Texas Nature Trackers
More than ever, people are interested in watching and learning about Texas wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, along with other partners, offers Texans the opportunity to do just that while making valuable contributions to the conservation of animal and plant species in the state. Texas Nature Trackers, associated with the Texas Master Naturalist Program, is a citizen-science monitoring effort designed to involve volunteers of all ages and interest levels in gathering scientific data on species of concern in Texas.
Through Texas Nature Trackers projects, you can learn how to gather data about various species found on public lands or on your own property. Collected data is sent to biologists who use the information to gain a better understanding of the status and management needs of various species. The goal of the program is to enable long-term conservation of these species and appreciation among Texas citizens.
Texas Bumblebee Watch
While most everyone has heard at least something in the news about declining bees, most press coverage has been directed toward the plight of the non-native European honeybee. Very little attention is directed towards native bees, like bumblebees. Over the past few decades a substantial body of research has identified declines in bumblebee populations in Europe and North America.
Bumblebees have gone virtually unstudied in most states in this country despite their critical roles in agriculture and natural ecosystems. There is a real need to evaluate bumblebees in the United States to assess how their populations are faring and if conservation actions are needed.
We can begin to do this in Texas by simply recording where species are today and if they still occur in the same places they did years ago. Helping with this process can be as simple as casually snapping images of bumblebees on flowers, recording the date and location, and posting them to the Texas Bumblebees Facebook page or as complex as conducting your own bumblebee survey.
See the TPWD web site for complete details and additional information:
Requirements for Texas Master Naturalist Elm Fork Chapter approved Service Hours:
- Register with TPWD as required
- Attend a workshop or presentation on Bumblebees by Michael Warriner TPWD
- Notify the Project Manager of participation
- Send completed forms to both TPWD and the Project Manager
Project Number: P-130216
Project Manager: Jeanne Erickson email: