2022 Timberlake Biological Field Station Newsletter

TIMBERLAKE BIOLOGICAL FIELD STATION NEWSLETTER Fall 2022

Vol. 1 - Issue 1

1

2015 TO 2019:

From Humble Beginnings In 2015, Dr. Lamar and Marilynn Johanson established a life estate gift which would eventually transfer ownership of their 790 acre ranch in southern Mills County, along the banks of the Colorado River, to Tarleton State University. At that time the Johansons also invited Tarleton faculty to use the property as an outdoor classroom.

Unbeknownst to them, this was the beginning of Timberlake Biological Field Station! Students from Ecology, Ichthyology, Limnology,Mammalogy, Ornithology and Phycology began making the 90 minute drive from Stephenville for weekend field trips, setting up tents in the live oak grove around the pavilion and cooking over an open campfire.

It was soon realized that more formal facilities were needed to provide students with a few creature comforts, as only a single bathroom was available at the

2

time. Dr. James Pierce, then Dean of the College of Science and Technology, agreed and in 2017 the college funded the first official Tarleton facility at the field station – a bathhouse! Soon to follow were other smaller upgrades including an industrial sized gas grill and other kitchen appointments.

As usage of field station continued to grow, it became evident that an indoor learning structure was also needed.

Thanks to the generosity of the Farley family and additional funds from the college, a 1,300 sq ft multi-purpose building, the Farley Education Building, was put into place in 2019. Around this same time Louis and Judith Green deeded Tarleton a 3 bedroom cabin, which has since been designated as the Green Headquarters Building. Timberlake Biological Field Station was off and running!

3

2020 TO PRESENT

Farley Education Building After a long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Farley Education Building ribbon cutting/ dedication took place in May 2021. The event featured a fish fry (a long standing tradition for the Johansons and their family and friends), a short program that included many stories related to the long association between the Farleys, the Johansons, and Tarleton State University.

Lamar Johanson speaking at dedication

Farley Education Building ribbon cutting 4

Traditional fish fry event

Continuing to Make Additions The most recent addition to the field station is a state-of-theart weather station. Working with the National Wind Institute at Texas Tech University as well as the National Weather Service, a 10 meter tower equipped with multiple temperature and wind gauges was erected in July 2022. The weather station is also equipped with a rain gauge, soil temperature and moisture sensors at several depths, a barometer, and instrumentation to detect dew and solar radiation. This station is one of 143 similar stations together making up the West Texas Mesonet.

More information to come once the weather station is fully online.

West Texas Mesonet weather station under construction 5

Outreach While the field station continues to be used by Tarleton students and faculty for learning and research, one of our major goals is to realize the potential for outreach and community engagement.

Since 2015 many school groups have come to the field station for a day of learning and exploration, including students from Goldthwaite, Comanche, Mullen, Priddy, and Brownwood ISDs. The recent acquisition of Tarleton’s Mobile Discovery Lab has enhanced our ability to host these types of groups by providing additional indoor space.

Tarleton faculty and students engage these groups in a variety of activities, with the health of the Colorado River taking center stage. Hands-on activities typically include water quality testing, microscopic examination of aquatic organisms from a variety of different sources around the ranch, taking measurements of freshwater mussels and completing simple statistical

Local elementary students at a Timberlake Field Day 6

comparisons of different samples, nature walks to examine the differing plant and animal life from different habitats, and examining up-close the differences between carnivores and herbivores with respect to tooth and jaw structure in mammals and bill/beak differences in birds. Last fall we hosted all of the 6th graders from Mills County schools, and last spring all 5th graders from Brownwood ISD and 9th graders from Goldthwaite ISD.

Mission Statement The mission of Tarleton’s Timberlake Biological Field Station is to: • advance environmental research.

• engage students in scientific discovery.

• promote stewardship of the natural world.

9th graders examining micro-organisms

Screen shot from iNaturalist web site showing locations of the 17,000+ observations of over 2,000 species of plants and animals identified at Timberlake Biological Field Station.

BioBlitz Timberlake Biological Field Station has been host to several BioBlitz events host by Dr. Russell Pfau from Tarleton’s Department of Biological Sciences. Individuals from across the region gather for a weekend with the sole purpose of documenting as many different plants, animals, fungi – basically all living things - as they can. These observations are then uploaded to iNaturalist for verification and as a permanent record of the amazing biodiversity across the 790 acre ranch. To date over 2,000 different species have been recorded – and to be honest Dr. Pfau and his group of observers have just scratched the surface. So far Timberlake is known to be the home to 24 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 6 species of amphibians, 15 species of reptiles, 9 species of fish, 15 species of mollusks, 397 species of plants, ~120 species of algae, 60 species of fungi, 97 species of arachnids, and at least 1,400 species of insects. Through the hard work of these individuals we are basically creating a catalog of species diversity across the variety of habitats on this truly diverse property.

If you are not familiar with iNaturalist, go to their web site and check it out – citizen science taken to a whole new level with photographic documentation of most entries.

7

Rendering of the proposed kitchen/dining facility for Timberlake Biological Field Station. Image from Pfluger.

The Future is Bright To facilitate future growth, Tarleton has been working with Pfluger Architects to develop a master plan for the field station. The overall vision is to add to our current infrastructure to allow for more of everything – more research, more capacity, more long-term educational experiences. Two bunkhouses are already on order and will accommodate up to 24 students for extended stays. A lab facility is in the planning stages to enhance research and teaching opportunities. Next on tap will likely be a kitchen/dining hall, followed by two more bunkhouses, a student commons area, and an additional bathhouse with laundry. This initial buildout will be sufficient for up to 48 total students and will open the doors to additional summer and/or mini-mester classes, summer camps of all sorts, weekend field trips for all types of courses (not just our field-oriented classes), faculty/staff retreats, and the list goes on!

8

Additional Housing Also included in the master plan is room for future expansion with 4 additional bunkhouses, an expanded dining facility, a third bathhouse, and an additional lab building.

This configuration would increase capacity to 96 students.

As the field station grows, other needs have to be addressed – a new water well to meet public water supply specifications, additional power, expanded septic fields, possible addition of a solar array, etc. Stay tuned for updates as we transition from a working cattle ranch to a functioning field station.

Master plan developed for future development at Timberlake Biological Field Station. Image from Pfluger.

9

Timberlake Ranch