Coastal Prairie Conservancy

Katy Prairie Conservancy

Katy Prairie Conservancy
Logo Established: 1992 President: Location: Houston, Tx

History

The Katy Prairie lies in the Texas Coastal Plain, and encompasses over a thousand square miles, (Wermund, 1994) bounded by the Brazos River on the southwest, pine-hardwood forest on the north, and the city of Houston on the east. Historically, the Katy Prairie was characterized as a poorly drained tall-grass prairie subject to periodic fires and containing a considerable amount of wetland areas.

Comanche and Karankawa native Americans were the first humans to use the prairie, following the bison herds which grazed the area. The standing ponds were frequented by many thousands of ducks. Up until the end of the nineteenth century, the Katy Prairie remained more or less untouched by Europeans. Around 1870, the first settlers began to raise corn, potatoes, and cattle on the Prairie (Lobpries,1994). At the turn of the century, rice farmers appeared, creating 30-acre fields harvested by hand (Ibid). Sportsmen began to take advantage of the hunting opportunities, hunting the indigenous ducks, curlews, and prairie chickens (Gore, 1194). Small-scale agriculture had only a minor impact on the region, and the Katy Prairie remained primarily a plain/prairie ecosystem. In 1914, George Finlay Simmons described the area as still "a coastal prairie region with few farms and ranches; the only timber lies in strips from a quarter to a half mile wide along Buffalo and Bray's Bayous. The remainder of the country is flat, uncultivated prairie, sprinkled with small ponds and grassy marshes" (Eubanks, 1994).

With the escalation of rice farming and population in the 1930's and 1940's came an increase in hunting and birding. Ducks remained the most popular species, but hunted species included snipe, cranes, doves, quail, rails, and geese. The presence of ducks and doves increased, directly due to the habitat availability afforded by the flooded rice fields. However, as farming ate up grassland areas, upland species such as the prairie chicken declined drastically (Gore, 1994).

Farming advancements during the 1950's and 1960's boosted rice farming to a tremendous scale. It was at this time that the snow goose emerged onto the Katy Prairie. Historically, the snow goose wintered in the marshes and prairies along the coast. Vast amounts of available open-water habitat combined with waste rice created by modern farming methods created exceptionally conducive wintering grounds and many thousands of geese moved inland to the new habitat (Lobpries, 1994). Migratory birds increasingly depend upon this habitat as other areas along the Gulf Coast have diminished in size or lost to development.

Concurrently, developers began to appear on the prairie. The City of Houston experienced a huge growth spurt and began spreading to the west and northwest. From 1978 to 1983, 100,000 acres of the Katy Prairie were converted to urban use, primarily residential, with some industrial and retail. This was coupled with a decline in rice farming, with land use for rice falling 59% in Waller County from 1980-1992 (Henry, 1994).

Urbanization will have consequences for the future of the prairie, as agricultural use on the Katy Prairie has been consistent with its role as a wildlife habitat for nearly one hundred years. Rice farms in particular provide the wetlands necessary for migratory waterfowl to thrive, while pastures and other croplands provide essential food and cover. Encroaching development puts this function at risk.

The Importance of Katy Prairie Conservancy

The Katy Prairie is comprised of a variety of habitats, including agricultural wetlands, depressional wetlands, creek corridors, and coastal grasslands. The following sections describe these varied ecosystems and demonstrate the need to preserve these valuable resources.

Grassland

Grasslands are characterized by grasses with extensive root systems, usually with many other herbaceous plants. The domination of grasses is facilitated by periodic drought, grazing, and wildfire (Chadwick, 1995). Coastal prairies in Texas and Louisiana extend 50 to 130 km (30 to 80 mi) inland from the marshes along the Gulf of Mexico. They are nearly level, with elevations from sea level to 75 m (250 ft) (Hatch et al., 1990).

The coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana once covered about 5.3 million ha (13 million acres). Today, however, less than 2% of native coastal grasslands remain, mostly under private ownership. The remaining 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) are facing human and agricultural pressures with about one-third of the area cultivated for rice, sorghum, corn, and tame pastures (Wagner and Riskind, 1992). Much of the rest is threatened by aggressive non-native (also called exotic or noxious) invaders, most introduced intentionally by man. These species, such as the Chinese Tallow (Sapium sebiferum), have little value to native wildlife and can outcompete native plant species. The Louisiana Natural Heritage Program's classifies coastal prairie as "critically imperiled" (Smith, 1996) and the Texas Natural Heritage Program's (1993) classification of the Little Bluestem-Brownseed Paspalum community as "imperiled" and the Gamagrass-Switchgrass community as "critically imperiled." Some of the individual grass species and other rare plants with which they are associated are in danger of becoming extinct, one example being Texas Windmillgrass (Chloris taxensis).

Grasslands provide habitat for a wide variety of dependent wildlife, including many migratory birds and endangered species like Attwater's Prairie Chicken, which formerly inhabited the Katy Prairie. (Tympanachus cupido attwateri). Prairies may be an important sink of carbon dioxide, of growing importance in light of concern over global climate changes. Prairies have produced the richest soils for agriculture in the world; they can be hayed, and they provide forage for livestock. Because no fertilizer is required and water is not as critical, the expense of managing native forage is much less than "improved" grass species (Campbell, 1996). This invaluable natural resource has enabled the United States to become the "breadbasket of the world." As a result of continuing habitat loss, prairies have become perhaps the most threatened habitat in the United States.

Wetland

In addition to its extensive grasslands, the Katy Prairie also provides extensive wetland habitat. Wetlands are subject to periodic/constant inundation of water which saturates the soil and supports vegetation which can tolerate these soils. Over the course of American history, more than 115 million acres of wetlands have disappeared, down from an original total of 221 million acres. Over 30 million acres of the remaining acreage are considered too contaminated to be ecologically useable. In Texas, 600,000 acres of coastal wetlands and 52% of the total wetland acreage has been lost, with ongoing loss of prairie wetlands and coastal marshes (Tacha, 1994a).

Wetlands like those found on the Katy Prairie support a significant amount of industry. Coastal wetlands in the U.S. provide spawning habitat for 96% of commercial seafood and fishing grounds for about half the recreational users. They support the fur industry with $400 million annually; Texas marshlands have yielded up to 500,000 muskrat pelts/ year alone. Hunters spend over $300 million to hunt wetland waterfowl. (Tacha, 1994b) Wetlands are vital for the live bait and birdwatching industries; annually, over 60 million people observe and photograph wildlife directly supported by wetlands. Wetlands also serve as food and water source for livestock. In the water cycle, wetlands are crucial in restoring ground-water levels, by collecting run-off and precipitation and allowing it to infiltrate slowly into the soil due to the slow water flow rates. This characteristic of water collection also serves to buffer floods, reducing storm surges and river flows.(Tacha, 1994a) Wetlands are vital as dilution areas for toxic discharges.

Human and Wildlife

The diversity of habitats on the Katy Prairie allows the coexistence of a variety of people and wildlife. Open spaces like the Katy Prairie are crucial to maintaining the freedom and quality of rural life, supporting outdoor activities such as hunting and birding. The Katy Prairie supports a tremendous amount of wildlife. An average total of 597,000 representatives of 196 avian species were recorded in the 1977-1994 period during Christmas bird counts. The Texas coastal prairie/marsh ecosystem originally supported large populations of alligators, bullfrogs, white-tailed deer, American bison, pronghorn antelope, black bear, eastern turkey, red wolf, grey and fox squirrels, and muskrat. (Stutzenbaker, 1994) Currently, beaver, alligator, deer, coyote, bobcat and squirrels still reside on the Katy Prairie, providing enjoyment for naturalist and hunter alike.

The challenge of preserving the grassland prairies and wetlands for their agricultural, hunting, recreational, and wildlife-supporting functions is not simply a financial challenge, but a test of our foresight, our resolve, and our spirit. One measure of our moral worth as human beings is the degree to which we base our actions on our knowledge of their consequences. We cannot hold ourselves, our families, and our communities in high regard, if we choose, either consciously or through complacency, not to save those things which we value.

That the Katy Prairie is irreplaceable is beyond question. That it represents a unique resource which will continue to enhance the quality of life for our region's residents for years to come is also beyond question. What remains is the challenge for concerted and coordinated action on the basis of what we know must be done. Our opportunity to preserve the Prairie is genuine, but fleeting. Though the size of the task is daunting, the consequences of inaction are too disturbing to contemplate.

The Conservancy

As Houston expands westward, valuable habitat, open space, traditional ecological functions and agricultural lands are lost. The Katy Prairie's very existence is now threatened by rapidly changing economic and social forces. These economic and social forces are formidable, but loss of the Prairie is not inevitable. In the fall of 1992, the Katy Prairie Conservancy was established in the belief that creative cooperation among those with an interest in the Katy Prairie - landowners, developers, hunters, environmentalists, and residents can result in consensus-based land management strategies without painful economic sacrifices or politically-forced solutions to save this invaluable resource.

Missions and Goals

Our mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance critical and sustainable portions of the Katy Prairie ecosystem. We achieve our mission through the following:

• Protecting between 30,000 and 60,000 acres of the Katy Prairie, primarily in its current agricultural state, and with some appropriate portions enhanced as wetlands and restored prairie habitat.
• Involving the local community and all stakeholders in the Katy Prairie Conservancy, including hunters, conservationists, landowners, local residents, farmers and developers.
• Responsible stewardship of protected land.
• Conducting and facilitating research needed for the accomplishment of our mission.
• Promoting ecotourism and other economic incentives for conservation on the Prairie.
• Educating the public about the Katy Prairie.

Human communities are bound in subtle but profound ways to the land. United States history is tied in fundamental ways to the land we have used, inhabited, developed, and all too often destroyed. Preserving the Katy Prairie constitutes an act of faith in our community, our future, and ultimately, in ourselves as caring and thoughtful stewards of nature.