JUNE NEWS 2000

       Governor George Bush: His Environmental Legacy by Pat Suter
            EARTH DAY 2000 by Pat Suter
                  Should This City Be the Waste Dump
              for Chemical Weapons Residue??
         The Corpus Christi Experiment VX Nerve Agent Disposal by Bill Alling
                   Bill Alling's Letter to The Caller-Times
             KEMPS RIDLEY TURTLE PRESS RELEASE FROM AUSTIN - 2/9/00
            KEMPS RIDLEY TURTLE UPDATE by Mina Williams &Venice Scheurich
           CBBEP   by Frank Hankins - see January 2000 Newsletter
           THE LEPC    by Edith Cosgrove- see January 2000 Newsletter

                               COASTAL BEND GROUP

• EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

         * Pat Suter                   852-7938              Chairman
            PHSUTER@aol.com

         * Randy Berryhill        883-0586        Vice Chairman

         * Judy Tor                  241-2605                Treasurer

         * Dorothy McLaren   883-0435                 Secretary

•   COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
  
  * Henry Berryhill     883-0586            Conservation
   
  * Randy Berryhill    883-0586             Membership
  
  * Ken Jobe             993-3737             Recycling
  
  * Edith Cosgrove   241-2960             Air Quality
  
  * Cheryl McGrath   883-9778             Web Master
    csmcgrath@earthlink.net

Next Meeting: Tuesday September 19, 2000

The next meeting scheduled will not be until September 19 and will be held at the
Art Community Center as usual. The only change will be a called meeting if necessary.
Art Community Center, 100 Shoreline
Lunch, 11:15 a.m., Business meeting, 12:15 p.m.
(You may bring your lunch to the business meeting if your
time is limited.)
PROGRAM:

•                  COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

The summer season is upon us and many of us are on vacation or otherwise trying to avoid the heat. However, some of our members are busy with their special projects. Bill Alling and Pat Suter are still keeping up with the VX project out on Greenwood Drive and will be meeting with the managers in about two weeks.

Mina Williams and Venice Scheurich are still working on the nesting turtle situation and will represent us at one or more of the public hearings on shrimping along the Texas coast this summer. (See dates below.)

And the usual activities with the LEPC (local emergency planning committee) continue as usual.

We also have members on the Polliwog Pond improvement committee along with city representatives. We have representation on the storm water committee which is trying to do something about all the debris making its way to the bay along with rain water and other drainage. We have representation on the tree-planting committee which Is part of the Beautify Corpus Christi endeavor.

So you see that many of us will be active this summer along with out-of-town trips.

This column will be used to keep you informed and if something urgent comes up, then a regular newsletter will be sent out. Otherwise, the next newsletter will be in early September just ahead of the fall meeting.

SHRIMP REGULATIONS PROPOSED MEETING SCHEDULE

Two public hearings will be held in this area and it is extremely important that you attend if possible and voice your support for regulations that will protect sea turtles, reduce bycatch, and restore the shrimp fishery. If you cannot attend one of the hearings, please write the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries Division, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin TX 78744 and tell them how you feel.

Most of us want protection of the endangered sea turtles, restoring the shrimp fishery, reducing bycatch, and protection sensitive bottom habitats. The proposed year-round no shrimping zone from the Fish Pass to the Texas /Mexico border will greatly help to reduce the incidental capture of endangered sea turtles in shrimp trawls. We strongly support the proposal to adopt strong shrimp fishery regulations on August 31.

DATES FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS:

June 27---Rockport---District Court Room, Aransas County Courthouse,

301 N. Live Oak St., 7:00 p.m.

July 18---Corpus Christi---Texas A&M University Natural Resources Center,

Room 1003, 7:00 p.m.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND ONE OF THESE HEARINGS. OR WRITE A LETTER.

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