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Sept 17 |
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Vol 1 |
 Peggy Cole
Executive Director |
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In this issue!
Deadline Extended on Bear Creek Field Day and Low-Stress Stockmanship! We want a full house! These 2 events are too important and too great an opportunity to settle for anything less than a full house. So we are asking you to tell people in your network that we have extended the registration deadline to Monday, September 18 at 5pm . In case you missed our last issue, Low Stress Stockmanship is an all day intensive workshop with Guy Glosson where you will gain experience in the Bud Williams method of moving animals without stress either to you or to the animals. The class starts at 9am , September 22, 2006 at Bear Creek Ranch, Aledo , TX . Fee is $150 for the day (HRM members) and $170 (non-members). You can register on our website or call 512-847-3822 with your credit card number. You can also just call to RSVP and pay when you arrive. Some scholarships are available, as well as couple discounts. Bear Creek Ranch Field Day - Here is your opportunity to hear Howard Garrett talk about the native trees he has selected for the green community's arboretum. Pick the brains of Lake/Flato architects on just what is green building anyway. Learn about how water cycles are actually enhanced by having livestock on rangeland. See how planned grazing is working with the ranch's herd of organic, grass-fed beef. Hear experts from around Texas , Oklahoma and New Mexico talk about managing for abundance of healthy land, healthy people and healthy profits. Enjoy a fine lunch with a bunch of creative thinking land-loving people just like you. Fee is only $15 (HRM members) and $35 (non-members) Day starts at 8:30 am on the Bear Creek Ranch and wraps up about 4:30pm . The ranch is off Hwy 377 near the village of Wheatland , near Aledo and just minutes from Fort Worth and Weatherford. You can register on our website or call 512-847-3822 with your credit card number. You can also just call to RSVP and pay when you arrive. MAP LOCATION OF BEAR CREEK RANCH
Field Day at Shadow Mountain Ranch - Navarro County - October 21, 2006!.
National Animal Identification System (NAIS)! Editor's note: Several readers wrote in to ask if the information we sent you on the NAIS controversy constitutes a political stand by HRM of TX. It does not. Each issue of HRM News & Notes has a disclaimer in each newsletter stating that the viewpoints of the articles passed on to you are not necessarily the viewpoints of HRM. As a matter of fact, the holistic management process does not pass judgement on any possible action, just reminds the practitioner to see if it passes the testing guidelines before using it. But due to this confusion, we are now introducing our Opinion section – just for your opinions and editorial comments.
This note came in from Gene Richardson of the Texas Farm Bureau:
The NAIS was developed to allow animal health officials the ability to track a disease within 48 hours back to the herd of origin. This is not a food safety issue, it is an animal health issue. Whether you have one animal or one thousand animals, they are all susceptible to diseases. The need to know where an animal came from is paramount in finding the source and controlling a disease outbreak. The three steps in the program are premises identification, animal identification and animal tracking. Premises ID will identify what types of animals are on a premises. The number of animals is not needed only the types, so a disease outbreak affecting cattle would be the only premises that need to be checked. Animal identification is required for only those animals that are being sold or commingled with other animals at another location. As long as an animal stays on your property it will not need to be identified. Animal tracking will be done by the places that the animal move through, such as auction markets, stock shows, feedlots, etc. Producers will only have to tag the animals before they leave their property or the auction market may do it for them, or possibly an individual who will come by and do it for them. Draft 2007 State Water Plan!
Water plan "a wildly expensive wish list that the legislature and the people of Texas should view with great skepticism.” ( AUSTIN , TX ) The state water development board recently released a draft version of the 2007 state water plan. A coalition of conservation groups has criticized the plan, calling it "a 31-billion dollar boondoggle that, if implemented as written, could leave the state with dry rivers and empty pockets." The plan calls for the creation of 14 major new reservoirs and relies on unsustainable pumping of groundwater in many areas of the state. The water development board estimates that Texas ' population will double by 2060 and that total water demand will increase by twenty-seven percent. Myron Hess of the National Wildlife Federation said of the plan, "While some regions did a good job, on the whole the draft 2007 State Water Plan is a squandered opportunity. Instead of focusing on cost-effective solutions with the least impact on our rivers and bays, we've ended up with a wildly expensive wish list that the legislature and the people of Texas should view with great skepticism." Hess said that while some regions did recommend strong water conservation, many of the regions did not adequately focus on using water more efficiently as a way to meet needs. None of the groups looked at how drought management could reduce non-essential water demands as a way to avoid expensive new water supply projects that would only be needed during drought periods. Each of the 16 regional water-planning groups was responsible for developing their regional plan which was incorporated into the draft state plan. If fully implemented, the plan could have serious environmental impacts across the state. Excessive groundwater pumping could dry up springs and leave some communities high and dry, without options for the future. During dry periods, many rivers could be left without enough water in them to support fish and wildlife. Texas' seven major coastal bays could also be impacted. Bays, or estuaries, are where the state's rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico . These areas support amazing abundance of wildlife—fish, oysters, shrimp, blue crabs, and birds such as the endangered whooping crane. All of this abundance is reliant on an adequate amount of fresh water making it downstream from the rivers into the bay. "If all the projects in the plan were built," said Hess, "many of Texas' estuary systems could face a serious decline in productivity." The conservation groups believe the state should create a plan that meets increased water needs with minimal damage to the environment—and to ratepayer's wallets. And whether it is through increased water rates or fees on bottled water or new tap fees, there is only one ultimate source of cash for these proposed big water projects: Texas residents. Mary Kelly of Environmental Defense explains, “We have to prepare ourselves for droughts like the one we are in today and that means being innovative about how we use water. Letting water sit out in a lake to evaporate during a hot Texas summer isn't a smart approach, especially as climate change could increase statewide temperatures. Using water efficiently is not just cheaper; it is also more reliable. This draft plan, unfortunately, is a 1950s-style solution to a 21st-century problem.” The groups point to the Dallas - Fort Worth area portion of the plan as particularly problematic. "The Dallas Fort-Worth section of the plan is a perfect storm of bad planning," said Hess. “It fails to include serious water conservation measures and proposes four massive new reservoir projects at a cost of almost $3.5 billion—even though enough water to meet all projected needs would be available without them.” One of these projects, the proposed Marvin Nichols reservoir in North East Texas, is particularly contentious. It would flood 72,000 acres of farmland and bottomland hardwood forests. The regional water plan for North East Texas, where the dam would be located, recommends against building the reservoir, but the Texas Water Development Board chose to include the project in the statewide plan. Jennifer Walker of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club concluded, "We recognize that as Texas grows, some new supplies will be needed. The Water Development Board, water suppliers and the legislature should focus on a balanced set of water management strategies with an increased emphasis on water conservation—the most affordable and secure strategy for the future." A copy of the 2007 draft state water plan is available on the TWDB site . If you would like to have your opinion heard, please respond to that site before October 6. LOCATION OF TEXAS STATE WATER DISTRICTS!
Mark your calendar for the HRM annual meeting "Catching Raindrops", to be held in Kerrville February 9-10, 2007 . The focus is on how we can come together as a team to help create wise water policy in Texas , given what we know about the role of soil surface in the health of the water cycle. Be sure and join us! Watch our website for more information as the planning process continues. Got a suggestion? We'd love to hear it. The annual meeting actually begins Friday afternoon February 9 with a financial planning workshop by Jim & Judy Reed of the Reed Family Ranch over on the Trinity River . They will be joined by holistic Management Certified Educator Peggy Maddox of HMI's Ozona location, the West Ranch. That evening we will have our yearly social for camaraderie and networking, as well as our annual membership meeting. The next day, Saturday, Feb. 10 we will spend the whole day involved in learning about the water crisis and the wonderful solutions offered by Holistic Management. We have games to play, great speakers, a cool soil critters video and team activities that will result in positive influence on water management plans for Texas. State to Work on Restoring Trinity River
"Starting today the state of Texas is pursuing a new environmental restoration initiative on the Trinity River," Perry said at a news conference at the North Central Texas Council of Governments offices in Arlington. The initiative calls for collaboration among federal, state and local governments, local landowners and conservationists to build on existing and planned endeavors in the river basin. The state is dedicating more than $500,000 in seed money to kick off the initiative, which will be coordinated by the Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University. The state money will be used in urban and rural areas of the river basin, said Perry, who is running for re-election. State money could be used to draw between $20 million and $30 million in federal money the next three to five years that could go toward an Army Corps of Engineers "comprehensive water flow model" for the river, he said. "We think that this initiative will help us move toward better integrated management of our land and water resources," said C. Allan Jones, institute director. Fort Worth and Dallas are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the river through their Trinity River Vision and Trinity River Corridor projects, respectively. "We are pleased that the governor recognizes the major steps that Fort Worth is taking to preserve the region's greatest natural resource, and that's the Trinity," Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said. Downstream, at the Tarrant Regional Water District's Richland Chambers Reservoir, officials are working to increase North Texas' drinking water supply while providing additional habitat for wildlife through the addition of wetlands.
Jones and Perry praised the work of the Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation -- a coalition of cities, non-governmental organizations, landowners and land stewards -- for working on projects to improve the quality of life, economic sustainability and ecological integrity of the basin. Dr. Robert McFarlane, a foundation board member and owner of about 7,500 acres in the basin, said after the meeting that many landowners in the basin have undertaken conservation measures on their properties on their own. The participation of private landowners in the basin restoration projects will be voluntary, but there will be incentives, Perry said. Former Texas Ranger outfielder Rusty Greer called the initiative "a good step to improve what was a good ecosystem." Greer owns a ranch in Henderson County and attended the meeting. Perry made a similar announcement about the Trinity River basin in Houston on Tuesday afternoon. Perry is running against Democrat Chris Bell, independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, and Libertarian James Werner. Neil Strassman, 817-548-5520 strass@star-telegram.com
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Deadline Extended on Bear Creek Ranch Field Day and Low-Stress Stockmanship!
This
field day will focus on the positive aspects of fragmentation
and the beginnings of "going native" (plants
and wildlife), with speakers such as Jay Whiteside (TPWD
Private Landowner Wildlife Biologist) and Lauri Heintz,
Coordinator for the 
Texas Farm Bureau supports a voluntary, market driven National Animal Identification System with certain stipulations for confidentially, producer liability, cost and government support. Unless these stipulations, TFB cannot support NAIS. This policy position was passed at the TFB annual meeting in December 2005. Resolutions for policy originate at the County Farm Bureau level and are voted on by the membership in a county. If the county members support a resolution, it is sent to the State Resolution Committee made up of producers from across the State. If it passes the Resolution Committee, then it is sent to the Annual Meeting to be voted on by the county Farm Bureau members selected as delegates.
Jennifer Ellis of the National Wildlife Federation sent us this press release about the state water plan: 
"Catching Raindrops" 2007 HRM of Texas Annual Meeting - February 9-10, 2007
Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday announced a wide-ranging conservation effort to preserve and restore the Trinity River basin from its North Texas headwaters south to the Gulf of Mexico. 
"If Texans along the Trinity River band together to protect water quality and restore the river ... it will have a dramatic impact," Perry said. 
2006 Holistic Resource Managment of Texas, Inc.