News Release
NPS / Scott Sharaga
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Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6700
KOUNTZE, Texas – As a part of Big Thicket National Preserve’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebration, the park is hosting its first-annual Science Symposium on Saturday, May 18. Join us in the visitor center theater for a series of engaging presentations from scientists conducting research in Big Thicket.
Event Schedule:
- 10:00 – 10:30 • Archeology at Big Thicket
Dr. Andrew Veech, a National Park Service (NPS) archeologist, will discuss his ongoing research to uncover clues about some of Big Thicket’s earliest people.
- 10:45 – 11:15 • Big Thicket Vital Signs
Dr. Jane Carlson, an ecologist, and Jeff Bracewell, GIS specialist, with the NPS Gulf Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network, will share their work with Big Thicket’s “vital signs” and how these features can indicate the overall health of an ecosystem.
- 11:30 – 12:00 • A Bald Cypress Swamp Doctor’s Advice: “Cut Back on the Salt!”
Dr. David Cooper, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University, and Joel Wagner of the NPS Water Resources Division will present their research on how saltwater intrusion affects Big Thicket’s freshwater sloughs.
- 12:15 – 12:45 • Winged Wonders: Nighttime Magic in the Preserve
Dr. Amanda Adams, director of research coordination at Bat Conservation International, will share her work with imperiled bat species in Big Thicket and how we can help protect them.
- 1:00 – 2:00 • Q&A panel with all presenters
The event is free; seating is available first-come, first-served. Light refreshments will be served throughout the day. ASL interpreters are available. View our calendar of events for more information on free ranger-led programs and activities.
-NPS-
Big Thicket National Preserve is in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types: the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.
Last updated: November 11, 2024