COUNTY LIFE
Drought still a concern cooler temperatures
While Texas is feeling some reprieve from the heat this week, slightly cooler temperatures and minimal rainfall will do little to help trees being affected by drought and extreme heat conditions.
According to the Texas A&M Forest Service Forest Drought application, 85% of the state is experiencing some level of drought, including 57.6 million acres of the state’s 60 million acres of forestland – the effects becoming apparent.
Trees in the Rio Grande Valley, Davis Mountains, Southern Plains, Cross Timbers and Hill Country are showing the most effect from the conditions, that is the most change in greenness. Whether that change is from stress or mortality can only be determined with time.
Leaves turning brown and dropping early is the most commonly seen symptom but others include oak trees lacking acorns, scorching leaves, tip burn and hypoxylon canker.
Texas A&M Forest Service uses a combination of remote sensing satellite imagery and on-the-ground observations to monitor the health and productivity of forests.
The agency uses High Resolution Forest Monitoring System (HiForm), a USDA Forest Service product, that uses satellites to produce Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) change products to monitor changes in forests that result from severe weather, wildland fire, logging, insects and disease.
NDVI shows how green plants are. A change or deviation in NDVI means that trees are changing their chlorophyll signature, and showing either stress or mortality, even if it’s not yet evident for some regions.
As forecasters predict the drought to continue through November, landowners should remain diligent in caring for the health of their trees and forests. Continued monitoring is also critical to fully assess the overall impact and to determine the next steps, since trees may be going dormant and leaf out again in the spring.
Managed landscapes are generally far more resilient to extreme weather conditions, so practices that include planting locally adapted trees, managing invasive and providing supplemental water to high-value trees are important actions landowners can take.
Texas A&M Forest Service experts are available to provide tips on how to keep trees healthy during extreme drought conditions.
For additional information on drought and trees, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/afterthestorm/drought/
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Folks around the Bowie area may be familiar with the Baptist Bible Translators Institute after seeing their signs, but few may know its purpose or activities.
For the past 50 years, the BBTI has been a Baptist missionary training school that focuses not only on faith and spreading that word, but on learning how to communicate with all people. In a foreign land the people may have their own language and certainly their own culture. The missionary has to learn to communicate using both.
The staff, students, friends and supporters of BBTI will gather for a 50th birthday picnic at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30. Located at 1664 John Roth Road, the group invites people to attend and reflect on the history and look to the future of the program. Please RSVP to assist with planning 872-5751.
The need
In the early 1970s, BBTI Founder and missionary George Anderson took a trip to the Tlapaneco Indian area of Guerrero, Mexico. He became frustrated as he tried to minister in Spanish to a group of Indian people whose understanding of the language was limited.
Read the full feature in the weekend Bowie News.
The Saint Jo Century Club celebrated its 75th anniversary on Sept. 10 reflecting on a strong record of civic service.
More than 70 guests were greeted with balloons and flowers for the party that including past members, dignitaries, members and friends of the Saint Jo Century Club. Hostesses for the afternoon were board of director members Michele Meador, Vicky Prebilsky, Becky Bachman, Cathy Williamson, Hollis Notgrass and Susan Causey.
The club was honored with a special resolution presented by the City of Saint Jo for its contributions across 75 years. Mayor Shawn Armstrong, Councilman Colton Davis and Police Chief Harvey Johnson attended and Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Carla Hennessey read and presented the resolution.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
If you enjoy wildflowers blooming in the spring, you will want to attend a seminar by Dr. Lisa Bellows at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the Forestburg Community Center.
The class will cover seed selection as well as how to properly plant the wildflower seeds. Dr Bellows is executive director of the Thomsen Foundation which owns and manages the Thomsen Wildflower Farm. She also has done research on native plants in the cross-timbers region of Texas.
The class is hosted by the Forestburg Community Service Club and open to all.
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