Austin, Texas, is home to about 170 species of butterflies. It is also the home of the Austin Butterfly Forum, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to butterfly conservation and to enriching people's lives through butterflies.
The Austin Butterfly Forum is a butterfly club that holds field trips, conducts butterfly counts, promotes butterfly gardening, performs conservation activities, and meets monthly for an educational presentation. We are a community of butterfly enthusiasts who also enjoy dragonflies and other bugs.
For more details on our upcoming events, see the calendar page:
Mon Feb 22: Club Meeting “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” How Homeowner Associations Enforce Landscaping Requirements Detrimental to Wildlife, and what you can do about it, by Phyllis Dolich.
Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 7:00pm.
Recently my husband and I fought and won a battle with our Homeowner's Association to preserve the plants growing in a protected “native area” to the rear of our backyard. This area was deeded over to us in 2000 when we bought the lot and built a new house. A nine-year conflict started with one complaining neighbor who could not tolerate the native grasses and wildflowers that grew under the canopy of live oak, cedar elm and bur oaks. We had hoped to keep this area natural – even got it designated as a Best of Texas Backyard Wildlife Habitat - but our community compliance director enforced a ruling which required us to mow everything down 3 times a year.
To conserve the late season grasses and wildflowers that I had learned were so crucial to butterflies and other wildlife, we submitted a request through a committee which issues permission to add to (or change) one's landscaping. Although successful, it was later rescinded as a “mistake” and threats of fines were issued.
Finally, an appeal to the Board of Directors last year met with success, but not before a required “maintenance plan” be submitted by us, and approved by the full board. Club members will enjoy the images and emphasis on preserving native plants for the sake of our local butterflies and other wildlife in this document, which we would gladly share with anyone facing a similar situation.
