News

There was a great deal of excitement when Whooping Cranes were recently sighted on the refuge from a boat, with people thinking they had arrived back very early. Actually, they never left! Click here to read Sara Sneath's article in the Victoria Advocate.

The Youth Conservation Corps workers spent 8 weeks working in different areas of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The students, from Austwell/Tivoli ISD, along with their crew leader Chris Sandoval, spent one day working in the pollinator garden. They did an amazing job & accomplished more in one day than we ever imagined!

 

The YCC is a win-win program. The students got a chance to earn money and learn more about the natural environment at the refuge. The refuge got help with various projects. This was a great group of hard workers.

 

Our next work day in the garden will be Tuesday August 30th. If you'd like to participate, contact us for details. 

 

 

In June only, the garden maintenance work day has been changed to the 4th Monday, June 27th rather than the usual Tuesday. Please email us for more information. 

 

Great news – our colleagues with the Canadian Wildlife Service report that 78 Whooping Crane nests are confirmed on the cranes' breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park. Here's to a successful nesting season!

 Linda Swiggett and Gay Heijmancik did a wonderful job representing Friends of Aransas and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge at Earth Day Bay Day in Corpus Christi on April 9th. They gave out 500 shells they had painted, as well as Roseate Spoonbill postcards and Aransas NWR pencils, and information about the refuge. Linda has created a photo album that she had on display at the table, and that got a lot of interest. Linda & Gay talked with people about the refuge and invited them to come out to see it for themselves. They signed up over 50 people that want to receive our e-newsletter to keep up with what is going on at the refuge.

 

Thank you ladies for doing an outstanding job!

 

 

 

Linda Swiggett at table; photo by Gay Heijmancik

 

Now that most of the planting has been done, the garden is really taking shape.

 

On April 13th, Ellen Reisinger, Linda Frank, and Fred Lanoue completed the point irrigation system.

 

Then came "mulch day", April 16th. Jen Brown, Environmental Education Specialist, arranged with Boy Scout Troop # 135 to help in the garden as their service project. The plan for the day was to get the new plants mulched. The scout group, from Ganada, TX, was absolutely amazing! It was hard work, and they got more accomplished in a couple of hours than we could have done in a day! They even made sure that all the mulch was cleaned out of the trailer & off the parking lot, and that all the tools were collected when they were done. We certainly appreciate their help!

 

The pollinator garden is an on going project. If you would like to be involved, please contact us.  For more photos, visit our photo gallery.

 

 

 

Boy Scout Troop #135 & other workers. Jen Brown, on the far right, made it happen. Also helping were Ellen Resinger, front row left, Refuge Intern Hannah Plumpton, front row right, Linda Frank, 2nd from right, and Fred Lanoue, far right. Photo by Linda Lanoue

At a recent City Council meeting, Rockport Mayor C.J. Wax presented Friends President Fred Lanoue with a check for $1085.00. The check represented a portion of all the paid entries for the 2016 Whooping Crane Strut. The money will be deposited in our Water for Wildlife Fund.

 

The fund is used to drill new wells, and rehabilitate old ones  to ensure reliable fresh water sources for Whooping Cranes & other wildlife in times of drought. The fund was most recently used to drill 2 wells on Matagorda Island, with solar powered pumps. We hope to rebuild the fund, as there is an older well on the island that needs to be rehabilitated.

 

We enjoyed partnering in this annual event, which is a fun time for all ages. You can see photos of the event in our photo gallery.

 

Thank you to the City of Rockport for helping us help the Whooping Cranes!

 

 

Left to right: Parks Department Director Tom Staley, Mayor C.J. Wax, Friends President Fred Lanoue, Parks Department Staff Rick Martinez.

 

Our Planting Party was a tremendous success! We had beautiful weather and great participation by volunteers and Refuge staff. Thanks to all the hard workers, we’ve made a big leap forward, and the garden is really taking shape.

It would have been easiest to get rid of everything inside the fence and start fresh. However, there were many desirable plants in there, so the decision was made to manually remove invasives and other undesirables, leaving the rest. On the work day, some people planted, while others dug out and pulled up the plants that were not wanted.

 

Refuge staff and volunteers working together can accomplish so much! There were staff members there from every department, including Refuge Manager Joe Saenz. FAMI board members Ellen Reisinger and Linda Frank, designers of the garden, organized and led the work party.  A great deal was accomplished in far less time that we expected!

After the work was done, we adjourned to a hamburger & hot dog lunch and social gathering in the Commons. It was a great opportunity for all of us to get to know one another a bit better.

We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s wonderful to have a lot of the plants in and be able to have a good preview of what the completed product will look like. If you would like to be involved in future work days, please email info@friendsofaransas.org.

Thank you to everyone that participated. Special thanks to Linda Swiggett, Gay Hejtmancik, Jim Schreiner, Linda Frank, & Ellen Reisinger for preparing the food, and to Ellen Reisinger & Linda Frank for coming up with the idea for lunch.

To see more photos, go to our gallery.

 

 

The Rockport, TX, Whooping Crane Strut was held Saturday, March 12, and we had a fabulous time! The weather was wonderful and turnout was fantastic.

 

The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Super Whooper was, as always, a huge crowd pleaser. Super Whooper, assisted by Jim Panaccione, USFWS, gave the signal to start the race, cheered racers in, handed out door prizes, and posed for photos with fans of all ages.

 

A portion of each entry fee will be donated to our Water for Wildlife Fund. The final figures aren't available yet, but it will be a healthy addition to our fund.

 

Thank you to the City of Rockport, and everyone that participated!

 

You can see more photos from the event in our Whooping Crane Strut photo album.

 

 

Aransas NWR has been nominated in the USA Today 10 Best Places for Birding poll.

 

Please vote for our Refuge and ask your friends and family to vote.  After you click on the link & vote, be sure you get a "thank you for voting" message. You can vote every day until noon, March 28.

 

Help us let the world know what a great place Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is!