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Bay Area Sierra Club Meeting: Pollinator Pathways 

At the Bay Area Sierra Club meeting on February 20, the Houston Zoo's Supervisor of Natural Encounters, Amanda Daly, will cover general pollinator information and then present details of the Zoo's Prairie Pollinator Pathways program.
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The 86th Texas Legislature is in session. Our state lawmakers meet for only 140 days every other year, so there is a lot at stake and little time to do something about it. With legislative committees being formed, and budget hearings set to begin, the Capitol halls are already full of lobbyists buying lunches and peddling bills. I'll be honest, we don't have the financial resources of the big polluters, but we do have people power. Yes, I'm talking about you!
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Two significant new bike lane projects are in the final months of development and are expected to begin construction by early summer 2019. These bike lanes will tie into existing bike lanes and help create a more viable network.
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Last year the City of Houston signed a new recycling contract with FCC Environmental, and their new MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) is under construction and expected to open this spring. This facility will include the latest sorting technology and is expected to be able to process glass containers and plastic bags. So Houston residents should again be able to recycle glass curbside in coming months, once the new facility is in operation.
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In December 2018, Houston Sierra Club members voted for the first time online, via the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, for new Executive Committee (Ex. Com.) members.
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Implementation in Region H, a state water planning area for the Houston Area, of massive water projects will provide water for growth but will cause environmental impacts. These impacts will affect rivers, lakes, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and Galveston Bay. This transition and transformation from groundwater to surface water is implementation of part of the Texas Water Plan.
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My all-time favorite cartoon character is Pepe LePew. For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, Pepe is a French skunk that is in constant pursuit of love but because he doesn't smell very good, he often comes up short in the love department. If the ladies could just get past his smell, they might find he's not such a bad guy.
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For many years (40, off and on) I have provided comments for the Houston Sierra Club (Sierra Club) about Clean Water Act Section 404 permits that are regulated and processed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). These are the permits that you hear about occasionally that allow destruction of wetlands if there is avoidance, minimization, and mitigation so there is "No net loss" of wetlands for a development proposal.
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Often people hike, bike, ride motorcycles and ATVs, and horses on trails and enjoy our federal (national forests, parks, conservation lands, and wildlife refuges), state, and local public lands without thinking how their actions can have serious environmental impacts. More education, planning, and enforcement of natural resource protection laws are needed to ensure that we do not "love to death" the wilderness and wildlands that we profess to visit, enjoy, and treasure.
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The Houston Sierra Club is looking for volunteers in several areas, especially Audio-Visual for our meetings. We also need one more person to help with Social Media.
Help to make a difference for the Sierra Club!
Click the link to see new opportunities to help.
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