Background

The Texas Notebook is a companion project to the Texas Legacy Project, the Texas Landscape Project, and the Texas Fauna Project.

The Texas Legacy Project is a video-based oral history of conservation leaders in the state, illustrated excerpts and compilations of which can be streamed on-line. Full records of the interviews, presented as rich media that match video with tables of contents and transcripts, can be viewed at the Briscoe Center for American History. Selected interviews were also included in the book, “The Texas Legacy Project: Stories of Courage and Conservation“, edited by David Todd and David Weisman, and published by Texas A&M University Press in 2010.

The Texas Landscape Project is an atlas about the history of environmental events and conservation efforts in the state produced by David Todd and Jonathan Ogren, under contract with Texas A&M University Press, released in 2016. The print version of the Landscape work is available from Texas A&M Press, while digital excerpts, including animated maps and supporting audio files, can be seen here.

The Texas Fauna Project is an effort to learn more about the efforts to study, protect and restore animals in the state, including selected mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects. The project has compiled citations to over 1000 articles, books, and other media related to wildlife conservation, and also conducted, transcribed, and archived more than 150 oral history interviews with biologists, veterinarians, zookeepers, land managers, and wildlife advocates.

All four projects – Texas Notebook, Texas Legacy, Texas Landscape, and Texas Fauna – are sponsored by the non-profit, tax-exempt organization, the Conservation History Association of Texas, which was founded in 1998 and recognized by the IRS in 1999 to chronicle the effort to understand and protect Texas’ natural resources and public health.

The Association is managed by a board of trustees that includes Janice Bezanson, Susan Peterson (chair), Irene Pickhardt, and Ted Siff (Treasurer and Secretary). Additional help is provided by a Board of Advisors for the Texas Legacy Project, including Stephen Klineberg, Lydia Saldana, Louis Marchiafava, Marty Melosi, and Char Miller. The Texas Landscape Project is guided by its own Board of Advisors, including David Bezanson and Robin Doughty.

The Association has been very fortunate to have had several key partners, including the Briscoe Center for American History (archiving), Texas A&M University Press (publication), Texas Parks and Wildlife (video footage), and the University of Texas School of Information (online hosting and outreach).

Special individual thanks are due to Gary Spalding (lighting and sound), Jason Lively and Scott Hoenes (website), Will Hornaday (graphics), and Sandra Skrei (educational outreach). We are very grateful to Judy Holloway (transcription) and Jessica Myerson, Justin Kovar, and Zach Vowell (rich media development and archiving), of the Briscoe Center. We are especially obliged to Richard Roberts (video footage), Chase Fountain (photographs), and Lydia Saldana (communications) at Texas Parks and Wildlife. We would last like to extend deep thanks to Madeline Moya at Tiny Elephant Creative Studio (website design), and Quinn Stewart (rich media) and Sam Burns (website design and maintenance) at the iSchool, University of Texas at Austin.

If you would like to find more background information about the Conservation History Association of Texas and its programs, please take a look at its pages on Guidestar and Charity Navigator.