Jim Renfro recognized for 5000 volunteer service hours

ANGLETON, TEXAS ― December 9, 2009. The Texas Master Naturalists Cradle of Texas Chapter has announced that member Jim Renfro has been awarded the highest volunteer service award offered by the state-wide Texas Master Naturalists Program. He was recognized for contributing over 5000 hours of service to our community. Jim was a member of the Class of 2001, the first intern training class offered by our chapter. He qualified for certification in December 2001 and has recertified every year since.
Jim's volunteer activities have included Chapter Training Chair (2002-03), team instructor of the "Birds & Birding" class at Brazosport College's Adult Life and Learning Program (2006-09), team instructor of "Introduction to Ornithology & Bird Identification" for Chapter Interns (2006-09), and field trip leader and bird bander at Migration Celebration (1995-2009).
Jim has served as team leader for several data-collection projects including bird censuses for USFWS (collecting data used to determine wildlife populations in the Columbia Bottomlands), Breeding Bird Surveys (collecting data used by USGS and USFWS in determining North American bird population distribution), winter bird population surveys (measuring winter bird population dynamics), and several year-round bird banding studies on private properties.
Jim notes that:

Bird banding is a method of biological research where wild birds are trapped and marked with a metal leg band having a unique 9-digit number. The band number and other identifying information are recorded and kept in a database administered by the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory in Patuxent, Maryland. Subsequent encounters with previously banded birds provide data on population distributions, migration timing, breeding success, life span, health and other important information.

Jerry Eppner, Membership Chair; Renfro; Dave Brandes, Chapter President