Notable Achievements of Bexar Audubon Society

Notable past and ongoing accomplishments of BAS -- the kind of achievements we need a continuing flow of ACTIVE new members to continue -- include:

(1) Launching the Natural Initiatives program, which helped get wildscaping off the ground in the San Antonio area and which developed the Master Naturalist program that has now spread to other areas of Texas and the nation.

(2) Joining with other local conservation groups to help develop the Mitchell Lake Wildlife Refuge Master Implementation Plan and helping to get Audubon Texas involved in that effort. As a result, National Audubon Society concluded a contract with San Antonio Water System, which establishes the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center (MLAC) under the auspices of Audubon Texas. MLAC now manages Mitchell Lake as a wildlife sanctuary and nature-education site.

(3) Helping to secure public support and voter passage of the Proposition 3 sales-tax package for buying and protecting critical areas in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone and supporting the Aquifer Protection Initiative to reauthorize and expand Prop 3 funding and land purchases.

(4) Helping to secure public support and passage of the original and improved San Antonio Tree Preservation Ordinance.

(5) Organizing and running the annual South Texas Farm and Range Forum that brings farmers, ranchers and conservationists together to hear experts describe how agriculture and conservation can work together to make living on the land both profitable and eco-friendly.

(6) Publication of an informative newsletter that has repeatedly taken top honors for large chapters in NAS newsletter competitions.

(7) Creation and continuation of the popular San Antonio Environmental Network Public Issues Forum series, which offers panels of experts and policy makers to discuss hot local issues relating to development and the environment.

(8) Local fundraising and management for the Audubon Adventures program, which provides NAS-prepared bird-conservation education packets for use by selected teachers in local elementary schools.