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Eagles For Environment

Blackland Prairie Restoration Phase 1

Phase 1

Project Background

Texas Blackland Prairie is a tallgrass prairie named after its dark-colored soil. The

Blackland Prairie is home to hundreds of plants, wildflowers, grasses, native birds, and

other animals. The prairie was once home to the great Bison and Jaguar of Texas before

they were hunted to near extinction. The prairie’s decline began with conversion into

farmland. Over 80% of the prairie had been converted by the early 1900s. Today, there

remains less than 1% of the original 12 million acres. Urban and suburban sprawl still

encroach on the prairie lands. In addition, invasive species such as Johnson Grass,

Bermuda Grass, and King Ranch Bluestem continue to ravage the remaining prairie land.

While herbicides are applied to control the invasives with some effectiveness, the sheer

number of invasives make them difficult to eradicate.

Project Objective

Our primary objective is to restore two acres of the Blackland prairie lands at the Heard

Museum. The area was overrepresented with dogwood plants. The goal of our project was

to fully reseed the area with a diverse variety of native forbs and grasses and to slowly

eliminate the dogwood's domination.

Project Significance

The prairie ecosystem plays a critical role in the lives of not only its inhabitants but also

humans. Tall grasses of the prairie have roots that grow more than 10-ft below the ground.

As a result, the risk of soil erosion is significantly reduced as tall grasses secure the soil

with their roots. Native grasslands also protect the watershed and improve water

infiltration, giving us higher water yields. The prairie that we have left today may be the

most it will ever be, as some environmentalists believe that this generation will be the last

generation to see the Blackland Prairie.

Project Implementation

The project involved the following steps and considerations.

Project Time Frame

It is important to mention the season we completed this project in. There are two

common seasons to plant seeds for restoration: the Spring and the Fall. There are

advantages and disadvantages to seeding in each season. For this project, we chose to

plant the seeds in the Fall for two reasons:

1) Some seeds such as the Little Bluestem seeds require cold, moist stratification.

2) Many Blackland Prairie plants disperse seeds in the fall.

Seedbed Preparation

1) First the Heard Museum mowed the 2 acres of prairie land

2) Herbicides were applied in efforts to get rid of the dogwood plants

a. Unfortunately, we could not use controlled burning due to the private

properties nearby the project site

b. Secondly, we did not till the dirt since dogwood roots have rhizomes.

Tilling will only cause the roots to spread more instead of destroying them.

Seeding

After mowing and applying herbicides, volunteers came to rake the thatch. The raking

exposed the soil and allowed the seeds to be planted in the dirt. Groups of volunteers were

then able to spread the seeds and walk on the seeds to push them into the ground (this

action mimics what bison would do).

Support

The support Eagles For Environment has received for this project was outstanding.

TOOLS SUPPORT

We needed at least 50 rakes to cover the two-acre area. We were able to borrow 25 rakes

from the neighborhood through the Nextdoor App. Troop 25 also lent over 10 rakes. Many

volunteers brought rakes of their own which closed the gap.

CONSERVATION ADVISORS

Mr. Spencer Dudas, the Sanctuary Manager of the Heard Museum supported me the

entire way through the project. Every time I visited the Heard Museum, we would be

discussing the plant growth, monitoring the project, and identifying plants.

Mr. Higginbotham and Mrs. Hollingsworth both guided my research by asking me

thought provoking questions.

VOLUNTEERS

We had 64 volunteers sign up for the project. We had tremendous representation from 3

groups/clubs.

o Jasper High School National Honor Society

o Jasper High School Environmental Club

o Boy Scout Troop 25

SEED GRANT

We received a seed grant from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center belonging too the

University of Texas-Austin. The grant provided 500 dollars for purchasing seeds from the

Native American Seed organization. Native American Seed sells Blackland Prairie seed

mixes. This grant tremendously helped the project.

Monitoring

Monitoring took place over eight months. During each visit, I took pictures, and I

identified as many species of wildflowers and grasses as I could with Mr. Dudas, the

Sanctuary Manager of the Heard Museum. In addition, I used other online resources such

as the Seek App by iNaturalist to aid me with identification. In June, we identified nearly

every wildflower in the seed mix we used. We found many types of grasses, including

some that were bluish green—typical of native grasses such as Indian Grass and Little

Bluestem in the spring and summer. We hope to be able to confirm which specific grass it

is in some time. Annuals including Indian Blanket, Lemon Mint, and Thistles were

identified—we believe these came from our seed mix. We have also found an abundance

of Maximillian Sunflowers and Prairie Parsley. The video "Blackland Prairie Restoration:

200 Days After Seeding" goes through the pictures for each monitoring day. In addition,

every plant we identified in the prairie is listed in the video's description.

Long Term Impacts and Maintenance

The Heard Museum will do some maintenance for this project. Periodic mowing will begin

this fall. The wide leaf herbicides will be applied periodically to combat the continued

presence of dogwood. We see a significant reduction in its presence as the planted grasses

and wildflowers sprout up. As we continue this maintenance process and the prairie grows

more, we expect the dogwood to diminish.

Phase 1 Results

Follow the link below to see the results of our work 200 days after seeding day.

Find out more

Blackland Prairie Restoration Phase 2

Restoration again

This is the second part of our restoration effort for the Blackland Prairie of Texas. Starting in the Fall of 2021, we organized another project at the Heard Museum in a three acre plot known as "Ken's Prairie". We followed a very similar project plan as the previous year. In terms of objectives, organization of people, and idea, the plan was the same as Phase I.

Key Difference

The key difference lies in the seeding of the prairie. In Phase II, our seeding will be in two parts. In the fall, we will plant native grasses. These native grasses will go through cold stratification over the winter months and start to develop their complex root systems before they sprout from the ground. In the spring of 2022, we will plant the wildflower seeds. Our intention with this type of seeding is to get more data into when one should plant prairie seeds for restoration projects. In Phase I, we planted all the seeds in the fall. Some online literature and other experts have suggested that planting wildflowers in the spring time is best.

Community Support

Once again we had tremendous community support both through volunteers and through tool support. We had around 120 volunteers support us through the three days of site preparation and fall seeding in the month of October 2021. We had 20 volunteers join us once again in March 2022 to plant the spring seeds.

Video Documentation

Follow the link below to the Phase 2 Prairie Restoration video!

Find out more

Turtle Pen Enclosures

Problem

The Eastern Box Turtles in Texas are currently a threatened species. Habitat loss, illegal trade, and the lack of governmental protection are factors that are contributing to the decline. Fewer and fewer Box Turtles are found in the wild now-a-days. Box Turtles have a life expectancy of more than 100 years. They take 3-5 years before fully maturing and their reproduction rate is slow. Thus, when they disappear from locations, they rarely recolonize the area.

Importance

The Eastern Box Turtle is an omnivore— an organism that consumes both plants and animals. They contribute to the continuity of the foodweb. In addition, their intestinal waste distributes seeds of various plants such as the mayapple. Lastly, their eggs provide food for other predators such as scunks, racoons, and crows.

LLELA Box Turtle Restoration Group

This group at LLELA has taken the initiative to help raise awareness and begin the efforts to reintroduce the Box Turtle back into the LLELA nature preserve. They raise the baby turtles from the moment they hatch for about 1-2 years. This allows time for the shells to harden which will ensure that the baby turtles do not become prey to other predators. The group works alongside UNT research students who place trackers on the turtles to help with the monitoring after they are released. The turtles are sheltered in enclosures which are maintained multiple days of the week by volunteers and UNT students. Before our project, they only had two enclosures.

Project Description

Our project was to build an additional two turtle enclosures for the LLELA Box Turtle Restoration effort. These additional enclosures would allow for LLELA to raise more turtles each season.

Project Approach

MATERIALS FOR ONE ENCLOSURE

(x4) 2"x12"x8'

(x1) 4"x4"x8'

(x10) 1"x4"x8'

3 inch wood Deck Screws

Hardware cloth 4ft x 25ft

U staples 1lb pack 3/4 inch

Wood glue

Corner braces

4-inch Hinges

Handles

DESIGN

Our design was to build an enclosure with four doors. The walls of the enclosure would use 2"x12" boards. In total we had four doors for each turtle enclosure. We used 1" x 4" boards as the material for the doors in order to ensure that anyone of any age can open and close the door without straining too much or damaging the enclosure. Furthermore, four doors allows easier aaccess into the enclosure for cleaning, maintainance, or feeding. The doors were supported by a support beam inside the enclosure. The support beam uses a half-lap joint to be secure. Design pictures are shown to the left.

SECURING

For the door frame, we used corner braces and wood glue. On the main enclosure frame, in addition to using 3 inch deck screws, we used 4" x 4" x 1' posts to ensure stability and security. The hardware cloth mesh on both the door frame and the exterior used U-staples.

Long Term Progress

We are continuing to follow up on the efforts by the Box Turtle Restoration Group of LLELA to ensure our enclosures are functioning well. So far, 2 turtles are sheltered in each of our enclosures!

Acknowledgements

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

Once again our outstanding Troop 25 came to support us with their tools and knowledgable adult leaders. In particular, Mr. Jim Row, Mr. Scott Mailloux, and Mr/Mrs. Allen of Troop 25 made tremendous contributions in terms of tool expertise and design experience.

CONSERVATION ADVISOR

Ranger Rob Smith's continued support helped us through this project from the start to finish. He reviewed all steps of the design and gave beneficial tips as we were building.

Turtle pen we built for the box turtles at LLELA.

Soil Erosion Management

Problem Addressed

The Blackjack Trail, one of the most popular trails at LLELA, is dealing with soil erosion.

Due to the varying slopes throughout the trail, water runoff moves at rapid speeds. The

concern is that water is picking up the soil. There are two key signs of this taking place.

First, several sections of the trail are forming gullies. Second, there are multiple well

exposed tree roots throughout the trail.

LLELA’S SOIL EROSION MANAGEMENT BEFORE PROJECT

At the moment, LLELA uses puncheons— treated lumber logs used to elevate the trail

above wet, muddy areas. Since people tend to walk around muddy areas, trail widening

becomes more prevalent. Trail users walk over the puncheons, thereby avoiding trail

widening. Unfortunately, puncheons are only a workaround that help the trail users but

do not solve soil erosion. Similarly, bridges and corduroys are also possible workarounds

for trail management.

CONSIDERED SOLUTIONS

There are many ways to solve soil erosion on trails. A few of these methods are outlined

below.

Rock Based Water Bars

Rock waterbars use rocks of varying lengths to divert water into the vegetation on the side

of the trail. These rocks are dug 2-3 inches into the ground and placed at 45–60-degree

angles. Rock waterbars have better durability than wood waterbars. However, their main

problem lies in their security. Since they are only dug into the ground, they will move

around as nearby dirt loosens over time. In addition, there is a lot more maintenance

involved for the proper function of these types of waterbars. For example, if they become

loose or misaligned, they must be adjusted and set correctly. Rock waterbars are much

more susceptible to these natural forces.

Wood Waterbars (The Solution Used In Our Project)

Consistent with the idea of rock water bars, wood waterbars also are placed to divert water

into the vegetation. Wood waterbars can be used for various slopes and stretches of the

trail. In addition, wood waterbars installed with rebar are more secure than rock

waterbars, and they are much easier to maintain than rock waterbars.

Project Approach

MATERIALS

Pressure treated pine 8’ landscape timbers from Lowes.

Two 2-inch rebars as it works well with both wood and dirt

POSITIONING/ANGLE

The first step of installation is determining the position and angle of the waterbar. We

determined the position and angle of each waterbar on a case-by-case basis. We used the

following factors to make a decision. We need to understand the direction of water flow.

Then we need to consider the slopes caused by the varying elevations on the sides of the

trail. Using these factors, we must angle the waterbar in a way that would divert the water

away from the trail.

DIGGING

The second step of installation is to dig a trench at the location and angle determined

using the steps outlined above. The trench should be approximately 2 inches deep and

long enough to fit the timber.

SETTING/SECURING

After fitting the timber in the trench 2-3 inches above the ground, backfill the dirt into the

excess space. Then drill two holes for the rebar using a 1/2woul inch drill bit. Finally,

hammer in the rebars with a sledgehammer. Perform a successful kick test to ensure that

the waterbar is secure.

Problem Areas

We observed two kinds of problem areas we had to pay special attention too. One section

of the trail, where the path turns, and slopes sharply was heavily gullied. Our usual

method of installing the waterbars would not work. We had to cut the bars and fit them

like a check dam (refer to pictures at the end of this document). The primary purpose was

to reduce the speed of the water. In dips between two bars, we also added rocks to prevent

water from puddling. Over time, sediments will drop in the space between the logs and

create a “stair step” pattern. This will restore the trail and also prevent further gullying.

Another section of the trail had a steep hill very close to a river. Water would go down the

slope at high speeds in the rain, and instead of emptying into the river, the water runoff

would continue down the trail. This was addressed by adding two waterbars to guide the

water into the river.

Monitoring

Monitoring showed us the real impact of the installations. Most installations worked as

intended. A few, however, were not so successful, and it was clear to us after the rain. We

identified three areas that needed correction and addressed them. The first problem we

found was that four bars were not strongly secured. To fix this, we rearranged the dirt

around the waterbar, added extra rebars, and ensured it passed the kick test. Then, we

found four areas that could benefit from adding waterbars. Finally, in the first problem

area (Problem Area 1—heavily gullied section), we still found puddling. We added larger

rocks to prevent it.

Long Term Progress

The waterbars are expected to last for up to 10-20+ years. Ranger Rob Smith and the staff

of LLELA plan to use future scout or volunteer projects to maintain the waterbars by

checking for debris or clogged-up sediment along the drain side of the waterbars. I also

numbered the waterbars to help with quick identification for maintenance.

Acknowledgements

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

Troop 25 once again gave us outstanding support. Special thanks to the Allen family for

helping with the problem areas. The Jasper Environmental Club and The Jasper High

School National Honor Society worked many hours with us over the 16 workdays.

CONSERVATION ADVISOR

Ranger Robert Smith of LLELA pointed out a few critically eroded areas and continued to

be a great supporter and mentor throughout the project.

Invasive Chinese Privet Management

PROBLEM ADDRESSED

The Chinese Privet is a non-native plant that has made its home in Texas. It has a high reproduction rate and the soil conditions within the Blackland prairie ecosystem provides the plant with favorable conditions to grow. The Chinese Privet is also a plant that establishes a hardy root system which allows it to regrow even if it is cut from the stem. Some form of a herbicide must be used in order to ensure that it is eliminated.

Project Timing

The best time to do this project is during January through early March. During this time, most of the other native plants are still dormant and do not have leaves. The Chinese Privet on the other hand still does have leaves. During such times, it is very easy to determine which plants are privet and need to be eliminated.

Privet Identification

To identify the Chinese Privet, Ligustrum sinense, one must look closely at the leaves. The leaves follow a distinct patter. They are usually in two rows at near right angles to the stem. The leaves are between oval and elliptical with a rounded tip. Also, look out for a whiter colored stem. Such a stem is not common to native plants.

PROJECT APPROACH

The removal of the privet has been going on for several years before Eagles for Environment made its effort. Several groups of volunteers have worked with the staff of LLELA to remove privet from their grounds.

MATERIALS

-Loppers

-Saws

-Machine powered saws

-Herbicide

-Paintbrushes

-Disposable plastic jars/bottles

TASK

Once the privet plant is identified, we cut the plant near its the lower stem leaving a few inches above the ground. After the cut is made, another volunteer applies herbicide to the top of the stem using the paintbrush. This ensures that only the appropriate amount of herbicide is used and other plants in the vicinity are not affected. The herbicide is extremely potent and can kill native plants as well. For that reason, the herbicide should be used conservatively.

Bat box Installation

Four new hand-crafted bat boxes have been installed at Austin College's Sneed Prairie (a restored Blackland Prairie site with a small undisturbed fragment of untouched praire) in Sherman, Texas. These boxes will be used by Dr. Jessica Healy, the Biology professor of the college and a specialist in small mammals for research on bat population and the return of their native, previously uninhabitable habitat.

Bats are an essential piece of not only Blackland Prairie habitats,, but of our agricultural system as a whole. Due to habitat loss and a fungal disease with no cure (white-nose syndrome), bat populations as a whole are on a steady decline. These boxes will be a small contribution to bat research and the fight to save their species.