Native prairie grass returns to Houston area after decades of urban development

On the Texas prairie, it doesn’t take very long for Aaron Tjelmeland to begin naming every grass and flower he sets eyes on.

He barely hesitates before he stoops and grabs some dark berries from a low, spindly plant and pops some in his mouth. Not too far away, he spots some annual ryegrass – an invasive plant for the coastal prairie. He yanks some of it out of the dirt. It’s not supposed to be here.

The wildlife ecologist and botanist, along with his colleague Calan Coleman, are managers for Nash Prairie, a 427-acre coastal prairie about 70 miles southwest of Houston owned by the Nature Conservancy of Texas. The major part of their job is keeping the prairie as diverse and thriving as possible – which means removing invasive species, keeping the woody plants and trees at bay and burning it all down in a prescribed fire when needed.

The ultimate goal is preserving this small sliver of historic prairie into the future.

But it also has a lot to do with seeds.

Over 300 types of native plant species live and grow at Nash Prairie. This includes rare plant types, such as coastal gayfeather, the meadow rue and some grasses that were thought to be extinct.

This immense diversity is essential for the native Texas coastal ecosystem. But over time, development, farming and human activity has decimated the native grassland – leaving behind invasive and non-native grasses throughout the state.

In an effort to reintroduce these native plants to Texas, seeds from Nash Prairie and other preserves are collected and distributed to projects across the Houston area.

The seeds have gone to governmental conservation spots, private conservation areas, urban prairie, schools, churches, nurseries and for seed research as far as London, England. The hope is to bring back a natural diversity to Houston from centuries ago, when the coastal prairie stretched from Texas to Louisiana.

Tjelmeland, 42, feels particularly at home on the prairie. The acreage is so sheltered from development that all anyone can hear is the frogs croaking, birds chirping and the rustling of plants. He’d been with the Nature Conservancy for about two years and believes the seed project is just the beginning. Already, Memorial Park in Houston – which had seeds planted a couple years ago – is alive with native plants.

The two men squish through some mud and water to a lower portion of the prairie. A single tree is still standing, not yet touched by any prescribed burn. Coleman drags his hand through some grass absently.

“Imagine this being your office,” he said. “Do I ever wake up and wish I did something else? I don’t think so.”

A living history on the Texas prairie

Before Houston was Houston or Texas was Texas, a large coastal prairie spanned six million acres uninterrupted from what is now Corpus Christi, Texas to modern-day Lafayette, Louisiana. Back then, the land was flat or had gently rolling hills with tall to midsize prairie grass with a variety of plants and animals.

Even with management, invasives have slipped through the cracks. Birds and weather bring invasive seeds far and wide from homes and gardens elsewhere in the city – which is why Hall advises residents to consider native plants for their own personal property as well.

“Someone could have planted invasive plants in their yard miles from here, but some birds will pick it up and drop it over here,” Hall said. “So we have to manage what invasives we find.”

Still, the native plants grown at the preserves are thriving. Birds and animals that are normally drawn to coastal prairies are showing up at Memorial as seen through wildlife cams that the park sets up, like the scissor-tailed flycatcher which can be found in South Texas.

The team at Memorial Park is still recording data on what they are seeing, but Hall said the resiliency in native plants is often key to keeping the ecosystem alive and growing. There are always ebbs and flows in natural landscapes, and since the prairie is only in its second growing season, it can be hard to tell immediately.

“The more reliance we build in these systems, the more wildlife and plant life is going to be able to handle the natural cycles.” Hall said. “Now, we’re just watching and see how it all turns out, but so far it’s  been looking good.”