Keep Texas Beautiful recently honored Flower Mound resident and conservationist Alton Bowman with its 2008 O.P. Schnabel Award, which is named for the organization’s founder.
"I learned a bit about the man this award is named after and it’s a nice recognition," Bowman said in a phone interview. "It’s a statewide senior citizen and lifetime achievement award."
Born in Indiana in 1945, Bowman has been a resident of Flower Mound since 1984 with his wife, Sweety, and their three children. He is a furniture conservator by profession, and has restored such important works as the Supreme Court bench for the Texas State Capitol, the Rosedown bed for the Dallas Museum of Art, and the furnishings of Moody Mansion in Galveston.
The majority of Bowman’s volunteer hours have involved protecting the environment in Flower Mound and its’ surrounding areas. He has served on the Mound Foundation since 1987 and has been the chairman since 1993. The Mound is a 12 acre tract that is the namesake of Flower Mound. Nineteenth-century settlers named it for the wildflowers that grew there every spring.
"I moved around a lot as a child," Bowman said. "My dad was in the military and so we were in many different areas of the country – even Okinawa, Japan – and I noticed that there was something unique in each area. Well, when I moved to Flower Mound, I learned that this is a special juncture of the prairies and forests."
Over a five-year period, Bowman not only identified the more than 100 wildflowers on The Mound, but also took the time to look up their Latin names and learn all about each species. He leads teaching tours of the Mound for school children and scouts and gives talks about the Mound for various civic and social organizations. The proceeds from his book, The Flower Mound: A History and Field Guide,has provided an income in perpetuity for The Mound Foundation.
The Mound was sold to the citizens of Flower Mound in 1983 to be set aside forever as a native prairie preserve. The Mound was also registered as a "Historical State Site" in 2004.
Bowman not only championed the cause of The Mound, but he has researched and cares for all of the mature trees as well. He served as the first chairman of the Flower Mound Tree Board, which was instrumental in developing the Flower Mound Tree Ordinance and obtaining the town’s "Tree City USA" designation. He also serves as a liaison between that Board and the Keep Flower Mound Beautiful Board.
"The Flower Mound section is part of the Cross Timbers Urban Forest that’s only 10 to 15 miles wide and runs from Waco, through Oklahoma and up to Kansas," Bowman said. "It contains more ancient growth forest than anywhere except the East Coast ... or like the Redwood’s in California."
During 2006 and 2007, Bowman was instrumental, with others, in preserving approximately 466 of the 777 protected trees – ranging in age from an estimated 150 to 400 years old – in the area of the Cross Timbers Urban Forest proposed for removal by a developer.
"I don’t like to get involved politically ... I don’t seek it out," Bowman said. "Besides, the environment should be scientific ... and aesthetics, but it’s unfortunate that it becomes political."
Recently, in his capacity as the Place 5 commissioner on the Flower Mound Environmental Conservation Commission, Bowman provided expert-level information on the environmentally sensitive area related to The River Walk at Central Park development.
After going through the steps to protect the trees and the historic environmentally sensitive area, Bowman is now ready to take on a new project. He feels that because post oaks are such an "endangered" species of trees, there should be a concerted effort regarding reforestation of them within the community. He is in the beginning stage of a grassroots effort to organize various groups to assist with this project.
His goal is to encourage volunteer groups to begin collecting the acorns of post oak trees this fall and plant them in a small container of soil. Once they become a seedling, they will be transferred to the Town’s Tree Farm where they will be allowed to grow until they are replanted in one of the local forest areas.
As outlined in the Keep Texas Beautiful presentation, Bowman’s most important contribution to the Town of Flower Mound and its citizens is educating people for an appreciation of the abundant trees in the Cross Timbers, the variety and beautyof the native prairie flowers on The Mound and their importance in the environment and the future environment of the children.
"I try to follow the statement 'Think Globally and Act Locally.’ I can’t personally do anything about the rain forests, the whales or the polar bears, but I can try to do something for Flower Mound."
— Alton Bowman