| SMGA
Update for March 25, 2008
In
This Issue...
Annual
Meeting This Friday
Help Us Strategize
Special Thanks!
For Your Calendar
Preserve The Peace, The Quiet,
And The Place...
Envision Central Texas
New Hill Country Outdoor Guide
Purgatory Greenspace Histroy
In The News
ANNUAL
MEETING THIS FRIDAY
Please
join us this Friday, March 28 for an informal, happy-hour
style reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Price Center, 222
W. San Antonio Street in San Marcos. At 6:30 p.m., we’ll
hold our election of board members and hear reports
on projects past and present. Bring a friend! Also,
if you have an “always popular” dish that
you would like to bring along, we’ll gladly share
it with members. Send Todd an email to let us know (tobe@austin.rr.com).
HELP
US STRATEGIZE
Each
year, the SMGA board reviews its strategic plans and
goals for the coming year and beyond. This year, we
hope to inform that process with your input. Thanks
to those of you who have taken a few minutes to complete
our survey. If you haven’t done so yet, please
click the link below and tell us what you think:
http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=900138
SPECIAL
THANKS!
SMGA
survives on the commitment of its volunteers and contributors
to preserving our local natural areas. Thanks goes out
to some extra special folks this month: Thanks to Randall
Morris, Andrew and Teresa Hobby, Bill and Celeste Healy
and the Hochheim Insurance Insurance Company for their
recent, very generous financial support. We’ll
be putting those dollars to work on Ringtail Ridge improvements
and other projects here in San Marcos.
FOR
YOUR CALENDAR
March
Wednesday 26th: Spring Lake webcam unveiling –
Aquarena Center - 3 p.m
Wednesday 26th: “Hero for the Planet” Dr.
Sylvia Earl - TX State LBJ Mall - 8 p.m. Details at
http://www.txstate.edu/bounce/www.txstate.edu/commonexperience/calendar/index.htm#sylviaearle
Friday 28th: SMGA Annual Meeting - Price Center –
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
April
Saturday 5th: Bobcat Build - Upper Purgatory - 9:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Join us for trail shaping! The success of this event
relies on the participation of some of our more experienced
trail crew members. Email Todd at tobe@austin.rr.com
if you can help supervise a small group of volunteers.
Saturday 12th: Trail Building - Upper Purgatory - 8:30
a.m. (8 a.m. for first timers)
Saturday 12th: Wildlife Management Workshop - Wimberley
- 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Contact Kimberly at the Hays County Appraisal District
for more information at ksticher@hayscad.com
or 512 268-2522.
Sunday 20th: 2nd Annual Earth Day Festival - Aquarena
Center - 12 to 7 p.m.
The event is free to the public and will include educational
activities for all ages; recycling and green building
displays; live music entertainment; food and vendor
booths; nature-based entertainment; and blessing of
the Springs. SMGA will have a booth at this event; email
Todd at tobe@austin.rr.com
if you can help in the booth for an hour or two.
Saturday 26th: SMRF water hyacinth removal - Aquarena
Center - 9 a.m. to 12 noon
Get
directions to greenspaces above at http://www.smgreenbelt.org/SMNaturalAreas.htm.
Trail
building requires heavy boots, gloves, and a water bottle;
eyewear, long pants, and hat highly recommended. We
supply tools and bug repellent. To join our trail crew
list, email alliance@smgreenbelt.org
(weather or other conditions may prompt last minute
changes, and only those on our email list will be notified).
May
Thursday 1st: 4th Annual Naturescapes content opens;
details available soon at http://www.smgreenbelt.org/PhotoContest.htm
PRESERVE
THE PEACE, THE QUIET, AND THE PLACE…
Please
review our park rules below. In particular, if you enjoy
the outdoors with your dog, be considerate of others!
Remove your dog’s waste and keep your dog on a
leash. Your extra consideration will make our natural
areas more enjoyable for everyone.
•
Take only photos, leave only footprints.
• Park open sunrise to sunset (curfew applies
after sunset).
• Keep dogs on a leash and remove their waste.
• Campfires, glass containers, motor vehicles,
weapons, horses, and camping are not permitted.
• Stay on established trails on public property.
• Bicycles yield to hikers, Refrain from biking
on muddy trails.
• Report problems to San Marcos Parks & Recreation
at (512) 393-8400.
ENVISION
CENTRAL TEXAS
Envison
Central Texas wants to know what’s on your mind.
If you missed their meeting here in San Marcos earlier
this week, weigh in with your opinion at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4fT0W_2bV6NpQogWO6MsyOaQ_3d_3d
NEW
HILL COUNTRY OUTDOOR GUIDE
Thanks
to Robert Pressley for adding information about our
San Marcos greenspaces to the Hill Country Outdoor Guide
website at http://hillcountryoutdoorguide.com.
Check out the site! It’s a great source of information
about things to do in central Texas.
PURGATORY
GREENSPACE HISTORY
In
order to complete our San Marcos Natural Areas Web page,
volunteer Vicki Gieri recently located this information
about the acquisition of the 450-acre Purgatory Greenspace:
According
to San Marcos Daily Record articles dated 6/15/2001
and 12/30/2001, the city purchased the Prospect / Purgatory
Natural Area acreage in portions, culminating in December
2001. The first purchase of about 33 acres had been
zoned for high-density, multi-family development back
in 1979. Some 670 apartment units could have been built
on the site. Terrand Ltd., the previous owner of the
property, donated an additional 93 acres adjacent to
Purgatory Creek above the flood control dam on Purgatory
Creek. The city completed the purchase of another 326.3
acres on December 17, 2001. The Edwards Aquifer Authority
supported the acquisition as a partner with the city.
The
future expansion of Wonder World Drive will cross a
portion of the property. The acquisition is expected
to help minimize environmental impacts of the proposed
state highway extension. The land is within the Edwards
Aquifer recharge zone and is home to Purgatory Creek
and several tributaries of both Purgatory and Willow
Creeks.
SMGA’s
team of trail building volunteers has been busy building
hike and bike trails in the Purgatory Natural Area.
The 9-acre Prospect Park portion offers about 1.2 miles
of unmarked trails (closer to 2 miles if you include
the spur that takes you into lower Purgatory). The trail
crew is now focusing on design and shaping in Upper
Purgatory, and has completed about 1 mile of trail to
date; see the calendar section above for information
on how you can participate in this effort.
The
3-mile Wonder World Drive expansion project, scheduled
to be completed in 2010, will route traffic around the
city to RR12. However, the project was delayed in late
2007 by the discovery of an Archaic-era Native American
archeological site.
IN
THE NEWS
600-acre
annexation heading for council
San Marcos — Plans for San Marcos to annex nearly
600 acres south of town for a high-end development that
would feature resort-style homes, a golf course and
limited retail space could be set for a first council
vote soon. http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/local/local_story_081114149.html
Pak Mail and The Peanut Hotline Go Green
Pak
Mail centers around the country have joined the Peanut
Hotline, a packaging peanuts reuse program created in
1991 by the Plastic Loose Fill Council. “Our customers
can now drop off unwanted plastic peanuts at our store
where we will recycle and reuse them…”
http://newstreamz.com/2008/03/19/pak-mail-and-the-peanut-hotline-go-green
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