Holiday Newsletter, December 2006

Holiday Greetings to all our Friends from the Friends of Friedrich Board of Directors.

This has been a busy and exciting year for our group.   Most notable was the long awaited opening of Crownridge Canyon Natural Area (CCNA) in March.  This beautiful property now joins Friedrich Wilderness Park (FWP) in ensuring ecosystem preservation as well as natural recreation opportunities in the Northwest sector.  If you haven’t seen it yet, please come and hike the trails of this new natural area, which is also protected by the citizen advocacy functions of the Friends of FWP.

Our group continues to grow, with over 250 members.  This year we added two members to our Board, which now consists of 13 Directors.  Please be sure to renew your membership in a timely manner so that we can continue to send you this newsletter and count you among the Natural Areas’ supporters.  One extremely dispiriting occurrence this year has been the mounting evidence of development, entailing wholesale habitat destruction, right up to the borders of FWP and CCNA—blasted ridgelines, clear-cutting, and so on.  Given the growing strength of our group, we have received some, and will continue to fight for more concessions from developers that we hope will at least lessen the impact of some of these projects on the Natural Areas.  These concessions may consist of, among other things: setting aside habitat conservation areas and wildlife corridors; banning the planting of non-native, invasive species, and agreements to prohibit public access into the natural areas except through the designated trail heads.     

Our partnership with City Natural Areas staff has been a highlight of the year.  In September, FFWP helped secure a City Development Services Grant of $1,300.00 for the “Tree-mendous Year” project, to further adult and youth education on trees.  Peggy Spring, our education naturalist, used the grant to buy resources for field tours and other programs that she and volunteers present.  A SAWS grant of $1,475.00 was also obtained for Wild!Week, a two-week summer camp for children 7-12.  Thirty-nine children attended the camp’s “Water, Water Everywhere” sessions. We also contributed funds to purchase other educational items used by 1,200 students and 300 adults who participated in Natural Areas field tours this year.  By introducing children and adults to the wonders of nature, we are helping to promote environmental understanding and appreciation.

A final high note this year was our Annual Meeting at Rancho Diana.  We hosted over 100 attendees at that event in November, and everyone had a wonderful time, enjoying a property not usually open to the public.  We send our heartfelt thanks to Eric Lautzenheiser and his staff for making it all possible.  The Board of Directors intends to pay close attention to the Rancho Diana property in the future, as it too represents a key component of our Natural Areas mission.

I would like to renew my membership (adult $25; senior $15; family $30; contributing $50). Your membership expiration date is shown on the address label. FoF WP is a non-profit, charitable organization; and all contributions are tax-deductible. Make your checks payable to Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park and mail to:

Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park
21395 Milsa Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78256