Dave Martin

Council Member

District E 

Contact:

900 Bagby

First Floor

Houston, TX 77002

17629 El Camino Real

Suite 415

Houston, TX 77058

Office: (832) 393-3008

Fax: (832) 393-3279

districte@houstontx.gov 

Allie Smart 

Chief of Staff 

Lauren Laake

Residents of District E,

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start. On Thursday, I along with Mayor Parker and 15 of my city council colleagues will be sworn in for the 2014 and 2015 year. It will be an honor for me to have my son, David, swear me in for my 2nd year and first term as your Houston City Council Member. It is such a blessing to have my wife, Julie, and my three children, David, Michael and Jennifer support me in everything I do. Without them, I would be unable to serve you.  As I begin this second year on council, I do so by putting my family first, as I hope each of you do in your own lives.

As the holidays are now behind us, the New Year brings a lot of change to City Hall. I welcome six new council member colleagues, Brenda Stardig, Dwight Boykins, Robert Gallegos, David Robinson and Michael Kubosh, and wish them the best of luck as they go into their first year of their terms. Additionally, I would like to wish Mayor Parker and my returning colleagues Council Member's Stephen Costello, Oliver Pennington, Ed Gonzales and C.O. Bradford nothing but the best as they kick off their first year of their last term. I look forward to working alongside each of them in the next two years.  

Also changing downtown are new committee assignments, which the Mayor will soon announce. It's my promise to you to listen, learn and work hard on which ever committee assignment I am given.  

My office is refreshed and excited to work tougher than ever during this 2014 year. We plan to continue to be involved in as many organizations that we can in both sectors of District E. As always, we will continue to strive for excellence when it comes to constituent service. We do our best to serve as the liaison between you as District E residents and the twenty-one city departments that are responsible for making the city operate smoothly. I can't stress enough how important it is for you to report issues or suggestions you have. The more eyes and ears we have, the more work we can accomplish together. The City of Houston's 3-1-1 hotline is our friend, and no matter how big or small the issue might be, in order for it to be inspected by any of the city departments or even our office it must be submitted into the 3-1-1 system. I encourage you to dial 3-1-1 or even download the new 3-1-1 smart phone app, which allows for a quick turn around on solutions to issues.  

Town hall meetings will be held on a regular and frequent schedule so you can stay apprised on the latest news at City Hall and in your areas. These town halls provide you with the opportunity to make your voices heard.   Please continue to read my monthly newsletter for dates for the 2014 Spring town halls.  

In closing, I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous 2014 year. I am more excited than ever to see what we as a community will accomplish this year.  

Sincerely,

Dave Martin

With a name like Sus scrofa, one may think this creature is from another world. This is true, in a way. Feral hogs are an old world species that have occupied the U.S. mainland for the last 474 years. At least 134 million acres in Texas have the potential to be impacted by an estimated 2.6 million feral hogs.  

Feral hogs are opportunistic generalists, meaning they will eat just about anything. Females are capable of producing one to two litters of four to six piglets each year. Some say six are born and twelve survive, while researchers suggest that their reproductive capabilities are more than four times higher than native ungulates such as deer and javelina. Feral hogs can often be found no more than a few miles from water. Riparian areas (areas that separate adjacent uplands from creeks and rivers) are prime feral hog habitat and riparian corridors serve as feral hog highways, linking rural feral hog populations with urban habitats. This has led to the proliferation of urban feral hog reports in the news.

Four legal methods are available to reduce feral hog populations in Texas: trapping, shooting, snaring and the use of dogs. Concerns for public safety and local laws hinder most of these techniques from being used in urban environments. Trapping and the use of exclusion fencing are the two primary techniques available to urban residents. While exclusion fencing does nothing to reduce feral hog numbers, it can reduce or eliminate the damage they cause. Trapping can be quite effective when properly conducted. Best management practices suggest a four-step approach to reducing feral hog populations using a corral trap: 1. pre-baiting and conditioning hogs to a bait site; 2. assessing hog response to baiting; 3. constructing an appropriate sized corral trap and; 4. commencing trapping operations. For in-depth information on the corral trapping process visit our website: feralhogs.tamu.edu/publications.  

Be aware of feral hogs but not be afraid of them; their natural behavior is to flee and avoid confrontation if they are given sufficient room to escape. A unified effort is needed to reduce feral hog populations in Texas. You are invited to join in and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is here to help. We offer feral hog educational programs and technical assistance for land managers throughout the state, free of charge.

For assistance, please contact Mary Tyson at (979) 845-4698 or mark.tyson@ag.tamu.edu.