NATIVE PRAIRIES

15 September 2000
Headliners’ Club * Austin, TX

David Todd introduced Gene Heinemann, president of the Native Prairies Association of Texas, to discuss the study, protection and restoration of these rare grasslands. Mr. Heinemann described the Association as a small group, formed in 1986, dedicated to appreciating the 100 million acres of prairie that were once found in Texas, but which have dwindled since the 1880s with the pressure of overgrazing, cultivation and paving.

At this point, only a trace is left: of the 12 million acres of the Blackland tallgrass prairie, only 3000 to 5000 acres remain, mostly in just 5 to 20 acre remnants. This loss affects various parts of the environment, including the water issues discussed before, since vital prairie soils can retain and slowly release rainfall that otherwise rapidly runs off with eroded soil.

To reverse this loss, Mr. Heinemann recommends the following:

• Reduce the scarcity of plant materials by protecting remnants, irrigating prairie seed crops, etc.;

• Reduce the scarcity of specialized prairie seed planting equipment;

• Increase the knowledge of plant behavior and uses;

• Reduce the apathy and ignorance regarding prairies;

• Take advantage of the wildlife exemption to reduce grazing and cultivation pressure.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is the prairies’ role in retaining water vs. lakes’ storage of water? Myron Hess of the National Wildlife Federation pointed out that prairies gave a steady, reliable baseflow to rivers, and also reduced evaporation that would otherwise occur if the water were stored in lakes rather than vegetated soils.

Q: Which audience was most open to the native prairie message? Mr. Heinemann has found that urban populations are more open; that rural landowners are often too rigid about keeping to old attitudes.

Q: Where are the prairie remnants in Texas? Mr. Heinemann said that they are small and scattered. David Todd added that NPAT is currently conducting a survey to find just where these remnants are, and has two botanists searching the state, one north of Waco and one south. The encouraging news is that nearly twice as many remnants, albeit very small 5-10 acre tracts, have been found in one area near Bellville and Round Top as was known before the survey.

Q: Are there any seed banks that could be used to borrow and propagate prairie grasses? Mr. Heinemann said that Evelyn Merz and a group in Houston were putting together such a seed bank.

Q: What is the role of juniper control in restoring native prairies? Mr. Heinemann acknowledged that these junipers did rob soils of water. Anjali Kahl of the Trust for Public Land noted that Texas Parks and Wildlife was engaged in removing junipers at the Government Canyon preserve. Myron Hess said that the state involved in a major mesquite and juniper control project on 100,000 acres near San Angelo.

Q: How small could a prairie remnant be and still be large enough to protect? Mr. Heinemann said that there are so few remnants of any size that even a parcel as small as 1 acre would be worth protecting.

Q: It was urged that there be some recognition or certification program for native remnants, to encourage owners to take pride in protecting them. Mr. Heinemann appreciated the idea.

Q: Are there keystone plants for prairies? Mr. Heinemann said that it depended on the successional stage for a particular prairie, whether the prairie were at a pioneer or climax stage. Mr. Heinemann felt that it was important that more early successional plant seeds enter the market so that new prairies could be created.

Q: A donor recommended that hunters be contacted about promoting planting prairies, because they currently invest a great deal of money in annual food plots for deer, quail and turkey that could be much more sustainably and cheaply provided from a perennial prairie.

Q: Has NPAT had any success encouraging the Texas Department of Transportation to plant more natives in their rights-of-way? Mr. Heinemann said that TXDOT was reluctant to do that because the EPA required quick establishment of grasscover around road projects, to reduce soil erosion and water runoff. Unfortunately, prairie bunch grasses are slower to get established that exotic turf grasses.

Q: A funder said that she found that railroad rights-of-way were good refuges for natives. Mr. Heinemann agreed and said that NPAT was working with Union Pacific to give protection to any native prairie areas within their easements.