San Marcos River Foundation Newsletter - Vol. 16, No. 2
Printed Quarterly on Recycled Paper - May 19, 2006


Friend of the River Award Goes to Alan Holt

The unique driftwood base of the Friend of the River Award given to Alan Holt at the annual SMRF membership meeting turned out to be extra meaningful to Alan. (See photos below by Jon Cradit of the award, and SMRF Board President Jack Fairchild presenting the award to Alan.) As he accepted it, Alan told SMRF that he had loved collecting driftwood from the Blanco River where he roamed as a child on his family’s land just east of IH 35.

Recently, Alan worked to arrange the donation of 80 acres of Blanco River frontage property from his family to the City of San Marcos for parkland. In some places the donation covers both sides of the Blanco River. As the City develops in this area, more parkland will be acquired and someday there may be continuous Blanco River parks similar to those along the San Marcos River. As San Marcos grows, the ever-increasing numbers of park visitors will need places to go, in addition to the current San Marcos city parks, to avoid overcrowding and wearing the current parkland down to bare dirt.

SMRF chose Alan Holt for this annual award because he sets a great example for other property owners along rivers in San Marcos. Other such donations are more likely to happen, now that Alan has broken the ice. The Greenbelt Alliance has hikes to explore the 80 acres on the Blanco. SMRF notifies those on the SMRF weekly email list about the hikes. To receive the notices of these kinds of river events, email wassenich@grandecom.net.

Water Safari Date Is Looming

Check out www.texaswatersafari.org to see the great driving directions to each crossing of the River, all the way to Seadrift. The Texas Water Safari, the legendary boat race to the coast, is coming June 10th , and it can be watched from any number of road crossings, or even at the 9 a.m. beginning at Aquarena Center.

The President’s Award for Minette Marr

A new special award, the President’s Award, was also announced at the annual meeting. It was given to Minnette Marr for her native plant restoration work on the slough and Spring Lake. Details about her award will be featured in the summer newsletter, with a photo.

SMRF Board Comments

Congratulations SMRF members on a very big win on the instream water right application! A final order was issued May 11 from Judge Covington in 201st District Court, Travis County. It confirmed the decision (first announced in February) that SMRF’s water application should go back to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an administrative hearing. The Judge found that TCEQ was incorrect in turning away SMRF’s water right application in 2003, when TCEQ used the excuse that they had no authority to consider it.

Further good news in the Judge’s final order was a sentence saying that SMRF’s priority date for the water should be set according to state laws and rules---which mandate the date an application is complete. (SMRF’s application was complete 6 years ago!) It is critically important to the San Marcos and Guadalupe River Basin that vital water needed for rivers and bays remains protected by SMRF’s December 2000 priority date, while the expected years of litigation roll on. That sentence alone was cause for celebration because it gives both people and wildlife a chance of having some river flows in the future.

Just this week, in late-breaking news, an appeal of Judge Covington’s decision was filed by the State Attorney General’s office for TCEQ. Nonetheless, the win in District Court has set an important precedent, and SMRF is grateful that such a crystal clear final order was issued. The many individuals and groups across Texas, including SMRF members, who have supported this effort financially, are the ones who made this project possible. Thanks and stay tuned!

Check The Label Date On Your Newsletter

For the convenience of members for the last couple of years, SMRF’s mailing list manager Mark Boucher has added the date of the last donation or dues payment to the mailing label on the newsletter. This allows SMRF members to pay their dues at any time of the year that is convenient for them, and keep track of what month they last sent in dues or donated. Please check your label today. Let SMRF know if the date is incorrect, and remember that if you are a lifetime member you can ignore these reminders. FYI, your dues/donations are an important way that SMRF can match a grant in the next month or two and carry on many important projects for the river’s benefit. (Couldn’t do it without you!)

Annual Auction Thanks

The generous donors who gave wonderful items to SMRF for the February silent auction are listed below. Please check out their websites, use their services in the future, and take a moment to thank them if you run into them. Their generosity brought in over $3,000 to the SMRF Water Right Project, to carry on SMRF’s critically important effort to preserve the flows of the San Marcos River here in central Texas and all the way to the coast, where fresh water is also needed for estuaries. SMRF couldn’t do this work without the donors below, AND all the purchasers of the items who attended or emailed in their bids. Thanks to all!

Power Olympic Kayak Ctr. www.kayakinstruction.org
Aransas Bay Charters www.texasbirdingcentral.com
Sink Creek Day Spa www.sinkcreek.com
Austin Canoe and Kayak www.austinkayak.com
Aquarena Center www.aquarena.txstate.edu
Road to Paradise www.marilisa.com/vacationrental
River Dance Resort, www.riverdanceresort.us/
Cabela’s on IH 35 in Buda www.Cabela’s.com
Wharf Cat tour boat, www.texaswhoopers.com
Crystal River Inn, www.crystalriverinn.com
TG Canoe Livery www.tgcanoe.com
Madrone Nursery, on Lime Kiln Road, www.home.earthlink.net/~madronenursery/
Outdoor Center in Sewell Park, Texas State Univ.
Native Furniture Works on Hwy. 80 in Martindale
Roland Krueger Portraits in San Marcos
LA Landscaping in San Marcos
Sundance Records, University Dr. downtown SM
Root Cellar Restaurant, LBJ & Hopkins in San Marcos
Blue Goat Gourmet 310 Mary near Hutchison & North
Grains of Sand Creative Arts in San Marcos/Jagers
Bats About Beads, Tatjana Walker and Susan Hughes
Jerry Kimmel, photographer in San Marcos
Andrew Sansom, author
Sally Cummings, painter of local rivers and landscapes
Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance
Minette Marr, Botanist
And many individual supporters of SMRF who donated items, including Sherwood Bishop, Paula Goynes,
Chris North, Anne Olden, Ann Jensen, Ann Allen, Glenn Longley, Cathy Croom, and Ruth Wassenich.

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SMRF’s Annual Party and Silent Auction

Photos on the right show SMRF members seated in the Price Center’s lovely auditorium for the annual meeting, and the tables lining the room with a vast array of silent auction items, artfully organized by Ann Jensen. Paula Goynes is pictured arranging the dessert buffet in another of the rooms at the Center, while the main meal was served in yet another room. All the rooms in the building were filled with members enjoying the event.

The SMRF office is located in the Price Center, which also happens to be a great place for a large or small party. Many SMRF members assisted with the dinner by cooking, baking, decorating and cleaning up. Thanks to Jerry and Jim Kimmel, Ann and Craig Jensen, Jack and Marie Fairchild, Paula and Tom Goynes, John Hohn, Annette and Leah Paulin and Eric Mendelmen, Amy Kirwin, Florence Dodington, Sarah Carlisle, Judy Telford, Betty Watkins, Deborah Lane, Jon and Lisa Cradit, and Tom Wassenich. There are likely even more volunteers who brought desserts or helped, unseen in the huge crowd! Thanks to everyone who made it a memorable night for all of us.

New Thank You Notecards for SMRF Donors

Thanks to Charles Blankenship who allowed SMRF to use a Sally Cummings painting from his collection for the new SMRF Thank You notecard, printed to send to all SMRF donors with a receipt for their donation. Sally Cummings also gave her approval for the painting to be used, and it is an especially beautiful one of the river at Westerfield crossing, in summer greens.

New Board Members, Board Meeting Dates

Welcome to new board members Annette Paulin and Judy Telford, elected at the annual meeting in February. And welcome back to Board Treasurer Ann Allen who was elected to her second term as a board member. Board members serve three-year terms, and SMRF bylaws limit a board member to two consecutive terms.

The membership meets annually and the organization is governed by the volunteer board which meets at least quarterly. Additional board meetings are called as needed. The regularly scheduled board meetings (or more informal meetings on the “off” months) are on the fourth Thursday of each month. Those on SMRF’s email list receive notices of the board meetings. Email wassenich@grandecom.net to join the list.

At the first board meeting of the year, the officers were elected: President Jack Fairchild, Vice-President Judy Telford, Treasurer Ann Allen, Secretary Tom Goynes.

Texas Rivers Center Opens in San Marcos

The grand opening party of the River Center was in April, just in time for River Awareness Month. The roof of the historic hotel building has been reinforced so that it may be used, though it is not open to public yet. The lobby is open though, and has great displays set up about spring and water systems, with a nice meeting room. Watch for photos in the summer SMRF newsletter.

SMRF Hosts Earth Share of Texas in San Marcos

SMRF hosted groups from all over Texas for a day-long meeting at the Price Center in May, an orientation for Earth Share of Texas members. The group picnicked at Aquarena Center under the shade of the artistic trumpet-flower shaped rain-collection towers that are at the base of the old sky ride. Those rain collection “flowers” were built by Wimberley artist Buck Wynn in the early 60’s, and fed rainwater to a decorative fountain. It was a nice shady picnic spot, with a great view of the lake.

SMRF and other leading environmental organizations participate in payroll contribution plans all across Texas under the umbrella of Earth Share of Texas. Find out how you can support SMRF at 1-800-GREENTX or estx@earthshare-texas.org . All state employees in Texas, city employees in San Marcos, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and El Paso, many other public employees, and employees of many leading private sector employers, including American Airlines, Hewlett Packard, Dell Inc., Green Mountain Energy and Vignette, already have Earth Share of Texas groups as part of their charitable choices.
River Rangers Reward Loyal Volunteers

River Ranger awards were also given at the SMRF annual meeting in February. Pictured below are Thomas and his father Steve Uzzell, receiving an award from Rachel Sanborne, the volunteer coordinator for the San Marcos River Rangers. The Uzzell team received the award for being long term river testers. Stewart Adams is also pictured receiving an award for testing the river for many years as a River Ranger. Photos by Jon Cradit.

The River Rangers are a volunteer group of river monitors who are trained through the Texas Watch program. They test water quality at 15 sites on the San Marcos River all the way to Prairie Lea, and have done so faithfully for over 10 years. SMRF is glad to provide test kits and supplies. The Rangers are glad to provide trained eyes on the river, year round, to test and watch for any problems or warning signs. For info about the River Rangers call Rachel Sanborne, 754-7532.

Special Donations Deserve Special Thanks

The Magnolia Charitable Trust gave a $4,000 grant to SMRF in March to continue their support of the water right project, in honor of Lucy Wray Todd. Magnolia Charitable Trust has been a supporter of the water right project since SMRF applied for the water, back in 2000. Julia Marsden of Austin, another loyal and long-time supporter/water advocate, also sent SMRF $1,000 to help with the project this quarter. Both of these donations will be used to apply for a matching grant.

Ronda Reagan Properties was generous to donate a great copier for the SMRF office, and Advance Business Systems did a maintenance checkup on it and carried it up the stairs. Their thoughtfulness is much appreciated, and is saving SMRF money!

Duane TeGrotenhuis of TG Canoes on Highway 80 fixed the aluminum boat that SMRF volunteers use at the hyacinth removal days, and did a great job. He does more than fix boats---he also has new kayaks and canoes, and does rentals and shuttles for river paddlers.

River Flows Low

Almost 4 inches of rains in early May raised the flow of the river slightly. After an initial runoff surge settled down, the river flow in cubic feet per second was about 10 cfs higher for a couple of weeks. As of the date of this newsletter, the flow was falling back into the 125 cfs range. Weather websites predict that the hurricane season for Texas may be early in ‘06, like June or July. Though this is not great news, it might at least bring hurricane rains earlier to Texas than usual.

Keep up the water conservation, and consider the rebates the City gives on irrigation sensors, toilets, and washers, plus the water audits they do to save you water, and thus money, at your home or business. Call 393-8010, the City Water Conservation Officer Jan Klein for info.

Rio Vista Dam And Riverbank Remodel

Remaking Rio Vista Dam into 3 tiers of rapids is complete. The City of San Marcos opened up the river to recreation for Memorial Day. Photos are on the web site www.redriverracing.org, by the local Power Olympic Kayak Center. Click on the words Rio Vista.

The 3 tiers are expected to be safer for swimmers, tubers and kayakers, with the bonus of acting like a fish ladder, enabling fish to travel upstream easily. The new pools formed below the dam are expected to alleviate the undercutting of the dam that churning water from the chute caused previously. Landscaping is still being worked on. Opening ceremonies pictured below with the Mayor speaking, were attended by hundreds of locals and dignitaries. Construction staff also pictured behind Mayor Narvaiz were honored for their careful, fast work on the rapids in the background.

While looking at the website named above, note that Ben Kvanli has qualified to go to Athens for the World Cup kayak competition on May 20. Fundraising via the site has been going on to help cover his expenses for this prestigious event, by Texas kayakers and San Marcans who appreciate that a local is able to compete in this international competition.

Amazing Crypto Project Completed

The major underwater removal project for the invasive Sri Lankan water trumpet (or cryptocorynae) is over and done with grant funds, supervised by local USFWS folks from the McCarty Lane Endangered Species Refugium. Now they will be monitoring to be sure the plant does not return to harm the Texas Wild Rice. The giant fabric bags of plants, roots and gravel collected by big underwater suction hoses will compost in the sun for a year, and then be scooped out and removed from the sites on City land where they stationed right now.

Grande Communications Sponsors SMRF Website

The great new website that SMRF launched in December is being improved in stages, every quarter. Grande Communications is sponsoring or hosting the website for SMRF. Please check out the many different categories of information and links on the site, and let SMRF know (via the contact button on the website) if there are any additions you’d like to see. The website also offers an easy way to pay dues with your credit card, on-line.

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River Cleanup Thanks

The spring river cleanup of the whole river gathered tons of trash as always, and everyone had a great time. Thanks to Guadalupe County, City of San Marcos, City of Luling, Palmetto State Park, Jack Mudd of Martindale, Troy Swift of Fentress, Eddie Halamachek of Gonzales, and Robert Lyons for disposing of trash, or allowing their land to be used to access the boatloads of trash to transfer it to a central site. The canoes and shuttles for volunteers were provided by TG Canoes and Spencer’s, and Spencer’s allowed their pavilion to be used once again for the Thank You dinner that night. Texas River Protection Association helped with supplies, and Tom and Paula Goynes coordinated the cleanup, as they have done so well, for so long.

The meal was terrific this year, a fish fry directed by Mike Riley of Ennis, with his truckload of fryers, and featuring several talented volunteers who breaded and fried the catfish and hush puppies (Kevin Ryan, Jon Cradit, and Ginger Turner among others.) The meal was paid for with donations from Southwest Plumbing, Hochheim Prairie Mutual Insurance, both HEB’s in San Marcos, the Lions Club, and Brad Shiver from Pearland. Ice was donated by Centurytel with Tom Roach’s assistance and desserts were donated by Gary Job Corps with Louise Goldman’s help. Other dessert bakers were Sandy Goynes, Jane Latham, Hattie Bates, Sarah Carlisle, Kay Moore, Lisa Cradit, Betty Watkins, Judy Telford, Jan and Ken Burks. Set up and cleanup were by Betty Watkins, Ann Allen, Jan and Ken Burks and Leslie Redwine. Cooking side dishes were Jane Latham, Ann Allen, Paula Goynes. Veggie quiches were baked by Ann Jensen for the vegetarian workers, tempting the rest of the dinner attendees too. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to clean the river and get ready for the summer!

Sink Springs on Heritage Home Tour

The DuPont family home near Post Rd. was on the Heritage Association’s Tour of Homes in May. They invited SMRF to show attendees the Sink Spring on their property. There was remarkable interest among the home tour visitors from all over central Texas, but especially from San Marcans who had never seen it. An estimated 125 came to see the Spring, which involved a short hike. The Spring was extremely low but still interesting to see---a bowl shape made from a collapsed cavern in the aquifer, long ago. Thanks to tour guides Tom Wassenich, Kevin Ryan, Todd Derkacz and Minette Marr who assisted Dianne Wassenich with the constant flow of visitors. The history of the DuPont property is interesting enough to be the subject of a talk at our next visit to the Spring that we hope to have when the aquifer level is much higher. Sign up for SMRF’s weekly email list to be notified of such events by emailing wassenich@grandecom.net.

Bobcat Build Helps SMRF with Hyacinths

Pictured below are just a few of the 30 Texas State students who removed water hyacinths from Spring Lake as part of the Bobcat Build project done each spring. The coed business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and student chapter of Red Cross were the two groups assigned to help SMRF. Thanks to Kevin Ryan and Ann and Craig Jensen who supervised the students at Aquarena around the boardwalk on the slough.

Other students worked at many jobs around town, including a great effort by the student chapter of the National Association of Environmental Professionals who cleaned up one of the City’s greenspaces on Ranch Road 12 with the Greenbelt Alliance supervising. Water Hyacinth removal is done by volunteers on the 4th Saturday of each month, 9 to noon, at Aquarena. Photo by Don Anders of Texas State University

Recycling Projects For SMRF Fundraising

Ask for a poster so your workplace or favorite bulletin board can help advertise these two fundraising projects for SMRF, and get others involved. (Call 353-4628.) One project is recycling aluminum cans, which can be gathered and turned in to Green Guy any weekday or Saturday. All proceeds (and aluminum is worth a lot these days) will be sent to SMRF on a regular basis, with the name of the donor listed on Green Guy’s check to SMRF. You need to tell Green Guy staff that the donation is for SMRF. Keep a container for empty cans at work if there is a soft drink machine there, or collect the cans from an event, or just from your front yard if litterbugs are your personal trial to bear. This is a great way to recycle and help your favorite river protection group with an ongoing project that can grow as more people learn about it! The posters help spread the word.

SMRF also has posters for the recycling project which takes printing cartridges from computer printers. Old cell phones and PDA’S can also be turned in to receive payment for them. Bring bags of these items to SMRF events or drop them by the Price Center SMRF office. Or call 353-4628 to have SMRF staff come get a box of them you have collected at work. The posters help get more people involved, so help SMRF get the posters up at workplaces and any other locations possible.
River Awareness Month Movie Screening

To celebrate April, River Awareness Month in San Marcos, the local group We C.A.N. screened “The River of Innocence”, a beautiful movie about the San Marcos River, produced by Ron Coley over twenty years ago. The popcorn was great and so was the movie. If you haven’t seen it since the 10th Anniversary Party of SMRF in ‘95, check it out at the public library to watch on your home VCR. The movie brings home the message about the vulnerability of this river to drought and overpumping, which is still a major concern today.

Plum Creek Watershed Starts Planning

Plum Creek, which starts in Hays County near Buda but flows into the San Marcos River near Luling, is the subject of a regional watershed planning effort. Landowners and others are gathering to discuss the details of what the water quality problems are, and how to solve them. The creek is impaired with bacteria and high nutrients like phosphorus, but small wastewater treatment plants on the creek are not required to remove phosphorus by weak state rules. SMRF plans to keep up with this project by going to regular meetings in Lockhart. To read more, visit the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board website and look for Watershed Programs.

Record Sunfish caught in River near Martindale

Conor Kirwin is pictured holding his 12.36 inch long red ear sunfish, weighing 1.92 lbs, caught March 13 just downstream of Martindale with a worm on a cane pole. It is an official state record for Junior Program, and also received a Big Fish Award, a Water Body Record, and the Water Body Record for the Junior Program, as his parents, Amy and Pat Kirwin learned when they contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Conor Kirwin’s sisters, Shea on the left and Riley on the right, are pictured with him, admiring his big fish.

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