Houston Sierra Club Outings

Sierra Club: Water for People & Environment Committee
Webinar: The Nurdle Patrol Citizen Science Program
Monday, March 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Link to register:
Meeting Registration - Zoom

This is the Water for People & Environment Committee's meeting for all Texans interested in water issues, advocacy, organizing and networking.
March 9 Topic:
The Nurdle Patrol Citizen Science Patrol

Speaker: Jace Tunnell of the Harte Science Research Institute at TAMU Corpus Christi. Nurdle Patrol is a citizen science project founded by Jace Tunnell in November 2018 after a large number of small plastic pellets (nurdles) washed up on Mustang and North Padre Islands in Texas that September. A nurdle is a plastic pellet which serves as raw material in the manufacturing of plastic products.

The link below has the Sierra Club participant sign-in agreement (liability waiver). Please read this before our outing. When we meet we’ll sign-in and proceed with our visit to JSF. Sign-Up Sheet 2-2020.pdf (sierraclub.org)

If anyone has COVID symptoms or is sick don’t come! We want everyone to be safe. Going on this outing means we’ll hike with those who are vaccinated/unvaccinated. It’s each person’s choice to participate on this outing.

Bring a daypack, 2 qts water, snacks, cameras, insect repellent, and clothes fit for the weather. Long pants are recommended. Be prepared for warm weather. No pets, firearms, or radios. We’ll put cell phones on vibrate and enjoy solitude/quiet/natural sounds. After we visit JSF, we’ll go to lunch at a nearby restaurant so bring money/credit card.

If you want to carpool meet me at Starbucks in Meyerland Plaza at 7:30 am. I have a “gray” Honda CRV Hybrid and will be parked just west of Starbucks. My phone number is 281-570-7212. Don’t be late! We’ll meet at the TFS office overflow parking lot at 9 am. Directions are:

1. N. on I-45 about 35 miles to FM 1488 in The Woodlands.
2. W. on FM 1488 about 1 mile and turn rt. into the TFS office overflow parking area N. of FM 1488.

KEEP BIG BEND WILD:
Presentation on Protecting Big Bend National Park,
"NOW Is the Time for Wilderness at Big Bend National Park"
Wednesday, March 18, 2027, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Leonel Castillo Community Center
2101 South St., Houston 77009

"NOW Is the Time for Wilderness at Big Bend National Park"

The recent news that the current administration is proposing to extend the Border Wall structure through Big Bend National Park highlights just how precarious protection of our national parks has become. The Border Wall solution now being floated by the administration is incompatible with wilderness and would irreparably harm Big Bend's integrity as a national park. The undeveloped areas of Big Bend National Park that were recommended for wilderness protection more than forty years ago are currently being managed to protect their wild values. However, this is a National Park Service (NPS) administrative decision that could be changed by a future administrative action. These areas are vulnerable to development pressure until Congress formally admits them into the national wilderness system, something only Congress can do.

KEEP BIG BEND WILD's presentation will encompass the need for protecting Big Bend and why wilderness designation is an important tool. KBBW will point out why the administration's massive construction proposal is unnecessary in light of past and ongoing cooperation between the NPS and U.S. Border Patrol which has ensured that NPS's conservation mission and the border security mission of the U.S. Border Patrol are complementary and compatible.

KEEP BIG BEND WILD is a collaborative effort by people who share a common appreciation of BBNP and who want to ensure that the wild character of Big Bend will continue and thrive. Some are locals. Some are retirees from the National Park Service (NPS) at Big Bend and other parks. Others know Big Bend well as visitors or have volunteered at Big Bend. By and large, all of them have returned to Big Bend repeatedly because they care deeply about the future of the park.

Photo courtesy of Al Braden