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Thanks to everyone who came out to Brodie Wild on Sunday 2/19 and volunteered in spite of the foul weather! 

Brodie Wild is a 4.5 acre savanna/native plant area in Austin, TX that NPSOT-Austin and NPAT partner on with the City of Austin Water Utility Wildlands Conservation Division.   Brodie Wild is on the southwest corner of Slaughter Lane and Brodie Lane.

We accomplished a lot during the workday.

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The City of Austin Bond Election Advisory Committee recently recommended $5 million in open space bond funds to protect area prairies!

Prairie is a diverse community of native plants and wildlife dominated by native grasses and flowers in successions throughout the year, with sparse to few trees. Prairie once made up over half of Travis County and most of Williamson County, but now it is almost completely gone.

The Native Prairies Association of Texas, working with local chapters of the Native Plant Society of Texas, recently organized an effort to protect the few remaining prairie remnants in the Austin area. I gave a proposal and multiple presentations to the City’s Bond Election Advisory Committee, and our members and friends gave (and sent via email) many comments supporting prairie conservation.

As a result, the Bond Election Advisory Committee recently recommended $5 million in open space bond funding to protect area prairies! That will probably be enough to only protect about 20% of what little remains in the area, but 20% is much better than 0%.

The Austin Chronicle also ran an article written by Rachel Proctor May, Dreaming of Buffalo, about Austin area prairies!

Now the recomendation goes to the City Council, and if accepted on to Austin voters for approval.

More prairie information follows after the link.

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Lisa, Scott, Coby, and I went on a tallgrass prairie tour (aka vacation) through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri last week/weekend. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was very fun! It also helped me feel a little better to know some good quality prairies are protected.

We visited Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (OK), Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (KA), Konza Prairie (KA), Prairie State Park (MO), Black Oaks Prairie (MO) (Scott’s 80 acres, part remnant prairie and part restoration-in-progress), Osage Prairie (MO), Stilwell Prairie (MO), and Diamond Grove Prairie (MO).

Prairies are an ecosystem dominated vegetatively by grasses and forbs (such as flowers). In spring, summer, and fall prairies are full of wildflowers blooming, creating a beautiful landscape of flowers and grasses that once stretched to the horizon.

Tallgrass prairies, which once covered the central US from southern Canada down into Texas, are 99% gone mostly because of conversion to farmland (due to the rich soils created by the prairie ecosystem) and development. Since so little tallgrass prairie is left, it is important that we protect what little remains before it is destroyed by development or plowing.

Many creatures depend on the prairie as habitat, such as bison, prairie chickens, prairie dogs, and the black footed ferret.

See the Native Prairies Association of Texas website for more information about prairies in Texas and how to help preserve these wonderful places for current and future generations.