Lost Pines Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist Program

...right here at home... in the Lost Pines

Welcome to the Lost Pines Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist Program! You can learn more about our chapter and the Master Naturalist volunteer program here. Master Naturalist volunteers help manage our local natural resources. If you are interested in joining us, or have questions about our activities, please contact us. Members: please use the contact form to update your address, phone number, or e-mail contact information.

The Lost Pines chapter serves primarily Bastrop and Caldwell Counties of Central Texas. These counties are predominantly in the Post Oak Savannah and Blackland Prairie Ecoregions. In addition, our area includes the unique "island forest" of the Lost Pines, - the western most extension of the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), separated by about 100 miles from the pine forests of East Texas. Species in the Lost Pines are particularly adapted to the drier conditions here, and provide unique habitat for varied flora and fauna which can be seen in Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park and other nearby natural areas. You can learn more about what makes these parks so special and see pictures of them by visiting our "Discover the Lost Pines" page; you can also find many links to information about the native plants, animals and ecology of the Lost Pines region on our resources page.

Lost Pines Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist Meetings

Bastrop Nature Fest
LPMN Chapter volunteers assisted with guided hikes as well as informing the public about the Master Naturalist Program at Nature Fest (Pam Hohman photo)
Nature Fest Volunteers

Volunteers Bryan Estes, Joan Baker, Susan Crone and Karen Sterling help with Nature Fest

Beetles of the Lost Pines Lost Pines Beetles

(see story about Mike Quinn's beetle photographs)

Chapter meetings generally alternate between the Bastrop State Park Refectory, Red Rock Community Center, and the Lockhart Extension Office, and are at 6:30 PM on the third Monday of each month. Most meetings feature an educational program (Advanced Training unless otherwise noted), and are open to members, prospective members, and the general public.

Feb. 15, 2010; 6:30 P.M., Bastrop State Park Refectory - Daniel Lewis, of Texas Forest Service, will give a presentatio on Forest Ecology and Management (Joint meeting with 2010 training class)

Mar. 15, 2010; 6:30 P.M., Lockhart State Park Recreation Hall - Dr. Bob Lyons will discuss Rangeland Ecology and Management (Joint meeting with 2010 training class)

Apr. 19, 2010; 6:30 P.M., Bastrop State Park Refectory - Topic TBA (Joint meeting with 2010 training class)

13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb 12-15)

It's your chance to count birds for fun and count for the future, with the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) from Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15. Whether you participate once or several times, by submitting your list of the birds you see at www.birdcount.org, you will help scientists learn more about how birds are faring in your neighborhood.

The more people who participate in the GBBC, the better the information scientists will have about how bird populations may be changing over time due to habitat loss, climate change, disease, or other factors. Here are some ways you can encourage family, friends and others in your community to take part and submit lists of their own. If you "tweet" on Twitter, add this "hashtag" to your messages about the birds you are seeing: #gbbc (make sure the letters are lower-case; a hashtag is simply text you leave at the end of your message). When you add that tag, tweets about GBBC will show up in a special widget on the GBBC home page so we can all share.

GBBC events are taking place around the continent. Discover what's going on in your area on the GBBC website's Local Events page. If you're hosting an event, email Pat Leonard at pel27@cornell.edu so your event can be posted on the GBBC website.

In the news...

The Lost Pines Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program was featured in a recent article by Denis McGinness in the "Smithville Times". Read the article here.

2010 Lost Pines Master Naturalist Training Class

The Lost Pines Chapter 2010 introductory Master Naturalist Training class is underway, and will continue until May 17. For more a class schedule, see our 2010 Training Page.

2010 Lost Pines Chapter Officers

LPMN re-elected officers at the December chapter meeting. Our 2010 officers are:

President, Louise Ridlon
Vice President, Walt Elson
Secretary, Liz Pullman
Treasurer, Carole O'Toole
Past President, Mark McClelland
State Representative, Michal Hubbard

Beetles of the Lost Pines

After teaching the entomology class to our class on May 11, Mike Quinn set up a mercury vapor light outside the refectory for a couple hours to see what might come in. He recorded about 60 species of beetles plus a few other odds and ends including a pseudoscorpion. Mike's photos are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/entomike/BastropStatePark#

Mike notes that Tabor and Fleenor (Insects of the Lost Pines, 2003) only treat about 70 beetle species in their book on Bastrop State Park. No doubt due to the high diversity of beetles, there was almost NO OVERLAP in what Mike found and what they report.

With the assistance of others such as Dr. Donald S. Chandler, Dr. Charles O'Brien, and Vassili Belov, most of the 60 beetle species Mike photographed have been ID'ed. Some of the more noteworthy species include the following four not previously photographed beetles (at least not as live bugs):

Lignyodes varius - Variegated Weevil: http://bugguide.net/node/view/275291

The above colorful weevil was described by LeConte over 130 years ago and has apparently never been photographed save for the Type specimen in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Acanthinus scitulus - Antlike Flower Beetle: http://bugguide.net/node/view/274990

Mike is apparently the only person to have photographed five of the seven Acanthinus spp. All shot since March 7, 2009. http://bugguide.net/node/view/61254/bgpage

Epuraea umbrosa - Sap-feeding Beetle: http://bugguide.net/node/view/275006

Aulonium ferrugineum - Cylindrical Bark Beetle: http://bugguide.net/node/view/275481

Finally, this cool beetle represents a "life family" for Mike: Hydrocanthus sp. - Burrowing Water Beetle: http://bugguide.net/node/view/275017

On May 16, Mike and Brush Freeman did some collecting at McKinney Roughs, which resulted in another interesting assortment of critters: http://picasaweb. google.com/ entomike/ McKinneyRoughsTX #

2009 Master Naturalist Class

Congratulations to the 2009 Lost Pines Master Naturalist Training Class for completion of their initial Master Naturalist training. Class members-
Back row: Al Hoerig, Gene Moulden, Mike Turner, Dave Radke, Chris Contreras, Jim Baker
Third Row: Angie Morrison, Wendy Sera, Paulette Boudreaux, Lisa King, Mona Greenlee
Second Row: Judy Turner, Debbie Radke, Liz Pullman, Mary Ann Melton, Martha Mobley, Peggy Olson
Front row: Nancy Newell, Tina Pereboom, Lori Fraser, Joan Baker, Susan Crone, Tim Watson
Not pictured: Lauren Bilbe, Karl Kincer, Jeanne McConnell, Dara Rehm, Dale Tilson, Rue Toovey

Discover the Lost Pines Interpretive Hikes (Spring and Fall)

Lead (or take!) a short interpretive hike through the Lost Pines of Bastrop State Park. Hikes are conducted at 10:00 AM on Saturday mornings, spring and fall. We will begin our Spring Discover the Lost Pines hikes late February, and need volunteers to lead hikes through May. For information on volunteering to lead a hike, or just taking a hike, click here.

Members: Take Credit For Your Volunteer Hours!

Please report your volunteer and advanced training hours each month, using the Volunteer Activity reporting form. Bring your report to the Chapter meeting, or send them to Marsha Elrod.

The Volunteer Activity reporting form (Word doc, click here) is available for download. You can open the form and fill it out in Word-compatible software on your computer. Then e-mail back to Marsha Elrod, or fill them in by hand and send in by regular mail (187 Billingsley Hgts., Cedar Creek, Tx 78612). Don't have Word? Then download the Acrobat PDF Activity reporting Form, print and fill in. Bring the completed form to the monthly meeting, or mail to Marsha.