Problems with Balloons

My first encounter with a large dead balloon came on our family ranch. Dad and I were walking the ranch when I saw a strange-looking box in the woods. Attached to the box were a parachute and cords. The box was small and had official writing on it. It was a weather station balloon.

Since I needed a junior high science course “show and tell” topic, I took the balloon to the class and told my classmates about how weather balloons operated. Everyone was amazed at the real weather balloon package and had a number of questions. I got most of my answers from my Dad’s friend, a meteorologist located at Houston’s Hobby Airport.

The first thing I learned from the meteorologist was that everything that goes up must come down. The balloon was filled with helium and after completing its mission lost “air” and came to the ground at our ranch. Instructions on the box told us to record where the box was found and to drop it off at any post office. The local post office would mail it to the National Weather Service office.

The meteorologist said this balloon likely came from Colorado, but he wasn’t certain. A number on the box would identify the location from which it was launched. Together with our address and the box number, they could look at the previous wind currents and determine how the atmosphere had steered the balloon.

In this current Texas legislative session, House Bill 1904 has been proposed to prohibit the releasing of balloons that cannot be recaptured. If you are a rancher or landowner, you will be happy if this one passes. Many ranchers have found balloons on their land, in cattle manure or chewed up and spit out on the ground. I have found balloons on my land in Caldwell, Guadalupe and Fayette Counties. I find one balloon four to six times a year.

Being miles away from a major city, I wonder where they were released. Most balloons are still shiny and easily discovered. But I have also found some in manure and some that were chewed. Some balloons are mylar and some are latex. I have never lost an animal from a balloon plugging up the animal’s gut, but I know people who have.

People need to realize that what goes up must come down. These balloons, printed with “Happy Birthday” and “Congratulations” or “It’s a Boy!” are not worth a dead wildlife or livestock animal. I have also picked balloons from funeral releases. “Rest in Peace” should be on a headstone, not in an animal’s gut. What some people see as a way to celebrate is not only littering, it’s a threat.

Some children cannot hold little fingers tightly enough to get the balloon home and away it goes.. Some are intentionally released at parties, celebrations and wakes. This form of littering is banned in Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.

My farm, which is located less than five miles from a landfill, is constantly littered with plastic bags that arrive there courtesy of a northwest wind. These shopping bags are wind driven, not filled with helium or hydrogen gas. I have seen them floating high above the electric transmission towers on my property. The New Braunfels airport is a short distance away. Balloons and floating bags are a common problem with aviation. Reusable bags are heavier and do not fly away.

My birder friends have also told me that lighter-than-air balloons cause problems. Birds like the strings and sometimes eat the broken balloon fragments. I guess they think they might be a fat worm. If birds and cattle eat them, other wildlife eat them too.

I hope when this bill comes before committee, it will pass without too much trouble. Whether this bill passes or not, I hope that an added tax will be placed on any balloon sold to pay for associated veterinarian bills and trash pickup fees. It would only be fair for the problems they cause. What’s your opinion? I look forward to hearing from you.

David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant in Fayette County. He can be reached at 830-629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.