Daphne Prairie - Native Prairies Association of Texas

F r o m T h e N at i v e P r a i r i e s A s s o c i at i o n o f T e x a s
News
Summer 2015 • Vol. 28 No. 2
Daphne Prairie and BF Hicks
Courtesy of Pat Merkord
A rare gem becomes a registered prairie
and NPAT honors its owner
Prairie Dogs,
Horned Toads,
Monarchs
and Me!
by Jo Ann Collins
I
BF Hicks accepts the new signs for Daphne Prairie from Pat Merkord.
I
n June, Pat Merkord, Executive
Director of the Native Prairies Asso­
ciation of Texas and her husband
Glenn, traveled to Daphne Prairie near
Mount Vernon, to present a special recog­
nition to landowner BF Hicks for his care
and management of the historic prairie
that has belonged to his family since the
1850s. The land that BF’s family set aside
was never plowed, and now he has more
than 900 acres of native prairie with the
original mima mounds still present. This
is one of the last remnant prairies in North­
east Texas. NPAT presented BF with signs
designating Daphne Prairie as an official
registered native Texas prairie. Usually
landowners must apply to have their prairie
registered, but NPAT wanted to honor BF
and Daphne with a gift registration. BF is
a longtime supporter and a model land­
owner who has saved a precious part of
our natural history for future generations.
BF takes great pride in managing his
native prairie and sharing it with others.
In 2013, he received the Lone Star Land
Steward Award from Texas Parks and
Wildlife for his outstanding stewardship
of this rare prairie. Daphne is a unique
tallgrass prairie remnant called an alfisol
prairie—it is on the edge of the blackland
prairie and the soils are more acidic. The
dominant grasses that are associated with
this type of prairie include long-spike
tridens and silveus’ dropseed. There are
only a few places in the U.S. where they
can be viewed. Grasshopper sparrows,
dickcissels and eastern kingbirds were
plentiful in early (continued on page 3)
joined NPAT about a year ago
when the State of the Prairie Confer­
ence was held in Fort Worth. Since
then, I’ve become more familiar with NPAT
and what they do. So this May, when the
opportunity to see Maddin Prairie Pre­
serve came up, I wanted to go! However,
I had other commitments that same week­
end, and I didn’t think I would be much
help, but NPAT Executive Director, Pat
Merkord encouraged me to come on out.
Late that Saturday afternoon, Pat told
me about a hail storm that hit Maddin and
forced the 8 volunteers into a prayerful
huddle in the tiny travel trailer on the
highest point of this 1,100-acre preserve
—possibly wondering if they would soon
become a “What was I thinking?” Face­
book post! I also questioned whether to
chance the weather for a four-hour trip by
myself. But, after checking the weather, I
decided it should be gone by the time I
got there. Ignorance is bliss. When I ap­
proached Ranger Hill, I realized that the
hazy sky ahead was hiding a huge storm.
When I heard reports of hail, I got off the
interstate and hid under an overpass. I
finally did make it to Maddin—around
midnight! I took out my lounge chair and
enjoyed the star show offered to those
who venture into the prairie yonder!
Sunday morning, I was able to see the
prairie around me in every direction. When
there is work to be done on an NPAT prai­
rie, priorities are lined out. The main proj­
ect was getting rid of mesquite trees that
are invading the (continued on page 3)
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News
Granger Lake’s Prairies
A history of the replication site and gene bank
G
A new face at Deer Park Prairie
Savannah Salazar, the new educator at
Deer Park Prairie, has been hired by Bayou Land Conservancy. Savannah is a lifelong resident of Deer Park and has a
Bachelor of Science Degree from the
University of Houston, Clear Lake focusing on Ecology and Education. Savannah
went to school at College Park Elementary, next door to Deer Park Prairie and
she lives within a few blocks of the prairie.
She will be developing curriculum and
working with students from local school
districts. Help us welcome this new
member of the Deer Park team!
by Nancy Webber
ranger Lake, in William­
son County, is a reservoir along
the San Gabriel River, managed
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The
property includes parks, wildlife manage­
ment areas, an intact remnant “chalk prai­
rie,” and the Blackland Prairie Replica­
tion Site and Gene Bank.
The 76-acre prairie replication site is
located below the dam, and is intended to
show what a tallgrass prairie would look
like before over-grazing, and plowing.
Within this acreage is a 3.7-acre gene
bank that was established in 1991 by a
partnership between Texas Parks and
Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S.
Soil Conservation Service (now Natural
Resources Conservation Service), and the
Native Prairies Association of Texas. The
goal was to establish a repository of living
plants native to the fast-vanishing black­
land prairies of Central Texas. These
Help Save Texas Prairies
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2
plants would preserve the genetic variety of
these diminishing species and provide a
seed source for future restoration efforts
at other sites in the area.
The most intensively planted area is sub­
divided by white-tipped rods marking a
grid, and was painstakingly recorded on a
spreadsheet. This record was made during
the project’s inception in 1991, document­
ing when and where seed or individual
plants or sod were collected, the type of soil
the original source plant was growing in,
and whatever donors or agencies or
volunteers were involved.
The 30 acres north and east of the gene
bank are former crop land. This area is
largely “Alamo” switchgrass, seeded
25 years ago. But a closer look reveals
Texas bluebell (Eustoma exalta­tum),
Indian plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum), compass plant (Silphium laciniatum),
and other tallgrass prairie natives.
South of the gene bank is another 42
acres. The northern half was also plowed,
but the thinner, gravelly soil on the south­
ern end was not plowed, resulting in more
plant diversity, similar to the Chalk Prairie
remnant nearby. Engelmann salvia (Salvia
Texana) and perennial Indian paint brush
(Castilleja purpurea) are found here. Big
bluestem (Andropogon gerardo), flowers
in relative abundance during fall.
Recently, NPAT volunteers cleared brush
from the gene bank, but work also is need­
ed on the rest of the acreage. Non-native
King Ranch bluestem (Bothriochloa
ischaemum) dominates about two acres
close to the gate. Johnsongrass (Sorghum
halapense) also is a problem. These inva­
sives will need to be controlled in order to
allow new native plants and seeds a chance
to become established. Overall, the natives
have shown themselves to be tough and
persistent, and given enough time this spot
could recover to become the diverse won­
derland it was 200 years ago. We would
like to speed that process up by helping out.
To get involved in Central Texas prairies
like this one, check out Texasprairie.org
and go to the chapters link.
Summer 2015
BF Hicks and Daphne
(continued from page 1)
summer as the prairie provides muchneeded breeding habitat for these birds.
Many species of grassland birds like these
are declining due to loss of habitat. In
winter, Sprague’s pipit, sedge wren, Le
Conte’s sparrow and occasionally Hens­
low’s sparrow can be found. The Prairies
& Pineywoods Birding Festival is now
held each year in April, giving birders
an opportunity to visit Daphne Prairie.
Courtesy of Kelly Walker
—Pat Merkord
For landowners interested in registering
their native prairie, go to Texasprairie.org
and click on Protect.
NPAT and me
(continued from page 1)
restored grasslands. Several Eveready
prairie bunnies had been working all
week, donning the heavy equipment need­
ed to spray the designated mesquite trees.
Today, Pat’s husband, Glenn was at it
again, using up the last of the herbicide.
Pat gave me a tour and pointed out res­
toration areas of the prairie while simulta­
neously keeping a bird list, and checking
on the prairie dogs as well as her husband!
As the temperatures rose, we drove more
slowly and watched for horned lizards.
Although we didn’t get any to stick
around long enough to be examined, I saw
at least two! That was the first time this
former, horny-toad sitter had seen one in
Texas since the ’60s! Our tour included a
sweet-smelling acacia bush abounding
with pollinators! The highlight of my day
was the solitary monarch floating from
flower to flower. The riparian area beck­
oned to be explored, along with miles and
miles of grasses and blooms. The resilience
Texas Pollinator Powwow
September 19-20 in Kerrville
www.texaspollinator
powwow.org
back home. As we packed up the hailof the prairie allows unknown provisions
damaged vehicles, the spirit of the prairie
for seeds to lay dormant until the perfect
pioneer floated around. Was it worth the
time to come alive!
four-hour trip to stay for such a short time?
The rest of the volunteers spent Sunday
hiking around in search of another species I think so. I now understand the complexity
of NPAT’s job. I can now talk about our
of butterfly or bird to add to the preserve’s
work with renewed vigor. I hope to be able
list. These lists help prove what benefits
to convince others to venture out to the
the prairie provides for habitat. This vital
information is used for various grants that ‘Prairie Yonder’ to look for their own
prairie dogs, horned lizards and monarchs.
fund the support of prairie restoration. A
And if they don’t ever get to visit, they can
few colonies of possible fire ants on the
still help with our mission by putting Texas
perimeter of Maddin drew concern. The
prairies at the top of their preferred nature
dilemma is deciding whether or not to
donations! attempt to control something that has
Til we can meet on the Prairie Yonder
proven difficult. So far fire ants have not
again, won’t you join us?
been seen much in the area. Is that chang­
ing? Then there’s the invasion
of Johnsongrass that has started
where agricultural fields drain
onto the prairie. We discussed
how hard it is to maintain
Maddin due to the distance
and shortage of volunteers.
Keeping tabs on this property
requires monitoring.
Next time, I want to sit and
watch the prairie dogs. I wit­
nessed the end of the last prai­
rie dog town in Fort Worth
when I was in college. Now
we only have them at the
Volunteers at Deer Park Prairie Preserve braved the
Fort Worth Nature Center.
summer heat to build this observation platform (stairs
Soon it was time to head
to come). Funds were provided by a TPWD grant.
Courtesy of Glenn Merkord
Save the Date!
The wet (and wild) spring weather made the Maddin Prairie surveys extra interesting
this year. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out to help!
3
415 N. Guadalupe St. PMB 385
San Marcos, TX 78666
Return service requested
Prairies are great for grassland
birds, like this eastern meadowlark
N OV E M B E R 1 2 - 1 4 , 2 0 1 5
H O U S T O N Z O O A N D G R E AT E R
H O U STO N R EG I O N P R A I R I E S I T E S
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WORKING TO CONSERVE AND RESTORE PRAIRIES FOR BIRDS, POLLINATORS,
CATTLE, ECOTOURISM, URBAN AUDIENCES AND MORE.
$175 FOR ALL THREE DAYS
C o - h o s t e d B y C oa s ta l P r a i r i e Pa r t n e r s h i p
& N at i v e P r a i r i e s A s s o c i at i o n o f T e x a s
University of Houston Coastal Center
Photo by Carolyn Fannon
For more details, go to www.southernplainsconference.org.