The meetings are:

Wednesday, February 27, from 9 to 11:30 am, at White Memorial Park Exhibit Hall, 225 White Memorial Drive, Hankamer.

Thursday, February 28, from 5:30 to 8 pm, at Clear Lake Park Meeting Room, 5001 NASA Road 1, Houston.

Friday, February 29, from 2 to 4:30 pm at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Galveston Laboratory Ballroom, 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston.

Everyone is invited to attend any of the meetings. Each meeting will cover essentially the same information. For more information call Casey Johnson at (512) 239-1505 or Ron Stein at (512) 239-4507 or e-mail tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us and reference the Upper Coast Oyster Waters TMDL in the subject line.

I have decided that the book “The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast: A Geologist Answers Questions about Sand, Storms, and Living by the Sea” by Rice professor John B. Anderson is required reading for any one who cares about our coast.

However, unlike a lot of required reading, this book costs less than $25.00, has lots of pictures, and talks about stuff you might really care about.

The book is a primer about the coast, answering basic questions – how the coast evolved and operates; how natural processes affect it; why it is constantly changing; and how development has changed the coast and can be managed to help preserve it. And, although the book isn’t easy to read, the material is very accessible. Literally. The book is talking about our own back yard. The illustrations are so clear that we can locate and go stand on many of the geologic features Anderson describes. He explains the movement of sand, a core concept, in terms anyone who has waded in the waves has can understand – or if you’re susceptible to suggestion from your reading, feel between your toes.

One of the things I learned from the book is that storm surge in hurricanes is a two-part problem. The surge forces water inland, causing flooding and damage from large waves; and, as that water recedes, it undermines buildings.

Anderson does a good job of explaining how the different parts of the coastal system interact. For example, bulkheads and sand socks, used to protect beachfront property, cause the beach to disappear in front of the barrier. One result is that there is no beach for public access and no beach for habitat.

The book is a great resource for recreational users, conservation activists, developers, and politicians. It has an abundance of aerial photos, historical maps, charts, and satellite images, making it easy to understand coastal geography and the effects of subsidence, development, and climate change on the coast.
Anderson is professor of earth sciences at Rice University, where he also holds the W. Maurice Ewing Professorship in Oceanography. He also works on Antarctic marine geology. He lives in Houston.

This book is the eleventh in a series titled Gulf Coast Studies, sponsored by Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi. The series includes Lighthouses of Texas, The Book of Texas Bays, Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend, Galveston Bay, and Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast, all by local authors. Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico will be released in November. The books are published by Texas A&M University Press.

On a related topic -
On Monday, August 20, Tom Michel, of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, will speak to the Brays Bayou Association about “Subsidence-What is it? What causes it?” The meeting is at 7:30 pm at the Chase Bank board room, 1310 Chimney Rock at West Bellfort. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bob Schwartz at (713) 723-7230 or bobx@hal-pc.org.

The US House of Representatives passed a $27.6 billion appropriation for the interior, environment, and related agencies at the end of June. The votes and debate on various motions to amend the bill revealed interesting facets of our local legislators’ environmental personalities.

For many environmental activists, the most exciting part of the appropriations resolution is Sec. 501, about global climate change.

The bill says
“ (a) The Congress finds that–
(1) greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere are causing average temperatures to rise at a rate outside the range of natural variability and are posing a substantial risk of rising sea-levels, altered patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and increased frequency and severity of floods, droughts, and wildfires;
(2) there is a growing scientific consensus that human activity is a substantial cause of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere; and
(3) mandatory steps will be required to slow or stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
(b) It is the sense of the Congress that there should be enacted a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives on emissions of greenhouse gases that slow, stop, and reverse the growth of such emissions at a rate and in a manner that (1) will not significantly harm the United States economy; and (2) will encourage comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions.”
Rep. Joe Barton, a Republican from Arlington, offered an amendment to remove Section 501. In debate on his amendment, Barton insisted that he was not convinced that humans were altering the environment. He claimed that “the science on (global warming) is uneven, uncertain and evolving”; and pointed out that the climate often changes, and that CO2 makes up a smaller proportion of greenhouse gas than does water.

Representatives Ted Poe, John Culberson, Kevin Brady, Michael McCaul, and Ronald Paul, all Republicans, supported Barton’s amendment; whereas Al Green, Lloyd Doggett, Sheila Jackson Lee, Nicholas Lampson, and Gene Green, all Democrats, rejected it. The remaining members of the Texas delegation also voted along party lines, except for Reps. Sessions and Ortiz, who were absent for the entire debate. Barton’s amendment failed 153-274 and the section on climate change remains in place.

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Democrat from Dallas, offered an amendment to prohibit the use of EPA funds to promulgate a rule that would weaken the emission standards outlined in section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Texas Democrats voted for amendment but Republicans opposed it. The amendment passed 252 to 178.
Party politics played a smaller role in Texans’ attitudes toward offshore drilling. Twenty-seven Lone Star representatives supported a failed attempt by John Peterson (R-Pennsylvania) to lift the ban on offshore drilling to allow drilling for natural gas. Peterson argued that Congress should allow companies to drill for gas, as it is a “clean, green” fuel. Opponents protested that drilling for gas cannot be separated from drilling for oil, and that Peterson was just trying to reopen areas closed to drilling. Jackson-Lee, Doggett, and Johnson were the only Texas representatives to oppose the amendment, which failed by a 196-233 vote.

Jackson-Lee, Doggett, Johnson, and Ruben Hinojosa (D-Mercedes) were the only Texans to support an amendment that would have closed the loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that allows the importation of polar bear trophies from Canada. As an alternative to amending the Marine Mammal act, the proposed amendment would have eliminated funds for the issuance of polar bear importation permits, so American hunters would not be able to ship their kills home. It failed 188-242.
Several exciting measures passed by voice vote. Rep. Jane Harman (D, California) moved to amend the bill to stipulate that federal funds could be used to purchase only “Energy Star” or “Federal Energy Management Program” light bulbs, and representatives quickly agreed. Rep. Jackson-Lee proposed restoring full funding to programs that promote reforestation of urban areas, and another voice vote approved her motion.

The House resolution is not the end of the appropriation process. The Senate is still debating its environmental appropriations. When the Senate is finished, a conference committee will combine the plans and both chambers of Congress will decide on a final version to send to the President.

The House’s total appropriation for FY 2008 is $953 billion.

Their “day job,” asking about the damage sustained, the significant threat to human health in the area, and what environmental health projects are thought most important, ended with a report presented to the NIEH director’s conference in November.

However, Sullivan says, “The flood of fact and feeling we got back from our collaborators refused to stay inside the neat little box of our original purpose. From the moment we arrived in Baton Rouge we realized that the magnitude of the human and ecological damage demanded something more intimate and less formal, something grounded in fact but which also opened a window into how it really feels to live in the middle of an eco-catastrophe.”

So Sullivan and Parras took the videos of their interviews and pieced them together with music, still pictures, and color commentary from locals, into a film entitled . . . after the wind, child, after the waters gone. . .

Sullivan says the people in the film hope to promote “understanding and empathy with the plight of coastal Louisiana, home of so much of our energy industry infrastructure, a nexus of ongoing struggles by African-American, Houma, and Cajun communities for basic environmental, social and cultural justice, the most bountiful and endangered estuarine fishery in the Lower 48, way-station for innumerable species of migratory birds, and the cradle of so much of our national culture.”

The film will be shown at Rice Media Center on Thursday, August 17, at 8 pm. The Media Center is at University at Stockton on the south side of Rice University, 6100 Main Street. For more information, contact josulliv@utmb.edu.

The Gulf Restoration Network and the Sierra Club released a joint report, May 31, titled “The School of Big Storms – the High Cost of Compromising Our Natural Defenses and the Benefits of Protecting Them.” The report examines actions taken by communities across the Gulf that either increase protection from storms or make them more vulnerable. The report concludes that much of the devastation from hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 could have been avoided if the lessons discussed in the report had been heeded.

The report presents case studies for eight issues: development in flood plains; political pressure weakening plans to reduce flooding impact; protecting barrier islands and coastal wetlands; allowing projects that destroy natural storm barriers; encouraging development that is set back from the waterfront; protecting coastal habitat; exempting development from building codes; and strengthening oil and gas infrastructure.

According to the report, “Nature has suffered at the hands of the oil and gas industry in the Gulf Coast for many years.” A great deal of coastal wetlands loss is due to the pipelines and canals crossing swamps in Louisiana and Texas. Extraction of oil and gas contributes to subsidence. Toxic chemicals used in drilling remain in soil and water. These were issues before the increase in hurricane strength seen recently.

In addition, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed 113 oil platforms and damaged 457 pipelines. It may take as long as seven years to repair the damage to pipelines. Some oil rigs are still missing and have become navigational hazards.

The report also examines the Murphy oil spill in St. Bernard Parish that occurred during Hurricane Katrina. More than 1 million gallons spilled and the mixed crude spread over a one-mile area. The oil that was not recovered has evaporated, but high levels of benzene remain in the sediment. According to the report, the storage tank that overturned was only 10 percent full, leaving it an easy toss for the 18-foot storm surge. Standard practice is to top off tanks so they do not overturn.

The report recommends that oil and gas companies be held accountable for the damage they have done and be required to assist in wetland restoration. It also suggests that those facilities that can be relocated be moved out of harm’s way whenever possible. Facilities that can not be moved must be built to withstand Category 5 storms.

One case study focuses on Houston and its response to Tropical Storm Allison. The study blames the damage, in part, on development in flood plains and the region’s failure to complete projects that were supposed to mitigate the impact of upstream development. However, the study also looks at improvements the Harris County Flood Control District has made in its flood control plans and recommends that other communities study them.

The full report is available from the Gulf Restoration Network, .

Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, announced Wednesday that he is making $1.3 million in state money available to help remove houses from public beaches. The money would be available to homeowners for reimbursement of expenses relating to moving or demolishing the houses. Grants will be for up to $40,000. The deadline to apply is October 1.

Under the Texas Open Beaches Act, land that is on the seaward side of the natural vegetation line is public beach, where construction is not permitted. The natural vegetation line moves in response to beach erosion and subsidence. After Tropical Storm Francis in 1998 and additional erosion of beaches in the Galveston and Freeport areas, the General Land Office began suing property owners who had failed to remove houses that were now on the public beach. Two years ago, however, Patterson ordered a moratorium on litigation so that the natural line of vegetation would have time to re-establish itself and the issue could be studied. That moratorium ended Wednesday.

The targeted houses are mainly in Bermuda Beach, Jamaica Beach, Sea Isle, Spanish Grant, and the Village of Surfside Beach. Patterson did not rule out the possibility of renewed litigation to force removal of the houses.

The announcement included a larger plan for open beaches, some of which would require legislative action. The entire plan is at the GLO website.

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, which had a near brush with extinction, appear to be making a comeback. So far, 69 of their nests have been discovered along the Texas coast during this year’s nesting season, including five in Galveston County. This is a dramatic improvement over 2005, when 51 Kemp’s ridley nests were found here, according to Carolyn Allen, Gulf Office director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. She said nesting is also going well in Mexico at the major nesting site near Rancho Nuevo.

Turtles will continue to nest until some time in June. “Visitors to north Texas coastal beaches should be watching for sea turtles coming out of the water to nest,” Allen said. “People are going to see either a nester or tracks. They aren’t going to be able to find the nests if the turtle has gone – ridleys cover them too well and, since ridleys nest on windy days, the tracks are soon covered.”

Anyone spotting a nesting sea turtle should immediately call 1-866-TURTLE-5, Allen said. That number will direct the caller to the number of a local researcher who will visit the nest and check out the turtle to determine whether it is wild or “head-started” – raised in captivity for ten months in a program that was in place between 1978 and 1993.

Eggs are removed from the nest to protect them from predators, or young turtles are removed soon after they hatch. Currently, most are taken to the Padre Island National Seashore for hatching and release, but Allen hopes that at some point turtles will be released from Galveston.

It takes approximately 52 days for eggs to hatch. If a turtle lays eggs and no one observes her, beach visitors may soon see hatchlings going down the beach to the water. They should be protected but not picked up, and researchers should be contacted.

HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles) will be hosting a group patrol in Galveston on Saturday, June 3, beginning at 9 am. The patrol will meet at the seawall and 45th St, near where turtles have nested this year and last. The NOAA sea turtle barn is nearby. Tours are offered there on Saturdays at 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm.

The incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore does not allow viewing of the turtles, but the public is invited to attend certain hatchling releases. Releases occur sporadically during the summer. Hatchlings are released after they emerge from the eggs and become active. The first release of the year, from eggs collected on April 26, is planned for some time between June 12 and June 17. For dates of releases, call the Hatchling Hotline, (361) 949-7163, or see http//www.nps.gov/pais/pphtml/eventdetail16507.html.

For updates on Texas nestings, see the Save Texas Seaturtles website.

P.O. Box 323
Seabrook, Texas 77586
(281) 326-3343/fax: please call to arrange
gbcpa@ev1.net

www.gbcpa.net

Jim Blackburn, Chair
(713) 524-1012
jbb@blackburncarter.com

Katie Chimenti, Vice-Chair
(281) 286-9750
etcmkcc@sprintmail.com

Randa McCartney, Office Manager
(281) 326-3343
gbcpa@ev1.net

Publications: Making Waves, quarterly newsletter; Galveston Bay Conservancy, e-mail newsletter (can be joined from Web site www.gbcpa.net).

Programs: Galveston Bay Baykeeper Program, Charlotte Cherry. Contact office at (281) 326-3343.

Speakers Bureau: Please call GBCPA at (281) 326-3343 or e-mail gbcpa@ev1.net.

Volunteer Activities: Please call GBCPA at (281) 326-3343 or e-mail gbcpa@ev1.net.

17324-A Highway 3
Webster, Texas 77598
(281) 332-3381/fax: (281) 332-3153
gbf@galvbay.org

www.galvbay.org

Cynthia Pickett-Stevenson, Chair

Bob Stokes, President

Publications: GBF Gazette, a bi-monthly newsletter covering bay-wide issues, projects, events, and news; Galveston Bay Drive & Discover Guide, free guide describing the places and and habitats of Galveston Bay.

Programs: Educational presentations and field trips; wetlands habitat restoration; monitoring and responding to proposed activities in the bay; effecting changes in government policies to protect and enhance the bay and habitat; monitoring and advocating for improved scientific knowledge of the bay.

Major Events: Trash Bash; GBF Gala; Marsh Mania; Bay Day. Call for more information.

Children’s Programs: Bay ambassadors: lessons for school classes; Bay Day Celebration; youth outdoor expeditions.

Volunteer Opportunities: Conservation plantings, development and fundraising, educational programs, wetlands permit review committee, volunteer habitat monitoring, Bay Day Celebration, Marsh Mania, and Trash Bash.

17041 El Camino Real, Suite 210
Houston, Texas 77058
(281) 218-6461/Fax: (281) 218-6807

www.gbep.state.tx.us

Helen Drummond, Program Director
hdrummond@tceq.state.tx.us

Gale Thomas, Contact Person
dthomas@tceq.state.tx.us

Publications: State of the Bay report; Galveston Bay Virtual Ecotour (CD Rom); Drive and Discover guided tour around the bay, Bay Atlas Publication; Galveston Bay Video.

Programs: Habitat restoration; protection of bay habitats; assistance with storm water and waste water treatment issues; facilitation of policy issues affecting the bay’s future; reporting on the condition of the estuary; granting funds for education of children and adults; volunteer events such as Trash Bash and Marsh Mania; researching and dealing with new problems and threats to the bay; seafood safety consumption program; and Galveston Bay conservation assistance program.

Major Events: Workshops in February and March 2006

Speakers Bureau: Contact Suz Rosenberg or Scott Jones.
Meeting Time: Quarterly Galveston Bay Council meetings and Council subcommittee meetings posted on GBEP Web site.

Children’s Activities: Educational videos, posters, and power point presentations showing the beauty and value of Galveston Bay and its associated habitat.

Purpose: To work for the preservation of endangered turtles and to be involved in the international project to save Kemp’s Ridley Turtle. HEART is an affiliate of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project – Texas.

Carole Allen, Chair
P.O. Box 681231
Houston, Texas 77268-1231
(281) 444-6204/Fax: same
carole@seaturtles.org

www.ridleyturtles.org

Al Barr, Committee Member
7303 Carl Road Ext.
Spring, Texas 77373
(281) 443-6629
albarra4@aol.com

Sea Turtle Hotline: (1-866) TURTLE-5 (1-866- 887-8535). Please call if you see a sea turtle, eggs, or hatchlings on the beach. The caller will be given the telephone number of a sea turtle biologist or agency representative. This trained individual will go to the beach where the turtle was found as soon as possible after asking the caller a few questions.

Publication: Information on line at www.ridleyturtles.org

Meeting Time: Third Tuesday of the month, Mercer Arboretum, 7:30 pm Report given during Piney Woods Wildlife Society meeting, Sept. through May.

Children’s Programs: For classes and scout troops: The HEART Council Certificate can be earned, includes education and communication with legislators.

Purpose: Dedicated as scenic habitat conservation preserves, Scenic Galveston’s mission is permanent protection and restoration of its 900-acre JohnM. O’Quinn I-45 estuarial corridor and the contiguous 1500 acres of undeveloped coastal habitat on the Virginia Point peninsula. Publications: Regular updates and project news to members, volunteers, agency partners, and Estuary Friends.

20 Colony Park Circle
Galveston, Texas 77551
Phone: (409) 744-7431 or (979) 234-2096
Fax: (409) 744-1456 or (979) 234-7131
Evangelinewhorton@yahoo.com

www.scenicgalveston.org

Evangeline Whorton, Executive Board Chairman

Lalise L.W. Mason, Habitat Restoration
(713) 664-1870
lalise@earthlink.net

Leo Reitan, Long-Range Planning
(281) 482-4369

Richard C. Kirkpatrick, Vice-Chairman
(409) 739-9096
rklawyer530@aol.com

Major Events: SG wetlands work days, 2nd Thursdays, 3rd Saturdays; plant/bird/water quality monitoring; regular estuary and Virginia Point clean-ups; Trash Bash each spring, partnering with GLO. Children’s Activities: Developing SusanMcGuffey’s “Little Peoples” educational marsh off the I- 45 corridor to the east of the Santa Fe overpass bridge. Limited marsh planting and related opportunities for older youth groups.

Volunteer Opportunities: Estuary work days; students, birding groups, paddlers and others engaged in non-intrusive public use.

P. O. Box 563
Liberty, TX 77575

www.surfrider.org/texas

Ellis Pickett, Chairman
(713) 906-3940
ellispickett@houston.rr.com

Terry Hallmark, Vice Chairman
hallmark@publiustx.net

John Lumley, Secretary
(281) 794-0020
katenjohn@earthlink.net

Publications: Making Waves, monthly; State of the Beach, annually.

Programs: Blue Water Task Force – beach water monitoring; Reach the Beach – educational program on beach ecology, erosion and coastal issues for schools and civic groups; Beachscape – coastal mapping program.

Major Events: Surf Stomp – annual spring fundraiser; Beach Bash – annual fall fundraiser, Texas Adopt-A-Beach Program – spring and fall; Earth Day Festival, Apr.; Westheimer Street Festival.

Meeting Time: Monthly, from Jan to Oct, with a presentation by a speaker each month. Check Web site for date, time, and place.

Volunteer Opportunities: Contact volunteer coordinator through www.surfrider.org/texas.