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During this month celebrating Women’s History, we want to focus on the important role Maxine Johnston played in the fight to preserve the Big Thicket, the nation’s first (alongside Big Cypress) National Preserve and one of the most biologically diverse areas in the country.  In our travels, we have always been impressed by the tenacity and dedication of so many volunteers and citizen groups - true democracy in action. We all owe them so much. One such citizen and conservationist champion is Maxine Johnston, who was recently featured in a National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) blog post: These 10 National Parks Wouldn’t Exist Without Women.  Thanks to Shannon Harris from KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, TX, who interviewed Maxine Johnston in late 2019, we are able to share an excerpt of Maxine Johnston speaking about her involvement.  The episode also features our conversation with the very helpful Ranger we met at the Visitor Center, who reviewed our Junior Ranger badges (you can hear us all take the oath together!) and spoke to us about forest restoration, longleaf pines, and the Kirby Nature Trail.

We are grateful to Shelly Vitanza from Lamar University for allowing us to use photos from Lamar University tribute on the occasion of Maxine being selected as the Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal for Lamar University, where she spent more than three decades as a research librarian and then library director.  She was honored both for her contributions to the university as well as her dedication and success as a conservation advocate. In fact, today at 93 years young, her LinkedIn profile lists her occupation as “Conservation Gadfly.”  We are so thankful for gadflies like Maxine Johnston.

Episode Highlights:

00:40 Introduction
01:48 Shannon Harris’s interview (excerpt from Bayoulands Podcast episode) of Maxine Johnston
07:30 Conversation with Big Thicket Ranger
12:01 Outdoor Organization Feature: Love is King
12:52 Entire family discusses Junior Ranger booklet with Ranger
14:56 Nature Trail description - subtlety of ecosystem
17:54 Longleaf pine forest

Outdoor Organization Feature:

Donate to Love is King: bit.ly/likdonate

Love Is King (LIK), a new organization whose vital work is helping to diversify our public lands and make nature a safe space for all people, is the outdoor organization featured in March. LIK is a movement led with love and empathy to defend the freedom to roam in nature as a basic human right. Join us in supporting Love Is King by sharing and engaging with their work and donating if you can. Follow @lik_free2roam and founder @_chadbrown_ on Instagram.

Special thanks again to Shannon Miller and 91.3 KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, Texas.  Check out the Bayoulands TALKS podcast.

Bayoulands TALKS is produced in the studios of 91.3 KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, Texas by Shannon Harris and Jason M. Miller. For more information and to stream KVLU online visit: kvlu.org. You can listen to past episodes of the Bayoulands radio series at: https://www.lamar.edu/kvlu/programming/local-programs/bayoulands.html. Bayoulands Talks podcast can be accessed on https://www.npr.org/podcasts/970687057/bayoulands-t-a-l-k-s

Photo credits: Lamar University Special Collections and Archive