Backyard/Clear Creek and LLELA

Stephen Ramsey, Geography senior, University of North Texas

Backyard Observation

The first thing you notice is the post oak trees. They are magnificent. In my yard and the surrounding neighbor’s yards, the trees shoot up 30 to 40 feet. There are 29 post oaks in my backyard. They currently are still hanging on to some of last year’s leaves the rest cover the majority of the yard. Looking at it, we know that we are in the Cross Timbers region. Growing up on the western edge of this region in Stephens County I can imagine how it once looked. On our property there the trees grow so close together it is almost impossible to walk through. One of the main reasons is the briars that accompany the trees in this region. I am already battling these in my backyard. As I look around I can see the little briars sticking up just above the leaves throughout the yard. There is not much grass because of the shade provided by the trees and the owner’s lack of time to remove the leaves in a timely manner. There is a ton of acorns and limbs that have been shed in the litter on the ground.

There are several trees and shrubs that I do not believe are native to the area. The Japanese maple sticks out in one corner. There are several flowering shrubs starting to show signs that they are ready for spring. The tulips have also started poking their shoots out. To make the yard more appealing when I bought it, the previous owners planted several little trees that flower during the spring and summer. There is also a dogwood planted in the other corner. They also planted some ground cover plants but I am unsure of exactly what they are. Looking at the leaves on the ground I see the water oak leaves among them. I wonder if this tree is included in the species native to this region. It is a beautiful evergreen tree in the front yard.

The sound of the train horn rings through the neighborhood. How long has that sound echoed through here? Looking at the retaining walls that are made up of cross ties, I think of my future projects I need to work on. The roots of the post oaks are probably pushing on them assisting in the destruction of the walls. A wasp is crawling on the wall. How and where did he survive the winter? Another project: find his winter hideout I hope it is not inside the house.

A squirrel have realized the dog is laying in the yard. It has started coming down the tree to antagonize the sleeping dog. I am sure it is a “get out of my territory” statement but it seems like a waste of time knowing my older dog. In a large tree in the neighbor’s yard I can see the nest the squirrel made for winter. It is made up of mainly parts of the post oak trees and leaves. I believe it is a grey squirrel but not quite sure. I wonder if they are an immigrant to the region as well. The urban setting has been good to the squirrel. There are several animals we have seen since moving here. Of course there are several species of birds which I can hear now, but we have a regular visitor in the backyard, the opossum have visited the cat bowls on a regular basis. A few weeks ago a skunk was running from the neighbor’s dog down the middle of the road. There are also a large number of feral cats in our neighborhood. The most annoying animal is the parrot in the cage in the neighbor’s yard to the northwest. Whatever benefit a person may get from looking at the plumage cannot make up for the amount of noise that thing makes. I know why they put it outside; I would have already relieved the bird of its ability to make noise.

That is what I observed in my back yard. I am sure when spring comes in full force it will really come alive. Right now the trees look like monuments to the season of winter.


Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center

Mission
Inspire environmental citizenship through an understanding of the natural heritage of north central Texas by providing nature experiences, education and research programs, and conservation and restoration projects.

Vision

The Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center will:

•Promote environmental citizenship

•Provide a place for people to interact and connect with nature

•Be a model of integrated learning for environmental, outdoor and experiential learning

•Provide a leading example of conservation and ecosystem restoration projects

•Be an educational, recreational and cultural resource for all people

The CCNHC serves as a gateway to the approximately 2900 acres comprised of rare bottomland habitat, surprisingly diverse flora and fauna, all surrounding the confluence of Clear Creek and the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

The first thing I thought of when I arrived was that this is a perfect habitat for the whitetail deer with plenty of cover. Being a cool and overcast day my first thoughts were that if I was going to see the deer I would probably have to walk up on one in its bedding area. The only species I was engaged with was the cardinals. They had quickly let me know that this was their area and I needed to leave. It is amazing how such a bright colored bird has survived. Although the birds are quit entertaining they are distracting me from actually focusing on what other factors make up this area’s ecosystem. I decide that my best course of action was to look for signs of deer activity as well as look at some of the management practices going on in other areas.

Another thing that the wildlife will need in this area is water. The Elm Fork of the Trinity had ample water at this time. As I walked down to the sandy area on the bank I startled a flock of black ducks or they startled me not really sure who was more surprised. There were also a few turtles in the river which lead me to believe that the river was supporting several different species and was perhaps somewhat healthy. I also observed the signs of human neglect and wastefulness of fisherman as beverage cans, fishing tackle and the remains of what appears to be a gar. I did not find any tracks for deer in this area but recent activities from humans probably eliminated them. I return to the upper bank and continue along the trail. I quickly find what I was looking for on several of the game trail leading up the decent down to the water, the footprints of the whitetail deer.

I start by heading to the prairie trail. I notice that this area would support my species. Whitetail deer are social animals and this would be an area where they could do this. After a few minutes of looking I quickly found game trails leading in and out of the area. We then continued into what they call the hardwood forest. This area would provide plenty of cover for a variety of species. There are many species of trees in this area including elm, oaks, and Bois de arc. The Bois de arc were quite large but they also looked like they may be diseased it is something I would like to observe on a future trip. I find these trees fascinating with their gnarled and twisting limbs often with hollows in them perfect for raccoons and other species to nest and hide in. These trees are extremely hard and the older generations of surveyors used stake from this tree as survey markers. Often when we look for remnants of these stakes we still find the splinters after decades. In this area we also found several bird’s next from past residence.

I continued along the trail past the grassland area were there were more game trails and signs of deer. This area again has ample cover and food. Quickly we are in the wetland area. The water levels were extremely low but they still provide habitat for several birds we observed and would provide an additional source of water for the deer.

I finished the trail back to my vehicle and reality. The trail took me back to my childhood and running care free through the woods. It is amazing how sights and sounds can take you back.

The Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center is working hard to hold true to their mission statement. I enjoyed the experience and will definitely do it again. It was quiet and remote as far as the manufactured noise of people. This one did not seem to be as managed as some of the other areas which in my eyes mean they are doing something right.


Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA)

LLELA, also known as the Lewisville Wildlife Management Area, was created in the early 1990s by a consortium of local, state, and national government agencies, who have obtained a 25 year management lease from the US Army Corps of Engineers. Today, the LLELA consortium is comprised of the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, the City of Lewisville, and the Lewisville Independent School District.

Mandate
The mandate of the LLELA consortium is to develop the area for: the preservation and restoration of native habitat and biodiversity environmental education, and environmental research.

Management Goals
The principal goals of management at LLELA are to preserve and protect native biodiversity and to restore degraded ecosystems, communities, and native biodiversity while providing compatible educational and scientific use of LLELA lands.

The first thing you notice is the towering dam. I know the reasons why it cannot have trees and shrubs but it would be nice if it did. The next impression was that this one is highly managed and manipulated by humans. You see native flowers but they are in a flower bed nothing really natural about that.

We start down the trails and again with our walking partner, the cardinals. Darting back and forth just ahead of us making sure the other forest dwellers all know we are coming. This time I have my own little noise maker Papa’s Angel, my three year old grandbaby. The first thing he noticed when we started down the trail was the under storage plenty of sticks to pick up. We also thought the signs were perfect right at his level. There was an abundance of tree species; elms, oaks, cottonwoods, pecan, and Bois de arc to name a few. Some were truly magnificent in size. He was extremely excited and I was happy to share the experience with him and my wife.

Just like many spring days, there was an abundance of insects moving around happy for the warm day. The signs of past woodpeckers chasing the insects were apparent on the trees. Spider webs quickly find their way to your face as you continue walking. A few flying insects buzzing around but not to the point where it is annoying it was still a very pleasant walk. An occasional noise in the underbrush was a reoccurring them. I caught a glimpse of a scurrying lizard once probably happy that the insects are out too.

On the trails we observed several areas were an armadillo had been foraging the night before. As we got closer to the river we could hear the sounds of the birds. The river was magnificent and well worth the walk to see it. There were several shore birds feeding in the shallows and an egret. We saw the manufactured nests for a larger bird of prey and a few for bats I believe.

The rest of the trail was watching the butterflies bounce to and fro in front of us as we made our way back to the vehicle. It was a pleasant trip and despite my reservations about hiking with a three year old, we all truly enjoyed it. There is plenty of food and cover for deer and several signs they are there from the game trails to the tracks.

This area is great for educational purposes and I enjoyed the signs and explaining to my grandbaby what we were looking for and what we observed. There is a lot more obvious human effort in this managed landscape. I do not know the history of the place but I would like to learn more about their efforts and what it was before they started.