major partner in the project, providing
land and technical support through their
Plant Materials Centers in Knox City
and Kingsville.
So, how do you develop this native
plant material? The first step is to gather
seed collections from a list of selected
plant species from across the 37 counties
of the West Texas project. This list was
developed by the Trans Pecos Native
Plant Materials Initiative and its board of
technical advisers and includes over 75
plant species. The goal is to get a broad
representation of each target species to
maintain genetic diversity. That means a
lot of windshield time, lots of brown
paper bags, repetitive site visits and walk-
ing through “weeds” looking for ripe
seed. Researchers then identify popula-
tions with the best natural adaptation for
successful restoration use.
Private landowners providing access
for project staff to make small collections
of seed are vital for project success.
TPPMI has already made 277 seed col-
lections from 32 ranches across the
region. These landowners play a big role
in the story. Of course, everybody has a
different motive for providing access for
collection, but they all have the goals of
restoring disturbed land and protecting
their own habitat or ranchland. Different
(but often linked) backgrounds include
farmers, cattlemen, wildlife ranchers, the
oil and gas industry and Teddy Roosevelt-
style conservationists focused on the
region’s unique biodiversity. Without all of
these various characters and interests, this
story would be a short one.
Seed is collected, cleaned, cataloged
and then propagated in greenhouses.
Seedlings are transplanted into test plots
and evaluated based on several criteria,
including germination, growth rate, size
and adaptability. Test sites in West Texas
currently include the Texas AgriLife
Research Station in Uvalde, the Pecos
River Irrigation District #3 farm near
Imperial and a new facility south of
Alpine being built in cooperation with CF
Properties’ Sierra la Rana development.
In the first year, plants are evaluated
under minimal irrigation. They’re
watered right after transplanting to get
up and growing; after that, they’re on
their own. Because weather plays such a
pivotal role, it typically takes from three
to five years to complete an evaluation.
Once the populations best suited for a
release are identified, the original collec-
tions of those native seeds are propagat-
continued on page 27
SRSU
Fall 2012 Performing Arts Calendar
THEATRE:
MUSIC:
ROUGH CROSSING FALL CONCERT SERIES
DIRECTED BY GREGORY M. SCHWAB
OCTOBER 12 - 21, 2012 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 - 7:30 P.M.
Wind Ensemble/Choir/Mariachi
Marshall Auditorium
WRITTEN BY TOM STOPPARD
X A N A D U
THE BROADWAY MUSICAL
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music/Lyrics by Jeff Lynne
& John Farrar
DIRECTED BY DONA W. ROMAN
MUSICAL DIRECTION
BY DONALD CALLEN FREED & LANA POTTS
NOVEMBER 9 - 18, 2012
BOTH SHOWS:
FRIDAY & SATURDAY - 8:15 PM
SUNDAY - 2:00 P.M.
SEASON tickets on sale now!
www.sulross.edu/theatre
432-837-8219
STUDIO THEATRE
SRSU CAMPUS
!% * % + ),,- + # . ' /
! " # $ % # & " ' ( )!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 - 3:00 P.M.
Alpine Community Band Concert
Marshall Auditorium
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 - TBA
Mariachi at Art Walk
Transpecos State Bank
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29 - 7:30 P.M.
Student Recital
Studio Theatre
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 - 7:30 P.M.
Wind Ensemble/Choir
Marshall Auditorium
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 - 3:00 P.M.
Alpine Community Band Concert
Marshall Auditorium
COMPLIMENTARY ADMISSION
!"#$%&'()$&#!&*+,#-!./#$$$$+#,!#01#&$23$4$(*/#01#&$567$2852
&%#%-0(,+$!'1./$!4G$$*#0,"%.$IG$$$$6,0$0,$J,0
#3-%.(%+#%$'*%.(#!5/$&(./0$2,*!+$*,$%.+$!.0(/0$!+$$0'%$!.%!/1.%$$-,))%#0(,+$,&$
%,)$%+$"%!.0$Q!.*
for more info.: 432-837-8218
1R.S).(%$JT$0!.&!7$!%3!/$
!'%$.+0%.+!0(,+!)$ ,*!+5/$Q,1+$!0(,+
386$ %/0$1,++(%$+0.%%0$$0!.&!7$!%3!/$$3JTIV
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2012
25