Franklin Mountains State Park Presentation Thursday at 6 p.m.

Our next Chapter meeting will be tomorrow evening, April 5^th beginning at 6 p.m. We will have a very special presentation: “Flora, Fauna and Recreation at the Franklin Mountains State Park”.  Many of you know Richard Love, a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park in the Tom Mays Unit. If you don’t know Richard, you may have come across the bird blind on one of your trips to the park. Richard helped design and build the blind and has done some extraordinary photography there and at other locations in the park. He has been a photographer for over 30 years now and has made a study of the wildlife of the Chihuahuan Desert. (See some photos from Tom Mays.) Along with Richard, FMSP volunteers Heath Shawhart and George Murray will also be speaking.  Richard Love will discuss birds and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert and Franklin Mountains and include his personal photography. Heath Shawhart will talk about the recreational and hiking activities in the park and include tips on desert survival skills and desert plants. George Murray will speak about reptiles, plants and blooms.  Our Chapter meetings continue to be held at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Avenue. (Map)

Stay tuned for more information about volunteer training for the Franklin Mountains State Park on April 14^th or contact Adrianna Weickhardt now at Adrianna.Weickhardt@tpwd.state.tx.us.

There will be another Transmountain cleanup/volunteer opportunity and continuing ed class this coming Saturday (April 7^th).  The cleanup will be from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Meet for the cleanup at the pull-out just past the Adopt a Highway sign on the right-hand side of westbound lane on Transmountain Rd, west of the Gateway South intersection.  Call 915-525-7723 for information.  Then, Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners are sponsoring a continuing ed presentation at 11:00 a.m. at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology: “West Texas Wildlife & Birding Trails”.  The speaker, Beth Nobles, Executive Director of the Texas Mountain Trail organization, helps visitors and residents enjoy the great outdoors through the Far West Texas trail system.  This is a cooperative program with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and includes ten driving loops and 57 sites in Far West Texas.  El Paso hosts two of these loops, the El Paso Uplands from Franklin Mountains State Park to Hueco Tanks State Park and the El Paso Rio from Keystone Heritage Park to Rio Bosque Wetlands.  The public is invited and the event is free.

Also this Saturday, April 7^th, the El Paso Cactus and Rock Club will be fieldtripping to the Jarilla Mountains of Orogrande, NM to look for early-blooming cactus hybrids. Carpools will form at 8:30 a.m. at the Wal-Mart parking lot at Transmountain and Hwy 54 near the nursery.  (Map)  Be sure to take a hat, sunscreen, lunch and water. Walking sticks and sturdy walking shoes are suggested. If you have a high clearance vehicle, please consider bringing it. Remember your camera. For more information call 915-833-7637 or 915-383-3006. For a calendar of upcoming Rock and Cactus Club events, go here.

Here’s a program that is worth the drive to Las Cruces next Tuesday evening.  On April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m., the Southwest Environmental Center is presenting two intriguing and important talks. Both will stress the importance of advocating for the most endangered mammal in North America, New Mexico's own Mexican wolf (Lobo). The Center is located at 275 North Downtown Mall in Las Cruces.  (Map)

The Southwest Environmental Center also seeks your help to preserve the Otero Mesa from exploratory drilling for rare earth metals. The hunt for rare earths is also on Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County near Sierra Blanca, Texas (just down the road from us a tad). Why rare earths? Because all of us consumers like iPads and smart phones and things that glow in the dark.

On April 13, 14 and 15, 2012 the El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society will be visiting the Lesser Prairie-Chickens of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Bottomless Lakes State Park.  April is the peak time for Lesser Prairie Chickens’ famous displays in their mating areas called booming grounds.  If you can, make motel reservations for Friday in Roswell and do some local birding.  Saturday morning tour Bitter Lake NWR.  Bring lunch and drinks for this all day affair.  Saturday afternoon bird and tour Bottomless Lakes State Park and on Sunday morning get a very early start to view the Lesser Prairie Chickens.  If you want more information or if you plan to go please contact Mark Perkins at 637-3521 or mperkins4@elp.rr.com.

The April 2012 Rio Bosque newsletter is now available. To volunteer at the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, contact John Sproul at 915-861-4361 or jsproul@utep.edu.

You can also volunteer at the El Paso Zoo. They have a new Volunteer Coordinator, Sherri Reneau, who can be reached at 915-351-5340 or reneausl@elpasotexas.gov.

Finally, Rick Lobello, the Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo, talked to our new class of Master Naturalists last week. One concept that is critical to urban planning is that of ecosystems services – the benefits that we derive from the ecosystem in which we live such as cleaner air, healthier soil, carbon sequestration, etc.. Learn more about it. Also, read a primer about ecosystem services from the United Nations Environment Program. This is good stuff.

The Master Naturalist© is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

This is Volume 1 and Number 5 published on April 4, 2012