The goal of this program is to develop well-informed volunteers who provide education, outreach and service dedicated to the beneficial management of the natural resources in the community.

“Our chapter serves primarily Bastrop and Caldwell counties,” extension agent Rachel Bauer said. “In the Master Naturalist program, you will enhance your love of nature with research-based, scientific knowledge. You will learn about the plants, animals and natural history of Central Texas, meet other people who enjoy nature, find out how to attract wildlife to your property and share your knowledge through volunteer activities in our communities.”

The class includes more than 40 hours of intensive classroom and field based instruction – with an emphasis on local ecosystems – conducted by experts.

Training begins with an orientation class on Feb. 6 and ends with graduation on May 21. Casses are Mondays, 6:30-9 p.m. (two or three times a month). There are also five Saturday morning field trips planned.

A preliminary class schedule and application forms are available at the chapter website http://www.lostpinesmasternaturalist.org.

Return completed applications by Jan. 23 to the Bastrop County Extension Office at 901 Pecan Street in Bastrop or the Caldwell County Extension office at 1403B Blackjack Street in Lockhart.

Electronically-completed applications may be returned by e-mail to abutler@mac.com and the fee of $85 may be brought to the orientation class.

This fee includes a binder containing a comprehensive Texas Master Naturalist Curriculum and other resources and dues for first year membership in the Lost Pines Chapter.

For more information, contact (512) 581-7186.

The IRS also announced a number of improvements to help make this tax season easy for taxpayers. This includes new navigation features and helpful information on IRS.gov and a new pilot to allow taxpayers to use interactive video to get help with tax issues.

“At the IRS, we’re working hard to make the process of filing your taxes as quick and easy as possible,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “Providing quality service is one of our top priorities. It not only reduces the burden on taxpayers, but also helps in filing an accurate return right from the start.”

Taxpayers will have until Tuesday, April 17, to file their 2011 tax returns and pay any tax due because April 15 falls on a Sunday, and Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Monday, April 16. According to federal law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do; therefore, all taxpayers will have two extra days to file this year. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 15 to file their 2012 tax returns.

The IRS expects to receive more than 144 million individual tax returns this year, with most of those being filed by the April 17 deadline.

The IRS will begin accepting e-file and Free File returns on Jan. 17, 2012. Additional details about e-file and Free File will be announced later this month. IRS Free File provides options for free brand-name tax software or online fillable forms plus free electronic filing. Everyone can use Free File to prepare a federal tax return. Taxpayers who make $57,000 or less can choose from approximately 20 commercial software providers. There’s no income limit for Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms, which also includes free e-filing.

The IRS also reminds paid tax return preparers they must have and include a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) on all returns they prepare. All PTINs must be renewed for 2011. Tax return preparers can obtain or renew PTINs online.

Assistance Options

The IRS continues to focus on taxpayer service. The best way for taxpayers to get answers to their questions is by visiting the IRS website at IRS.gov. The IRS has updated the front page of the IRS website to make it easier for taxpayers to get key forms, information and file tax returns. The front page also has links to taxpayer-friendly videos on the IRS YouTube channel. More improvements are planned for IRS.gov in the months ahead.

Last year, the IRS unveiled IRS2Go, its first smartphone application that lets taxpayers check on the status of their tax refund and obtain helpful tax information. The IRS reminds Apple users that they can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting the Apple App Store and Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to download the free IRS2Go app.

Individuals making $50,000 or less can use the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for free tax preparation and, in many cases, free electronic filing. Individuals age 60 and older can take advantage of free tax counseling and basic income tax preparation through Tax Counseling for the Elderly. Information on these programs can be found at IRS.gov.

For tax law questions or account inquiries, taxpayers can also call our toll-free number (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time) or visit a taxpayer assistance center, the locations of which are listed on IRS.gov.

Virtual Service

The IRS has begun a new pilot program where taxpayers can get assistance through two-way video conferencing.  The IRS is conducting a limited roll out of this new video conferencing technology at 10 IRS offices and two other sites, and may expand to further sites in the future. A list of locations is available on IRS.gov.

Check for a Refund

Once taxpayers file their federal return, they can track the status of their refunds by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool, which taxpayers can get to using the IRS2Go phone app or from the front page of www.IRS.gov.  By providing their Taxpayer Identification Numbers, filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of their anticipated refund taxpayers can generally get information about their refund 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of their e-filed returns, or three to four weeks after mailing a paper return.

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Survivors in all 23 counties designated for Individual Assistance under the major disaster declaration are urged to register before it’s too late.

“This is the last call for wildfire survivors,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes of FEMA. “Don’t let Friday come and go without contacting FEMA if you haven’t already done so.”

Hannes said Texans who have already registered with FEMA need not be concerned when the deadline passes because FEMA will remain in Texas and continue to work with applicants until every eligible survivor is assisted.

“Just keep us informed if you change your address, phone number or banking information so any assistance dollars that might be coming to you are not delayed,” he said.

Friday is also the deadline to return applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for low-interest disaster loans for property damage.

To date, more than $13.4 million in grants has been approved for home repairs or replacement, rental assistance and other needs. Another $19.5 million in SBA low-interest disaster loans has been approved for 164 homes and businesses.

Survivors can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov, via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov until midnight Jan. 6. Texans can also register by telephone until 9 p.m. Jan. 6 via FEMA’s toll-free numbers: 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 1-800-621-3362. Recovery assistants remain available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Texans can follow FEMA tweets about the Texas disaster at www.twitter.com/femaregion6. Other online resources are http://blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.

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During January the recovery center will continue renovations for expanded services, installing new workstations and full access for people with disabilities.  Initial January hours of the volunteer-run center will be Wednesday – Friday afternoons, 1-4 pm, adding hours as volunteers join the team.

Beginning February 1^st, service hours return to 9am–5pm Monday – Friday as the center adds full time professional staff funded by US Dept of Labor National Emergency Grants.

The Bastrop County Recovery Center provides enhanced programs and services for fire survivors, plus resources and support for long term community recovery.    Special January programs include:

Solving Insurance Problems and    Future Fire Protection for Homes

Check BastropRelief.org or call 512 549-3011 for details.

Bastrop Recovery Information/Services Line:   512 549-3011

Thanks to generous support from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Bastrop Recovery Information hotline is renewing operations (phone volunteers needed).  This Recovery Center service offers information on: relief services, donations, volunteer opportunities, community wildfire recovery.

Similar information services are also available online through BastropRelief.org.

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For additional information, please visit BastropRelief.org

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Information Contact:   gcrick@main.org   512 468 5052

Gene Crick,  Director, Bastrop County Disaster Recovery Center

Communications Chair, Bastrop Long Term Recovery Committee

1091 Hwy. 71 West   /  PO Box 328,  Bastrop, TX 78602

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At the meeting in January, they summarized the fire damage and recommendations as a whole with data from all the member agencies of the Team.

Longoria serves as the lead member for the Wildlife Subgroup of the Recovery Team.  Hernandez is the overall lead for the Lost Pines Recovery Team.  Longoria has served as Wildlife Biologist for Bastrop and Caldwell Counties for six years.  Hernandez has been administrator of Bastrop County’s Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan, a program designed to further Houston toad conservation, since November of 2008.

The report will include the situation for the Houston Toad, the endangered species found exclusively in the sandy soil of the lost pines of Bastrop County, as well as deer, mountain lion, bobcat, birds, insects, etc., to cover the denizens of the fire-damaged territory.

Bastrop County Audubon Society meetings are open to the public every third Tuesday of the month except July and August at the First National Bank Building in Bastrop, Hasler Boulevard at Highway 71W.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.  Refreshments will be served.

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Saturday, January 7, 2012 from 10-2pm

to accept your natural undecorated trees. In exchange, you’ll receive a live sapling donated by Cedar Creek Tree Farm as long as supply lasts. All county residents can drop off their trees at the City of Bastrop Department of Public Works at 1209 Linden which is next to the baseball fields. All trees will be mulched, anyone can have the free mulch just come by pick up and haul away.

The city will be accepting trees other times, call 512 537 0068 for further information.

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Contacts: Dr. Billy Higginbotham, 903-834-6191, b-higginbotham@tamu.edu Jared Timmons, 254-485-4886,  jbtimmons@ag.tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – A team of experts has developed a new Texas AgriLife Extension Service publication focused on keeping feral hogs from raiding wildlife feeding stations.

The four-page “Using Fences to Exclude Feral Hogs from Wildlife Stations” publication was developed by Texas A&M University System and U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wildlife experts. It provides advice and direction on how landowners can protect corn and protein pellets intended for wildlife from being eaten by feral hogs.

The new publication may be downloaded from the Texas AgriLife Bookstore website at http://agrilifebookstore.org or Plum Creek Watershed Partnership website at http://pcwp.tamu.edu/feral-hogs.

“We developed this resource primarily for residents of the Plum Creek watershed area, but it’s applicable to landowners throughout the state,” said Jared Timmons, an AgriLife Extension assistant who addresses feral hog issues in the Plum Creek watershed.

“In many parts of Texas, feral hogs damage landscapes, pollute the water, and hinder farming, ranching and wildlife management,” said Dr. Billy Higgenbotham, AgriLife Extension wildlife and fisheries specialist. “Using fencing to exclude them from supplemental feed should be a part of every ranch-management plan.”

He added that feral hogs are responsible for more than $52 million in damage to the state’s agriculture industry each year.

“Feral hogs not only damage crops and other property in the Plum Creek Watershed and other areas of the state, they also have been identified as a possible source of nonpoint pollution to the water table in many locations,” Higginbotham said.

Hunters and wildlife managers often provide feed for white-tailed deer and other wildlife in Texas, using an estimated 150,000 tons of corn each year.

“In addition to corn, many deer managers also supply high-protein pellet feed, but research has shown much of this supplemental feed is consumed by non-target species such as feral hogs,” Timmons said.

To meet management goals and reduce feed costs, Timmons said, deer managers should take steps to prevent feral hogs from accessing deer feed, and the new publication will provide “useful, practical information” toward reaching that end.

“Research conducted in South Texas brush country showed that fencing around feeding stations that excludes feral hogs is an effective way to keep them getting to and eating the corn and other supplemental feed landowners put out for wildlife,” Timmons said. “And while exclosure fences are time and labor intensive, they will pay for themselves in feed savings.”

Timmons said a result demonstration was conducted to determine appropriate fence heights of exclosure fences around wildlife feeding stations, and that the publication provides results of this study. The publication also has photos, a list of materials, fence height recommendation and cost estimates related to building an exclosure fence.

Other materials on feral hogs and feral hog management also may be found on the Texas AgriLife Bookstore or Plum Creek Watershed Partnership websites. The partnership website has 12 additional feral hog-related publications as well as voice-over presentations and a feral hog reporting website. On that site’s reporting portion, landowners may report feral hog activity, including removal, and non-landowners may report feral hog sightings.

Funding for the result demonstration was funded by the USDA Renewable Natural Resources Extension Act. Publication costs were funded through the Plum Creek Watershed Feral Hog Project with funding support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through a Clean Water Act §319(h) Nonpoint Source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and from the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA and National Integrated Water Quality Program.

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Topics will include:

• History of Fire in our Ecosystem – What Made the Bastrop County Complex Fire Different,
• Post-Fire Water Quality,
• Post-Fire Restoration and Regeneration,
• Short-Term and Long-Term Revegetation Strategies,
• What Happened to the Houston Toad,
• Wildfire Mitigation and Firewise Landscaping,
• Erosion Control Strategies,
• Managing Wildlife After The Fire – Wildlife Tax Valuation and
• Beyond, Post-Fire Land Management, And Future Outlook for Weather and Fuels.

One CEU will be offered in General, and 0.5 CEU will be offered in IPM for pesticide applicators (TDA).

This workshop will take place Friday January 13^th from 9am to 5pm, with registration beginning at 8:30am, at the Dining Hall at LCRA’s McKinney Roughs Nature Park (1884 State Hwy 71 West, Cedar Creek, TX  78612, 1-800-776-5272 X8041).  Attendees will have a chance to visit with a variety of vendors including seed companies, native plant nurseries, tree services, erosion control companies, equipment dealers and operators, and more as well as visit with staff from natural resource agencies and companies.  There is no cost to attend this workshop.  To reserve a free lunch please RSVP by 5pm Wednesday, January 11th by contacting Daniel Lewis with the Texas Forest Service at 979-968-5556 or dlewis@tfs.tamu.edu.  For more information you may contact Meredith Longoria with Texas Parks and Wildlife at 512-332-7280 or meredith.longoria@tpwd.state.tx.us.

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We welcome discussion on our stories but we will only publish comments that do not violate our Comment Guidelines.

Last year, 8.2 million shoeboxes were collected, shipped to more than 130 countries and distributed to children by Samaritan’s Purse outreach ministries in those countries. Every child also receives a Gospel booklet in his or her native language. National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is Nov. 14-21 and the deadline for the church to collect all shoeboxes is Nov. 20.

To promote awareness of the program, First Baptist Church will host a “Shoebox Packing Party” on Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children in Sunday School classes will fill shoeboxes with donated items.

Join the party and share in the excitement by stopping by that day to visit and fellowship, drop off a packed shoebox or donate items for the Packing Party. There will be a Hummer detailed with “Samaritan’s Purse” logo on the grounds and a disc jockey playing great music. The Christian Motorcycle Association of Bastrop will ride in with packed shoeboxes.

Needed collection items: school supplies, small toys, underwear and socks for ages  2–14, hairbrushes/clips/bands/combs, writing tablets/spirals, coloring books, wash cloths/hand towels, etc.

For more information, contact FBC at 512- 237-2176.

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