Tag Archives: dominican republic

The past several months have been productive. In fact, I can’t recall a period when I have accomplished more. We have ginned out three major reports, organized my images into a major on-line gallery, traveled throughout the Caribbean to gather information for my report on Key Biodiversity Areas, and have spoken at a number of events and conferences including the National Extension Conference on Tourism in Detroit. As I write this quick update I am finishing interpretive plans for the eleven scenic byways in Kansas.

In the next few weeks I will be on the speaking trail again. I will be in Toledo in early November to conduct workshops for the Toledo Metroparks, then I will continue to the Pennsylvania to speak at the Schuylkill Highlands CLI annual breakfast. In January I will join The Conservation Fund and Ed McMahon for the first of two Appalachian Gateway Communities Regional Workshops. The first of the workshops will be held January 14-16, 2014, in Abingdon, VA (southern communities), with the second February 10-12, 2014 in Shepherdstown, WV for northern communities. Here is a link for additional information about these workshops.

Here are links to some of the work that has been produced these past few months.

High Resolution
Low Resolution

  • Sandhills Journey (Nebraska) Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan

High Resolution
Low Resolution

For those interested in my photography, I have created a new website from my imagery at this link. Check out the new portfolios for our clients and projects. Look for much, much more in the near future.

One last note. Here is a link to a recent article covering our project in the PA Wilds. What a wonderful story! I can’t think of a nicer group of people to be having such success.

 

Paths to Cross

Fermata, News, , , , , , , , ,
Custer's Meadow, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas by Ted Lee Eubanks
Custer’s Meadow, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas by Ted Lee Eubanks

January is the month for writing. The time is perfect. The holidays are completed, clients lazily make their way back to the office, and I get to avoid the cold north. I try to stay on the road during the warm months, and when Christmas arrives I start the tedious process of collecting and collating all of my thoughts and work in the reports that are required. I have spent most of this month ensconced in my office, failing away at the keyboard while my two cats watched approvingly.

The reports are done. The drafts for the first phase of the Caribbean birding trail interpretive plan, the Nebraska Sandhills Journey interpretive plan, and the ecotourism strategy for Kansas are all in circulation. Today I finished the final presentations for my workshops at NCTC next week, and I am making travel plans to return to Kansas for work on the byways later in the month. Yes, there is pride that comes with accomplishment. I try not to linger long in self-satisfaction, though. To be perfectly honest, a month in the office leaves me stir crazy.

I thoroughly enjoy the field work, I confess. There is nowhere I would rather be than out rather than in. But I have learned to appreciate my writing time as well. I do like to see the finished product, that magical moment when text, design, images, and insight come together in something singular.

I also found time this month to continue working on efforts to conserve Shoal Creek in Austin (my home). I created a blog for that effort several months ago. A number of stakeholders have joined me in creating a new organization, the Shoal Creek Conservancy, and the blog has been retooled to fit the needs of the organization. I enjoy this volunteer effort, and my time along the creek has opened my eyes to the incredible resource that it represents.

Fermata is well into its second decade, and I marvel at what we have accomplished over those years. More importantly, though, I am anticipating the next project, the next challenge. There is never a moment for rest in this business. Contracts are finite, and the demands of life are eternal. Hopefully our paths will cross during this new year.

Ted Lee Eubanks
29 Jan 2013

The Caribbean Birding Trail

Birds, Byways, Nature, , , , , , , , ,

Red-billed Streamertail, the national bird of Jamaica, by Ted Lee Eubanks
The Caribbean Birding Trail is a project of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) and its partner organizations. The Trail is being developed to help residents as well as travelers connect to the rich cultural and natural history of the Caribbean islands through birds. The Trail will aid visitors in enjoying the Caribbean birds, nature, history, and people along the entire expanse from Bermuda to Trinidad and Tobago.

Fermata is writing interpretive plans for the first two countries on the Trail, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Ted Eubanks, along with Lisa Sorenson and Holly Robertson of the SCSCB, spent nearly a month in the two countries this summer. Our visits focused on five Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in these two countries: Sierra Bahoruco Oriental, Sierra Bahoruco, and Parque Nactional Valle Nuevo in the DR, and the Cockpit and Portland Bight regions of Jamaica. In October the team will travel to Grenada to complete this summer’s field work.