Tricia Jumonville, EcoBroker®, ASP®

"Don't Mess With Texas!" We're all familiar with this saying, but I've discovered hanging out in online relocation forums that a lot of people who aren't from here really don't understand what it's about.

They think it's too aggressive. They think that we're being pugilistic. They think that we're saying that we're better than anyone else. Granted, there've been some riffs on the phrase that could lead to that conclusion - I, myself, have a cherished old red t-shirt that says, in big red letters, "Don't Mess With Texas Women". Now, that's pretty accurate - we are known to rip off the velvet glove rather quickly, and a lot of us ARE armed!

This confusion has become widespread enough that I've actually seen a billboard by the Texas Department of Transportation that says, "'Don't Mess With Texas' Means Don't Litter". Now, that's sad, that it has to be spelled out so bluntly.

In actuality, "Don't Mess With Texas" is an award-winning advertising program sponsored by TxDOT intended to, with some humor, remind people that "messing" with Texas in the form of littering is not the manly thing to do. Commercials with such Texas icons as Willie, Lyle, Stevie (yeah, a lot of our icons are known by one name), Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, George Foreman, and others encourage our citizens to treat Texas with respect, not throwing trash on her highways and byways. We're proud of our state, with good reason, and don't hold kindly with people treating her with disrespect.

So, when you're traveling in Texas, whether you're just visitin', or you've lived here all your life and all your granddaddy's life, or if you're relocating here, and you see a sign that says, "Don't Mess With Texas," just smile and put that trash away to throw in the trash can at the next stop, or put that cigarette (yes, they do count) out in the ash tray instead of throwing it out the window. Texas will thank you, the environment will thank you, and we won't have to get aggressive or pugilistic with you!

The Executive Director of TxDOT and Governor Rick Perry announced today that the dreaded Trans Texas Corridor is dead as originally planned.

The megalithic roadway/railway planned to cut through some of the best farmland in Texas on its way to Mexico stirred much controversy. People living in its path faced losing farms that had been in their families for generations. During the many years it took to determine even a possible path (and a definite one was never determined), no one knew if their land would be impacted, or how, or if they could sell their land, or if they should buy land that might be condemned for the planned 1200 foot wide strip of asphalt and railway covering the earth.

I was used to seeing, in my travels through the countryside, signs warning that TxDOT employees were not welcome on this or that piece of land and that trespassing would be dealt with severely. (That's paraphrasing; firearms were mentioned on the standard sign.)

A group of small towns (Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy, and Rogers) that were in danger of being overrun by the Trans Texas Corridor united to form the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC) to at least delay it, if not stop it outright.

All in all, the people most impacted by this behemoth were not in favor of it, but Governor Perry and TxDOT pressed on.

Now, it's been declared dead. But these things have a way of being resurrected in a new guise, so those concerned are not relaxing yet.

However, tonight - a wake for the Trans Texas Corridor! Margaritas all 'round!

One of the delights, this first day of the new year, was reading about a program that the City of Austin has in place to encourage biodiversity within the urban setting.

The City of Austin wants to be designated as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and to this end they are encouraging homeowners to turn their yards into wildlife habitats by meeting certain specifications (food, water, and shelter sources). Upon application and qualification, the yard can be certified as a wildlife habitat.

Austin has long been a "green" city, being green before green was cool. This program is just a continuation of the kinds of programs that are in place here, encouraging such things as solarl panel use and rainwater harvesting, among others, with rebates.

If you thought that because NAIS was required to be voluntary by our federal legislators, we don't have to worry about it any longer, think again. The USDA has been applying pressure on states to enact regulations that make it, in effect, mandatory, while allowing them to claim it to be voluntary.

If you care about small farmers, if you care about small ranchers, if you care about folks with horses, if you care about the availability of fresh, locally grown food, do your research on NAIS and let your legislators, state and local, know how you feel.

A good place to start (and vote) is here, at Change.org. Follow that up with more research, and then write your legislators (or go to their websites and write them there).

If we don't speak up, we don't have any right to complain when our rights are taken away.