Sunday Speaker Series program to be held at 2 p.m. on June 23, 2013
The Museum of South Texas History welcomes Park Ranger Marion Mason as she presents “Endangered Means There Is Still Time: Saving South Texas Wildlife,” a presentation on the state of endangered species in South Texas at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 23. Mason’s presentation will focus on conservation methods conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), a federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and the role South Texans can play in reviving area wildlife. This Sunday Speaker Series program will include a multimedia presentation and a display of indigenous wildlife artifacts.
Park Ranger Marion Mason Educates Visitors on Endangered Species
Growing up in the forests of the northeast, Mason made an early connection to the natural environment and knew that she wanted to help preserve and educate others about it. After more than 20 years in the field of natural resource interpretation and environmental education — including 12 years with the FWS — Mason has accomplished her career goal. Today Mason is the Visitor Services Ranger at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (Laguna Atascosa NWR) in Los Fresnos, Texas, where she is not only responsible for visitor center operations but also anything and everything that connects people to nature and the wildlife that surrounds them, including developing educational programs for visitors and outreach to schools and other community organizations. Located on the most southern tip of Texas along the shores of the Laguna Madre, the Laguna Atascosa NWR is a safe haven for the ocelot and other endangered species of South Texas.
With influences from the plains, coast, tropics and desert, South Texas wildlife is extremely diverse in its habitats and wildlife compared to wildlife found in the rest of the nation. Additionally over 95 percent of the original habitat in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has changed, resulting in numerous endangered and threatened species. Through her work experience, Mason will share the many ways the FWS is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats as well as how everyday citizens can play a key role in this joint effort. This Sunday Speaker Series presentation by Mason is included in the fee for regular museum admission. As a participating museum in Blue Star Museums, all active duty military personnel and up to five family members receive free admission. FRIENDS of the museum are admitted free as a benefit of FRIENDship.
Park Ranger
Marion Mason
About Marion Mason
Marion Mason is a Park Ranger who has worked in the field of natural resource interpretation and environmental education since 1992. Currently serving as the Visitor Services Ranger at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Los Fresnos, Texas, Mason’s career experience also includes 12 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mason earned a bachelor of science in Wildlife Management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Having lived and worked in the mid-Atlantic and Minnesota, Mason now resides in South Texas in a Monolithic Dome home with her husband and raises chickens, turkeys, cows and horses.
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