Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HR1633 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.R. No. 1633
2	2
3	3
4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, J. David Bamberger of Blanco County has contributed
6	6	immeasurably to the cause of habitat restoration and responsible
7	7	land stewardship in the Lone Star State; and
8	8	WHEREAS, Raised on a farm in Ohio, Mr. Bamberger graduated
9	9	from Kent State University and enjoyed a highly successful business
10	10	career, first with the Kirby Company and then as the cofounder of
11	11	Church's Fried Chicken; shortly after the latter company went
12	12	public in 1969, he purchased approximately 3,000 acres in Blanco
13	13	County, a tract described as the sorriest piece of land in the area;
14	14	overgrazed, juniper-choked, and devoid of a natural water supply,
15	15	the property was exactly what he was looking for--a place where he
16	16	could realize his childhood dream of bringing a piece of abused land
17	17	back to life; and
18	18	WHEREAS, Mr. Bamberger named his ranch Selah, after a
19	19	Biblical expression that invites the reader to pause and reflect;
20	20	over the past four decades, he has expanded the ranch to more than
21	21	5,500 acres and created one of the largest private habitat
22	22	restoration projects in Texas; and
23	23	WHEREAS, The first major undertaking on the ranch involved
24	24	the extensive clearing of cedar and restoring of grassland; within
25	25	two short years, flowing springs had begun to reappear; today, the
26	26	property is a working ranch that supports more than 90 species of
27	27	native Texas grasses, 4 species of ferns, 6 species of cacti, 175
28	28	species of native wildflowers, and 117 species of native woody
29	29	plants and trees, including the endangered Texas snowbell and a
30	30	Blanco crabapple that has been recognized as the Texas State
31	31	Champion in its species category; the ranch is also home to 205
32	32	species of birds, among them the endangered black-capped vireo and
33	33	golden-cheeked warbler, and 26 species of native mammals; and
34	34	WHEREAS, Other notable features of the Bamberger Ranch
35	35	include a man-made cave that is designed to house a million Mexican
36	36	free-tailed bats, the official state flying mammal, and a large
37	37	herd of scimitar-horned oryx, an animal that is now extinct in the
38	38	wild and that Mr. Bamberger is helping to preserve in a cooperative
39	39	arrangement with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; some
40	40	experts have judged the latter effort to be the most successful
41	41	species survival program in the world; and
42	42	WHEREAS, Mr. Bamberger's guiding philosophy in managing the
43	43	ranch has been to ask, first, what is best for Mother Nature, and
44	44	second, how can the lessons learned be passed on to others; the
45	45	educational mission of the ranch, developed with the skilled
46	46	assistance of his beloved wife, the late Margaret Bamberger, is
47	47	carried out through public tours, programs for schoolchildren, and
48	48	workshops, which collectively bring some 3,000 visitors to Selah
49	49	each year; and
50	50	WHEREAS, The awards bestowed on J. David and Margaret
51	51	Bamberger for their accomplishments and far-reaching influence
52	52	include recognition from the Texas Forest Service, Texas Wildlife
53	53	Association, National Arbor Day Foundation, and Garden Club of
54	54	America; in 2001, Mr. Bamberger created the nonprofit Selah,
55	55	Bamberger Ranch Preserve, to protect the land and continue its
56	56	educational programs in perpetuity; and
57	57	WHEREAS, Mr. Bamberger's efforts to preserve the state's
58	58	natural treasures have extended well beyond the boundaries of his
59	59	ranch; he has succeeded in winning the trust of landowners who
60	60	cumulatively own more than 120,000 acres in West Texas and gained
61	61	their cooperation in reintroducing the Texas snowbell; his success
62	62	in propagating the tree, a project he has pursued for more than 10
63	63	years, prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate his
64	64	ranch as the lead institution in saving this rare species from
65	65	extinction; and
66	66	WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan also played an instrumental role
67	67	in the creation of Guadalupe River State Park and in the purchase,
68	68	by Bat Conservation International, of Bracken Cave, home to the
69	69	largest concentration of mammals in the world; and
70	70	WHEREAS, In 1993, Governor Ann Richards appointed Mr.
71	71	Bamberger to the State Task Force on Texas Nature Tourism, which
72	72	developed the first state program in the country for promoting
73	73	ecotourism; he has further served on the boards of the Texas Nature
74	74	Conservancy, Bat Conservation International, and the San Antonio
75	75	Zoo, as well as on two Texas Parks and Wildlife Department advisory
76	76	groups dealing with private-land issues; additionally, he has
77	77	served on the San Antonio Area Foundation Board of Directors and
78	78	given of his talents and resources to create Heart Line, a program
79	79	for hearing-impaired individuals in San Antonio; and
80	80	WHEREAS, Just as Mr. Bamberger was nurtured in his love of the
81	81	land by his mother, he has shared the beauty and wonder of Selah
82	82	with his three children, six grandchildren, and three
83	83	great-grandchildren; and
84	84	WHEREAS, J. David Bamberger has aspired to be a new kind of
85	85	pioneer, an individual who heals the scars inflicted on the earth by
86	86	past misuse and who brings to fruition again the land's rich
87	87	diversity; it is indeed fitting that, on this special milestone in
88	88	Selah's history, Mr. Bamberger's fellow Texans pause and reflect on
89	89	the magnitude of his achievement and on his tireless advocacy for
90	90	preserving the extraordinary natural inheritance of the Lone Star
91	91	State; now, therefore, be it
92	92	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
93	93	Legislature hereby honor J. David Bamberger for his immeasurable
94	94	contributions to the advancement of nature conservation in Texas
95	95	and commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Selah, the
96	96	Bamberger Ranch; and, be it further
97	97	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
98	98	prepared for Mr. Bamberger as an expression of high regard by the
99	99	Texas House of Representatives.
100	100	Rose
101	101	______________________________
102	102	Speaker of the House
103	103	I certify that H.R. No. 1633 was adopted by the House on May
104	104	4, 2009, by a non-record vote.
105	105	______________________________
106	106	Chief Clerk of the House