Policy UpdateCity of Dallas 2024 Municipal Bond
In May 2024, Dallasites will vote on a package of local improvements for critical facilities; streets and transportation; parks and trails; economic development, housing, and homeless solutions; and flood control and storm drainage. City staff proposed projects could total $1 billion of funding with no recommended increase on the city’s tax rate. One of Mayor Eric Johnson’s key priorities is a Greener, Greater Dallas. Chaired by longtime greenspace advocate, Garrett Boone, the Parks and Recreation Bond Subcommittee is considering $150 million in improvements, including $4 million for Trinity River Audubon Center. This investment for TRAC, including matching funds from Audubon supporters, could bolster the South Dallas economic potential, increase access and equity to greenspace, and enhance community connections. Learn more about the bond program and key timelines, and stay tuned for how you can support the investment at Trinity River Audubon Center.
Where we Landed in the Texas 88th Legislature
Audubon Texas’s legislative priorities were focused on three primary areas: habitat preservation for an endangered species, the creation of a historic state land and water conservation fund, and the future of the Texas energy grid.
SUCCESS! Thanks to the fast, persistent action by our partners across the Hill Country into North Texas, including Travis Audubon Society, Bexar Audubon Society, and the City of Cedar Hill, we were able to stop a set of bills (HB2239 and SB1426) that would have eliminated the ability of local governments to regulate the removal of Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) trees. Ashe junipers are required for the nesting success of the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. The bills capitalized on myths and outdated misconceptions that brand the Ashe juniper, also known as Mountain cedar, as a nuisance tree. Audubon Texas offers special thanks to legislators Representative Erin Zwiener (D-45), Senator Royce West (D-23), Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-19), Senator Sarah Eckhardt (D-14), and Senator Bob Hall (D-2) for their persistence with colleagues to limit and ultimately stop legislation that went against the values of their communities! Click here for more updates.
Audubon Texas and more than 50 of the state’s leading land and water conservation, agricultural, wildlife, and sportsmen’s partners joined the Texas Land Trust Council in support of HB3165, SB2485 and HJR138. While it ultimately did not pass this legislative session, we hope this coalition will continue to educate decision makers at all levels of government on the opportunities the creation of a Texas Land and Water Conservation Fund would afford Texans, and our state’s ecosystems. Recent polling showed that 83% of Texans supported the dedication of state revenue to establish such a fund. Partners will be meeting with lawmakers over the interim, making adjustments and planning for future legislation. Future bill language could look substantially different, ensuring new legislation meets the legislature's standards for an established fund or a dedicated funding source and would be supported by key members of the legislature. The legislature did support $1billion for the acquisition and development of new state parks across Texas. This is a great win! The $1billion Centennial Park Conservation Fund will be on the ballot in November as a state constitutional amendment.
Climate change is affecting the places that birds need to survive, and Audubon Texas is committed to the deployment of swift and responsible sources of renewable energy. We continue to monitor and work with partners on issues specifically addressing the challenges and resiliency of the Texas power grid, and its ability to deliver energy during peak periods and extreme “events”. The Public Utility Commission (PUC) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) continue to hold work sessions and hearings on Distributed Energy Resources (DER’s), retrofitting of existing production facilities, and timing requirements set forth in legislation. Current policy priorities set at the state level are not equitable to users across all regions of Texas and will not result in lower energy bills for the consumer. Audubon Texas is focused on informing how renewable energy, sited properly, can reduce the impacts climate change has placed upon our natural ecosystems and our communities. As part of our Bird FriendlyTexan webinar series, we will host a conversation on these issues in August. Stay tuned for registration information!
National Audubon Society Updates
In case you missed it - there are two opportunities to TAKE ACTION NOW in support of birds that reside and pass through Texas! We've lost more than 3 billion birds in less than a human lifetime, and two-thirds of North American bird species are at risk of extinction due to impacts from climate change and other human-related threats.
The U.S. Senate reintroduced the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (S.1149) and it has been referred to committee and we need our Texas Senators to join as cosponsors. The bill would dedicate nearly $1.4 billion annually to locally-led efforts aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered. Texas could receive more $50 million per year to help more than1,200 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Texas.
Additionally, House of Representatives cosponsors are needed for the new Migratory Birds of Americas Conservation Enhancements (H.R. 4389), strengthening conservation for migratory birds. More than half of our nation's bird species migrate to Latin America and the Caribbean for wintering habitats - with the Texas Gulf Coast being a major stopover on their thousand-mile journey. This legislation would help grow available funding for conservation projects across the Western Hemisphere, reduce barriers to participation in the program, and give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adequate resources to implement it successfully.
Prairie & Grasslands Conservation UpdateAudubon’s Conservation Ranching Program recently engaged with Youth Range Workshop 2, an event lead by Dan Caudle and Katy Hoskins, with top high school students from the Society for Range Management’s (SRM) Youth Range Workshop. Students ages 14-18 spent a week touring ranches near Junction, Texas, learning from conservation industry professionals the science and art of range management and the guiding ecological principles.
Throughout the week, students spent time with Ron Gill (Gill Cattle Company), Rooter Brite (JA Ranch), Meredith Ellis (G BAR C RANCH), Lisa Bellows (Rush Creek Ranch and Thomsen Foundation) and Casey Wade (Dixon Water Foundation). They enjoyed presentations from Ross Tolleson (Williams Ranch), Katy Hoskins (101 Ranch Co.), Colten Spenser and Tanner Chancelor (Corteva Agriscience), Katherine Haile (Simplot Land & Livestock), John Sackett (NRCS Soil Scientist), Shaelyn Rainey (Texas Tech Plant ID Coach), Hilary Knight (Dixon Water Foundation), and Anita Hoskins of Audubon Texas! Many thanks to the Texas Section SRM and Texas Grazing Land Coalition for making this a memorable week FULL of opportunities to learn about rangeland management and building personal connections. Audubon Texas’s rangeland ecologist, Anita Hoskins, will be sharing more stories on her daily work supporting regenerative ranches and grasslands.
Bird Friendly Communities UpdateEducation Update
Audubon Conservation Leaders (ACL) – The ACL program wrapped it’s eight year with a splash! This year’s program, themed ‘Coasts,’ aligns with the Audubon Texas centennial anniversary of formal conservation and stewardship efforts. Texas waterways are a critical connection to inland community impacts and the health and resiliency of coastal and marine ecosystems. With our partner the Young Women’s Preparatory Network, we illuminated Texas’s connection to the Gulf of Mexico, wherever our roots may be. Participants studied plastic impacts from both the beginning stages via Nurdle Patrol with University of Texas Marine Science Institute and end of life plastic with SPLASh programming created by partners at the American Bird Conservancy, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, and Black Cat GIS. Students learned about the human-wildlife interactions happening on the Texas Coast and participated in in-person field trips focused on connection, outdoor time, cultural understanding, and communication. Learn more about how students spent their time at ACL Summer Camp.
Lights Out, Texas!
Indigo bunting, Lincoln Sparrow, American Pipet, Swanson Thrush, and Mourning Warbler are just a few of the fatal birds found from collision monitoring surveys this past spring. Partners across Texas work to educate, inspire, and encourage homeowners and businesses to go Lights Out every migration season. Research tells us lights attract birds at night, but with the flick of a switch, we can help them on their journey across the Western hemisphere. Kudos to the Texas communities, nonprofits, universities, and individuals who advanced the mission of Lights Out, committing almost 1,400 volunteer hours, sharing another 144 yard signs and advocating for four new communities to declare Lights Out and more! Sign up for Lights Out updates to stay informed and help protect birds on their spectacular journey. As we dive into fall migration season (beginning August 15th!) the coalition is exploring how these efforts can inform and inspire change in the built environment across the country. Modifications to existing buildings and improvements to design standards can prevent future losses as our community footprints continue to expand.
Bird City Texas
Where Birds Thrive, People Prosper!
Is your community already implementing bird friendly practices? Do you have a passionate cohort interested in taking the next step to claim Bird City Texas status? Join the Bird City Texas Workshop on October 25-26, 2023! Receiving a Bird City Texas certification by Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is not only an honor, but also a commitment to protecting birds and the places they need. Save the date for our Bird City Texas Workshop in Bastrop, Texas this fall to learn more and experience what makes a city a Bird City Texas!
Celebrating Terry Hershey Women in Conservation Honorees
Audubon Texas is proud to announce the 2023 Terry Hershey Women in Conservation honorees: Helen Drummond, Executive Director of the Houston Audubon and Virginia Rose, Founder and President of Birdability, as well as posthumous awards for Cecil Seixas and Estelle Hertford, ages 15 and 23 when they started the first Audubon Society in Galveston in 1899. This year’s awards program has taken on a different look in recognition of our centennial of formal conservation work in Texas. Rather than a large-scale event, we hosted a few, smaller “salons” across the state similar to those held 100 years ago. This year’s honorees are a unique representation of the past, present, and future legacy of Audubon Texas, Audubon chapters, and our community partners. Stay tuned this year as we share more on the legacies of our honorees. |
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