NPSOT-NPAT 2007 Joint Symposium

Regions

Index


Maps


The Blackland Prairies

The Blackland Prairies stretch approximately three hundred miles along the Red River from Sherman to east of Paris, and south down through Austin to San Antonio. It also includes the outlying San Antonio and Fayette Prairies near Bryan and Huntsville. This area represents about 6.5% of the land area of Texas.

Much of this area possesses the characteristic black, heavy clay, "black waxy" soil for which the region is famous.

Before settlement, the Blackland Prairies were an expanse of tallgrass prairie with diverse native grasses, flowers, and other plants growing and blooming in succession throughout the year. Bison, pronghorn, grassland birds, black bears, mountain lions, butterflies, and other wildlife was abundant within the rich Blackland Prairies.

Dr. John Brooke, in 1848, described the region as he entered the area: "It was the finest sight I ever saw; immense meadows 2 or 3 feet deep of fine grasses and flowers. Such beautiful colors I never saw..."

Now very little of the native Blackland Prairies remain due to the destruction of the prairie by plowing for agriculture, abusive overgrazing, and development. The lack of management with natural or prescribed fire has also allowed native prairie to be destroyed by brush invasion.

Today, it is believed less than 1% (and possibly less than 0.1%) of the native Blackland Prairies remain. The World Wildlife Fund states that the Blackland is critical/endangered ecosystem. NatureServe and the Texas Natural History Survey rank most of the native plant communities of the Blackland Prairies with the highest conservation status: critically imperiled (G1), imperiled (G2), or vulnerable to extirpation or extinction (G3). A comprehensive survey of native prairie remaining within the Blackland Prairies is sorely needed.

The few remaining pieces of beautiful native Blackland Prairie are in dire need of permanent protection and conservation. Much of the Blackland Prairies lie within the highest projected population growth area of the state for the near future. If we do not protect the remaining native tallgrass prairie remnants within the Blackland Prairies soon, they could be destroyed by development, or even destroyed by continued plowing or overgrazing.

In addition to the threats to the native plants and plant communities of the Blackland Prairies, grassland birds, whose home is the prairie, are the most declining group of birds in North America and in need of help. Restoration of native prairie to recreate additional habitat for the grassland birds and the native plant communities they depend on will be a vital component in stabilizing their populations.

Click here to learn more about the Blackland Prairie.


The Grand Prairie

The Grand Prairie consists of the Fort Worth Prairie and the Lampasas Cut Plains within the Cross Timbers and Prairies.

The Fort Worth Prairie is an open prairie about 10 to 30 miles wide, reaching from the Red River in Cooke County south through Fort Worth to Johnson and northwest Hill County  110 miles to the south. The Lampasas Cut Plains extends from the Forth Worth Prairie south and west to the Llano Basin and the Colorado River, and east almost to Waco, Temple, and Georgetown. The Lampasas Cut Plains has strong similarities with the Edwards Plateau, and some authorities consider it a northern extension of the Edwards Plateau.

Like the Blackland Prairies, much of the Grand Prairie was a vast prairie with limited trees mostly along waterways, hilltops, mesas, and buttes. Vegetation ranged from tallgrass prairie, to shorter prairies in the west along with savanna and woodlands in the topographically complex Lampasas Cut Plains

Greer described the Grand Prairie in the second half of the 1800's as an "... indescribably beautiful prairie where lush grass swept at my mount's sides..."

Wildlife was very similar to the Blackland Prairies, and more wildlife may survive today since more of the Grand Prairie has survived human settlement. Greer described prairie chickens as a common occurrence.

Less of the Grand Prairie was plowed than the Blackland Prairies and probably survives today, but widespread ranching that swept across the region between 1850 and 1860 and subsequent droughts and overstocking, along with fire suppression, has severely impacted the native prairies of the region. A comprehensive survey of native prairie remaining within the Grand Prairie is highly needed.

Click here to learn more about the Grand Prairie.


The Edwards Plateau

The Edwards Plateau ranges from Austin in the east to Pecos County in the west.

The Edwards Plateau, unlike the other regions, is a geological unit with the region's boundaries determined by geology rather than biology. As a result, the vegetation of the Edwards Plateau is highly variable. Prairie and savanna grasslands, woodlands, forest, and rivers and streams occur within the region.

Edwards Plateau savanna is typically distinguished by Juniper-Oak savanna and Mesquite-Acacia savanna with an understory of mid to short grasslands, including Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Generally grasses are shorter as one moves west and precipitation decreases.

Wildlife was similar to the Blackland and Grand Prairies, including the presence of bison. The region ranks among the top ten ecoregions for reptiles and birds. The Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) and Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapillus), endangered bird species, live in this region. Some of the world's largest groups of cave dwelling bats roost in the caves of the region.

The World Wildlife Fund ranks Edwards Plateau Savanna as a critical/endangered ecosystem. Overgrazing, erosion, fire suppression, and now development have destroyed and still threaten Edwards Plateau grasslands.  A comprehensive survey of native grasslands remaining within the Edwards Plateau is greatly needed.

Click here to learn more about the Edwards Plateau.


Bibliography


To contact us:
Email: symposium2007@npsot.org
Phone: 830-997-9272
Mail: NPSOT, P.O. Box 3017, Fredericksburg, TX 78624