was fact and fiction surrounding the legend. A 44 inch lock of hair was also on display, reportedly found hanging in a tree in the Sabine National Forest.
"We certainly think that it lives [in East Texas]," said Alton Higgins, a wildlife biologist. Higgins is also board chairman of the TBRC. He said there have been a number of very credible sightings in the East Texas area, and the habitat is sufficient.
Daryl Colyer detailed his encounter with Sasquatch before an audience of conference goers. Colyer is now an investigator with the TBRC. "It's good to be skeptical about something like this," he said. "We expect people to have difficulty with this, after all, what we're talking about is extremely unusual."
Proceeds from the conference go to help the non-profit continue investigating future sightings.
By Layron Livingston
Bigfoot aficionados came from across the country to sort through latest findings and to separate what was fact and fiction surrounding the legend. A 44 inch lock of hair was also on display, reportedly found hanging in a tree in the Sabine National Forest.
"We certainly think that it lives [in East Texas]," said Alton Higgins, a wildlife biologist. Higgins is also board chairman of the TBRC. He said there have been a number of very credible sightings in the East Texas area, and the habitat is sufficient.
Daryl Colyer detailed his encounter with Sasquatch before an audience of conference goers. Colyer is now an investigator with the TBRC. "It's good to be skeptical about something like this," he said. "We expect people to have difficulty with this, after all, what we're talking about is extremely unusual."
Proceeds from the conference go to help the non-profit continue investigating future sightings.
By Layron Livingston
Friday, October 15, 2010
Strange animal found in Longview Chupacabra? (via Chad Arment)
By Bob Hallmark
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas family says they had no choice but to open fire when a 35-pound, canine-like animal started snarling and snapping at their family pet.
It was something they had never seen. Their only thought? It must be a Chupacabra.
The creature was spotted near a home on Hunt Road, in a rural area near Pine Tree.
They first saw it fighting with the family dog, but the Valenzuela family could not identify exactly what they were seeing.
"He snapped at Mohammed (the family dog) - almost got him on his back and Mohammed jumped out of the way a foot and a half almost two feet," said Tony Valenzuela. "It stands like a deer, hisses like a cat, howls like a coyote."
"There's this animal there and it's all bowed up and it's hissing - it's howling," described Teri Valenzuela.
Their explanation?
"I thought it was a Chupacabra," said Tony. "It was going after my dog. I don't know."
The Valenzuelas, like a lot of other families, have lived on their property a long time and they have seen every kind of wildlife there is, but they have never seen anything quite like it. Snarling, it was hairless and wiry, with long canine teeth, and making noises they had never heard before.
"It sent chills down my spine," said Tony. "It made loud hissing sounds. It's crazy."
"I had no idea," said Teri. "I was speechless."
Tony shot the animal after the animal fought with his dog. "I put four rounds into it and it was still alive, and the fifth shot did it," said Tony. "It's all around unusual. I've never seen anything like it."
Wildlife biologists solved the mystery. It is a coyote with severe mange. "It does distort their features and so therefore it's confusing," explained Charlie Muller, a Gregg County wildlife biologist. "Then, you hear of a mythological Chupacabra and you think that, well, maybe this is one of them."
The trusted family Boxer, Mohammed, keeps watch in case there are any more.
"When I come out at night, I'll definitely think twice from now on," said Teri.
The mystery animal's remains will be tested for rabies. The Valenzuela family dog is in quarantine until test results come back.
Muller says mange in coyotes is very common, and they are often reported as strange or unidentified animals.
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas family says they had no choice but to open fire when a 35-pound, canine-like animal started snarling and snapping at their family pet.
It was something they had never seen. Their only thought? It must be a Chupacabra.
The creature was spotted near a home on Hunt Road, in a rural area near Pine Tree.
They first saw it fighting with the family dog, but the Valenzuela family could not identify exactly what they were seeing.
"He snapped at Mohammed (the family dog) - almost got him on his back and Mohammed jumped out of the way a foot and a half almost two feet," said Tony Valenzuela. "It stands like a deer, hisses like a cat, howls like a coyote."
"There's this animal there and it's all bowed up and it's hissing - it's howling," described Teri Valenzuela.
Their explanation?
"I thought it was a Chupacabra," said Tony. "It was going after my dog. I don't know."
The Valenzuelas, like a lot of other families, have lived on their property a long time and they have seen every kind of wildlife there is, but they have never seen anything quite like it. Snarling, it was hairless and wiry, with long canine teeth, and making noises they had never heard before.
"It sent chills down my spine," said Tony. "It made loud hissing sounds. It's crazy."
"I had no idea," said Teri. "I was speechless."
Tony shot the animal after the animal fought with his dog. "I put four rounds into it and it was still alive, and the fifth shot did it," said Tony. "It's all around unusual. I've never seen anything like it."
Wildlife biologists solved the mystery. It is a coyote with severe mange. "It does distort their features and so therefore it's confusing," explained Charlie Muller, a Gregg County wildlife biologist. "Then, you hear of a mythological Chupacabra and you think that, well, maybe this is one of them."
The trusted family Boxer, Mohammed, keeps watch in case there are any more.
"When I come out at night, I'll definitely think twice from now on," said Teri.
The mystery animal's remains will be tested for rabies. The Valenzuela family dog is in quarantine until test results come back.
Muller says mange in coyotes is very common, and they are often reported as strange or unidentified animals.
Strange animal found in Longview Chupacabra? (via Chad Arment)
By Bob Hallmark
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas family says they had no choice but to open fire when a 35-pound, canine-like animal started snarling and snapping at their family pet.
It was something they had never seen. Their only thought? It must be a Chupacabra.
The creature was spotted near a home on Hunt Road, in a rural area near Pine Tree.
They first saw it fighting with the family dog, but the Valenzuela family could not identify exactly what they were seeing.
"He snapped at Mohammed (the family dog) - almost got him on his back and Mohammed jumped out of the way a foot and a half almost two feet," said Tony Valenzuela. "It stands like a deer, hisses like a cat, howls like a coyote."
"There's this animal there and it's all bowed up and it's hissing - it's howling," described Teri Valenzuela.
Their explanation?
"I thought it was a Chupacabra," said Tony. "It was going after my dog. I don't know."
The Valenzuelas, like a lot of other families, have lived on their property a long time and they have seen every kind of wildlife there is, but they have never seen anything quite like it. Snarling, it was hairless and wiry, with long canine teeth, and making noises they had never heard before.
"It sent chills down my spine," said Tony. "It made loud hissing sounds. It's crazy."
"I had no idea," said Teri. "I was speechless."
Tony shot the animal after the animal fought with his dog. "I put four rounds into it and it was still alive, and the fifth shot did it," said Tony. "It's all around unusual. I've never seen anything like it."
Wildlife biologists solved the mystery. It is a coyote with severe mange. "It does distort their features and so therefore it's confusing," explained Charlie Muller, a Gregg County wildlife biologist. "Then, you hear of a mythological Chupacabra and you think that, well, maybe this is one of them."
The trusted family Boxer, Mohammed, keeps watch in case there are any more.
"When I come out at night, I'll definitely think twice from now on," said Teri.
The mystery animal's remains will be tested for rabies. The Valenzuela family dog is in quarantine until test results come back.
Muller says mange in coyotes is very common, and they are often reported as strange or unidentified animals.
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas family says they had no choice but to open fire when a 35-pound, canine-like animal started snarling and snapping at their family pet.
It was something they had never seen. Their only thought? It must be a Chupacabra.
The creature was spotted near a home on Hunt Road, in a rural area near Pine Tree.
They first saw it fighting with the family dog, but the Valenzuela family could not identify exactly what they were seeing.
"He snapped at Mohammed (the family dog) - almost got him on his back and Mohammed jumped out of the way a foot and a half almost two feet," said Tony Valenzuela. "It stands like a deer, hisses like a cat, howls like a coyote."
"There's this animal there and it's all bowed up and it's hissing - it's howling," described Teri Valenzuela.
Their explanation?
"I thought it was a Chupacabra," said Tony. "It was going after my dog. I don't know."
The Valenzuelas, like a lot of other families, have lived on their property a long time and they have seen every kind of wildlife there is, but they have never seen anything quite like it. Snarling, it was hairless and wiry, with long canine teeth, and making noises they had never heard before.
"It sent chills down my spine," said Tony. "It made loud hissing sounds. It's crazy."
"I had no idea," said Teri. "I was speechless."
Tony shot the animal after the animal fought with his dog. "I put four rounds into it and it was still alive, and the fifth shot did it," said Tony. "It's all around unusual. I've never seen anything like it."
Wildlife biologists solved the mystery. It is a coyote with severe mange. "It does distort their features and so therefore it's confusing," explained Charlie Muller, a Gregg County wildlife biologist. "Then, you hear of a mythological Chupacabra and you think that, well, maybe this is one of them."
The trusted family Boxer, Mohammed, keeps watch in case there are any more.
"When I come out at night, I'll definitely think twice from now on," said Teri.
The mystery animal's remains will be tested for rabies. The Valenzuela family dog is in quarantine until test results come back.
Muller says mange in coyotes is very common, and they are often reported as strange or unidentified animals.
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