Program Summary for January 9: Oak Trees for Williamson County, a Wildlife Buffet

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— by Nancy Pumphrey

Live oak at Garey Park
Live oak at Garey Park

Beth Erwin was very informative on Thursday evening when she presented Oak Trees for Williamson County, a Wildlife Buffet.  Beth has given  presentations to elementary school kids and she used some of the same hands-on techniques and materials to engage the audience tonight.   Especially effective were the long ropes Beth had audience members stretching out to demonstrate the size of the trunk of the National Champion, and the height of the canopy of that tree.

Beth also demonstrated how to identify a red oak from a white oak by looking at the leaves. The red oak, which is more susceptible to the deadly oak wilt, has sharp edges on the lobes of the leaves. The white oak has more rounded edges on the lobes. She did a great job identifying different kinds of oaks for us and giving us information on the Texas Champion and the National Champions.

Thanks, Beth, for your willingness to step in for the meeting’s presentation.

View Beth’s presentation at this link.


You can see the January 9, 2020 business presentation slides here.

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Speaker Change for January 9: “Oak Trees for Williamson County, a Wildlife Buffet” with Beth Erwin

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— by Randy Pensabene

Due to a family emergency, we have a change of speaker for our January 9  meeting. Carol Clark, “Bring Back the Monarchs,” will be rescheduled for a future date.

We are pleased to have Beth Erwin present “Oak Trees for Williamson County, a Wildlife Buffet.” Beth will talk about the differences between Red Oaks and White Oaks, the many forms of wildlife that oaks support and which varieties of oaks will do well in Williamson County.

Beth Erwin and her husband moved to Texas from Louisiana in 2017. She managed a private nature preserve there from 1993-2017. She has a B.S. in horticulture and is a charter member of the Louisiana Native Plant Society. Here in the Native Plant Society of Texas, she is a current member of the Williamson County chapter, a NPSOT NLCP instructor and our Wilco Chapter Plant Sale Coordinator. She has been actively engaged in promoting the use and preservation of native plants and habitats to the general public for the past 40 years.

IMPORTANT:  OnJanuary 9, we meet at Georgetown Parks & Recreation Administration Offices, 1101 N College St, Georgetown, TX 78626 ( map),  NOT at the Georgetown Public Library.

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public.

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Hairy Man Road, Round Rock

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This post shares information about Williamson County’s plans to widen Hairy Man Road in Round Rock that may be of interest to you.   (The activities at the links below are not sponsored by NPSOT.)

Hairy Man Road in Round Rock, Texas has a long history.   Road plans include removal of more than 100 trees.  See links below for details.  (Update 12/17/2019:  Per Commissioner Terry Cook’s Facebook page, 68 trees are designated to be removed on a 1.7 mile stretch of Hairy Man Road.) 

KXAN’s December 10, 2019 news story (link here) includes interviews pro and con, and gives you a feel for the road if you are not familiar with it.

Concerned residents of the Brushy Creek area are raising questions with Williamson County. You can read more at their group Facebook page or choose whether to participate in their group petition at this link.

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