- Mark Your Calendars -
Please visit our events matrix for happenings in 2012.
Typhus illness has been in the Austin area since 2008. To promote awareness and prevention of typhus, the Austin / Travis County Health and Human Services Department offers the following information and tips:
Use effective and safe flea control measures to ensure your pets, yard and home is flea free.
Eliminate food sources that might attract wild animals to your neighborhood.
Keep your yard clear of heavy undergrowth and debris that might serve as a nesting place for animals.
Limit your exposure by avoiding places that may be infested with ticks/fleas and wear heavy clothing (long sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes).
Use insect repellants containing DEET.
More information on typhus can be found on the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department's website at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/healthcare_epi_typhus.htm
In 2009, the Austin City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the "Intentional Feeding of Deer." Supplemental feeding contributes to overpopulation of deer by artificially increasing birth and survival rates. This results in property damage from over-browsing of local vegetation and ornamental plants. Moreover, it congregates unnaturally high numbers of deer into busy urban areas where they become traffic hazards, less fearful of humans and more susceptible to disease transmission within the herd.
Within the city limits last year, the Austin Police Department reported 63 deer-involved vehicle collisions and 517 dead deer were removed by the City of Austin's Solid Waste Services Department. For more information, contact the Austin-Travis County Health Department at 972-5692, or visit www.austintexas.gov/animals/deer.
Source: Austin Energy Customer News, June, 2011
The best time of year to prune your live oak trees was between November and January. Here is further information, courtesy of our neighbors in Northwest Hills.
Austin’s Stage 2 Watering Restrictions are in effect as of September 6, 2011. Restrictions include cutting back on watering your lawn from two city-designated days per week to one.
Complete information can be found at the City of Austin’s Water Conservation web site: http://www.cityofaustin.org/water/conservation/default.htm.
However, don’t forget to water your trees!
Special actions are needed to protect our trees during the current record-breaking drought. Michael Embesi, City of Austin Arborist, recommends implementing the following guidelines:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/trees/downloads/watering_guidlines.pdf
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/downloads/wateringtreesduringdroughtfinal.pdf
Use these watering guidelines to define and launch your custom tree watering plan as soon as possible within Austin’s Stage 2 Restrictions.
The final LONA newsletter published by Peel, Inc., was published in January, 2012, due to insufficient advertising to pay the costs of production and distribution. Please visit our newsletters page on this site to see back issues. The LONA Board is currently exploring options for continuing a newsletter for LONA in some fashion. Please send any suggestions or comments to lona_board@yahoogroups.com.
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