The CCERP Podcast: For the Love of Nature

"Griff" Griffith joins us to discuss:
-his background and how he became interested in nature
-the flora, fauna, land, and First Peoples of Northern California
-how First Peoples influenced their local ecologies
-the importance of fire to some ecosystems
-Kyle Burgess, "The Cougar Guy," and his Mountain Lion encounter that went viral
-books Griff recommends
-the importance of predators to keep ecosystems healthy for humans
-habitat fragmentation
-and more


About Griff: "As the host of Animal Planet’s online show 'Wild Jobs,' and a lifetime wildlife conservationist, John 'Griff' Griffith believes in the importance of relationships: wildlife to earth, wildlife to plants, wildlife to people, and people to people. This philosophy has led to many rewarding collaborations, including being selected by Earth Island Institute as one of four Americans to serve as low-impact ecotourism advisors to Siberia, being featured in the celebrated documentary 'Diversity and Inclusion in Our Wild Spaces,' and having his work introduced twice in the book, When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors.

"His lifelong commitment to wildlife and people also includes a seventeen-year career as a supervisor in a youth development program called the California Conservation Corps, where he led groups of young adults, often from distressed communities, to restore natural areas and wildlife populations in a process he calls 'rewilding.' He often made videos with these Corps members, a few of which have gone viral. His most famous video 'Boss Dances Like a Boss' has 7 million views on YouTube alone and was featured on The Today Show, Headline News, Good Morning America, various international programs, and MTV’s Ain’t That America and Ridiculousness. Several of his other videos have been featured on the show RightThisMinute.

"In 2014, he also created the BioBlitz Dance for National Geographic and their BioBlitz events. The dance spread worldwide, with BioBlitz Dance videos coming from over 10 different countries. Two years after he created the dance, National Geographic flew John and two of his Corps members to Washington, D.C., to do the BioBlitz Dance onstage with Gary Knell, CEO of the National Geographic Society, and Sally Jewell, former Secretary of the Interior. The BioBlitz Dance is still being enjoyed at outdoor events all over the world, and became the official dance of several schools, kids’ camps, and P-22 Day Festivals, in Los Angeles.

"When John is not writing, presenting, or making videos for his own online platforms, he’s helping people connect to the redwood region as a natural and cultural resource interpreter for California State Parks."

Contact Griff:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GriffWild
Instagram: @TheNatureNut
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TotemMagicGoingMAD
Wild Jobs: https://www.facebook.com/watch/AnimalPlanet/341870596689084/



Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes
1. Griff dance videos
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKNhCjA0pdU
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxDQHPvlD7A

2. BioBlitz dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNpKrHgW9ow

3. Animal Planet's Wild Jobs program: https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/wild-jobs/

4. Doug Tallamy
a. Bio
i. https://www.udel.edu/faculty-staff/experts/douglas-tallamy/
ii. https://www.udel.edu/canr/departments/entomology-and-wildlife-ecology/faculty-staff/doug-tallamy/
iii. https://www.humansandnature.org/doug-tallamy
b. Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy
https://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Nature-Home-Wildlife-Expanded/dp/0881929921/
c. Nature's Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy
https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Best-Hope-Approach-Conservation/dp/1604699000/
d. "Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard" by Jerry Adler
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/

5. E.O. Wilson
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilson
b. https://eowilsonfoundation.org/e-o-wilson/
c. Some of his books
i. Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZAT8VNE/
ii. Tales From the Ant World by Edward O. Wilson
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZAT8VNE/
iii. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by E. O. Wilson
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P5557DK/

6. Eel River
a. https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/eel.php
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_River_(California)

7. Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
a. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=429
b. https://www.stateparks.com/sinkyone_wilderness.html
c. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkyone_Wilderness_State_Park

8. Humboldt Redwoods State Park
a. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=425
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Redwoods_State_Park

9. Yurok
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurok
b. https://www.yuroktribe.org
c. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yurok

10. Wiyot
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiyot
b. http://www.wiyot.us

11. Hupa
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hupa
b. https://factcards.califa.org/cai/hupa.html

12. Tribes of California: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/California_tribes_%26_languages_at_contact.png/1200px-California_tribes_%26_languages_at_contact.png

13. The Ecological Benefits of Fire (a bit to get some idea about it and start looking into it)
a. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/ecological-benefits-fire/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ecology
c. https://learnforests.org/sites/default/files/EcologicalRoleofFire.pdf
d. https://fireecology.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/BF03400628
e. http://pacificbio.org/initiatives/fire/fire_ecology.html

14. Before the Wilderness: Environmental Management by Native Californians by Kat Anderson and Thomas C. Blackburn: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Wilderness-Environmental-Californians-Anthropological/dp/0879191260/

15. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
https://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Columbus/dp/1400032059/

16. Kyle Burgess and the Mountain Lion
a. Original video
i. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pg2CDCm34w
ii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xu3FBGQ2Eo
iii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ktRhBcHza4
b. Griff's interview of Kyle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grmIkU6Et4A
c. Griff talking about Mountain Lions and Kyle's incident: https://www.facebook.com/NorthCoastRedwoods/videos/347371733000314
d. "Cougar Experts Weigh In On That Viral Video" by Sara Tabin
https://www.forbes.com/sites/saratabin/2020/10/15/cougar-experts-weigh-in-on-that-viral-video/
e. " ‘I don’t feel like dying today’: Utahn describes how he survived 6-minute cougar encounter" by Katie McKellar: https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/10/12/21513450/utah-cougar-mountain-lion-encounter-viral-provo-slate-canyon-attack-stalk-survive

17. Kyle Burgess's "I Am the Cougar Guy" website: https://www.iamthecougarguy.com

18. Cougar Conservancy: https://cougarconservancy.org/

19. Mountain Lion Foundation: https://mountainlion.org/

20. Wolves of Yellowstone
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4F7yvMlAM
b. https://www.pbs.org/strangedays/episodes/predators/experts/yellowstonewolves.html?fbclid=IwAR0cuFEBV9alZ-0xg28Nv6yr5vALGl27q2EJTeOs8G3czK2JnoIH6v_wvtM
c. "How Wolves Change Rivers:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

21. The importance of predators (a bit to get some idea about it and start looking into it)
a. "The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology" by Caroline Fraser
https://e360.yale.edu/features/the_crucial_role_of_predators_a_new_perspective_on_ecology
b. "The Ecological Importance of Predators"
https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/predatorimportance.pdf
c. "The Importance of Predators"
https://www.predatordefense.org/predators.htm
d. "Top Predators Key to Ecosystem Survival, Study Shows" by Bjorn Carey
https://www.livescience.com/4171-top-predators-key-ecosystem-survival-study-shows.html

22. Keystone species
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGg5it5FMI
b. "Robert Paine, UW ecologist who identified ‘keystone species,’ dies at 83:" https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/robert-paine-uw-ecologist-who-identified-keystone-species-dies-at-83/
c. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_T._Paine_(zoologist)
d. "The Ecologist Who Threw Starfish" by Sean Carroll: http://nautil.us/issue/34/adaptation/the-ecologist-who-threw-starfish

23. The Kaibab: a need for predators and good ecology
a. "The Lesson of the Kaibab"
https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/kaibab.html
b. "Was Aldo Leopold Right about the Kaibab Deer Herd?" by Binkley, Moore, et. al.
http://www.rmtrr.org/data/Binkleyetal_2006_Ecosystems.pdf

24. Habitat Fragmentation (a bit to get some idea about it and start looking into it)
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_fragmentation
b. "Negative and positive effects of habitat fragmentation on animals"
https://www.animal-ethics.org/negative-and-positive-effects-of-habitat-fragmentation-for-animals/
c. "Causes and consequences of habitat fragmentation in river networks" by Fuller, Doyle, et. al.
http://www.jlakes.org/config/hpkx/news_category/2016-03-22/Fuller_et_al-2015-Annals_of_the_New_York_Academy_of_Sciences.pdf
d. "Ecological Responses to Habitat Fragmentation Per Se" by Lenore Fahrig
https://www.glel.carleton.ca/PDF/webDump/17FahrigAREES.pdf




Bio and picture courtesy John "Griff" Griffith.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

In this episode, local Naturalist Rose Holmes joins us to discuss:
-her background and her interest in nature
-the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve (KMP)
-what she and the other Naturalists do there
-what programs the KMP has
-what plants and animals are there


About Rose: "Rose Belzung Holmes developed a love and appreciation of nature through an upbringing in the Texas Hill Country, in the Twin Sisters area just south of Blanco, Texas. Spending time exploring the landscape and collecting bugs, plants, snakes, and fossils encouraged her interest in exploring careers that had roots in the environment. She received a B.S. in Rangeland Ecology and Management (2008) and a M.Ed. with a teaching certificate (2011), both from Texas A&M University in College Station. Her favorite part of education was the hands on applications, and she discovered a passion for teaching and sharing what she learned as well. After graduation, she moved to the Spring area with her new husband and spent a few months working part-time for the Texas A&M Forest service at the W.G. Jones State Forest office in Conroe as a program outreach coordinator. While only with the Forest Service for less than six months, she made connections with other enthusiastic professionals in the Forest Service as well as other industries that would continue to build and grow knowledge and networks up to the present day. It was during this time that she developed a new passion for trees and began the process of learning and studying to become a Certified Arborist. One thing she continued to learn is that there is always something to learn!

"Rose began working for the Harris County Precinct 4 Parks department in 2012, and began her career as an education programmer stationed at Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center in Humble, TX. During her time here, she continued to study trees, birds, bugs, aquatic science, and any new information she could glean from other experienced naturalists. Over time, she has fulfilled other roles in the parks department including Forester, Naturalist, KMP Director, and Assistant Superintendent. Rose moved over to Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve after its opening in 2017 to grow and lead the educational programs offered to the public at KMP and other nearby locations. She enjoys the beauty of the area and exploring wild places when the time allows; and while she doesn’t get to lead programs as often any more, educating and interacting with the public is still her favorite part of the job. Her favorite programs to teach include topics of trees, plants, birds, bugs, and aquatic sciences.

"When not at work, Rose enjoys sewing, quilting, crafting, baking and spending time with her two young kids (2 and 3 years old) and husband. A favorite family activity is walking down to the neighborhood pond to visit the turtles (and the playground of course)."



Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes.
1. KMP Website: www.hcp4.net/kmp

2. KMP Facebook: www.facebook.com/KickerilloMischerPreserve/

3. HCP4 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC704BVwMNvBrB9UceZMLjIw

4. HCP4 digital resources: www.hcp4.net/learning

5. Videos we discussed
a. Poison Ivy Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-alq1friA&t=4s
b. Turtle Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ms8XeWpPWc
c. Insects Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQxuu0PNqTI
d. Water Quality Video: (to come)
f. History of KMP: https://youtu.be/kMv8Coj9r8w

6. Potency poison ivy: some are not at all allergic, some are severely allergic, some are only mildly or only moderately allergic.
a. https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/education/usm/2018/07/24/poison-oak-ivy-what-you-should-know-most-common-allergies-us/778441002/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy

7. Turtles
a. Common Musk Turtle
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/eastern-musk-turtle
ii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternotherus_odoratus
b. Box Turtles
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/ornate-box-turtle
ii. https://www.texasturtles.org/three-toed-box-turtle
iii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_turtle
c. Red-eared Slider
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/red-ear-slider
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider
d. Mud Turtle
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/mississippi-mud-turtle
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinosternon
e. Snapping Turtle
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/eastern-snapping-turtle
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelydridae
iii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_snapping_turtle
f. Alligator Snapping Turtle
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/alligator-snapping-turtle
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_snapping_turtle
g. Soft Shell Turtle
i. https://www.texasturtles.org/smooth-soft-shell
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trionychidae

8. North Houston Astronomy Club
a. http://astronomyclub.org/nhacwp/
b. https://www.facebook.com/NorthHoustonAstronomyClub

9. Houston Audobon Society: https://houstonaudubon.org



Picture and bio courtesy Rose Holmes.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Biologist Fred Collins joins us to discuss:
-his background and his interest in nature
-Kleb Nature Preserve
-what he does at the Preserve
-Cypress Top Historic Park
-surprising local Houston-Galveston history
-programs that Kleb offers like a history book club, birding, and festivals
-ancient history of our area
-Native American history of our area
-early European history of our area
-and more.


Fred's bio: "Fred Collins is a life member of Texas Ornithological Society and the Southwestern Association of Naturalists. He was a long-time member of the American Ornithologists’ Union, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Association of Field Ornithologists and banded over 20,000 birds during his career. He served on the Houston Audubon Society Board for 17 years and was president from 1982-85 and is on their advisory board. He was the Director of the Nature Discovery Center from 1994-2002. He is a member of the Katy Prairie Conservancy advisory board. Since 2002 he has been Regional Park Manager for Harris County Precinct 3, where he developed Kleb Woods Nature Center as well as Cypress Top Historic Park. He is the director of both parks. Fred has retired from wildlife biologist consulting. He has published more than 100 articles on birds, nature and history. He and his wife live on 100 acres of the Katy prairie with 3 dogs, 8 horses, about 100 free-ranging chickens, and about 40 parrots. While the nest isn't exactly empty, their two sons have long since fledged."


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes (more to come)
1. Kleb Woods Nature Preserve
a. https://www.pct3.com/Parks/Kleb-Woods-Nature-Preserve-Center
b. https://www.yelp.com/biz/kleb-woods-nature-preserve-hockley
c. https://communityimpact.com/news/2012/12/05/kleb-woods-nature-preserve/

2. Cypress Top Historic Park
a. https://www.pct3.com/Parks/Cypress-Top-Historic-Park
b. https://www.yelp.com/biz/cypress-top-historic-park-cypress
c. https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2008/11/the-rebirth-of-cypress-top/
d. https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/cyfair-news/article/Cypress-Top-Historical-Park-offers-window-to-the-1630259.php

3. Kleb Family
a. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=140289
b. https://texashistoricalmarkers.weebly.com/kleb-family-house.html

4. Brazos Bend State Park: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/brazos-bend

5. Desert Massasauga
a. https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/778222
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga
c. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrurus_catenatus_edwardsii
d. https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Documents/SpeciesDocs/Massasauga/final%20NR%20desert%20massasauga%2090%20day%208-2-12.pdf

6. Timbar Rattler
a. https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/776632
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_rattlesnake
c. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/timberrattlesnake/

7. Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire
a. https://naturediscoverycenter.org/contact-us/
b. https://www.yelp.com/biz/nature-discovery-center-bellaire
c. https://www.chron.com/bellaire/news/article/Bellaire-nature-center-spruces-up-4196081.php

8. Snipe
a. https://www.birds-of-north-america.net/snipes.html
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe

9. Maceo Family
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Maceo
b . https://yesterdaysamerica.com/the-maceos-of-galveston-crime-in-the-island-city/
c. The Maceos and The Free State of Galveston: An Authorized History by Kimber Fountain
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467143530

10. Figs in Houston
a. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=98447
b. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/native-texan/article/A-hundred-years-ago-a-little-bayside-town-was-12242230.php

11. Diamondback Terrapin
a. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/d/diamondback-terrapins/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondback_terrapin
c. http://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/malter.htm

12. Cin-Ty Lee
a. https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/cin-ty-lee
b. http://www.cintylee.org/birds

13. eBird: https://ebird.org/home

14. iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org

15. Katy Prairie
a. https://www.katyprairie.org
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Prairie_Conservancy
c. https://restorationsystems.com/projects/katy-prairie-mitigation-bank-stream-wetland-credits-houston-texas/

16. Atascosito Trail
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/atascosito-road
b. http://www.hkatexas.com/2014/03/atascocita-trail/

17. Francois Simars de Bellisle
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bellisle-francois-simars-de
b. https://karankawas.com/2018/12/02/the-marooning-of-francois-simars-de-bellisle-on-the-texas-gulf-coast-part-1/
c. https://karankawas.com/2019/01/26/who-rescued-and-enslaved-simars-de-bellisle-part-two/
d. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 204: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/224/

18. Karankawa diet, FYI: https://karankawas.com/2017/08/03/what-did-the-karankawa-eat/

19. Gideon Lincecum
a. https://txmn.org/glc/about/gideon-lincecum/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Lincecum
c. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lincecum-gideon

20. René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/la-salle-expedition
b. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/giants/lasalle/lasalle-01.html

21. James V. Woodrick
https://www.amazon.com/James-V-Woodrick/e/B00IZ3WQ1U/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

22. Elusive Dreams: Early Exploration and Colonization of the Upper Texas Coast by James V Woodrick: Austin County: Colonial Capital of Texas by James V. Woodrick

23. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
https://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Columbus/dp/1400032059/

24. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann
https://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created/dp/0307278247/

25. Groce Family
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bernardo-plantation
b. https://texashistoricalmarkers.weebly.com/groce-family-plantations.html
c. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=74265
d. https://diverseeducation.com/article/12954/
e. https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/groce-family-portraits
f. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/groce-jared-ellison
g. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00137/rice-00137.html

26. Yellow Fever
a. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/history/article/Yellow-fever-terrorized-early-Houston-7724235.php
b. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/yellow-fever
c. https://easttexashistory.org/tours/show/7

27. 1872 Equine Plague
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_influenza
b. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Equine_Influenza_Epidemic_of_1872
c. https://www.nytimes.com/1871/06/21/archives/the-horse-plague-on-the-decline.html

28. Texas Archeology: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/



Need to find out about 9,000 year-old Lyman Mound; mammoth and mastodon along Braes Bayou; ground sloth along Buffalo Bayou; Mound Creek archeology site occupied 700+ years; horse and sheep bones found on Texas City Dike.



Picture and bio courtesy Fred Collins.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Dan joins us to discuss
-our nature as fission-fusion rational, social animals
-how that nature informs how we react to COVID
-how that nature has allowed us to survive through history
-what "fission-fusion" means
-human history in North America
-some history of human-animal interactions in North America
-human culture
-what science is
-the importance of "interdisciplinary" thinking
-the content of his forthcoming book “Wild New World: Humanity Encounters America’s Animals”
and more.

About Dan: "Dan Flores is a writer and Professor Emeritus of the History of the American West at the University of Montana. A native of Louisiana and currently a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, he has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and numerous magazines. He is the author of ten books, most recently American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains, which received the Stubbendieck Distinguished Book Prize in 2017, and Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History, a New York Times Bestseller, winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, and a 2017 Finalist for PEN America’s E. O. Wilson Prize in Literary Science Writing. His current book project, 'Wild New World: Humanity Encounters America’s Animals' is a big history of the human/wild animal story and will be published by W. W. Norton in 2022. "

Dan Flores
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Flores
2. https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Flores/e/B001H6IY4K?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1606520361&sr=8-2
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20111005050303/http://www.cas.umt.edu/casweb/faculty/facultyDetails.cfm?ID=628&CFID=350110&CFTOKEN=15907718

Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes. (More to come)
1. Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores
https://www.amazon.com/Coyote-America-Natural-Supernatural-History/dp/0465093728/

2. American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores
https://www.amazon.com/American-Serengeti-Animals-Great-Plains/dp/070062466X/

3. The concept of "fission-fusion"
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fission–fusion_society
b. "Social Structure" by Dennis O'Neil: https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/behavior/behave_2.htm
c. "Fission-fusion society:" https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Fission-fusion_society

4. The blitzkrieg/overkill/sitzkrieg hypotheses:
a. blitzkrieg: "war conducted with great speed and force" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blitzkrieg)
b. sitzkrieg: "slow-moving warfare marked by repeated stalemate." (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sitzkrieg)
c. "Late Quaternary Extinctions: State of the Debate" by Paul L. Koch and Anthony D. Barnosky (Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 2006. 37:215–50)
http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/barnosky/Koch%20%20and%20Barnosky%202006.pdf
d. "Humans and the Extinction of Megafauna in the Americas" (Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, 22 May 2009)
https://sites.dartmouth.edu/dujs/2009/05/22/humans-and-the-extinction-of-megafauna-in-the-americas/
e. "The uncertain blitzkrieg of Pleistocene megafauna" by Barry W. Brook and David M. J. S. Bowman (Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2004) 31, 517–523)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.01028.x

5. Zoonotic diseases
a. "Diseases From Animals: A Primer" https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/diseases-from-animals-primer#1
b. "Many modern diseases, even epidemic diseases, started out as zoonotic diseases. It is hard to establish with certainty which diseases jumped from other animals to humans, but there is increasing evidence from DNA and RNA sequencing, that measles, smallpox, influenza, HIV, and diphtheria came to humans this way." from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoonosis

6. Cabeza de Vaca
a. The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca by Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca, Rolena Adorno, et al.: https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Cabeza-Vaca-Alvar-Nunez/dp/080326416X/
b. A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Andres Resendez, Jonathan Davis, et al.: https://www.amazon.com/A-Land-So-Strange-Andres-Resendez-audiobook/dp/B005TL6PY0/
c. See for lots of detailed info and probably right routes:
i. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fca06
ii. especially good: https://digital.library.txstate.edu/.../4027/fulltext.pdf
iii. http://www.americanjourneys.org/maps/aj-070.pdf

7. Science
a. "Science students learned the facts of their specific field without understanding how science should work in order to draw true conclusions." --David Epstein, Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

b. "Part of the problem, [Arturo Casadevall] argued, is that young scientists are rushed to specialize before they learn how to think. They end up unable to produce good work themselves and unequipped to spot bad or fraudulent work by their colleagues.” — David Epstein, Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

c. "But educators at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health assert that memorization alone does not a scientist make — above all, students must be critical, creative thinkers who are honest and responsible with data. In order to train scientists as critical thinkers, the R3 Graduate Science Initiative was recently created in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology (MMI), led by director Gundula Bosch, Ph.D." (from: https://biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org/2018/03/revolutionizing-with-r3-a-new-ph-d-program-seeks-to-train-scientists-as-critical-thinkers/)

d. "For their part, Casadevall and Bosch write that science education reform should result in scientists who are: (1) broadly interested, creative and self-directed, as were some scientists in the era of Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Linus Pauling; (2) versed in epistemology, sound research conduct and error analysis, according to the "3R" norms of good scientific practice—rigor, responsibility and reproducibility; (3) skilled in reasoning using mathematical, statistical and programming methods and able to tackle logical fallacies." (from: https://hub.jhu.edu/2018/01/03/biomedical-science-education-reform-casadevall-bosch/)

e. “Galileo’s radical renewal sprang, nevertheless, from the Aristotelian mind set, as it was taught at the Jesuits’ Collegio Romano: human reason has a basic ability to recognize and understand the objects registered by the senses. The objects are real. They have properties that can be perceived, and then ‘further processed’ according to logical rules. These logical concepts are also real (if not in exactly the same way as the physical objects).” --Galileo Galilei – When the World Stood Still, Atle Naess

f. "I should even think that in making the celestial material alterable, I contradict the doctrine of Aristotle much less than do those people who still want to keep the sky inalterable; for I am sure that he never took its inalterability to be as certain as the fact that all human reasoning must be placed second to direct experience." --From the Second Letter of Galileo Galilei to Mark Welser on Sunspots, p. 118 of Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, translated by Stillman Drake, (c) 1957 by Stillman Drake, published by Doubleday Anchor Books, Doubleday & Co., Garden City, New York.

g. "Another important inspiration for experimentation was Galileo’s experience of music. The daily routine of tuning a lute so that its sound was pure, was another sort of experimental trial and error: one had to put more or less tension on the strings, until they fell into an underlying and mathematically describable pattern.

"Presumably Galileo’s first inclined planes were rigged up with what looked like a tribute to his father: a copy of the finger-board of a stringed instrument, with thin, movable bands or strings running across it. By altering the distance between these bands and listening for the click as the sphere rolled over them, it was possible for him to gain an insight into the relationship between time and the distance the ball rolled.

"The first big problem he encountered, was to measure time accurately. Presumably he first tried to do this by singing. It was not as absurd as it may sound. A trained and skilled musician has a “metronomic” feel for the length of the subdivided beat.

"But neither the finger-board bands nor the rhythmics song were completely satisfactory. The bands disturbed the eveness of the ball’s rolling movement, and singing was undeniably somewhat impracticable and imprecise. Galileo worked at getting the groove did the balls ran in as smooth and even as humanly possible. Then he also had the idea of measuring time with a sort of water clock — by simply allowing water to flow from one container, through a thin pipe and into another. If the water flow was constant, he could get a measure of how long had elapsed by weighing the water in the receptacle. The excruciating accuracy that characterized Galileo as a practical man and experimenter was visible in the way he also estimated the weight of water that remained on the walls of the container!" --Galileo Galilei – When the World Stood Still, Atle Naess



Picture and bio courtesy Dan Flores.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Level 3 CyberTracker certified tracker and author Janet Pesaturo joins us to discuss:
-her background
-her start in tracking
-why she loves tracking and using game cams
-what is involved in tracking and using game cams
-her book Camera Trapping Guide: Tracks, Sign, and Behavior of Eastern Wildlife
-Bobcat behavior and lifestyle
-Fisher behavior and lifestyle
-Bear tracking and making behavior
-animal nature, animal consciousness, human philosophy of animal consciousness, the nature of science, and the history of science
-what she has learned from tracking and using game cams


About Janet: "A Massachusetts native, Janet admired the flora and fauna of her suburban surrounds from an early age. A seventh grade teacher inspired her interest in life sciences, which she has pursued in a variety of ways over the past several decades. She has a Medical Degree, and practiced psychiatry for about 10 years before leaving to raise her children full-time. In 2004, she launched Animal Trackers of New England (formerly Nashaway Trackers), a group of wildlife enthusiasts who tracked for fun, and occasionally provided data to local conservation organizations. Soon thereafter, she began using trail cameras to learn about wildlife behavior. In 2013, she completed a master’s degree in Conservation Biology, and in 2014 she earned a Level III CyberTracker certificate. Janet has led many tracking walks, and has given several presentations on tracking and camera trapping. In 2018, her first book, Camera Trapping Guide: Tracks, Sign, and Behavior of Eastern Wildlife, was published. She currently authors this blog, Winterberry Wildlife."


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes
1. Camera Trapping Guide: Tracks, Sign, and Behavior of Eastern Wildlife: https://www.amazon.com/Camera-Trapping-Guide-Behavior-Wildlife/dp/0811719065/

2. Animal tracks: https://bear-tracker.com/mammals.html

3. Massachusetts Audubon Society: https://www.massaudubo

4. Tracker Certification CyberTracker North America: http://trackercertification.com/history/

5. CyberTracker: https://www.cybertracker.org

6. Mark Elbroch: https://markelbroch.com

7. Mark Elbroch books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+elbroch&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

8. Bernd Heinrich
a. Bernd Heinrich bio on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_Heinrich
b. A guide to all his books: http://www.thenaturalistsnotebook.com/books-by-bernd
c. His academic career: https://www.uvm.edu/cas/biology/profiles/bernd-heinrich
d. “Scientist at Work: Bernd Heinrich, Sings of Survival in a Frozen Forest” (New York Times, January 7, 2003) by James Gormanjan: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/science/scientist-at-work-bernd-heinrich-signs-of-survival-in-a-frozen-forest.html
e. "From Twigs to Ravens, Nothing Escapes the Notice of Bernd Heinrich” (Smithsonian Magazine, November 1, 1997) by Richard Wolkomir: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/from-twigs-to-ravens-nothing-escapes-the-notice-of-bernd-heinrich-53104160/
f. Dr. Heinrich is in the top ten for the 100-mlle, 100-km, and 50-mile races (American): https://ultrarunning.com/featured/ultrarunning-magazine-all-time-lists/
g, American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame: http://www.americanultra.org/halloffame.html#Bernd

9. Bernd Heinrich interviews
a. https://www.spreaker.com/episode/17872721
b. https://www.spreaker.com/episode/17806876

10. iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org

11. Fisher
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)
b. https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/fishers/about
c. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/fisher.html

12. Bobcat
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat
b. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/bobcat/
c. https://bigcatrescue.org/bobcat-facts/
d. http://www.urbancarnivores.com/bobcats/

13. Bobcat: Master of Survival by Kevin Hansen
https://www.amazon.com/Bobcat-Master-Survival-Kevin-Hansen/dp/0195183037/

14. Black Bear in Texas
a. https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/trans_pecos/nongame/blackbear/
b. "Black bears creeping back into Texas" by Brian Chasnoff (Nov. 28, 2009): https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/article/Black-bears-creeping-back-into-Texas-626053.php
c. "Black bear sightings continue to increase in South Texas, Hill Country" by Justin Horne: https://www.ksat.com/news/2012/11/29/black-bear-sightings-continue-to-increase-in-south-texas-hill-country/
d. https://texnat.tamu.edu/2018/07/20/black-bears-of-texas/
e. "Black bear activity on the rise in Texas" by Matt Wyatt (7/8/2020): https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/black-bear-activity-on-the-rise-in-texas/ar-BB16uWk1

15. The importance of predators
a. "The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology" by Caroline Fraser (15 Sept 2011): https://e360.yale.edu/features/the_crucial_role_of_predators_a_new_perspective_on_ecology
b. "The Ecological Importance of Predators:" https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/predatorimportance.pdf
c. "Some Animals Are More Equal than Others: Keystone Species and Trophic Cascades:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGg5it5FMI
d. "The Importance of Predators:" https://www.predatordefense.org/predators.htm
e. "Why predators are important for ecosystems:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4F7yvMlAM



Note: in thinking about what the Bear might have been doing, my thought of a person opening a door, putting down keys, putting down a briefcase, etc. was not an identical sequence, but was an example to "prime the pump" to get my brain to start thinking of examples. I had some other examples in mind, but did not speak them. Developing them was not relevant to the discussion, nor was discussing in more depth the logic of the situation. But "priming the pump"of memory and thought is something we all could do more. It is an important thinking skill.

Note: philosophies of science based on the work of Plato, Kant, Descartes, Dewey, Kuhn, Popper are fundamentally wrong. Science is not essentially deductive. It is not "above and beyond" experience or anything like that. Science is the inductive, integrated understanding of that nature of things and their cause-effect relationships. It is founded on and developed out of the evidence of the senses.


Picture and bio courtesy Janet Pesaturo.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Today, Beau Harger, Level 3 CyberTracker Certified, joins us to discuss his background, tracking, what it is, what we get out of it, and why we love it.


About Beau: "Beau is a compounding pharmacist by day and an avid outdoorsman in his spare time. He learned the art of tracking from one of the few tracking specialists in the country. He has earned a Level 3 certification in “Track and Sign” thru the Cybertracker Evaluation system , a system originating in South Africa designed to evaluate tracking proficiency. He has a passion for teaching tracking and has offered classes to nature centers and survival schools. Beau also worked with Wazoo Survival Gear to bring to market the Wazoo Tracking Bandana. His other outdoor interests include bird and big game hunting and retriever training with his dog Cider."


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/


Show notes.
1. Earth Native Wilderness School: https://www.earthnativeschool.com

2. Dave Scott: https://www.earthnativeschool.com/staff-bios

3. Tracker Certification CyberTracker North America: http://trackercertification.com/history/

4. Louis Liebenberg: https://cybertrackerblog.org/author/louisliebenberg/

5. CyberTracker: https://www.cybertracker.org

6. Mark Elbroch: https://markelbroch.com

7. Mark Elbroch books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+elbroch&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

8. iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org

9. Tracker Mentoring: Correspondence Courses for Trackers: https://trackermentoring.com

10. Wazoo bandanas
a. https://wazoosurvivalgear.com/collections/bandanas
b. https://www.amazon.com/WAZOO-Tracking-Bandana-Field-Kit/dp/B07GT7WQPQ/


Bio and picture courtesy Beau Harger.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Mary Anne Piacentini, President, Katy Prairie Conservancy, joins us to discuss:
-her background
-the Katy Prairie Conservancy: what it does and what it has accomplished
-Houston flooding: what and why
-the Army Corps of Engineers Interim Report: what it says; what has been accepted and what has been rejected by it
-effective, cost-efficient, proven manageable ways to mitigate flooding
-what to consider other than “get rid of the water!” and why it is important



About MaryAnne: "MaryAnne Piacentini, President, Katy Prairie Conservancy, coordinates its land protection programs and conservation assistance to private landowners, establishes community partnerships and relationships with diverse stakeholders, and oversees the agency’s operations and programs. She expanded the land protection program from 1,300 acres in 1999 to more than 20,000 acres today; implemented a conservation buyer program to support additional conservation; and formed joint venture partnerships to restore habitat while also increasing earned income using stream and wetlands mitigation projects.

"In 2018 she was awarded the Bayou Preservation Association’s Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award. Ms. Piacentini received the AIA Houston’s Civic Vision Award in 2016. She was one of four women in Texas to receive Audubon Texas’s inaugural Terry Hershey Texas Women in Conservation award in 2014. In 2005, she received the Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award from the Citizens' Environmental Coalition.

"She received a Master of City Planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of New Hampshire. Previously, she served as Executive Director of various nonprofit organizations, including Friends of Hermann Park, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Cultural Arts Council of Houston. She also served as the Senior Policy Planner for the Community Development Division of the Mayor’s Office of the City of Houston."


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/




Show notes (more to come).
1. Katy Prairie Conservancy: https://www.katyprairie.org

2. Matt Cook Wildlife Viewing Platform at Warren Lake
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/A-duck-oasis-40-minutes-from-Houston-14963397.php

3. Indiangrass Preserve and the Ann Hamilton Walking Trail
https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7023579/ann-hamilton-trail

4. Warren Ranch
http://www.warrenranchtx.com

5. Effect of and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey: https://www.khou.com/article/weather/hurricane/harvey/final-report-shows-harveys-impact-on-harris-county-by-the-numbers/285-562016932

6. 2019 disasters and their costs: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article239153533.html

7. US Army Corps of Engineers' "Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study, Texas:" https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Portals/26/BBTnT_Interim_Report_202001001_Final_1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0VI6q_U1Td_J3YXUwE3yMgwOKF3qsa0-BbZa8nRhIjZKKDiWg95823bcA

8. Nature Deficit Disorder
a. http://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorder
b. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/parenting/nature-health-benefits-coronavirus-outdoors.html
c. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-in-nature/200901/no-more-nature-deficit-disorder
d. https://www.childrenandnature.org/about/nature-deficit-disorder/
e. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder

9. Regenerative agriculture and holistic management
a. http://www.regenerativeagriculturedefinition.com
b. https://www.ted.com/speakers/allan_savory
c. https://savory.global
d. https://rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/organic-basics/regenerative-organic-agriculture/
e. https://holisticmanagement.org
f. http://www.polyfacefarms.com
g. https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com

10. The National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org

11. Tax Day Flood
a. https://www.click2houston.com/weather/2019/04/16/look-back-at-houstons-2016-tax-day-flood/
b. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/tax-day-flood-houston-2016-photos-looking-back-12832654.php
c. https://spacecityweather.com/houstons-flooding-review/

12. "Aging dams threaten thousands across US:" by David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2019/11/10/aging-dams-threaten-thousands-across/F66XXa2e9lGpec2ZyQOEeJ/story.html

13. Rewilding rivers and removing dams
a. https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/free-flow-rewilding-rivers-through-barrier-removal/
b. https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/protecting-rivers/
c. https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/restoring-damaged-rivers/
d. https://oregonstate.edu/instruction/anth481/ws/damremove.html

14. Economic value of nature
a. "The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital"by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/9476/Costanza%20et%20al%20%20Nature%201997%20prepublicaton.pdf
b. "Twenty years of ecosystem services: How far have we come and how far do we still need to go?" by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://www.robertcostanza.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017_J_Costanza-et-al.-20yrs.-EcoServices.pdf
c. TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAEfERGyO8
d. Robert Costanza talk "Flourishing on Earth: Lessons from Ecological Economics:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZkTlVPgqG4
e. "Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services – Professor Robert Costanza:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4F3M1b1bdI
f. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2020/10/31/nature-has-economic-value-that-needs-to-be-valued/?sh=39928d263a2c



Image and bio courtesy MaryAnne Piacentini.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

We discuss:
-Steven's background
-Interesting stories from Steven's archeology studies
-Wunderlich Farms and the Klein Historical Foundation: their history, what they are, and what they do
-Early history of our area: Native Americans and early European settlers


About Steven: Graduated from Texas Tech University in 1997 with a BA in Anthropology. After working as an archaeologist for a few years, I went back and got my Masters in Archaeology and Heritage Management from the University of Leicester. Steve worked as an archaeologist for many various firms across the state of Texas and eventually decided to hang up his trowel in order to stay home with his growing family. He went back and got his teacher certification and started teaching 4th grade for Klein Independent School District. With his passion for history he received the Texas History Teacher (4th grade) of the year in 2011 presented by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). After 8 years in the classroom he was presented with the opportunity to take over the program at the Klein, Texas Museum/Wunderlich Farm as the Living History Educator and Director of the Klein Historical Foundation. He has been running that program for 8 years. Steve lives in Klein, TX with his wife Kasie. He has 2 sons attending Texas Tech, one son attending Klein High School and two daughters ages 5 and 2.


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/




Show Notes.
1. Wunderlich Farm: https://www.kleinhistorical.org

2. "Wunderlich Farms" by Matt Stephens (Community Impact Newspaper, Apr 8, 2014): https://communityimpact.com/news/2014/04/08/wunderlich-farms-2/

3. "Steve Baird" by Julie Butterfield (Community Impact Newspaper, Aug 10, 2016): https://communityimpact.com/houston/spring-klein/features/2016/08/10/steve-baird/

4. "History lives on at the Wunderlich Farm in Klein" by Vagney Bradley (Houston Chronicle (Champions-Klein), Oct. 10, 2016): https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/champions-klein/schools/article/History-lives-on-at-the-Wunderlich-Farm-in-Klein-9960935.php

5. "Wunderlich Farms offers peek at Klein's history" by Judi Griggs (Houston Chronicle (Spring Observer ), Feb. 12, 2015): https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/spring/news/article/Wunderlich-Farms-offers-peek-at-Klein-s-history-6077907.php

6. The Red River War
a. https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_War
c. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=RE010
d. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/red-river-war

7. Lyman's Wagon Train Battle
a. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=153580
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lyman%27s_Wagon_Train
c. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lymans-wagontrain]

8. Cabeza de Vaca
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cabeza-de-vaca-lvar-nunez
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Álvar_Núñez_Cabeza_de_Vaca
c. "In Search of Cabeza de Vaca’s Route across Texas: An Historiographical Survey"
by Donald E. Chipman: https://exhibits.library.txstate.edu/cabeza/pdfs/the_route/route_survey.pdf
d. "Pinon Pines and the Route of Cabeza de Vaca" by Donald W. Olson, Marilynn S. Olson, Russell L. Doescher, et. al.: https://exhibits.library.txstate.edu/cabeza/pdfs/the_route/pinon_pines_route.pdf
e. https://exhibits.library.txstate.edu/cabeza/exhibits/show/cabeza-de-vaca/further-study/the-route

9. The Atakapa
a. https://www.atakapa-ishak.org
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atakapa

10. The Akokisa
a. http://sites.utexas.edu/tarl/2015/02/10/the-akokisa-and-the-atakapans/
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akokisa
c. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/akokisa-indians
d. https://www.hcp4.net/parks/jjp/akokisa/

11. The Bidai
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bidai-indians
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidai

12. The Caddo
a. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/caddo-indians
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddo
c. http://texasindians.com/caddo.htm

13. The Gault Site
a. https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/gault/index.html
b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gault_(archaeological_site)

14. PocketSights app
a. https://pocketsights.com
b. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pocketsights-tour-guide/id935030205
c. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pocketsights.TourGuide&hl=en_US&gl=US




Bio and picture courtesy Steven Baird.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Today we are joined by Susan Chadwick, environmental advocate and Executive Director of Save Buffalo Bayou, and Bob Freitag, expert on hazard mitigation and floodplain management, to discuss
-Houston flooding
-the USACE Interim Report (2020) on trying to manage flooding by altering Buffalo Bayou and Cypress Creek
-floodplain management
-modern science vs. old thinking about streams and floodplains
-the nature of streams
-how streams interact with geology, tides, flora, ecology, and climate
-strategies for managing flooding
-cost-benefit analyses of different strategies
-benefits of modern, scientific, natural strategies over those of old, constrained strategies
-what has worked elsewhere in the country and the world, and how some places are "rewilding" streams and discovering the deep, varied economic value of free "ecological services"

About Susan: Susan Chadwick, a writer and journalist who grew up on Buffalo Bayou, is the president and executive director of Save Buffalo Bayou. She was the art critic for the Houston Post from 1985 until it closed in 1995.

More about Susan, her work, and her contact info, at:
a. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-chadwick-66502a3b/
b. www.SaveBuffaloBayou.org
c. https://www.facebook.com/SaveBuffaloBayou/


About: Bob Freitag is Senior Instructor Part-time and Director of the Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research (IHMP). The University of Washington Institute for Hazards Mitigation is an interdisciplinary academic Institute housed in the Department of Urban Design and Planning within the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. http://mitigate.be.uw.edu) He is the past Executive Director of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (http://www.crew.org/) and past member of the Association of State Floodplain Managers’ Board of Directors. (http://www.floods.org/) Bob is also a Certified Floodplain Manager. He has published many articles and written courses for FEMA and others concerning hazards mitigation and floodplain management, and was lead author of “Floodplain Management: a new approach for a new era” (Island Press 2009).

Before coming to the University, he had a 25-year career with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) serving as Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO); Public Assistance, Mitigation and Education Officer. Prior to FEMA he was employed by several private architectural and engineering consultant firms in Hawaii and Australia, and taught science as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Freitag received his Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Washington.

Contact Bob here: http://urbdp.be.washington.edu/people/robert-freitag/

His book Floodplain Management: A New Approach for a New Era
by Bob Freitag, Susan Bolton, Frank Westerlund, Julie Clark: https://www.amazon.com/Floodplain-Management-New-Approach-Era/dp/1597266353


Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/


Show notes:
1. Effect of and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey: https://www.khou.com/article/weather/hurricane/harvey/final-report-shows-harveys-impact-on-harris-county-by-the-numbers/285-562016932

2. 2019 disasters and their costs: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article239153533.html

3. US Army Corps of Engineers' "Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study, Texas:" https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Portals/26/BBTnT_Interim_Report_202001001_Final_1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0VI6q_U1Td_J3YXUwE3yMgwOKF3qsa0-BbZa8nRhIjZKKDiWg95823bcA

4. Vermont flooding in Irma: "The Connecticut River Watershed Council and The Conservation Law Foundation have joined together to step back to look at why Otter Creek in Rutland leapt up as Irene struck, increasing in flow by nearly 20 times in the space of a little more than a day, while downstream in Middlebury the river rose much more gradually, and more safely." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucb-Y8iipng&fbclid=IwAR1g9l0tePGJxV3fj1xfrpWvtxKKTTaV84TXzQp3bh4CQT1ipOjkLebXHJg

5. Rewilding Europe
a. https://rewildingeurope.com
b. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/europe/stories-in-europe/restoring-free-flowing-rivers-in-europe/
c. https://europe.wetlands.org/publications/ecosystem-services-and-river-restoration/
d. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showFile&rep=file&fil=LIFE09_INF_UK_000032_LAYMAN.pdf

6. The importance of Beavers
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4t8h8nchfM
b. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/24/620402681/the-bountiful-benefits-of-bringing-back-the-beavers
c. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwnXLllzi60
d. https://www.aswm.org/aswm/aswm-webinarscalls/3355-2020-past-beaver-restoration-webinar-series#beaver1

7. Of the Mississippi River, "Mark Twain noted in 1883 that 'ten thousand river commissions, with the mines of the world at their back, cannot tame that lawless stream, cannot curb it or confine it, cannot say to it, go here, or go there, and make it obey.' From: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/mississippi-national-waterway-trump-infrastructure-river-enviorment-a8266366.html

8. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America by John M. Barry: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Tide-Mississippi-Changed-America/dp/0684840022/

9. A tree, depending on factors such as age and species, can absorb 20-250 gallons of water per day, more or less. At , say 400 trees per acre in a forest, that is 8,000-100,000 galleons of water per day.
See, for example:
a. https://www.lsu.edu/botanic-gardens/research/trees.php
b. https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H636/
c. https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/34466/PDF
d. https://www.fs.fed.us/projects/hfi/

10. Klamath River Restoration
a. http://www.klamathrenewal.org
b. https://www.nfwf.org/programs/klamath-basin-restoration-program
c. Salmon River: http://srrc.org

11. Land subsidence from water discharge
a. "Land Subsidence From Ground-Water Pumping" by S. A. Leake, U.S. Geological Survey: https://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/subside/
b. "Texas Gulf Coast Groundwater and Land Subsidence:" https://txpub.usgs.gov/houston_subsidence/home/index.html
c. "Land Subsidence due to Ground-Water Withdrawal Tulare-Wasco Area California" by B. E. Lofgren and R. L. Klausing: https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0437b/report.pdf
d. "SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA:" https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/pdf/06SanJoaquinValley.pdf

12. David Suzuki Foundation: https://davidsuzuki.org

13. Ecosystem Valuation
a. "The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital"by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/9476/Costanza%20et%20al%20%20Nature%201997%20prepublicaton.pdf
b. "Twenty years of ecosystem services: How far have we come and how far do we still need to go?" by Robert Costanza, et. al.: https://www.robertcostanza.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017_J_Costanza-et-al.-20yrs.-EcoServices.pdf
c. TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAEfERGyO8
d. Robert Costanza talk "Flourishing on Earth: Lessons from Ecological Economics:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZkTlVPgqG4
e. "Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services – Professor Robert Costanza:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4F3M1b1bdI

14. Association of State Wetland Managers
a. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Assiation+wetland+managers&t=osx&ia=web
b. their floodplain functions videos: https://www.aswm.org/watersheds/natural-floodplain-function-alliance/1790-webinars.html
c. ecosystem valuation: https://www.aswm.org/wetland-science/planning-design/ecosystem-service-valuation
d. links to science on floodplains, wetlands, restoration, etc.: https://www.aswm.org/wetland-science

15. Tides and rivers
a. https://eos.org/research-spotlights/when-rivers-and-tides-collide
b. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2015RG000507

16. Food Forests
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GJFL0MD9fc
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_m_0UPOzuI
c. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjUsobGWhs8
d. https://projectfoodforest.org/what-is-a-food-forest/
e. https://www.wildhomesteading.com/food-forest/

17. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484/

18. Learning environments and domains: "kind" vs. "wicked"
a. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-media-psychology-effect/202010/the-success-equation-our-wicked-world
b. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experience-studio/202007/experience-kind-vs-wicked



Bios courtesy Susan Chadwick and Bob Fretag
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SanJacinto_Watershed.png

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].

Naturalist, educator, eco-therapist, and nature mentor Kimberly Beck joins us to discuss the value of nature and the outdoors to our health and well-being.

She can be reached at www.relationalrewilding.com or email [email protected].

About Kimberly:
"Kimberly's passion is facilitating relationship between people and nature, people and animals, and people and people. As a naturalist, humane educator, eco-therapist, nature mentor and dog trainer, she considers herself to be living her childhood dreams. She attributes her relationship with nature as a primary protective factor in her own emotional and psychological resilience, and hence chose to blend nature and psychology in her work. Kimberly values helping others improve their health, confidence, relationships, and sense of belonging in the world by restoring the original kinship we humans share with nature. She believes the health of people is absolutely intertwined with the health of our ecosystems, and hopes that re-establishing natural, native connections will generate more compassionate attitudes and actions toward ourselves, one another, and the planet upon which we depend.

"Along with running Relational Rewilding (founded in 2017), Kimberly currently works as coordinator and faculty for the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies, teaching nature-based approaches to therapy, and is a guest instructor with Denver Botanic Gardens, Audubon Society, and The Survival University. Kimberly holds a Master’s degree in Counseling from Colorado State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education & Plant Biology from Ohio University. She has been practicing nature-based and eco-therapy for 10 years . Kimberly designed and led environmental and humane education programs at state parks, outdoor education centers, and animal shelters throughout the country. She is a Master Naturalist, a Native Plant Master, and Certified Interpretive Guide. Kimberly has participated in continuing education programs through North American Institute of Medical Herbalism (now the Colorado School for Clinical Herbalism), The Foragers Path, Artemisia & Rue Herbalism, Somatic Wilderness Therapy Institute, Wildcraft Forest School, Wilderness Awareness School, 8 Shields Institute, and The Tracking Project - training in cultural and natural awareness, animal tracking, plant studies, herbology, bird language, primitive skills, community building, & Gestalt and nature-based therapy. She lives in the foothills west of Golden, Colorado with her partner, 3 horses, and a diversity of surrounding wildlife. "



Contact Michael:
1. [email protected]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
4. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/

Join us at CCERP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152144714995033/



Show notes:
1. Horses For Heroes: https://www.horsesforheroes.org

2. Podcast "Kimberly Beck: Ecotherapy and Rewilding – Healing the Harms of Divorcement from Nature:" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kimberly-beck-ecotherapy-rewilding-healing-harms-divorcement/id1473889249?i=1000484576633


Picture and bio courtesy Kimberly Beck.

Contact Michael at [email protected] or [email protected].