Join us for our final public meeting where we’ll share the team’s full recommendations for Hermann Park’s master plan, which will guide the next 20 year’s of Park improvement projects.

Can’t make our open house but still want your thoughts and ideas heard? Send us an email at ideas@hermannpark.org.

U.S. Forest Service (FS), begins a four-year process to revise the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) Forest Plan (FP). The revised FP will occur in three phases and include an assessment of existing information; revision of the FP; and monitoring that ensures the FP is implemented and does what it says it will do. The FP must use the best scientific information and contain desired conditions (a snapshot of what the forest will look like in the future with FP implementation); objectives that provide measurable progress using a reasonable budget; standards/guidelines to constrain projects or activities; suitability of lands for multiple use activities (wildlife, range, water, timber, and recreation); and goals which provide broad statements of intent.

Some of the issues to bring-up at public meetings include:

1. Special Management Areas – Add additional scenic or special management areas along Henry Lake/Double Lake Branches, East Fork of the San Jacinto River, and blackland prairies/savannahs in Sam Houston NF and Piney Creek in the Davy Crockett NF.

2. Red-cockaded Woodpecker Management – Continued expansion of the population along with corridors to connect and allow for migration.

3. Reduction in Oil/Gas Development – Reduce the amount and impacts of oil/gas development in the NFGT.

4. Climate Change Management – Adapt to climate change via protection of core areas, corridors, and buffers that allow plants and animals to migrate.

5. Trail Corridor Protection – All trails need a corridor which protects each trail and its scenery.

6. Prescribed Burning – We need to protect the use of prescribed fire as a management tool which protects RCWs and other wildlife and helps restore forest ecosystems.

7. Snags (standing dead trees)/Downed Trees – These important forest features are biological legacies that help restore forest ecosystems and should be maintained.

8. Solitude, Quiet, and Natural Sounds – We must protect and enhance these important forest conditions.

9. Urban Effects – Our NFs/NGs are surrounded by urbanized areas. We need collaborative measures methods that protect our NFs/NGs from these impacts.

10. Non-Native Species – Feral hogs, Chinese Tallows, and other non-native species compete with native wildlife and plants and must be controlled.

Whether you can or cannot attend the public meetings, please use one or more of the 10 issues mentioned above to write a personal letter or email to the U.S. Forest Service which expresses your support for better protection of the NFGT. Send your letter or email to: Mr. Robert Potts, NFGT, 2221 North Raguet, Lufkin, Texas 75904 or robertpotts@fs.fed.us.

U.S. Forest Service (FS), begins a four-year process to revise the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) Forest Plan (FP). The revised FP will occur in three phases and include an assessment of existing information; revision of the FP; and monitoring that ensures the FP is implemented and does what it says it will do. The FP must use the best scientific information and contain desired conditions (a snapshot of what the forest will look like in the future with FP implementation); objectives that provide measurable progress using a reasonable budget; standards/guidelines to constrain projects or activities; suitability of lands for multiple use activities (wildlife, range, water, timber, and recreation); and goals which provide broad statements of intent.

Some of the issues to bring-up at public meetings include:

1. Special Management Areas – Add additional scenic or special management areas along Henry Lake/Double Lake Branches, East Fork of the San Jacinto River, and blackland prairies/savannahs in Sam Houston NF and Piney Creek in the Davy Crockett NF.

2. Red-cockaded Woodpecker Management – Continued expansion of the population along with corridors to connect and allow for migration.

3. Reduction in Oil/Gas Development – Reduce the amount and impacts of oil/gas development in the NFGT.

4. Climate Change Management – Adapt to climate change via protection of core areas, corridors, and buffers that allow plants and animals to migrate.

5. Trail Corridor Protection – All trails need a corridor which protects each trail and its scenery.

6. Prescribed Burning – We need to protect the use of prescribed fire as a management tool which protects RCWs and other wildlife and helps restore forest ecosystems.

7. Snags (standing dead trees)/Downed Trees – These important forest features are biological legacies that help restore forest ecosystems and should be maintained.

8. Solitude, Quiet, and Natural Sounds – We must protect and enhance these important forest conditions.

9. Urban Effects – Our NFs/NGs are surrounded by urbanized areas. We need collaborative measures methods that protect our NFs/NGs from these impacts.

10. Non-Native Species – Feral hogs, Chinese Tallows, and other non-native species compete with native wildlife and plants and must be controlled.

Whether you can or cannot attend the public meetings, please use one or more of the 10 issues mentioned above to write a personal letter or email to the U.S. Forest Service which expresses your support for better protection of the NFGT. Send your letter or email to: Mr. Robert Potts, NFGT, 2221 North Raguet, Lufkin, Texas 75904 or robertpotts@fs.fed.us.

We will be discussing project progress over the last year, and ideas and plans for the future. Stakeholder participation is an important part of achieving success in these efforts, so we encourage you to come share your successes, ideas, and feedback. Please feel free to share this invitation with other members of your organization or others that may be interested in efforts to improve water quality in the Oyster Creek system. An agenda is attached for your review.

With the 85th Texas Legislative Session underway, we need your help to make legislators aware of the important environmental issues facing our state and help push for the legislation that addresses these problems to protect our families and our communities.

The Alliance for a Clean Texas (ACT) represents a coalition of environmental, public interest, consumer rights and religious organizations dedicated to improving public health, quality of life and the environment
in Texas by working for change at the regulatory and legislative levels.

Issues ACT addresses include:

• Clean Air and Clean Energy
• Texas Railroad Commission Reform
• Clean Water
• Local Control
• Waste & Recycling
• Parks & Land Conservation

Join fellow citizens and activists from around the state to ensure the public health of our families and our communities are protected.

RSVP by April 18 to attend by emailing rita.beving@gmail.com

Sign up now for weekly legislative alerts on the acttexas.org site to take ACTion on bills that matter.

EPA will use your registration information solely for this event. We will not share your information with any third party. If you require special accommodations, please contact Darlene Leonard at 202-566-0516 or via email at leonard.darlene@epa.gov by April 25th, 2017 to make arrangements.

About

EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) is holding a public meeting on Monday, May 1, 2017 to discuss regulatory reform opportunities involving regulations governing chemical safety activities under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) rules. Specifically, we are soliciting input from stakeholders to help identify those regulations that that might be appropriate for repeal, replacement or modification per Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda.

We are soliciting comments on the following questions:

• Are there regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification to reduce economic or other burdens on the regulated community, including small businesses or state and local government entities?
• Are there opportunities for EPA to streamline or consolidate reporting and recordkeeping requirements to reduce burden?
• Are there opportunities for EPA to improve regulatory effectiveness through adopting or encouraging innovations that reduce burden while facilitating environmental protection?
• Are there specific provisions within regulations that have achieved their original objective and are no longer necessary?

This meeting will be on rules promulgated to implement TSCA Subchapters I, II and VI, as well as the EPCRA Subchapter II §11023, and will be held on May 1, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Who should attend:

Entities significantly affected by TSCA or TRI regulations should attend this event. This may include state, local, and tribal governments, small businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and trade associations.

You may register online (preferred) or in person. Advance registration for this event will close on April 27th, 2017. On-site registration will be permitted, but seating and speaking priority will be given to those who pre-register by the deadline.

For registrants who would like to attend in person: On-site registration will be available. However, seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to pre-registrants, until room capacity is reached. The Agency anticipates that approximately 150 people will be able to attend the meeting in person.

For registrants not able to attend in person: Remote access capabilities will also be provided. Registered participants will be sent information on how to connect to the meeting prior to its start.

Presented by Brett Perkison, Board Certified Physician in Family Medicine and Occupational Medicine

He is an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and has a joint appointment at the University of Texas Health Science Center in the department of Family Medicine. In addition to his clinical and teaching responsibilities he is active in research and his areas of interest include identifying environmental triggers of asthma and implementing holistic worksite wellness programs that include increasing employee environmental awareness and sustainability. He also is a fellow in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). He is a former chair and active member of ACOEM’s Environmental Section Committee and over the last year has been the lead member of the committee’s work group to draft ACOEM’s position regarding climate change mitigation. His lecture will present an overview of the health impacts on climate change and how we can reduce carbon emissions a as part of workplace wellness programs.

Dates, times, and location will vary per meeting, so please take note of the meeting schedule and find the next meeting in your area! Visit RideMetro.org to learn more about all the new updates and to share your input online!

Dates, times, and location will vary per meeting, so please take note of the meeting schedule and find the next meeting in your area! Visit RideMetro.org to learn more about all the new updates and to share your input online!

Dates, times, and location will vary per meeting, so please take note of the meeting schedule and find the next meeting in your area! Visit RideMetro.org to learn more about all the new updates and to share your input online!