CEC Notes
Grant writing workshop
The first-ever CEC grant writing workshop was held on October 8. The event kicked off what we hope will become a series of quarterly workshops. CEC member organizations will have the opportunity to learn valuable skills that will help them raise funds to continue their important work. Experienced grant writers are also encouraged to attend and share their expertise with others. The CEC would like to thank Anne Olson, President of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership for help in making the first workshop a success. If you have any ideas to contribute to this ongoing discussion or would like more information on upcoming workshops contact Sarah Doss at 713.524.4232 or email to sarah@cechouston.org.

Coalition Notes
Buffalo Bayou and Beyond
The Buffalo Bayou Partnership announced in September a 20-year plan to turn the bayou into a pedestrian-oriented waterfront district. The City of Houston, Harris County and the Harris County Flood Control District co-sponsored the initiative.

The plan’s theme is balancing conservation with development, creating 850 acres of new park land, building a network of trails to promote access and reclaiming former industrial sites to restore damaged environmental resources.

Another major component of the plan is flood management in downtown. Two new canals will be built to add supplementary floodwater capacity to the bayou. The increase could reduce flooding in north downtown by 5.5 feet. To highlight the canals, a park and promenade would extend the waterfront into downtown along Commerce Street providing access to the bayou. Widening the bayou at specific points will also increase capacity for floodwater conveyance.

The plan will also focus on affordable housing in its redevelopment of the East End neighborhood. Other initiatives in the neighborhood include expansion of trails and parks, turning the north-side sewage treatment facility into a botanical garden and improving public transportation along Clinton Drive and Navigation Boulevard. In the West End, the plan provides for the creation of ponds and wetlands, increasing wildlife habitat and realigning Allen Parkway to add green space and parking.

The recommendations included in the master plan were the culmination of an 18-month private study. Funding for the study came from the City of Houston, Harris County, Harris County Flood Control District and private funds raised by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

A walk on the wild side
Legacy Land Trust, a non-profit conservation organization, invites you to take a walk on the wild side on November 2 at the Montgomery County Preserve. The 71-acre forever-preserved tract, in an ecosystem often referred to as “The Little Thicket”, is host to numerous plant and animal species. Attendees will be taken on tours guided by naturalist experts who will identify birds, reptiles and plants that flourish in the hardwood forest along the creek. Food will be provided but be sure to bring your hiking boots and raincoats. The bluegrass band Bayouphiliacs will supply the entertainment. To make a reservation, call Jennifer Lorenz at 713.524 or visit Legacy Land Trust on the web at www.llt.org.

EcoNotes
Ozone healing?

Photo courtesy NASA.

The hole in the ozone layer split in two and shrunk to its smallest size since 1988. In September, satellite photos showed the hole measuring six million miles, compared to an average of nine million miles over the last six years. Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attributed the improvement to unusually high temperatures around the polar vortex, a circular wind pattern that forms annually in the stratosphere over Antarctica. Windy stratospheric conditions over the southern hemisphere caused the hole to split in two. Although the ozone has not begun to repair itself, scientists predicted that healing could begin in five years and that the hole could close in 50 years.

Federal funds for Texas wildlife
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is slated to receive millions in new federal dollars in 2003 earmarked for community conservation grants, urban wildlife programs, non-game research, marine monitoring, border conservation and two new partnerships to conserve migratory bird habitats.

This year, the House passed a bill from the U.S. Department of the Interior that would provide almost twice as much state wildlife grant funding as last year, in addition to federal Land and Water Conservation Fund money for park projects. The Senate approved a similar measure and the two bills are awaiting resolution in conference committee. Depending on the outcome, the TPWD could receive another $3-5 million in federal funds next year.

Land use major cause of climate change
A NASA study revealed that climate change, thought to be caused primarily by the emission of greenhouse gasses, may actually be attributed in large part to human caused land-use changes. Land-surface changes like urban sprawl, deforestation, reforestation and agricultural and irrigation practices have a significant impact on surface regional temperatures, precipitation and large-scale atmospheric circulation. The study argues these changes to land surface in North America, Europe and southeast Asia redistribute heat regionally and globally within the atmosphere and may actually have a greater impact on climate change than heat trapping gasses like carbon dioxide. Through land-cover changes over the last 300 years, humans may have already altered the climate more than the effects that would occur by doubling carbon dioxide emissions, according to the report. If carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions continue at current rates, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are expected to double by 2050. Land surface changes will also continue to occur.

Hot time, summer in the city
According to U.S. government weather experts, this summer was the third hottest in recorded history. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. from June through August was 73.9 degrees. The only summers hotter were in the dust bowl era of the 1930s when hundreds of farmers were driven from their land by drought. Meanwhile, a Cornell University study found that while summers are heating up in urban areas, temperatures in rural areas have remained more constant. Researchers said that urban areas across the country average 10 more hot nights each year than they did 40 years ago, as compared to an increase of only three nights a year over the same period in rural areas. This suggests that cities and suburbs may be contributing to their own heat problems as researchers point to greenhouse gas emissions as just one cause.