Kansas Byways

Byways, , , ,

Monument Rocks by Ted Lee Eubanks
Kansas is Oz. Kansas is flat. Kansas is boring. Not. Kansas’ 11 scenic byways lead visitors to what the state is, not what the state is said to be. These byways wend through the backroads of the Kansas experience. For the curious, for those not willing to limit their knowledge of the world to a television show or a cartoon, travel these byways and get a sense of the real Kansas. Fermata is currently developing interpretive plans for each of the 11 Kansas byways, and one for the state byways as a whole.

The Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway

Byways, , ,

Sandhills, Nebraska by Ted Lee Eubanks
The Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway stretches along Highway 2 from Grand Island to Alliance, Nebraska. The byway begins east of the 98th Meredian, at the edge of the humid, forested east. The byway ends west of the 100th Meredian, in the arid, treeless grasslands of the west. With each mile a different sentence in the great American story is inscribed. The Sandhills is an iconic American landscape, a land that fundamentally changed the way Americans view the country and themselves. Fermata is honored to be developing an interpretive strategy for this byway.

Ted’s San Antonio River Photo To Be Used In Witte Museum Exhibit

Fermata, , , ,

San Antonio River by Ted Lee Eubanks
The Witte Museum is one of San Antonio’s premiere museums hosting and producing history and science exhibits for the community. Over 400,000 people visit the Witte Museum annually. The museum and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) are presenting an exhibit titled If the River Could Talk: 12,000 Years of Life on the San Antonio River, June 12-August 31, 2012.

This exhibition focuses on excavated archaeological finds from the San Antonio River never before seen by the public, and explores the natural and cultural resources that sustained communities overtime. SARA is celebrating 75 years of overseeing the water resources of the San Antonio River coursing through Bexar County and the surrounding areas.

Be sure to take advantage of this unique opportunity! The photo is part of a collection from Fermata’s work with URS on a SARA watershed plan for the lower stretch of the river. Thanks to all (particularly Jeff Irvin) for including us in the wonderful project.

San Antonio River Authority Watershed Plan

Fermata, Planning, Sustainability, , , , , , , , , ,
San Antonio River between Kenedy and Runge

Have you ever heard of Kenedy, Texas? What about Falls City, Helena, Runge, or Goliad? Surely you know of the San Antonio Riverwalk? The San Antonio River doesn’t suddenly halt once it passes the Alamo. The river flows south to San Antonio Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The spaces in between San Antonio and the Gulf, however, are relatively unknown even among Texans.

Mission Nuestra Señora del Rosario (established in 1754)
Fermata is part of a team that has been engaged by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) to develop a holistic watershed plan for the lower San Antonio River in Karnes and Goliad counties. Our role is to develop sustainable park and recreation plans. Currently we are designing conceptual plans for a linear park along Escondido Creek in Kenedy, and the restoration of Lake Paul in Runge. Part of our planning includes expanding the San Antonio River water trail, and to consider ways to develop hike-and-bike trails on the original San Antonio / Aransas Pass rail bed.

The past is also part of our investigations, and this region is incredibly rich in Spanish Colonial and Texas history. The Oxcart Trail, the El Camino Real de los Tejas, Camp Kenedy (a WWII internment camp), La Bahia, and longhorn cattle drives are but a part of what the lower San Antonio River has to offer. Our thanks go to SARA and to URS (the prime on the contract) for allowing us to participate in such a remarkable project.

Fermata’s Ted Lee Eubanks at the National Conservation Training Center

Presentations, , , , , , , , , , ,

Ted joined a panel of nature tourism experts at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia this week. The panel presented and discussed nature tourism and the implications for federal public lands. Joining Ted on the panel were Mike Carlo and Toni Westland of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Nancy Millar of the McAllen (Texas) Chamber of Commerce, with Nancy Zapotocki, Kevin Kilcullen, and Randy Robinson (all of the USFWS) providing behind-the-scenes support and guidance. This broadcast is the first presented in the USFWS Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Conservation series. Here is a link to this 90-minute broadcast. For those interested in additional information and resources related to Ted’s talk, we have added a page to our website with links to a broad collection of papers, reports, books, and presentations.

For those interested in watching the 90-minute segment, please use this link NCTC Human Dimensions in Conservation Series