Newsletter title

December 2009

In This Edition

Volunteerism Cabinet of The Nature Conservancy

—Jay Pruett, Oklahoma Director of Conservation

As each of our Tallgrass Prairie Preserve docents knows, The Nature Conservancy depends on volunteers to help the organization accomplish its mission. Conservancy-wide, there are about 10,000 volunteers working at Conservancy locations in a given year. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Docent Program is one of the shining examples of a successful volunteer program within The Nature Conservancy, demonstrating how the commitment, dedication, time spent, hard work and shared camaraderie can result in significant benefits to the organization, its programs and its great places.

Unfortunately, not all volunteer efforts are as successful as our Docents Program at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Right here in Oklahoma, with opportunities for volunteer assistance being available, attempts to organize and implement volunteer efforts to meet those needs have often failed to live up to expectations. There are many reasons that may be in play here, for example: the lack of a nearby volunteer pool, poor recruitment, poor communication about events, remote locations, stressful weather conditions, field hazards, lack of connection to the site by potential volunteers. Wouldn’t it be great if we could learn from The Nature Conservancy’s volunteer successes, like that at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, not only in Oklahoma, but also in other states and countries as well, and then apply those lessons to our other locations, projects or programs that could benefit from the assistance of volunteers? Successful volunteer programs are especially important to the The Nature Conservancy in these difficult economic times when budgets and staffs have been reduced, yet the work still needs to go on and, in fact, be enlarged?

Well, that very thing is happening. The Nature Conservancy has created a Volunteerism Cabinet that will do just that. The Cabinet is staffed with employees who work with volunteers in their individual state or country programs. The Cabinet members are volunteering their time in addition to their normal jobs to share their positive experiences, skills, approaches and techniques with others of us who could benefit from having more effective volunteer programs. Of course, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Docents Program is one of those examples of a successful volunteer program that will be shared with others who would like to have similar success. The attributes of the Docents program have already been shared with the The Nature Conservancy Volunteerism Cabinet and this will undoubtedly benefit volunteer efforts elsewhere. I will be serving as Oklahoma’s representative to the Cabinet and will look for opportunities to bring back best management practices, tips, successful approaches and the like that might be applicable to our other preserves which could benefit from strong volunteer programs. I will also continue to relate to the Cabinet the good work of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Docents Program as an example of how to do it right.

So keep up the great work you do at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in the gift shop, on volunteer work days, on special projects, by offering suggestions and solutions. Your efforts are being used to guide others in developing thriving volunteer programs.

Golden Eagle Sighted

—Van Vives

The day before Thanksgiving I was giving my nephew a tour of the Tallgrass Prairie. The weather was great and we were rewarded by an amazing sighting. Crossing the road were a Golden Eagle closely followed by a hawk. The wing span of the eagle was breath-taking. I wondered what the hawk had in mind. The eagle had a rodent in its beak and I surmised that the hawk was hoping that it would accidentally drop it and provide him with another meal. The eagle landed in a grass-free area, giving us another view of this magnificent bird. The hawk glided past the eagle and went it’s own way. The eagle took to the air again with its prize in its beak.

On Being a Volunteer Docent

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

The Docent Program of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve succeeds because it is self-sustaining and self-regulating within the constraints of Preserve and Conservancy policies and procedures. Perhaps it is not generally known that we can do anything we want as long as individual projects are approved by the Director of the Preserve. Things don’t happen unless we make them happen. We are given much freedom to work by the hands-off approach of the Preserve and Conservancy. Individual participation is limited only by the imagination and energy of the individual. We help with scientific field work; we participate in bird and butterfly counts; we remove fences and paint corrals; we act as guides to school tours and field expeditions; we act as advocates for the conservation of nature. All the various continuing projects of the Docent Program were started by interested docents, some of whom have since retired from being active volunteers.

I think I started being a docent in 2002; I can’t remember exactly, it’s been awhile and a lot’s happened through the years. I responded to a public service announcement on KWGS FM89 our local National Public Radio station. My reason for becoming a docent was to help promote awareness of the importance of our natural environment. Our modern way of life effectively disconnects us from our ecosystem, the very thing that supports us all. From my youth, I remember the phrase: There’re plenty more fish in the sea. Since then, the population of Cod has collapsed and Tuna is the going the same way, as are many other species that we are thoughtlessly driving to extinction. When I was young, the human population of the Earth was estimated to be two-billion persons; in less than fifty years that estimate has more than tripled beyond six billions and is projected to reach nine billions within the near future. We need fresh water and the ability to grow food. Fresh water will become increasingly scarce as aquifers are being pumped dry, rivers are dammed, sea levels rise, and the weather becomes more unstable due to rising temperatures. Australia is in the middle of a severe drought and scorching heat. Iraq is becoming a dust bowl. It is obvious to me that we have big problems on our hands. These problems seem insurmountable. What can one do?

We can work locally is what we can do. I joined the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Docent Program on the principle that every small effort ultimately makes a big difference. My particular area of interest is to excite enthusiasm in young people for nature and the conservation of nature, hence the way we went about implementing our interactive information kiosk, being present for school tours, and delivering talks in schools. Our children are our future and it is important for them to be engaged with nature as much as possible. I took over the newsletter because I felt that I had the skills to do the job. George Pierson maintains the docent web-site that he established on his own initiative. Van Vives maintains a web-site dedicated to nature and has done much to promote the Preserve to the general public. George McCort has been working on a project nearby the Mesonet station for the last ten years and has written a book about it, yet to be published. Iris McPherson does the visitor counts each month during the season. Dennis Bires provides leadership to the Docent Program. Doris Mayfield looks after the Nature Room in the Visitor’s Center. Barbara Bates organizes the new docent training. We pick up trash strewn by careless travelers along the Preserve roads. These are just a few of the things we do in addition to running the Visitor’s Center.

Even though I have a three hours commute to the Preserve from Tulsa, I like to run the Visitor’s Center even if nobody visits. I like to sit and listen to the wind whistling in the door or sit out on the porch where I can observe what is happening all around and smell the prairie. I can relax and catch up on my reading. Running the Visitor’s Center isn’t the only thing you can do as a docent; there is nothing to stop you from pursuing an interesting line of inquiry, or you might be inclined to start a social activity involving the other docents, or you might think of some way to promote the cause of conservation — it’s up to you entirely. Indeed, you might be content to just run the Visitor’s Center, which is, after all, the primary role of a docent at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, anything else is icing on the cake.

Give Forests Back to Local People

—Fred Pearce

Give tropical forests back to the people who live in them — and the trees will soak up your carbon for you. Above all, keep the forests out of the hands of government. So concludes a study that has tracked the fate of 80 forests worldwide over 15 years…. Read the remainder of the New Scientist magazine article by following this link: Give Forests Back to Local People.

Docent Recognition Luncheon and Fall Field Day

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

About forty-one docents attended the Recognition Luncheon and Fall Field Day at the Ecological Research Station at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve on Saturday, November 21. Dennis Bires opened the proceedings by recognizing the Pawhuska IGA who provided the lunch and Ann Whitehorn who organized the event. He then introduced Jay Pruett, the State Director of Conservation.

Jay talked about the virtues of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Docent Program. His encomium is at the head of this newsletter, so, if you skipped here first, go back and read it, it will awaken all your ardor to do even better next year. Obviously, we become volunteer docents on the merits intrinsic to the job, but indeed it does feel good to be appreciated for our efforts.

Dennis introduced Bob Hamilton, the Director of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, who reported on the annual bison round-up. The herd is drawn to the corrals by the feed truck dropping a trail of cattle cake that the bison love. One bull, cow, and calf escaped round-up this year

Bob said that the round-up went smoothly with no incidents on the way to the corrals or within, but the cowboys had exciting times in the pens this year. A bull was flipped over in the alley by another bull and had to be lifted by rope with the help of the tractor. A couple of other animals in distress were turned loose. These events are a stern reminder that it is dangerous work.

A two-year old cow asphyxiated while in the squeeze chute, despite being carefully watched by Perry Collins. It is difficult to tell. Evidently, the cow’s windpipe collapsed from leaning on the bars of the gate. Perry looks every animal in the eye, watching for any slight sign of distress, 2,412 animals.

1,900 animals were returned to the Preserve. 512 will be sold, of which 120 small yearlings will be kept on the 600 acres north of the Visitor’s Center where they will be given supplemental feed and then sold in late July or early August 2010. A 1,736 lb, six-year bull was sold.

Overall, the herd had a 60-percent calf crop this year. The long term average is 70- to 71-percent. Pregnancy checks during round-up revealed 80-percent of the cows were pregnant, so there is hope for a better year next year.

Regarding bison eugenics, Bob said that cattle mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) has been eliminated from the herd. nuclear DNA (nDNA) is more difficult to investigate; there is a new test that is expensive at $250 each, meaning that the Preserve will wait until the price drops before doing the investigation. Bob reported that there are no inbreeding problems, which means that management of the herd will remain closed. A big change since the opening of the Preserve is the genetic tools available now that weren’t in 1989.

Bob said that the new sculpture Change of Seasons is the gift of Mr. & Mrs Kerr, of Kerr-Magee Corporation, who underwrote the cost. It was the cowboys excellent suggestion to use the old water tank as a plinth. Final addition to the statue will be a plaque honoring the members of Tallgrass Prairie Preserve board.

Bob relinquished the floor to Dennis who bestowed the service awards on those docents present. Van Vives is still light years ahead of the rest of us, with over two hundred shifts to his credit.

Dennis closed the meeting and announced the Nature Walk led by Bob Hamilton.

Prairie Preserves Vision

—Nora Schultz

The decline was rapid. I got my first pair of glasses aged 9, and by my mid-teens could no longer read the title on the cover of New Scientist at arm’s length. With my mum’s eyes just as bad, I always assumed that I’d inherited my short-sightedness from her and that I could do little to stop my vision from becoming a little blurrier each year.

Around the same time, however, rates of short-sightedness, or myopia, were rising to epidemic proportions around the world. Today, in some of the worst-affected countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, around 80 per cent of young adults are myopic, compared to only 25 percent a few decades back….

Find out why by reading the rest of the New Scientist article at the end of this link: Generation specs: Stopping the short-sight epidemic. Keep in mind that most of us now live almost exclusively in a short-range environment.

Docent Coverage of Season Days

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

We have done well this year by managing to reduce by half, from last year, the number of days that the Visitor’s Center is closed to the public. Let’s do the same next year and again reduce the number of days closed by half. Being open all season long would be a good excuse for a party on the lawn in front of the Bunkhouse during some balmy spring or fall weather.

Docent Coverage of Season Days

 

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor’s Center Latitude & Longitude

Here is the latitude and longitude of the Visitor’s Center that you can give to visitors for entry into their GPS navigation device.

Kiosk Maintenance

The manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning the touch-screen recommend use of a soft dry cloth only. This proved inadequate for smeared fingerprints. Soft-paper kitchen towels work well, slightly damp with a small drop of soft handsoap. Application of a dry kichen towel removes any residual moisture.

Over time, a matter of several weeks continuous operation, I have noticed that the calibration of the touch-screen drifts away from the initial set-point. If you notice that the cursor isn’t under your finger when you touch the screen then restart the kiosk by unplugging it from the wall, waiting a few moments and then re-inserting the power plug. It will restart and recalibrate.

This link points to the complete Kiosk Maintenance Manual.

Back Issues

Back issues of the Docent Newsletter, to February 2009, can be found in the two green and one blue-black zip-binders, stored in the Perspex rack by the file cabinet in the office of the Visitor’s Center.

Newsletter Publication

Deadline for submission of articles for inclusion in the newsletter is the 10th of each month. Publication date is on the 15th. All docents, Nature Conservancy staff, university scientists, philosophers, and historians are welcome to submit articles and pictures about the various preserves in Oklahoma, but of course the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in particular.