Posts Tagged nature
Boquillas border crossing to reopen, this time with a port facility
October 27th, 2011
By ALBERTO TOMAS HALPERN
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK – Park enthusiasts and travelers, get your passports ready: construction of a new border crossing facility from Big Bend National Park to Boquillas, Mexico is underway.
Once upon a time, an informal border crossing allowed U.S. and Mexican citizens to cross between the two countries from the park and …
Hay prices soar as Texas drought drags on
September 15th, 2011
By STERRY BUTCHER
FAR WEST TEXAS – The sky is clear, the drought is long and hay is scarce and expensive.
The lack of rain statewide prompted State Climatologist John Nielson-Gammon to declare this the worst one-year drought on record for Texas, with the highest temperatures and some of the lowest rainfall recorded since data collection began …
Nature Notes – the agave
July 28th, 2011
By JAMES SAUNDERS
Humans made the Chihuahuan Desert Region their home for thousands of years before the Europeans discovered the New World. These early inhabitants were able to live in our harsh conditions because they used desert plants as a source of food, fiber, medicine and building material. Plants of the Agavaceae family – the sotols, …
Nature Notes – Ocotillo, prickly sticks of the desert
June 16th, 2011
By GARY NORED
We love the ocotillo’s odd growth habit and beautiful red flowers in the spring. Did you realize it’s not a cactus or a tree?
Ocotillo, or Fouquieria splendens, is the only member of its family living in our area. The entire ocotillo is made of stems, which are completely covered with formidable spines that …
nature notes – the dung beetle
May 26th, 2011
By JAMES SAUNDERS
Insects are amazingly resourceful. One group of beetles, appropriately called dung beetles, makes its living off of animal manure. This lifestyle is extremely beneficial to the ranching community and many of the wild and domesticated animals that live in west Texas.
There are two different types of dung beetles found in West Texas – …
Riding with warriors
May 12th, 2011
By CRYSTAL ALLBRIGHT
Just another day of riding mountain bikes in the desert . . . help folks find their way, fix a flat here, adjust a pedal there. Only for these three days, I was riding with the Wounded Warriors – 13 young men and 1 woman who endured injuries while serving in the armed …
Take the Nature Challenge at CDRI Saturday
May 2nd, 2011
FORT DAVIS – The statistics are staggering. Kids now spend an average of 45 hours each week – more time than their parents spend at work – in front of a computer or television screen.
It’s time to turn off the TV and power down the laptop. It’s time to get back outside and reconnected with …
Butterfly Count at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center
March 18th, 2011
Juniper Hairstreak at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center
With binoculars, cameras, clipboards and identification books in hand, several volunteers participated Fort Davis’ Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center Butterfly Count on Saturday, March 12. The goal of a butterfly count is to document the number and species of butterflies within a specific …
Pronghorn recovery effort begins next week
February 17th, 2011
FAR WEST TEXAS – An interagency cooperation contract between Texas Parks and Wildlife and Sul Ross State University will provide more funding for the relocation and study of pronghorn in the Trans Pecos Region.
The contract will help facilitate the capture and translocation of 400 pronghorn over a two-year period from the Texas Panhandle to the …
Majestic madrones
January 17th, 2011
By GARY NORED
When Texans think of beautiful trees, they usually think of the stately live oaks and pecans of Central Texas or the giant pines and blossoming dogwoods of East Texas. Few think of what is surely one of the state’s most beautiful trees—the Texas madrone.
Madrones are usually multi-trunked with tortuously-shaped limbs that feel smooth …
