The always-festive annual membership meeting of the San Marcos River Foundation will have extra special significance this year: The 20^th Birthday of SMRF. A big party will be held February 5^th at the new office of SMRF in the Price Center at 222 W. San Antonio. The large building has many rooms with plenty of space and seating for everyone who wants to help celebrate the milestone. A buffet supper will be served, for which SMRF volunteers will be cooking up their specialties.

The buffet begins at 6. The annual membership meeting will be called to order at 7. The annual “Friend of the River” award will be given. Board members will be elected (see article about nominees on page 3), a 2004 financial report will be presented, and then the SMRF board will take suggestions from the members and answer questions. All members, or those who wish to join, are cordially invited. It will be a good time to see the new SMRF office in the Price Center, newly furnished and carpeted by donors to SMRF (page 4).

See the article on page 2 about the terrific silent auction being planned for the party. To help with the with the decorating, cooking, planning, silent auction, party setup or cleanup---call today and volunteer on the new SMRF office phone line: 353-4628. (Special thanks to member Lee Bryant who wired the new phone line for SMRF over the holidays, with help from Tom Wassenich.)

A warm and sunny New Year’s Day brought out a large crowd to join SMRF members in the annual plunge into the river at noon, in Sewell Park near the University Drive bridge. About 100 people attended. (See photo below.) Temperatures were in the balmy 70’s. A year ago the river was flowing at 128 cubic feet per second, which SMRF members thought was a great flow at the time. But this year the aquifer was at near record levels and the river flowed at 400 cfs according to the USGS gauge. The water was clear, and very high and swift.

Thanks to John Hohn, Mary Beth Wilbanks and Mark Janssen who brought the grill and supplies and served hot dogs for the crowd, and Kay Moore who cooked up black-eyed peas. The Wassenichs also made black-eyed peas and hot chocolate, and the Proctors and their friends served. The plungers enjoyed the water so much that they jumped in repeatedly for long swims this year, and the swift current allowed them to float a long way downriver very quickly. The Plunge is just for fun, celebrating the beautiful river that San Marcos is so lucky to have. Many people come just to watch or photograph the plungers. All ages enjoy New Year’s Day this way every year at noon at Sewell Park. This was the 7^th Annual Plunge.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

First of all, I hope you all can make it to our 20^th Annual Meeting on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005. A lot of water has come out of the aquifer and flowed downriver since SMRF was founded 20 years ago. Perhaps you were at the dedication ceremony at Spring Lake in front of the old hotel along with many local dignitaries and including Senator Phil Gramm. SMRF, with all of your physical, moral and financial support, has been busy these 20 years protecting the natural beauty, flow, and purity of our beautiful San Marcos River. The river is still flowing strong, and we all can be proud that the water going downstream is even cleaner now. Maintaining this situation requires constant vigilance and we are all dedicated to providing it. Come meet your fellow river conservationists and celebrate our past 20 years. See you at the meeting!

I am reading a very interesting book, Cadillac Desert, written by Mark Reisner in 1986. It is a story of an unholy alliance of water developers, government agencies, and pork-barrel politicians to use billions of taxpayer dollars to build dams to provide water and electricity for Los Angeles, and for irrigation to convert the desert into agricultural land at the expense of many beautiful, free-flowing rivers. Both Democrat and Republican administrations were responsible. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers wildly competed to build the most dams. Accountability was absent. Some dams flooded choice farmland to irrigate the desert, with a net loss of farm production. Water and electricity had to be sold to cities at premium prices so farmers could have cheap water. Other dams were not necessary or cost-effective, but were built anyway to satisfy the lust for water by cities and large farms, all at the expense of taxpayers and rivers.

This story reminds me of the Lower Guadalupe Basin Water Supply Project, which GBRA is currently promoting to divert Guadalupe River water and groundwater at the coast and pump it back to San Antonio to support its insatiable growth. The project could imperil river flows to coastal bays, and thus also imperil the crab, shrimp, and fish production for commercial and recreational users and as food for other coastal wildlife. SMRF applied in 2000 for water rights to protect the river and bays, and brought national attention to our river basin’s water plans which could endanger the coastal people and wildlife. Stay tuned to see how this long term project works out. We will give it our best. See you at the 20^th Anniversary Meeting, or at one of the many meetings or SMRF events in January.

CRONKITE NARRATES TEXAS WATER MOVIE

February 3 Walter Cronkite will narrate a one-hour TV documentary on Texas water resources, on all Texas public television stations. “Texas: the State of Water---Finding a Balance” examines what’s at stake in the struggle to provide enough clean water for wildlife and the environment, cities, industries and agriculture.

SMRF was interviewed for the movie, because of the ground-breaking work SMRF has done to preserve adequate flows in the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers by applying for instream water rights. Texas Parks & Wildlife’s press release listed all the Texas public TV stations, saying the air time is 8 p.m. on February 3.

SILENT AUCTION AT ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Part of the Feb. 5th festivity will be a silent auction to raise funds for SMRF’s many projects. Supporters have donated many OUTSTANDING items so far:

Many more items could be sold in the silent auction, so think about what you can donate as a “birthday present” for SMRF. Artwork, framed photos, collectibles, dinner parties or picnics, kayak trips, handcrafted items, T-shirts, jams, plants, books, posters, and baked goods, are examples of items that could be donated by supporters. To list your donated item, call 353-4628 today.

Bids will be written down that night during the party, while party-goers can see the items or read about them on special tables set up at the event. Members can bid for what they want. The deadline for bids will be at 8 p.m. the night of the party, Feb. 5, and payment can be made that night or in the following week.

SPRINGS TOUR—BE THERE, JAN. 24, 5 PM

With near record highs in the aquifer, SMRF members are itching to see both Sink Springs and Rattlesnake Springs, just upstream of Spring Lake along Post Road. Drive past Lime Kiln on Post Road, past Uhland where there is a traffic light, and turn left at the next street, Spring Road. Go to the end of Spring Road which is very short and park along the road or just past the cattle guard at the end. Carpool, since the lane is narrow and parking is limited. The springs are on private property so SMRF has received permission to invite the public for this date only: January 24, Monday, 5 p.m. Glenn Longley of the Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center at Texas State will lead the tour. Walking shoes are a good idea, as the ground could be wet and uneven.

RIVER CLEANUP SATURDAY, MARCH 5^TH

Mark your calendars. San Marcos will host people from all over Texas and locals are welcomed too. Help clean up the very trashy river and tributaries. The fall floods certainly poured a lot of trash from the streets into the river and creeks. SMRF will feed every volunteer a barbecue dinner that evening. We will need many home-baked desserts for the crowd, and help serving. Call 392-6171, Tom Goynes, for info re the cleanup, and SMRF at 353-4628 to help with the meal and desserts.

JAN. 20^TH IS THE SUPERFUND MEETING

A public meeting will be held at the Activity Center in San Marcos on Thursday, January 20, at 7 p.m. to take public comment and to discuss Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recommendations to deal with contaminated soil and groundwater on IH 35 near the San Marcos River. This proposed State Superfund site was contaminated with a solvent that was discovered many years ago. The plan is to continue to monitor the contamination, but do no further treatment. Documents about the testing are available at the San Marcos Public Library. Questions about the site or the public meeting can be addressed to John Flores, TCEQ Community Relations Coordinator at 1-800-633-9363.

Another meeting on the 20^th in the Activity Center, this one at 10 a.m., will be held for the public to learn about the announcement just made from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the TCEQ. These agencies have a new joint agreement to allow developers to follow TCEQ’s Edwards Aquifer Rules in order to meet USFWS requirements to protect endangered species, but they note that it DOES NOT cover projects near springs. The two agencies will hold meetings in three cities to outline the new program on the following dates:

Wed. Jan. 19, 2-4 p.m. at TCEQ, Austin, Rm.2210-F
Thurs. Jan 20, 10 a.m. to noon, SM Activity Center
Fri. Jan. 21, 2-4 p.m., Witte Museum in San Antonio

NOMINEES FOR BOARD POSITIONS IN ’05

The nominating committee of President Jack Fairchild, Tim Bonner and John Tolbert prepared a slate of nominees for three board positions open this year. One board member, Therese Kosary, is retiring after serving six years including several years as Secretary of the Board. Thanks for her hard work and enthusiastic support of all of SMRF’s projects! If SMRF members wish to nominate other candidates than those presented by the nominating committee, they can nominate in writing in advance, or from the floor at the annual meeting. For details, contact SMRF at 353-4628.

Two of the nominees on the slate are board members serving their first terms who have agreed to run for election again. Those two are Jon Cradit and Jack Fairchild. (SMRF bylaws limit board members to two consecutive terms.) The third nominee is Jason Woods, a riverside homeowner from Martindale who graduated from Texas State with a double major in aquatic biology and environmental resource management from the geography department. He has worked in the water quality industry for 8 years, and does biological surveys. He and his wife Leslie are river canoers and swimmers.

The City of San Marcos commissioned an environmental review of the proposed site of the high-rise hotel and conference center the city is considering building. That report was released to the public on January 6^th. SMRF is reading it to analyze what PBS&J, the city’s consultants, have found by studying this very sensitive site on the hilltop adjoining Mimosa Circle and above Spring Lake. The consultants gave timeline estimates of one year for the federal and state permits required to build in an archeological site, or in endangered species habitat. A second report outlines ways that the city could prevent stormwater flows from increasing in volume and speed, when increased impervious cover in the form of roads, buildings and parking lots are built. The City expects to have the reports on their website soon. Their project plans will be worked on in 2005, and SMRF will continue to monitor these to insist that the river and Spring Lake are protected.

The River Rangers are still watching water quality on the San Marcos River, after ten years
of steady work!

Despite frequent flooding and high water in 2004, the San Marcos River Rangers submitted more water quality data to Texas Watch than ever before.

The Rangers have 22 dedicated volunteers testing all 15 sites between Spring Lake and Prairie Lea. The Rangers maintain two test kits for pick-up by volunteers at two locations, and another was purchased for the Rangers last year to make it easier to keep the volunteers supplied. Kathy Matthews restocks chemicals and keeps these kits in working order.

Mary Rocamora continues to maintain the Rangers’ website, posting data, schedules and contact numbers. The website is is a long address, so it is more easily found by typing “San Marcos River Rangers” into any search engine. Several needs for specific volunteer skills are listed on the site. Data Manager Carolyn Kelly assembles reports and submits data to Texas Watch. In recent months, Rachel Sanborn has assembled ten years of the River Rangers’ data for analysis. Reports were given to the volunteers to help them understand the general parameters for their site, and to forecast predictable seasonal changes. Coordinating with Texas Watch’s Jason Pinchback, a broad, more comprehensive study of river trends over the past ten years is also underway and will be published when complete.

Rangers are always looking for more volunteers to replace retirees and insure that all sites are tested twice a month. Interested volunteers can contact Rachel Sanborn, volunteer coordinator, at 754-7532. Congrats to the River Rangers on their ten years of testing!

Volunteers can come to canoe or kayak in Spring Lake and the slough, in order to remove water hyacinths on Saturday, Jan. 22. Bring a boat of your own (inspect to make sure no exotic vegetation is clinging to it) or use one of those available for volunteers. There is also plenty of space on the flat deck of a larger electric boat that volunteers can stand on. Meet at 9 a.m. at the end of Aquarena’s parking lot by the plant nursery, and work till about noon. Call 393-3787 for information.

SMRF OFFICE GETS CARPET AND FURNITURE - THANKS TO MEMBERS & LOCAL BUSINESSES

THANKS to the many SMRF members who pitched in to help furnish and carpet the new roomy office in the choir loft of the historic original church which has been adapted to the H.Y. Price Seniors Center. The large office, which is open from 9-12 on weekdays, now has a phone thanks to Lee Bryant and Tom Wassenich who did the connections for SMRF. The new number is 353-4628, so be sure to make a note of this. It will soon be listed in the information service, and next year SMRF will be in the phone book.

Recycling is the environmentally sound thing to do, and this reuse project kept carpet out of a landfill, to give many more years of useful service. The new pad and trim pieces were donated by McGlothlin Carpet, and installation was donated by Susan Narvaiz of Sedona Staffing. SMRF learned a lot about reusing carpet and the “nap” of carpets during this project, so come to see and learn from this experience. Darby Wright of Servpro donated a thorough carpet cleaning so the office will be ready to show off at the annual meeting. Servpro also does water or smoke damage cleanup, furniture, drapes and A/C ducts too. His booklet on what to do in case of flood, fire or sewage spill, that is a very useful item. Call him to get one, 396-8225.

Furniture was donated, loaned or moved by Ann Allen, Charles Blankenship, Florence and Tom Dodington, Mary Beth Wilbanks, Louise Goldman, Gary Job Corps, Southwest Plumbing, and Tom Wassenich. A beautiful oil painting of the slough at Aquarena by Sally Cummings is on loan from Charles and Joye Blankenship, and displayed along with SMRF awards, and framed posters from Kyle Hahn of Green Guy.

The 112 -year-old wood floors on the main floor are refinished thanks to John Tolbert, Tom and Paula Goynes, Gary Job Corps, Tom Wassenich, and Sedona Staffing again, who sent a worker for a full week of work. There is plenty more work at the Price Center since there are still parts of this large building needing restoration, so anyone is welcome to volunteer any day. The hours worked on the building, or painting, or gardening are the way that SMRF pays its rent at the Price Center. After 20 years, it was time for SMRF to have an office and a phone line.

Those who wish to support SMRF and the Price Center can come have lunch 11-2, Monday through Wednesday of each week at the Tea Room, or use the Tea Room caterer for other events. Wonderful food and desserts--- and a portion of the proceeds go to support restoration and operation of the H. Y. Price Seniors Center.

There is also a special event on Friday, Jan. 28 in the newly finished performance hall at the Price Center, a evening of cabaret-style jazz by Linda Ruth. $12 tickets, reserve by calling 357-6357
or 558-1533.

Like many cities, San Marcos is looking ahead and trying to predict how much water they will need, 25 to 50 years from now. They have a new report on the City of San Marcos, Texas website, listed on the Engineering Department’s Current Projects as the “Water Supply Master Plan”. SMRF has commented on their plan, since the first public meetings held by the consultants in early 2004. The work continues on this master plan, to refine the costs and reliability of water supplies from a wide variety of sources, including the San Marcos River and distant areas as well. Comments are welcomed on this report, so look it up and email in any comments on their plans, and read further reports as well.

JOIN SMRF EMAIL LIST FOR WEEKLY NEWS

Email wassenich@sanmarcos.net to get weekly email updates of river and aquifer news, meetings, plus volunteer projects that need help. Be sure to notify SMRF if email addresses are dropped or changed.

SMRF APPLIES TO EARTHSHARE OF TEXAS

The SMRF board approved an application to join Earthshare in late 2004, in an effort to plan for the future. Earthshare of Texas is a workplace planned giving program, which allows individuals to request deductions from their payroll checks in order to donate to environmental groups. The City of San Marcos now offers Earthshare as an option to their employees, as does Texas State University and ALL state government offices. Many businesses in central Texas also offer the Earthshare option, and there are many well-known environmental groups which are Earthshare members, like Audubon and the Nature Conservancy. Donations to Earthshare can be earmarked to divide equally among all group members or specifically for one group. SMRF will contribute dues and volunteer time, and this will be a new way for SMRF to network with others and plan for the future. Earthshare of Texas will make it even easier to help preserve the San Marcos River, and do other important environmental work in Texas.

In these days of financial ups and downs, how is SMRF doing financially? After all, SMRF needs money for many vital projects. SMRF has three major sources of income: dues and contributions, returns or interest on the endowment fund, and grants. The Bylaws permit use of only the interest or income generated by the endowment fund. The principal has grown from $82,538 in 1997 to about $102,000 today, and is held for the future.

During the 1990's, income from the endowment was spectacular and provided major funds for the wastewater and bed and banks permit protests. When the financial markets tanked in 2001, this income quickly vanished. The SMRF investment committee switched from mutual funds to low-interest, low-risk CD's in time to save the endowment from serious loss. Luckily, the permit protest expenses of SMRF decreased about the same time, making it possible for SMRF to survive the economic downturn. The endowment is presently invested about 20% in mutual funds, 60% in CD's, and 20% in a money market fund. SMRF expects much better returns with the improving economy.

SMRF applies for grants to carry on some of its larger projects, and donations by members are used to match, or sometimes double or triple the donations with the grants. For instance, the water right preservation effort is supported by grants from private foundations and special contributions from members and supporters. All of this funding has been or will be spent for the water rights project as it moves through the state administrative and judicial system. This is the fifth year of this project.

Another example is a large grant SMRF received in 2004 from Texas Parks & Wildlife. $30,000 is being used to bus underserved school children to Aquarena Center for river and aquifer educational programs. The students come from schools all over central Texas.

Dues and other contributions currently bring in about $12,000 per year and support the many long-standing projects vital to the San Marcos River like cleanups, water testing, studies, printing, events, and necessities like insurance. Please feel free to ask questions and review reports at the annual meeting, or at any time during the year. The SMRF board welcomes members at its meetings, which are monthly. At the beginning of each year, when new board members are elected, the board decides what day of the month will be set for the regular meeting. Last year they met on the 4th Wednesday of each month. This year’s meeting day will be announced in the SMRF weekly email update soon.

Pictured above is the construction project taking place over Sessoms Creek, where Sessoms Drive will be widened at University Drive. The overall project also includes a re-routing of stormflows that come down the creek from the University, in order to allow “settling” of the debris and sediment from the many construction projects that the University has had underway for years. Past flows of sediment to the mouth of the creek have settled at the river, causing a huge “sandbar” visible from the University Drive bridge. The photo looks like little control is in place on the cascading dirt bank, but the City explained that there are sediment filtering fabrics bolted inside the culvert under Sessoms Drive, that are not easily visible to those walking by.

SPECIAL DONATIONS, SPECIAL MEMBERS

The Rachel and Ben Vaughan Foundation, which has assisted SMRF’s projects for many years, gave a grant of $7,500 in late 2004 for the Water Right Project. SMRF really appreciates this very generous grant, and all the past support from them, as well. They support multiple important environmental projects in Texas every year.

In early January ’05, a surprise donation of $2000 arrived from the Hobby Family Foundation. The Hobby family assisted SMRF’s Water Right Project previously. SMRF is so grateful for this unexpected donation!

Meadows Foundation has also provided SMRF with funding for the Water Right Project for three years. Each March 31^st, SMRF reports on project activities and funds raised. So fundraising will be a top priority for the next few months, to be ready for that Meadows report deadline. In ‘04 the Whooping Crane Conservation Association gave SMRF $10,000 to match member donations, and then that total went in the Meadows report, which enabled SMRF to get another installment of the Meadows grant.

Thanks to Taco Cabana for the SMRF Benefit Night in December and to ALL those who came for dinner! And thanks to the SMRF members who worked hard to cook, bake, serve and clean up at the Thanksgiving Benefit Lunch in the Price Seniors Center: Marsha Cooper, Anne Olden, Jack & Marie Fairchild, Gwen Smith, Jane & Tug Wilson, Amy Kirwin, and Hattie Bates.

SMRF has several new Lifetime Members: Lucky & Becky Tomblin, Bob & Sue Evans, Miriam & Emmett McCoy. The McCoys were already founding Lifetime Members but now have a second membership. Kay Moore, former SMRF board member, directed her 15^th anniversary gift from her employers, the Colloquium Bookstores, to SMRF instead of accepting jewelry as her award. Kay did the same with her 10^th anniversary award, years ago. What a loyal and generous bunch of members SMRF has. Thank you!

AQUIFER CONFERENCE MARCH 4, 5, & 6

Groups allied to protect the Edwards Aquifer are meeting to learn more about organizing and issues, in San Antonio. Great speakers and panels! Special preview tour of the Witte Museum’s Water Works exhibit! Register now at www.aquiferalliance.org.

SMRF’S RIVER PRESERVATION PROJECTS

Not much news to report on the SMRF Bed & Banks case pending in Texas Supreme Court, nor on SMRF’s District Court petition for the instream water right permit. Watch for the next newsletter or SMRF’S weekly email updates for that news, as it breaks. The protest of the Canyon Regional Water Authority’s permit ended this fall when they suddenly dropped the request for water rights. Canyon Regional applied to acquire new Lake Dunlap water rights from a part of the Guadalupe already considered to be over-appropriated by TCEQ., Canyon Regional will probably re-apply later, as they mentioned at the final hearing of the case.

LEGISLATURE WORKS ON RIVERS AND BAYS

A MEMORIAL CYPRESS TREE IN THE PARK

Pictured are Aaron Arguien and Tom Wassenich, who just finished planting a cypress tree grown by Minette Marr, local botanist and member. The tree is in memory of Aaron’s grandmother, Mary Henley since he made a memorial donation to SMRF when she passed away. An article about her was in the October 2004 SMRF newsletter. The cypress tree is planted in an effort to restore vegetation to an area that is suffering from erosion caused by over-use of the spot as an access point to the river. The sturdy cage around the tree keeps nutria from gnawing on it, and also protects it from floods, dogs and vandals until it is well established. The compacted ground protected by the cage will soften, to regenerate vegetation, once it is not walked on. Trees and other plants help hold the soil in place during floods. This tree is near another memorial cypress planted by SMRF in the Wildlife Habitat Park between Cheatham St. and IH 35. That one, in memory of Charley Brown, is thriving and has made it through several floods.

San Marcos River Foundation
P. O. Box 1393
San Marcos, TX 78667-1393

www.Tideguide.com
www.RockportAdventures.com
www.Texasbirdingcentral.com

LONG-TERM WEATHER PREDICTIONS

According to the 1/2/05 Austin American Statesman, Accuweather.com makes long-range predictions based on atmospheric changes around the world. Accurate predictions of the extremely cold Christmas holiday and coastal snow were made more than two weeks ahead by Accuweather’s meteorologists. They are now predicting a very cold February, though January is expected to have milder temperatures than usual. The 2005 Farmer’s Almanac also forecasts a very cold February.

El Nino weather patterns made 2004 the third wettest year since rainfall records were first kept in Austin, starting in 1856. Rains caused high floods on the Blanco and San Marcos rivers. LCRA’s meteorologist says El Nino is predicted to fade away to a more neutral weather pattern by this coming summer. Some researchers think that the sun-spot cycle, expected to be low this summer, could cause El Nino to not just fade to neutral, but rather reverse all the way to a La Nina weather pattern. In the past, La Nina patterns meant drought for Central Texas.

Be prepared. Always plant native plants and grasses. They can withstand drought without dying and causing a great loss of investment in landscaping. SMRF may need to have a special event to introduce people to innovative water conservation tactics or new equipment, if a hot dry summer is in store. It has been several years since central Texas towns had to do water rationing in order to preserve the flow of the springs from the Edwards Aquifer. Many new residents do not yet know about the strict landscape watering rules that kick in during dry spells, nor about the benefits of mulch.

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SAN MARCOS RIVER FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER Vol. 15, No.1 Printed Quarterly January 5, 2005

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

CRONKITE NARRATES TEXAS WATER MOVIE

SILENT AUCTION AT ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Part of the Feb. 5th festivity will be a silent auction to raise funds for SMRF’s many projects. Supporters have donated many OUTSTANDING items so far:

SPRINGS TOUR—BE THERE, JAN. 24, 5 PM

RIVER CLEANUP SATURDAY, MARCH 5TH

JAN. 20TH IS THE SUPERFUND MEETING