When you hear the word “Kansas” what first comes to mind? Flat? Dorothy? What about stone, as in native stone?
Native stone is the essential Kansas. Once an inland ocean, the shallow soils of much of Kansas are underlain with limestone strata. Pioneers soon discovered that while lacking in trees (think lumber) Kansas did not lack building materials. These pioneers soon found ways of using stone in place of lumber, as in native stone fence posts, fences, jails, churches, buildings, and the like.
Stone is now out of fashion, but the native stone structures remain. Efforts are underway in parts of Kansas (such as the Native Stone Scenic Byway) to not only restore native stone structures but to resurrect its use as a building material.
I have collected a gallery of my favorite Kansas native stone images on Pinterest for display. Native stone is (or certainly should be) a cherished Kansas tradition, and an elemental part of the Kansas heritage. Enjoy.
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.
Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you…Satchel Paige
Looking back is a luxury that we can rarely afford. Fermata is a consultancy; we live from contract to contract. The good news is that we stay busy. The bad news is that we rarely get the opportunity to look back over our accomplishments.
Monument Rocks, Kansas, by Ted Lee EubanksWith the year’s end approaching, perhaps we should take the time to consider our work. For example, I am currently helping Kansas develop an ecotourism strategy. Governor Brownback and Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KWPT) Secretary Robin Jennison brought me into the project to facilitate the development of the strategy. This coincides with our work on interpretive plans for the 11 Kansas byways, as well as the writing of an interpretive plan for the state byways as a whole.
This is not our first project where we have worked directly with the governor. Several years ago we developed the Maine ecotourism strategy for then-Governor Baldacci. In Pennsylvania we worked with Governor Tom Ridge, then continued with Governor Ed Rendell. The results of that decade-long collaboration were the Pennsylvania Wilds and another 4 Conservation Landscape Initiatives (CLIs). We began the birding trail craze in Texas with Governor Ann Richards.
Jamaican tody (Todus todus), Windsor Research Centre, Jamaica, by Ted Lee EubanksWe are also completing the final draft of an interpretive plan for the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway in Nebraska. Our work in Nebraska dates back to the 1990s when we looked at socio-economic benefits of the Platte River for the EPA. Even then I spent time in the Sandhills, one of the iconic American landscapes.
Our interpretive work for the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) has extended across the Caribbean as well. Recently I completed an interpretive strategy for Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Grenada. Last week I worked in Jamaica with the Windsor Research Centre, conducting a workshop on sustainable recreation and tourism as a development alternative. We hope to continue our work on the Caribbean Bird Trail this next year, extending its reach throughout the Basin.
Aguas Blancas, Dominican Republic, by Ted Lee EubanksWe have also continued our work with URS on the San Antonio River. In the next few months we will look at the value of the lower river as a wildlife corridor that connects the Texas Hill Country with the Gulf of Mexico. The San Antonio River Authority (SARA) is the client, and we are excited to be able to continue our work in this fascinating and little-known region of Texas.
When I started Fermata in 1992 I thought that I would focus on birds and nature. Little did I know where the trail would lead. Now we work in cultural and historical landscapes as much as with nature. Our services now span the interpretive range from planning to products. Yet one trait ties all of these disparate parts together. We are still driven by curiosity, by a simple need to reveal “beautiful truths.”
Monument Rocks by Ted Lee EubanksKansas is Oz. Kansas is flat. Kansas is boring. Not. Kansas’ 11 scenic byways lead visitors to what the state is, not what the state is said to be. These byways wend through the backroads of the Kansas experience. For the curious, for those not willing to limit their knowledge of the world to a television show or a cartoon, travel these byways and get a sense of the real Kansas. Fermata is currently developing interpretive plans for each of the 11 Kansas byways, and one for the state byways as a whole.
