Sandi Hoover

A geologist by training and a naturalist by interest, Sandi has been fascinated by plants, birds, and other animals since she was a small child. Her experiences at Summer Zoo School at the San Diego Zoo reinforced her enthusiasm and, as an adult, has led to trips to see and learn more about wilderness and experience wild animals first hand. An avid birder, she enjoys watching and analyzing the behavior of wildlife, trying to understand how they fulfill their basic needs. Her writings frequently reflect her interest in the natural world. From King Eiders in Barrow, Alaska to King Penguins in Antarctica, seeing animals in their natural habitat has been a life-long pursuit.

Her working career was as executive director of the Houston Audubon Society (HAS) and then the Bayou Preservation Association, both non-profit conservation organizations. While those positions led to interesting activities, her writing in those years was highly specific and pragmatic. There certainly was no humor or fiction involved in position papers and environmental statements.

Houston is renowned for its lack of zoning, and willy-nilly development attitude. She helped start a major change in focus for the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) during her tenure at HAS. Lining all the bayous in Houston with concrete hadn’t been a solution to repeated flooding problems. Discussions with the director of the HCFCD led to fundamental changes in philosophy and to her co-chairing a significant three-day conference on flood control management. The results have been an honest appraisal of flood prone areas, eliminating houses in the flood plain, adding detention ponds to hold water after storms, and removal of some of the concrete linings allowing water to be absorbed by the bayous themselves.

The final major accomplishment before her retirement from the Houston Audubon Society and relocation to Corrales, NM, was overseeing the construction of a new HAS office headquarters and library. With an efficient new working space, the organization was well situated for its continued successful growth.

Unlike some others, the extent of her writing before joining the Corrales Writing Group was confined to personal travel journals and descriptive letters to family and friends, plus small articles for local newsletters. Living in Corrales has given her an opportunity to write lively descriptions and persuasive introductions of musicians for the Music in Corrales concert series.

Since procrastination is easy and deadlines prompt action, joining the Corrales Writing Group provided an incentive for her to write on a regular basis and learn the craft of writing in a more formal way. This group of talented friends provides a safe place to learn and grow.