Society for Ecological Restoration, Texas & Southwest Chapters

Joint Conference

Ecological Restoration in the Southwest

October 17-19, 2014

Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas

Conference Presentations & Field Trip Handouts

 

Friday Field Trips:

Grasslands Restoration – O2 Ranch – Trip Leader – Bonnie Warnock, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX. Field Trip Handouts:

Restoring Riparian Habitat – Terlingua Creek and Big Bend National Park – Trip Leaders – Joe Sirotnak and Jeff Bennett, National Park Service, Big Bend National Park.  Field Trip Handouts:  Terlingua Creek Field Trip Literature 2014

Native Seed Sources of West Texas – Trip Leader – Colin Shackelford, Texas Native Seeds, Alpine, TX.  Field Trip Handouts:

 

Saturday & Sunday Conference Presentations:

Keynote Address:  Dryland Restoration in the Anthropocene.  Brandon Bestelmeyer, Research Ecologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Station & Co-PI Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research Site, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Plenary 1:  Rewilding West Texas.  Louis Harveson, Director Borderlands Research Institute and Professor of Wildlife Management, Department of Natural Resource Management, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX  (Contact presenter.)

Plenary 2:  Bi-National Restoration in the Sky Islands.  Carianne Campbell, RESTORE Program Manager, Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ  (Document too large to upload.  Contact presenter.)

Saturday Morning Presentations, Room AB – October 18, 2014

10:00 am – Modeling the Competitive Dynamics Between Native and Invasive Grasses Under Varying Light Conditions.  Kristen Schultz and Ann Adams, Trinity University

10:20 am – Coastal Thornscrub Forest Restoration in South Texas – Effectiveness of Different Management Techniques.  Heather Alexander, University of Texas, Brownsville

10:40 am – The Relocation of a Population of “Plateilema palmeri” (A. Gray) Cockrell (Asteraceae) – Brewster County Texas.  Chris Jackson, Department of Biology, Sul Ross State University

11:00 am – Hydrologic Investigations of Rock Detention Structures.  Laura Norman, Western Geographic Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey

11:20 am – Edge Effects on Diatom Community Succession Trajectory within a Mitigation Wetland.  Bradley Hoge, University of Houston-Downtown

11:40 am – Indicators of Ecosystem Development in Resaca Restoration Based on the Macroinvertebrate Community.  Leah McIntosh, University of Texas, Brownsville

Saturday Early Afternoon Presentations, Room AB – October 18, 2014

1:20 pm – Evaluating Burrowing Owl Nest Site Selection in Far West Texas.  Lois Balin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  (Document too large to upload.  Contact presenter.)

1:40 pm – Small Mammal Response to Wildfire on the Marfa Grasslands, Texas.  Robert Allcorn, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross State University

2:00 pm – Pronghorn Restoration in Trans-Pecos, TX – Where Are We Now?  Taylor Garrison, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross State University

2:20 pm – Effective Indicators of Ecosystem Functional Recovery in Estuaries Linked to Lower Laguna Madre.  Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, Brownsville

2:40 pm – Post-Fire Response of Understory Bryophytes in Association with Vascular Plants in the Lost Pines Ecosystem of Central Texas.  Ingrid Karklins, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station

Saturday Early Afternoon Presentations, Room CD – October 18, 2014

1:20 pm – Using Ecological Site Descriptions for Rangeland Restoration.  Michael Margo, USDA-NRCS

1:40 pm – Forest Watershed Tree Thinning Restoration Effectiveness Monitoring in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico.  David Lightfoot, SWCA Environmental Consultants

2:00 pm – Inventorying and Restoring Springs in the Sky Island Region:  New Tools for Managers.  Louise Misztal, Sky Island Alliance.   (Document too large to upload.  Contact presenter.)

2:20 pm – Utilizing Hunter Harvest for Disease Surveillance.  John Stone, Department of Biology, Sul Ross State University.

2:40 pm – Pine-Hardwood Classification with LiDAR-Derived Canopy Data and Multispectral Image for Mixed Forest in Huntsville, TX.  Xiangmin Sun, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station

Saturday Late Afternoon Presentations, Room AB – October 18, 2014

3:30 pm – An Overview of Texas Bighorn Restoration Efforts.  Thomas Janke, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross state University

3:50 pm – Large Scale Restoration of northern Bobwhite Habitat on a Rangeland Dominated by Non-Native Grasses.  Matthew Wojda, CKWRI, Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

4:10 pm – Productivity of Interior Least Terns in Central Oklahoma:  Past Habitat Dynamics, Current Pressures, and Future Management Considerations.  Priscilla Crawford and Angelina Stancampiano, Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma.  (Document too large to upload.  Contact presenter.)

4:30 pm – The Current Predicament of the Bordas Escarpment – Ways and Means of Restoring Peyote Habitat in South Texas.  Martin Terry, Department of Biology, Geology and Physical Science, Sul Ross State University

4:50 pm – An Integrative Approach to Conservation Biology. Joshua Banta, Department of Biology, University of Texas, Tyler

Saturday Late Afternoon Presentations, Room CD – October 18, 2014

3:30 pm – Key Plant-Animal Interactions in the Natural Propagation of Sabal Palm (Sabal mexicana) and the Restoration of Palm Forests in Texas.  Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, Brownsville

3:50 pm – Alternative Restoration Treatments to Maximize Growth and Survival of Tamaulipan Thornscrub Species During Seedling Establishment.  Jennifer Vela, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, Brownsville

4:10 pm – The Effects of Shrub Encroachment and Shrub Removal Methods on South Texas Coastal Grasslands.  Parker Watson, University of Texas, Brownsville

4:30 pm – Castner Range – Can It Be Conserved?  Mike Gaglio, The Frontera Land Alliance.  To see the video Mike showed click here:  http://fronteralandalliance.org/castner/ and/or to see the Castner Range Land Use Plan click here:  http://fronteralandalliance.org/castner/land-use-plan

4:50 pm – An Art and A Science – How Can Researchers Better Influence Landowner Stewardship Practices.  Jill Nokes, Hill Country Land Alliance

Sunday Morning Presentations, Room AB – October 19, 2014

8:00 am – Evaluation and Development of Native Seed Sources of West Texas.  Colin Shackelford, CKWRI, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

8:20 am – Development of Native Plant Material for the Colorado Plateau.  Troy Wood, Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey.  (Presentation not available.)

8:40 am – What Can Restoration Science Do For Green Infrastructure?  Mary Carol Edwards, Texas Coastal Watershed Program, Texas Sea Grant/Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

9:00 am – Irrigation to Establish and Maintain Riparian Plant Assemblages Along Regulated Rivers.  Matthew Grabau, GeoSystems Analysis, Inc.

9:20 am – Hillslope and Channel Restoration of Ox Canyon Following the 2007 Ojo Peak Wildfire.  Cody Stropki, SWCA Environmental Consultants.  (Contact presenter.)

9:40 am – Impact of Saltcedar Biological Control Along the Rio Grande on Saltcedar and Athel.  Chris Ritzi, Department of Biology, Geology, and Physical Sciences, Sul Ross State University

10:00 am – Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity in Sky Island Pine Woodlands.  Charlotte Reemts, The Nature Conservancy

Please Note:  Some of the presentations were too large to upload to the website.  If interested, you will need to contact the individual presenter.