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4th Annual ANROSP Conference
Best Practices for Master Naturalist Programs & More!:
Off-site Program Sessions

Off-site sessions take place Wednesday September 10th. Please indicate your top 2 session preferences on your registration form; you will be assigned your 2nd choice if the 1st session has filled.

1. Canyon Lake Gorge & Lindheimer's Legacy

In July 2002, after heavy rains, Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas filled to capacity and overflowed with millions of gallons of excess water over a 1,000 foot spillway beside Canyon Dam carving out a one mile gorge before joining the Guadalupe River. This session will provide a lecture on the creation of the gorge presented by the Army Corps of Engineers followed by a tour of this phenomenal natural exhibit showing exposed geologic features—including a subduction zone in the Balcones fault—as the water removed soil to a depth of over 100 feet.

You will also be introduced to some work of the Lindheimer Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program through their stewardship projects throughout the local area and as docents and citizen scientists at the gorge and Panther Canyon near the region's ecologically important Comal Springs.

A tour of the historic home of Ferdinand Lindheimer home will round out the day at Conservation Plaza. Lindheimer is the Father of Texas Botany and an original Texas Master Naturalist as the first to classify much of native Texas flora as more than thirty species bear his name—many of which are found at the homestead site.

Wear sturdy hiking shoes and bring drinking water for this session. Areas of the gorge are strenuous and uneven.

Learn more:
Canyon Lake Gorge
Lindheimer Homestead and Conservation Plaza

2. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

See Texas Master Naturalist Volunteers in action as you tour the nationally renowned Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas and view the many projects Texas Master Naturalists assist with at this location.

The organization was founded in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes. First as the National Wildflower Research Center and later as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, this special place exists to introduce people to the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and other native plants. Every day, the Wildflower Center brings life to Mrs. Johnson's vision in its public gardens, its woodlands and sweeping meadows as well as in internationally influential research.

The Wildflower Center was established to help preserve and restore that beauty and the biological richness of North America and since has become one of the country's most credible research institutions and effective advocates for native plants. The Center's gardens display the native plants of the Central Texas Hill Country while the Plant Conservation Program protects the ecological heritage of Texas by conserving its rare and endangered flora.

Learn more:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

3. Natural Bridge Caverns

Natural Bridge Caverns is one of the "coolest" treasured natural attractions Texas has to offer. This beautiful and historical cavern system offers an experience that is high energy, educational and fun. Whether you are a first timer, an avid caver or someone in between, Natural Bridge Caverns awaits with a once in a lifetime experience you'll never forget.

Natural Bridge Caverns is the most extensive cavern within the San Antonio area and one of the largest caverns within the state of Texas. Visitors to the caverns walk through different layers of limestone, a sedimentary rock making up the Balcones Fault Zone—the transition zone between the Balcones Escarpment and the Texas Hill Country while also viewing the many cave formations the site has to offer.

Learn more:
Natural Bridge Caverns

4. Tour of Texas Hill Country Views, Parks and National Landmarks

Nature on display—up close and personal—reveals just one reason Pedernales Fall State Park proves so popular with outdoor lovers. The 5,212 acres, is located along the banks of scenic Pedernales River and typifies the Edwards Plateau terrain.

Continuing on in "LBJ Country", you'll stop at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site and Texas State Park complex which also includes the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm. The 733-acre complex honors a native Texan who achieved the nation's highest office and is the heart of the former President and First Lady—Lady Bird Johnson's home.

This field study will be completed with a visit to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area which is home to the largest batholiths in the United States. What's a batholith, you ask? Sign up for this field session and you'll find out! Enchanted Rock is a huge, pink granite dome rising 425 feet above ground and covers 640 acres within this 1644-acre park. It has been designated as a National Natural Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Enjoy the scenic Hill Country views at the top of Enchanted Rock after a short hike up the (sometimes steep) trail.

Sturdy hiking shoes, bottled water and a camera are recommended for these tours.

Learn more:
Pedernales Falls State Park
LBJ National Historic Site & Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

5. Honey Creek State Natural Area, Guadalupe River State Park and Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area

The Guadalupe River State Park is bisected by the clear-flowing waters of the Guadalupe River. The park is comprised of a 1939-acre segment of the Texas Hill Country noted for its ruggedness and scenic beauty. The neighboring Honey Creek State Natural Area is 2294 acres where chipped stone tools are all that remain to attest to the use of Honey Creek by early hunter-gatherers, who roamed throughout the Edwards Plateau region. Artifacts which have been found on the property give silent testimony of later Indian tribes spending time on the land. A tour of the combined areas will emphasize history, geology, flora, fauna and Texas Master Naturalist Volunteer service projects.

The Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area is the smallest Wildlife Management Area in Texas, containing only 16.1 acres of land but has more mammals than any of our other Wildlife Management Area in Texas! The abandoned railroad tunnel is home to up to three million Brazilian free-tailed bats and 3,000 Cave myotis (Myotis velifer). From May to October, visitors come to watch the bats emerge from the tunnel each night with nightly educational programs led primarily by Texas Master Naturalist Volunteers who provide guests with a better understanding of the life history and ecology of bats.

And who knows…a stop by the famous little town of Luckenbach, Texas might be thrown in as well—you just never know when Willie and his friends will show up!

Learn more:
Guadalupe River State Park
Honey Creek State Natural Area
The Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area

Post Conference Field Session

Land Restoration Wonder—Selah, Bamberger Ranch

(optional, extra fee applies)
Friday, September 12th

Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve is a 5,500 acre ranch that has been described as the largest habitat restoration project on private land in Texas. Educational and interpretive services as well as transportation will be provided by ranch staff. On the ranch tour you may discover dinosaur tracks, hunt for Cretaceous fossils, see the Chiroptorium, a man-made cave built to house 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats, and visit the largest herd of the endangered Scimitar-horned Oryx in the world of which we have documented and registered genetics.

Selah has hiking trails, a Nature Trail with interpretive signs identifying native plants and Madrone Lake—a restoration phenomenon in itself. You can learn about the environment, while pausing to reflect on the beauty and serenity of Hill Country nature.

Lunch will be provided. Wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather, bring a camera and something to take notes if you like.

Learn more:
Selah, Bamberger Ranch

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