Wauer, Roland H. 2010-08-27

From SWC Oral History Collection
Revision as of 14:47, 5 July 2022 by Kayci (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Ro Wauer discusses his experiences with Big Bend National Park, his career after Big Bend National park, and his life after retirement. ==General Interview Information== ''...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Ro Wauer discusses his experiences with Big Bend National Park, his career after Big Bend National park, and his life after retirement.


General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Roland H. "Ro" Wauer

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: August 27, 2010

Location: Bryan, Texas

Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson

Length: 01:45:05


Abstract

Introduction; Moving to Big Bend, Texas; Working for the parks service; Becoming chief naturalist at Big Bend National Park; Time in the field; Perfect bird watching area; Job responsibilities at Big Bend; Moving around at Big Bend National Park; Getting masters degree; Black-vented Oriole; American Birding Association; Getting lifetime members of the American Birding Association; Deciding on a painting; Membership grows; Aplomado Falcon preservation; Reasons ranchers kill Aplomado Falcons; People’s interest in Big Bend National Park; Establishment of Big Bend National Park; Changes in the park; Introduction of new animals; Mountain lions at the park; Vegetation reintroduced after droughts; Goats and sheep; Less spring water due to droughts; Adding additional land to Big Bend National Park; Establishing an International Park; Feelings on International Park; Opinions on the expansion of Big Bend National Park; Post Park outside of Marathon, Texas; Open water areas; Reasons for leaving Big Bend; Wanting a biology position; Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Becoming regional chief scientist; New job responsibilities; Visiting different universities; Establishment of new parks; Resource management plan for Padre Island, Texas; Restoring the Ridley Turtle in Padre Island, Texas; Bandelier National Park; Getting married; Establishing brilliant bird study; Moving to Washington, D.C.; New areas in Alaska; Unpleasant during the James Watts years; Ronald Reagan administration; Unethical practices; Bringing in new people; Humpback whales in Alaska; Humpback whales coming on shore; Studies conducted on the Humpback whales; Suggesting to limit the number of cruise ships; Being demoted; Biosphere reserve program; Close relationships with conservation organizations; Evaluate park resources; Coordinating the State of the Park report; Report brings visibility to National Parks; Writing second report; Working with nongovernmental organizations; Resource management program; Selecting new employees; Training to become a park natural resource manager; Resource management at all National Parks; Crossing the line to work with nongovernmental organizations; Differences during presidential terms; Hunter and fishermen’s interest in natural resources; Working at Smokey Mountain National Park; New program in the Virgin Islands; Caribbean initiative program; Visiting offices around the Virgin Islands; Deciding to move to the Virgin Islands; Becoming a second class citizen; Opportunity to see all of the Caribbean Islands; Getting involved with the Columbus landing site; Governor wants to build hotels on sites; Salt River bay; Retiring at 55; Moving to Victoria, Texas; Building butterfly garden; Going to butterfly festival; Attracting butterflies; 148 species of butterflies in the yard; Interest in butterfly photography; Life after retiring; Trip to Wyoming; Watching butterflies in Wyoming; Wyoming scenery; Finding natural areas on trips; Stopping in Wichita, Kansas; Photographs taken in Wyoming; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Local scenery; Wild flowers on Teton Pass; Using cassette tapes.


Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript: Transcript available in reading room



Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.