Meetings / Programs

Piney Woods Wildlife Society disbanded as of January 2024.  There will be no more meetings.  See our final newsletter released Jan 2024 for all the information.

Past Presentations & Topics of Interest Available Online

  • Why Conservation Matters – The November 2022 program for PWWS was a presentation from Mary Anne (Weber) Morris from the Houston Audubon Society where she took us on an Avian Adventure.  If you missed the presentation, a recording is available online.  [You will be prompted for the passcode of 5vtvDj4? (including the “?”).]  She told us all the reasons that birds matter in our world, why their conservation is so important and how Houston Audubon works for bird conservation on the upper Texas Coast. From eagles to gnatcatchers, we talked bird!  Join Mary Anne Morris, Education Director of HAS, along with two of her feathered friends for an evening for the birds!
    .
    .
    Mary Anne Morris (formerly Mary Anne Weber) the Education Director of Houston Audubon Society since 2000, has been teaching about birds for over 30 years. She travels with “feathered” teaching ambassadors who are the “spokesbirds” for the avian world during the more than 300 programs she delivers annually. She graduated with honors from Virginia Tech with a degree in Forestry and Wildlife Biology and a minor in Geography. She was a full-time educator and rehabilitator for the world renowned Raptor Trust in New Jersey where she cared for over 3,000 injured and/or orphaned birds each year and taught thousands of school children. During an eight year period in Montana, she taught bird conservation, presented teacher workshops on migratory birds at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, and served as summer bird educator at Zoo Montana. She served as President of the Montana Environmental Education Association, and is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education and the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. Mary Anne runs Houston Audubon’s Raptor and Education Center in southeast Houston and became a grandma this spring to a beautiful little girl named Adelina.
    .
  • Mountain Lions in Texas:  If you missed the very interesting November 2021 PWWS Program on the current status of Mountain Lions in Texas, you can view the recorded program at the link below.
    Texas Mountain Lion. Photo from https://texasnativecats.org/

    We heard all about Mountain Lions in Texas from Monica Morrison, the founder of Texas Native Cats. This is an organization dedicated to providing education, outreach, and advocacy for Texas’ five species of native wild cats: mountain lions, bobcats, ocelots, jaguars, and jaguarundis.

    These beautiful animals persist mostly in west Texas with scattered sightings documented. Texas mountain lions face incredible odds. Hunting and trapping remain unregulated and unlimited as habitat shrinks across the state. They are classified as imperiled (S2)/threatened (S3) by TPWD. Learn how the Texas Native Cats organization is building an effort to help our apex predator, through education, collaboration, and strategic partnerships. Their web site is: https://texasnativecats.org/

    If you missed the live presentation, you can watch the YouTube recording if you wish.

    Texas Mountain Lion. Photo from https://texasnativecats.org/

    Texas Mountain Lion. Photo from https://texasnativecats.org/