IMPLEMENTATION
Projected Budget Needs
At this time, the following budget needs are projected for the Preserve and Nature Study Center. Figures (in 2010 dollars) exclude site acquisition, treatment of special site technical problems, operation and management costs, and other non-construction/installation expenditures:
1. Wildlife Preserve: $4.5 to 4.9 million
2. Jenna Welch Nature Study Center: $6.3 to 8.2 million
3. Jenna Welch Nature Study Center Site Work: $870 thousand
Total Probable Costs: $11.7 to $14.0 million
Prioritization and Phasing
The pace and extent of development of the Preserve and Nature Study Center will depend on the speed and depth at which funds are acquired for design, installation, construction, operation, and management. Considering the probable need to spread Preserve and Center development over time, the following phases and priorities are recommended:
2007-2009
Phase I: Basic Preserve Enhancement and Outreach Development
Priorities: Habitat Improvement for Birds, Butterflies, Odonates
- Playa Cattail Control, Feral Animal Control
- Main Trail, Butterfly Trails
- Bird Blinds, Observation Decks, and Bird Feeding Sites
- Canoe Dock
- Tree Plantings Along Preserve Perimeter
- Perimeter Fence
- Pavilion
- Educational and Interpretive Materials
- Festivals and Other Outreach Events and Programs
- Initiation of Scientific Studies and Monitoring of Playa
- Website Development
- Community Awareness and Marketing
- Volunteer Opportunities
2009-12
Phase II-A: Advanced Preserve Enhancement
Priorities: Hawk Observation Tower and Ramp
- Canopy Walks
- Low Ramps to SE, SW Blinds
- Primary Boardwalk (Options A, B, and/or C)
- Selected Trails and Boardwalk Sections to Pit Ponds
- Restoration of Bull Frog Pond Edges
- Bio-Remediation Enhancement of NW Drainage
- Debris Catchers on NE Drainage
Phase III-B: Nature Study Center and Preserve Completion
Priorities: Nature Study Center
- Rain Harvesting System
- Orientation-Demonstration Habitats at Center
- Observation Decks Below Dam
- Completion of Trails, Observation Decks, Blinds, and
- Boardwalk Sections in the Preservešs North
Festivals and Special Events
A good number of Texas communities hold festivals and other celebrations of the wildlife resources they recognize as civic assets. Port Aransas, for example, has its annual Celebration of Whooping Cranes and Other Birds every late February. Guided tours of points from which to view the endangered and beautiful cranes are given. Art exhibits and other attractions are embellishments. Lake Jackson puts on its Annual Migration Celebration in mid-April, as migratory tanagers, warblers, buntings, hawks, waterfowl, and shorebirds all return from wintering in Latin America.
Midland can do something similar and no less marvelous, focused at the Preserve. Not just one, but two or more festivals, linked to both avian and butterfly (e.g., Monarch, American Snout) migrations could be considered. Special alerts of rare and uncommon birds (see below) will also be occasion for visitation and media coverage. Once larger playa water surfaces are recovered from cattail overgrowth and habitat plantings are established, the Preserve will be justifiably called one of the most notable wildlife destinations in West Texas.
Joining in other established observations can also be valuable in terms of both public education and the stimulation of public interest in the Preserve. The annual World Wetlands Day, which is observed world-wide each February 2, will be an opportunity for Midland to take pride in and publicize its unique resource and also tout its year-by-year achievements in restoring and improving I-20 Preserve habitat.
Bird Alerts
Preserve staff and volunteers, including the Midland Naturalists, can be instrumental in alerting birders to visiting rare and uncommon (and threatened and endangered) birds. Some visitors may be of interest only regionally, but no unusual occurrence is outside the general curiosity of birders, and posting notices on the Preservešs own website, as well as on national websites, will be a valuable function of Preserve management. If other playas in rural Southern Llano Estacado become accessible to the public, birders could be alerted to Sandhill Crane and other landings at such sites and the Preserve would serve as gateway.
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