At our meeting on Thursday, Native Prairie Association of Texas Executive Director Pat Merkord started off describing a new prairie mapping initiative and how volunteers can help survey known prairies and find new prairies which will provide very useful information used by Texas Parks and Wildlife to determine the status of prairie lands and add new prairies to the existing data base housed by TPWD. The mapping tool will also include identifying pollinators and pollinator plants being utilized. This mapping activity is a great opportunity to get out and learn more about prairies and the amazing plants and animals that live there. Workshops on using technology to locate prairies and how to record photos and information are being offered on various dates, as well as field trips to develop skills in plant and prairie identification. We will be forming teams and going out to map the prairies!

The current training schedule is:

April 13th - Judson Robinson Community Center, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Topics include locating landowners using appraisal district information and landowner contact, conservation easements, use of Google maps, soil service maps and iNaturalist. (Repeated on May 31 at Deer Park Prairie)

May 11th - Deer Park Prairie 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Mapping Training Workshop on ID of forms and grasses. (Repeated in June at Nash Prairie, date tba.)