Small Notes
Update on the Instream Bill
by John Bartos
I attended and testified at the Senate hearing April 24th on behalf of the Houston Canoe Club and GBF. SB1374 was amended and has not yet been voted on by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. It is still a bad bill that will halt water rights permits for environmental purposes. Committee staff let us know that they have heard quite a lot from people opposed to the bill. But it is Sen. Armbrister's bill and it is his committee, so I would imagine that it will come out of committee to the full Senate. Two members of the committee are from the Houston area: Mike Jackson and John Lindsay. Keep those contacts to your senators coming.
Kayak Race
The 'Free For All' race on Lake Travis, sponsored by The Jonestown Chamber to be held on May 17, at 10 AM. See the course and other information at members.aol.com/jonestownchamber. There is NO entry fee and food, beer, and bands are available at the finish line. Everyone is invited to enter. $1,000 prize money.
New Meeting Place for TOWN
The Texas Outdoors Woman Network (TOWN) Houston chapter has changed to Fandango's,1001 Westheimer at Briarpark in the Carillion Shopping Center in back of Outback Steak House and almost next to the Great Caruso. The next meeting is Tuesday, May 13 at 6 PM.
Texas: The State of Water - Video Documentary to Air MAY 29, 2003
Texas: the State of Water, a one-hour video documentary on water resource issues, will air the evening of Thursday, May 29 on 13 PBS television stations reaching more than 30 Texas cities.
The project is a partnership effort of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and KERA TV in Dallas, with sponsor funding from Brazos Mutual Funds and support from the Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas. It is being produced in the new high definition video format using equipment provided by KERA.
The documentary includes segments involving El Paso, Caddo Lake in East Texas, the Ogallala Aquifer in the Panhandle, the Pecos River area in West Texas, and the Colorado and Trinity River watersheds involving Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Houston. The program also focuses on the once mighty Rio Grande as a case study to show how if care is not taken, rivers can stop flowing. The Rio Grande has intermittently ceased flowing into the Gulf of Mexico in recent years, and today in many areas there is little or no water in the riverbed.
KUHT will broadcast Texas: the State of Water on the evening of May 29 in the Houston area from 8-9 p.m. CDT.
Geocache Update
by John Bartos
You might be interested to know that there have been some attempts and successes in finding the Miller Geocache. Read about the recent activity at http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=42594

New Wildlife Trace
by Natalie Wiest
The USACE (Corps of Engineers) is dedicating a new "Wildlife Trace", which adds 22,000 additional acres to the Wallisville area natural habitat conservation. It is located just East of the Trinity River in Chambers County. May 1 was the dedication. They are opening up a 2.5 mile driving loop by the levee, with a picnic area and restroom facilities, parking at a midpoint. There are boardwalks for wildlife viewing over the marshes at two points. Hours for the park will be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information, call the Ranger station at (409)389-2285.
Also of interest for bird-observation within easy walking distance of the road, the Trinity River Bend Waterbird Rookery. It's the new boardwalk built just off the feeder road on this same stretch (south if I-10, east of Trinity River). It is loaded with egrets, ibises, and spoonbills this time of year.