Help Protect Thornscrub Sanctuary

What started as an idea to restore degraded habitat by removing buffel grass and planting native species has turned in to an opportunity to protect highly diverse and intact thornscrub habitat in South Texas through our non-profit.
Our first step is acquiring land and protecting it. our second goal will be establishing a research station and education center for the study of the plants here, their pollinators, dispersers, beneficial soil microbes, and much more.
There is so little land like this left in South Texas, and so much has been lost already for things like border wall construction, solar farms and good old cancerous, futureless suburban automobile sprawl and strip-mall retail.
Help us protect this habitat. We are close to reaching our goal.
Venmo = Thornscrubsanctuary
cashapp = Thornscrubsanctuary
Zelle = [e-mail]
paper check = PO BOX 2769, MISSION TEXAS 78573

[@hellokittysays6333]

I'm broke, but I'm putting the video on loop and leaving it on all day to try to do my part to help.

[@peyotelorax]

Joey likes it, Louie likes it, I like it… the medicine loves it. Let’s do this! Thanks to Joey and Javier for staying on point and doing all the necessary footwork. Perseverance furthers!

[@besanit4937]

¡Gracias!

[@diosamurcielaga9418]

💜 y gracias a ti por aportar a tan buena causa

[@avryptickle]

Build the base camp where the buffelgrass is. If you gotta put it somewhere, put it where you already need to tear stuff up. Composting toilets, solar with batteries to keep from having to drag in a lot of infrastructure with clearing for roads and big machines to dig trenches.

[@lisakukla459]

Yes! I'm a big fan of Joe Jenkins' humanure method. Used it for about five years, while I was living in a camper full-time, and it works wonderfully!

[@christophergreen3538]

Wow, makes me feel good just knowing that place exists. Wish I had 100 grand to spare.

[@conradk]

Love the spot. Definitely need one or two small covered shelters to collect rainwater into a cistern/tank for a treatable water source - then you can get a Texas Wildlife Exemption if you don't mind sharing with natives. I'd put them wherever you have the grass problem since you'll be tearing up that area anyways. A South Texas tip is to wear what the road crew guys wear, the thin hooded-long-sleeve shirts.

[@StillOnTrack]

Hell yeah! Save native habitat!

[@xaixn.]

native texan here, you are doing great work and i am cheering for you.

[@dudleyvasausage7879]

yes finally you can stop people from destroying some land

[@mpv9866]

Thanks!

[@fernandolara3757]

Reno, is great. Reno so close to hell you can see sparks 😂.

[@user-vk7cp1op9p]

I never see movies having scenes like this. Southwest country is not shown in nature videos or movies, and your favorite land view here, brings about shouts to come view what is unknown to excite other people in other parts of the country. People are familiar with urban decay, suburban lawns, forests of the northwest, mountains of the west and the east coast, and with the coasts bordering oceans. Your plot here features hide-a-cactus like some word search puzzle, with tortoises peeking from below the scrub, as well, and the names of the plants are the aristocracy of the video, all having proper names from all the very best families! Visitors will at first study the video to try to find what hidden or secret treasures are noticed here, that caused the host's excitement.

[@CormacHolland]

Donated. We’ll save this habitat.

[@IvanIvanoIvanovich]

Hope this property owner doesn't jerk you around like the last one and you end up with the land. Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge with us. You've inspired me to do a bit of my own guerrilla gardening.

[@richardbernard6845]

Tony, well done, this is indeed a magnificent desert ecosystem and the sanctuary is a noble idea. btw - the gopher tortoise was laying eggs. constructive hint - drone shots of the environment you are discussing would elevate your videos to the next level.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I've done many drone episodes and a lot of people actually don't like it. Depends on the habitat. It'd also be nice to keep this property low profile due to the threat of poaching

[@zoponex3224]

Joey. I totally get the Tony. When I first started watching, I thought he was a Tony, too.

[@richardbernard6845]

Mia culpa, I apologize for my name misstep Joey ;-)

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

@@richardbernard6845 I go by both

[@evilsharkey8954]

@@zoponex3224He has multiple internet names. All suit his personality

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Sending donation…Venmo hates me. I lived in S Texas as a child and Tucson as a teen and through my BA…so happy there. As a kid I played outside in that heat…now I’d probably pass out, lol. What an incredible site for a preserve.

[@christophermclaughlin8899]

I’m a broke loser but I’ll send Mr. Gopherus a $20 next payday. He’d make a great mascot for you and your little land rescue. But just imagine how much could be protected if the dipwads who won that billion dollar power all jackpot would chip in…nah, they’ll probably buy a McMansion, SUVs, and send a bunch to some damn church. If I ever win, however…🐢

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I think about that all the time. So much money spent on useless shiny things while simultaneously ignoring the wealth that lays right under all of our noses

[@Jmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjm1]

That’s one beautiful tortoise. Also, the last episode of the podcast was so good. Learned a lot of things I didn’t know that I wanted to know. Your guest was cracking me up once she got going.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Yeah she's awesome

[@Jmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjmjm1]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt Totally 👍

[@joelyons3713]

This is a nice show. Really nice. I was watching from my batt-room.

[@brettAnichols]

This property embiggens our perfectly cromulent community!

[@AubreyRemige]

I vacationed many summers of my childhood out in Southwest Texas with my Grandparents. They retired out in Brackettville, Tx from Houston. I love the mesquite trees and thornscrub! Thank you for working to preserve these wild places and I guess if we want to save the world we are going to have to straight up buy it! Good Luck, I hope you get it!

[@kso808]

Who knew scrub habitat could be so interesting? This reminds me a bit of heading to the North Carolina coast, where one sees similar thornlike habitat. Everything has its place.

[@melvinwhite7187]

Thanks

[@wonderlust3054]

Oh, Joey, you are just the best. Thanks for what you do, man. I'm off work for about another month, but once I get a paycheck coming in again I'm definitely sending you a dono.

[@paolasanchezstokes8428]

thanks for doing what you do brother

[@seankennedy1970]

Sending love from Vancouver Island. I dream to be in the desert one day! I'm fascinated by your videos, it's so different from where I live. Keep it up and as always, kill your lawn!

[@katiekane5247]

So nice to see untouched land, won't be much but I'll send a check. Giant need to protect land from destruction!

[@peterbathum2775]

every spring around here, locals put out handmade road signs to keep drivers from driving over and otherise avoid the turtles coming out of the water to lay eggs across the roads on higher ground , then the hatch comin back

[@diosamurcielaga9418]

They're speaking to you, get that land!

[@katthefantastic]

Joey, walking with the sound of leather, talkin Latin, dam sexy episode! If you build it Joey, we will come!!!❤

[@WowLookatThat-xu5eb]

A wonderful opportunity to pass on some donations before I pass on myself!😁

[@mrpieceofwork]

There was a large property next to where we lived in Corpus, totally undeveloped, no doubt the "owner" just sitting on it, in order to "cash in" when the time was right. I have some pictures of it, that make it look like it's in some remote back country, on another continent, and not on a spit of land just south of a major TX city. I often dreamed of turning it into a retreat of sorts for birders, as the place hosted so many amazing flying creatures, and was right across an inlet from a new nature preserve. OFC, a dream is not quite the same as reality. All that said, good luck on YOUR endeavor. Lord knows we need to protect all the natural world we are able to!

[@billyfullwood4974]

Ecology student from the UK here. Keep up the good work!

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Thank you 🙏

[@hbabycakes]

Donated after the last fundraiser video, thinking about it again. Keep up the great work and let's preserve this habitat!

[@pamelapilling6996]

Thanks Joey. Lovely piece of scrubland.

[@sativaburns6705]

You're doing a beautiful thing... I hope you build a bathroom. Looking at what the Colorado trails and campgrouds have turned into, people are gonna leave piles and a tp ticker tape parade with or without access to an outhouse.

[@kdcema57]

Humanure outhouses ez peezy

[@wx_stick93]

Need one of these out in the Permian Basin. Something that distracts from all the pump jacks and gas plants. Awesome cause, thanks for doing this!

[@dukesilver702]

I was today years old when I learned Tony has his own TV show

[@clarahalfin399]

Beautiful Tortoise Person!!! Definitely want to chip in for their Protection!!!

[@diversegardener392]

Awesome species and natural Texas at its best!!❤❤❤❤😊

[@ValentinasNaturals]

We need you down here in Florida protecting land!

[@kevinharrigan2727]

Honestly. Developers are destroying this shit dude, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. They’re building luxury apartments left and right here in Jax for people who didn’t live here before the pandemic, it’s so ridiculous. The people who live here certainly can’t afford them.

[@ValentinasNaturals]

@@kevinharrigan2727 Same exact story down here in the Tampa area. It is disgusting to see every natural habitat disappear. They are trying to develop more and more of the glades also.

[@silverf1sh951]

Joey, check out the Conway School of Landscape Design in Northampton, MA. You might be able to apply for a preliminary ecological design and analysis plan set as part of a student project which u could use to plan out future amenities, get grant funding etc.

[@scrambledeggs17]

i donated earlier this year! so cool to see it in action 😎🌵

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Thank you

[@xk_monster]

I’ll definitely donate when I have the chance, thank you for your support to nature.

[@peterbathum2775]

keep teaching humans to have some fin appreciation for the nature were just a part of, heres hoping the kids will save us

[@gregorycarver9256]

Gopherus belandieri, slow and steady wins the race, Tony..

[@memorleano]

I really hope you get this property, this looks amazing. I’ll share and hope for the best for you.

[@-beee-]

Amazing! Love the enthusiasm 💖 You help me appreciate Texas wildlife in a whole new way. Excited to contribute!

[@jaydoyle3908]

You gotta get this parcel…!!! Lophs Everywhere ❤🎉

[@pauldickman4379]

You ever thought about doing some colab with Shaun Overton of Dustups? He is trying to regrow some land in south Texas too, but he is pretty new to it, could probably use your help, at least some insight!

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Yeah he seems like a nice guy but I think he's kind of clueless. He's probably learning, but I don't think he understands that a desert is a desert and there is no changing the factors that make it one, like Hadley Cells. I certainly wish he had more of an understanding and grounding in ecology and native plants, is those are what make the most sense. They have already been through millions of years of natural selection for the traits that will enable them to grow in that climate, like drought dormancy and hairs on leaves. I don't really know what he's doing but he sure is going through a lot of effort, most of it seems totally unnecessary.

[@HumanFellaPerson]

Our winter here in Minneapolis this year was bunk! It barely got cold and there was almost no snow accumulation.

[@sloanekuria3249]

Gorgeous! Good luck with the property, and thanks for the tour

[@austynross]

It's apocryphal, but it was Brigham Young who said, looking at the Salt Lake Valley, "This is the right place."

[@lucavinci1566]

Damn I really hope this is gonna work out❤

[@analogtom]

Love your work. Would be nice to lock off the camera(s) and have time lapse of the flower activity. If I shot footage would you look at it.

[@ShannonMcCraryH]

I live up in DFW and I would love to learn about native ecology. But there is not a single place in DFW that is untouched...

[@arielfonseca9000]

100% untouched no but The Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge was pretty cool tho.

[@Metal4You666]

I hope one day you do a video in the scablands of Washington state

[@Dave-fp3uh]

amazing video man. I love what you do. As a very, very local person, I am truly amazed how you ended up really liking our terrain here in the western RGV/ south texas area. I watched your channel before that I think you moved to the area, so I think it's pretty cool your one of us now. How often do you see rattlesnakes walking in this type of terrain starr and hidalgo counties? do you wear any boots just in case? I like to hike this type of terrain and enjoy when there isn't as much buffel grass because it gives more confidence to see where you step

[@mazack00]

13:31 Nice loaves sir. Gorgeous farina sir.

[@grannyplants1764]

This just popped up, Ooh this is good Thornscrub Sanctuery news, you sound so happy. ( I gladly snailmailed a donation already) what was the small skinny cactus by the frontal view of that neat tortoise? And at 8:23 is that moss growing next to the Loph.? Moss on such dry land? They’re higher out of the ground here, does shade cause that? Now I’m wondering why some cactus sink themselves so deep into the soil, and others like Saguaro reach up so high. Ok too many questions, your fault for that, encouraging Inquiring Minds. Hope all your viewers can kick in a few bucks so you get to save this special piece of land! 🌵🐢🪲🌿💚

[@cruelzone13]

sent a few bucks to the venmo, gotta help our tortoise buddy out 🐢

[@MA-zg2pz]

❤❤❤

[@bonanza27]

anyone know the keystone species of the tamualipan thornscrub? gorgeous piece of land. thanks for your efforts in combating the human tumor, as always 💖

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Blackbrush (Vachellia rigidula) and Mesquite (Neltuma glandulosa).

[@chefntoast]

Wendover is the working man's Reno

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Some nice limestone cliffs just outside Wendover city limits, too

[@sethlogee]

So beautiful 😻

[@mattclark7724]

You can't have the Bearded Lady without the Chicken Lady.

[@lisakukla459]

This is really cool, I hope it's a smooth success. Are you familiar with Matt Powers? Nobody gets more excited about soil biology than him. He's got a background in teaching and has written multiple texbooks. I think he's working on one now that's on soil microbiology. He's always posting fascinating microscope soil pictures. I think he'd be a good one to reach out to about this project. He organizes webinar events pretty regularly with a bunch of speakers teaching on various permaculture-related things. He probably could connect you to a lot of support, and he seems super chill.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Where's he based out of

[@MBroam]

Those scarabs are so lost in that Opuntia sauce...

[@jerryribyat1481]

Hey Antonio why would you want a property like that where everything sticks stings or stinks haha that looks like a beautiful place I'm so glad to see that the Texans aren't going to flatten the whole state out with asphalt your Cactus lover friend Jerry in Moab Utah raised in Sonora

[@raphlvlogs271]

theres even a type of cacti named after Escobar

[@yaddahaysmarmalite4059]

Nice to see a video of the place. I donated $500 but I'll likely never get to see the place. Just too far away for me. You'll probably at least have to dig a latrine for people to shit in. Its either that or everyone digs cat holes which could get scary. Or require people to bring big ziplock bags to take their feces back home in; that's what they have to do in places like Glacier National Park. City people also do that with their dogs; put it in a bag. (Responsible) Parents do that with their baby's diapers. I'm not trying to be crass; this is the sort of logistics you have to think about to minimize one's impact on the land you're on. Its the brutal and disgusting side of being responsible. to truly be responsible, you can't be squeamish. you gotta deal with your shit. Wouldn't it be a nice world if everyone responsibly dealt with their shit?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

We're going to have a compost shitter. Probably one with a decent foundation. You definitely should entertain the idea at visiting sometime though, preferably in the winter

[@aldousburbank1933]

Yay!

[@SpecialSoldier109]

You can count the rings on tortoise scutes to get a rough estimate of their age

[@cgriggsiv]

Joey another awesome video of my good man Question for you what Nikon camera are you using and lens combo Again take care hope you get the property

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

D7500

[@sethlogee]

I want to see a 3ft peyote cactus 🌵 ❤😮

[@Exquailibur]

If I ever found myself in a place like that i would get so many new holes from being far too excited to make sure I dont get stabbed by all them spiny plants, Where I am most the plants are spineless bastards so I am not exactly super use to being careful. It has gotten me in trouble with Devil's club since some of the wettest little valleys have a lot of it around here, Oplopanax horridus is also one of the coolest Latin binomial names in my opinion. But honestly I would be more in it for the bugs, I really like bugs and I bet there are some amazing things there in addition to the flower scarabs which I honestly didnt know existed. Cetoniinae I think with some quick research but I am not sure on the genus or anything, but considering the massive volume of beetle species and me being a beetle newbie there is little way for me to know for sure. I am from a moist land with mild weather so I would probably die of dehydration and heat stroke even in the winter though, I have that British person heat tolerance.

[@ManlyHandshake]

Maybe going out there with a bit of peyote pollen on hand would be good to ensure reproduction or for whatever ones you tend to find out there less than others

[@JennHawk]

I'd love to come help with my time. I'm in a self contained motorhome.

[@briony57]

hey, unrelated to anything in this video but has anyone ever heard of beavers using prickers to ward off other animals? my dog & i frequently walk down to a dam near our house & i kept seeing these thorny rose branches on the ground down near where the beavers come up onto the shore. my dog yelps when he steps on them so i kept clearing them away but they kept showing up again & again. then one day i noticed a bunch of the prickers carefully placed across the path, which definitely hadn’t been there the day before, so i knew they weren’t just like growing there, & then all of the sudden it all finally clicked that there was some distinct intention behind all this barbed wire i was seeing. not positive i’m interpreting correctly but i think we were being told (botanically) to fuck all the way off. i am throughly amused by this & have adjusted our route accordingly

[@nathandale3415]

Woodrats will often pack cholla stems around their nests.

[@christyhughes6632]

Lol! Cali, bare head. AZ, bare head. Texas? I don't wven swim without a huge sun hat🥵

[@jessesea77]

Brigham young, this is the place

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Who was Jedidiah Smith?

[@jessesea77]

Umm! Looks like he was a frontiersmen etc in the Rocky Mountains and such! Joseph smith founded the Mormon religion and Brigham Young led the group to salt lake, “this is the place” haha. Random knowledge you get from growing up in salt lake.

[@TheEricrya]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@Cannastrophic]

Steering wheel of a ship is called a Helm. Also my last name

[@jakemelinko]

Where's the ad for the fundraiser by AL? ❤

[@JTD19881369]

Ok. With the peyote. Umm does stepping on them hurt them? I don't know. But I also feel like I'd barely notice them

[@calebp2743]

Its texas chonk!!!

[@txbirdman01]

Is that tortoise possibly laying eggs? Any tortoise experts around?

[@paranoidleviathan3016]

Hi, was there anywhere I could read more about this? Paranoia and bad actors make me want to double check things like, is this just you handling the money, or an organization.

[@rosiecatbandit]

As long as this guy is endorsing and fund raising and you get the details correct, there's absolutely no need to be suspicious.

[@katiekane5247]

You've made paranoia your handle? I'm a fan of Question Everything but jeeze, you can't live your life thinking everyone is out to screw you, js

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

It's for Coke and Hookers in Reno, like I said

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

www.crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt.com/thornscrub-sanctuary-preliminary-action-plan

[@dianadiehl]

Good question!

[@evilsharkey8954]

Are you going to leave the parcel as it is (minus the invasives) or are you going to plant some more thorn scrub natives that the parcel is lacking? It seems like a good opportunity to start populations of endangered or rare species in a protected space.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

We might plant some rarities near the front but the property is otherwise pretty intact.

[@WastrelWay]

I wonder about the obvious "paths". I used to go on land that was pretty much undisturbed to collect bugs, and some paths were obviously places where water ran during rains, and others were obviously made by deer (hoofprints). But I couldn't explain some of them, except by thinking that people had followed those paths, and our big flat feet had compacted the soil. That could have been hundreds of years ago, and in a place like this, the paths might still remain. One of the paths you showed could have been made by ATVs. Just about everywhere you go in nature, you will find paths. Any thoughts about this? By the way, if I win the lottery, you get half.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Animals, big and small. Go after a rain for proof.

[@WastrelWay]

@@canadiangemstones7636 That sounds very reasonable. I hadn't really considered all the small animals that must run around day and night.

[@omegalamda3145]

Whaat no H20 widya in Texas…

[@laurenr842]

Do ppl need to specify “donation” in the notes section of any of the money apps or in Venmo instead of “pay”?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

No. Just don't use "purchase protection" because then Venmo/PayPal take a cut

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

No need to specify anything. Those are accounts strictly set up for the non profit

[@donamills]

How much are they looking to raise?

[@margaretmanz2030]

I'm really curious about your thoughts on ball moss. The prevailing view is that it is native and not a parasite. However, its roots wind tightly around the branch and it seems to overcome and choke branches to death. What do you think?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Definitely not a parasite. Doesn't tap into the vascular system (or even penetrate the epidermis) of the trees it grows on. Definitely native. Basically a northern and highly adaptable species in a genus that is mostly distributed in the subtropics and tropics

[@b.a.d.2086]

Try Brigham Young and "this is the place". It wasn't and isn't but just sayin'.😁🐢

[@Idrinklight44]

What does land like that cost down that way?

[@firstnamelastname9918]

Can you make a program so that if you donate $7500 you can get a toilet commemorated in your name? I would like to walk in and see "The Daniel Santos Toilet" engraved on a plate on the wall above the john. Just do it for them all! $4000 for a wash basin and $5000 for a urinal. Maybe even $1500 for a commemorated trash can?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

We really need a trough urinal

[@kdcema57]

Get a big 5 gallon job to flush 6 oz piss AWAY!! HA

[@firstnamelastname9918]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt LMAO!

[@mynameisnotcory]

Id get a flower scarab

[@thequeenofsporks]

How do we get receipts for tax exemption? It’s easier to donate more money if I can call it a tax deduction.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

We give you the non-profit EIN number and you file with your tax guy. The IRS Then uses it to check and make sure that we claimed the donation on our annual 501c3 accounting statement

[@besanit4937]

how big is the property? any chance to buy adjacent land?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Possibly.

[@analogtom]

Is the mesquite invasive from Spain ?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

No it's native