Community Notes 01-25-2012

1. Texas Public Input Meeting – Deepwater Horizon Trustees. There is a Texas public input meeting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 26 in Galveston. The meeting will take place in the Texas A&M University Ocean and Coastal Studies Building, 1001 Texas Clipper Road. The meeting will provide an opportunity for people to gain knowledge of the restoration process. The attendees are encouraged to comment on the Draft Phase 1 Early Restoration Plan. More at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/.
2. The Texas Watershed Steward Workshop. The Texas Watershed Steward Workshop is a FREE one-day event to help residents in the watershed improve and protect water resources by getting involved in local watershed protection and management activities. The workshop will focus on water quality issues in Highland Bayou, as well as efforts by the Texas Coastal Watershed Program, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and area residents to help improve the health of water resources in Galveston County. Bayous in the study area are known to have elevated levels of bacteria and low levels of oxygen. Continuing education credits will be available for professional engineers, certified planners, certified teachers, crop advisors, pesticides license holders, landscape architects, and certified floodplain managers. Workshop will be held at the Galveston County AgriLife Extension offices in Carbide Park, La Marque at 4102 B Main St. (FM 519) on February 22nd from 8am to 4pm. More information at http://mokabayousalliance.org/ or Facebook.com/MoKaBayousAlliance. Agenda and pre-registration is available at http://tws.tamu.edu/workshops/online-registration or call 979-862-8070.
3. Green Tour: LEED for New Construction One Green Street. The public is invited to see the LEED for New Construction One Green Street on January 27th from 11am-2pm at 5160 Buffalo Speedway Center. The free viewings are run in “open house style” guided tours that occur every 30 minutes. This is one in a series of free tours of green buildings in Houston. Green buildings save owners and users money with greater energy efficiency and are better for the environment. For more information, visit www.houstontx.gov/mayor/leedtour.pdf.
4. Endangered Species Information Available. Biology, ecology, general science and other teachers can find a variety of resources about teaching endangered species preservation on the Endangered Species Day web site, http://www.stopextinction.org/esd.html. Resources include a comprehensive lesson plan for teaching about endangered species preservation, an art lesson plan to help students create endangered species artwork, a series of pod casts providing information on endangered species preservation and everyday actions to help, and a Video showing how one teacher taught endangered species conservation in his biology class. May 18th will be the seventh annual national Endangered Species Day. For more information, contact David Robinson, Endangered Species Day Director, at drobinson@stopextinction.org.
5. TV: Texas Parks & Wildlife. Broadcast on KUHT Channel 8 at 3:00 PM each Saturday and on cable channels in Baytown, Deer Park, Seabrook, and on HCC. More info on the TPWD website(* indicates a segment about the Houston area). This week’s broadcast will include:
   • Fort Boggy State Park
   • TPWD People: Ashley Summers
   • Memories of the Civilian Conservation Corps
6. Air Quality Forecast. http://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/monops/forecast_today.html
• January 26: Green–Good–Moderate to strong winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the “Good” range statewide.
• January 27: Green–Good–Moderate winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the “Good” range statewide.
• January 28: Green–Good–Moderate winds and low incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the “Good” range statewide.