In December 2004, an aging black Labrador retriever on the first hunting trip of her long, good life spooked at the sound of gunshot and was lost amid the frigid rice fields of the Texas coastal prairie. For a week her owner searched for his old companion, knowing that her age and inexperience were stacked against her survival. When family obligations pulled him halfway across the country, sadness and gloom pervaded the approaching holiday. Then a freak snowstorm, a distant phone call, and a friend’s lucky timing brought an unexpected reminder of the magic of Christmas. The regular feature Scout in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is named after this remarkable dog. Here is the true story of her winter adventure.
No natural resource issue has greater significance for the future of Texas than water. The state's demand for water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and recreational uses continues to grow exponentially, while the supply from rivers, lakes, aquifers, and reservoirs is limited. To help Texans manage their water resources today and plan for future needs, one of Texas's top water experts has compiled this authoritative overview of water issues in Texas. Water in Texas covers all the major themes in water management and conservation: Living with a Limited Resource The Molecule that Moves Mountains A Texas Water Journey The Gulf Shores of Texas Who's Who in Water Texas Water Law: A Blend of Two Cultures Does Texas Have Enough Water? Planning for the Future What's in Your Water? How Much is Water Worth? Water is Our Legacy Illustrated with color photographs and maps, Water in Texas will be the essential resource for landowners, citizen activists, policymakers, and city planners.
Winner, 2020 Philosophical Society of Texas Nonfiction Prize In 1969, J. David Bamberger bought what he described as “the sorriest piece of land” in the Texas Hill Country for the specific purpose of restoring the degraded landscape. Today, Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve is one of the largest habitat restoration projects in the state—5,500 acres—and serves as a model for land conservation and environmental education. The ranch has earned numerous awards, including the coveted Leopold Conservation Award, the Texas Environmental Excellence Award in Education, the National Private Lands Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award, and most recently, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas International Award of Excellence in Conservation, just to name a few. Seasons at Selah: The Legacy of Bamberger Ranch Preserve chronicles Bamberger’s dedication to ethical land stewardship and conservation education through stunning photographs of the land, plants, and wildlife he has devoted his time and resources to protect. Photographers Rusty Yates and David K. Langford capture each season at Selah and offer an intimate glimpse into the day-to-day management and operations of the ranch as well as some of the challenges it faces. In the accompanying text, Andrew Sansom shares his own stories from his decades-long friendship with Bamberger. Readers will gain a deeper appreciation for what conservation means for Texas: clean and abundant water, wildlife, healthy land, and an inspiring place to learn about and enjoy nature. Above all, Selah has given Texans a special opportunity to stop, pause, and reflect on the importance of good stewardship of the earth.
In Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, Andrew Sansom, a leading Texas conservationist, and William E. Reaves, an influential Texas art collector and historian, have teamed up to showcase some of the finest contemporary river art detailing the gorgeous traits of Texas landscapes. The featured artwork comes from Randy Bacon, Mary Baxter, David Caton, Margie Crisp, Keith Davis, Fidencio Duran, Jon Flaming, Charles Ford, Pat Gabriel, Hunter George, Billy Hassell, Lee Jamison, Robb Kendrick, Laura Lewis, William Montgomery, Noe Perez, Jeri Salter, Erik Sprohge, Debbie Stevens, and William Young. Art in service of conservation is nothing new, as Sansom and Reaves note in their introductions. And rivers have figured prominently in the artistic imagination for all of recorded history and probably before that, as evidenced by flood stories and myths preserved in almost all the religious and folk traditions of the world. The collection of work included in this book is exemplary of the strong inspiration that rivers have provided for a vast current of literature, music, and art, in turn shaping their place in life and culture and bringing about a greater appreciation of the stunning beauty of our natural world. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
The day after Hurricane Ike made U.S. landfall at Galveston, Texas, photographer Bryan Carlile was in a helicopter, working a service contract as a first responder. He took with him a native Texan’s good memories of the Gulf Coast but brought back images that tell the sobering story of this massive and historic storm. After Ike includes more than one hundred aerial photographs Carlile took of the hurricane’s grim aftermath accompanied by Carlile’s eyewitness captions. In some places, Carlile is able to show images from “before Ike” that bring home the magnitude of the changes wrought to both natural and human habitats. In a thoughtful, personal essay, Andrew Sansom, who was raised on the Texas coast, reflects on the realities of living in “Hurricane Alley.”
More than the lifeblood of our natural world, Texas rivers have nourished the human spirit for as long as people have gathered on their banks. A living bond has flowed between Texas writers and rivers ever since the 1960 publication of John Graves’s classic journey along the Brazos, Goodbye to a River. Many of Texas’ leading writers have had their hearts captured by a river, and they have created sparkling accounts of the waterways they love. Now, editors Steven L. Davis and Sam L. Pfiester have assembled the best of those works into a revelatory collection of diverse literary voices. Ranging from the desert canyonlands of the Rio Grande to the swampy Big Thicket, from crystal clear Hill Country streams to the Red River’s treacherous quicksand, Viva Texas Rivers! showcases many classic writings along with brand new essays written for this volume. The literary nonfiction is complemented by flashes of poetry that brilliantly reflect these curving ribbons of light. Authoritative and expertly edited, Viva Texas Rivers! offers shimmering accounts of hidden paradises, as well as searing exposés of abuse and despoliation. Yet even in the bleakest times, as these writers have found, Texas rivers can bestow a sacred grace —and unexpected redemption. Viva Texas Rivers! brings you as close to the living nirvana of a Texas River as you can get without launching yourself into a canoe and following a great blue heron as it glides just above the breaking rapids, leading you around the bend as the river flows onward toward the best places in our hearts.
Now in its second edition, California School Law is the only comprehensive source discussing how federal and state law affects the day-to-day operation of the state's traditional public, charter, and private schools. While the book is comprehensive, the authors have written it for a broad audience. California School Law has become a coveted desk-top reference for administrators, governing board members, school attorneys, union leaders, and policymakers. It also has been widely adopted as a classroom textbook in educational administration and education law classes. In commenting on the first edition, Michael Kirst, Stanford University Education Professor-Emeritus, noted that "The writing style is a blend of law and policy that is easy to follow." Other reviews that greeted the first edition are available on this website. The first chapter provides an explanation of the legal framework within which California schooling takes place and key players at the state, district, and school level. Ensuing chapters examine student attendance and truancy, curriculum law, employment law, teacher and student rights of expression, the school and religion, students with disabilities, student discipline, privacy and search and seizure, and legal liability in both state and federal court. Also included are chapters on unions and collective bargaining, educational finance issues, and racial and gender discrimination. Appendices provide a glossary of legal terminology, an explanation of how to find and read legislative enactments and judicial decisions, and a list of sources for accessing law. The book's table of contents is included on this website. Also included are links two sections from the second edition, one dealing with the discipline of students with disabilities and the other with student rights of expression. Law never stands still. To keep the book current, the authors will maintain a cumulative update for the second edition on this website.
In no other state is the identity of its people so closely tied to the land as it is in Texas. Texans have historically & passionately defined themselves through their sense of place. As one considers the remarkable diversity of the landscape of Texas & the array of cultures that have arisen from the land, the fierce individuality of the people is easy to understand. Today, the very foundation of that deep sense of who we are is threatened by forces that are changing the character of the land more rapidly & profoundly than at any other time since the introduction of agriculture. Few remnants of the real Texas remain, & the realities of public policy & finance in the nineties present an uncertain climate for protecting those natural treasures that have managed to survive. And some have survived. The best & most significant of them are presented in this book, along with a twenty-first century strategy for protecting them. If we want our children to understand what it means to be Texan, we can do no less. PUBLICATION DATE: OCTOBER 1995. 160 PAGE--FULL COLOR THROUGHOUT, HARDBACK COST: $39.95 ISBN#: 0-9647023-0-4. FOR MORE INFORMATION: GULF PUBLISHING - 713-529-4301.
It is 2041, 10 years after the Iran-Israeli nuclear war. The Gulf is a radioactive wasteland. Fires continue to burn out of control and a warm blanket of smog envelops the earth. Sea levels rise as the polar ice melts. The world economy has stuttered to a halt. The UK emergency government continues in power, self-interested, unelected, and corrupt. Repression triggers a backlash from the radical groups, and 10 years of bitter civil war follow. A new radical group is funding the armed struggle and is seeking a showdown. Mary Brand, head of counterintelligence for the main rebel group wants to restart the democratic process. Bryan Sansom, section chief at MI5 sees a chance for peace and works with Sarah Chilcott Minister for National Defence to bring the opposition in from the cold. Sansom is desperate to find out who is bankrolling the opposition groups. Time is beginning to run out. Richard Smart, Minister for Homeland Security is determined to impose order at all costs terrified by the spectre of Easter Island Syndrome where a society turns in on itself and begins to self-destruct. He believes all opposition must be crushed before the nation can be reborn. Brand and Chilcott are relying on the bravery of Jon Grogan a troubled ex-soldier to bring sanity back to the world, helped by Sukri Chakraborty an MI5 agent. An attack on the new Thames Gateway Barrier on the eve of a tidal surge from the North Sea threatens to derail the peace process and devastate London.
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