One of the best-kept secrets of the Houston region is its ecological abundance. No less than eight distinct ecological systems surround the Houston area. These are resources of national and even international importance, and they offer a type of capital – ecological capital – that will become more and more valuable as we move further into the 21st century.
There are seven distinct ecological systems surrounding Houston with the eighth being the barrier island/Gulf of Mexico interface. Each of these various systems is unique and ecologically important. Their proximity one to another and to metropolitan Houston makes them even more significant.

The upper Texas coast’s marshes play an essential role in the health and productivity of the bays and estuaries by providing habitat for juvenile finfish and shellfish, and a food source for the bay ecosystem. They are home to migratory waterfowl year round as well. Approximately 680 square miles of coastal marsh exist from Sabine Lake through the Matagorda Bay complex. About 275 bird species, as well as numerous mammals, amphibians, and varied vegetation live in these marshes.

Three major estuaries lie within 100 miles of Houston – the Galveston Bay system, the Matagorda Bay system, and Sabine Lake. Together, these systems cover more than 1,000 square miles and are amazingly productive. The Galveston Bay system alone provides habitat for 139 species of birds, 13 species of shrimp, 17 species of crabs, and more than 150 species of finfish. Using a methodology developed by economist Robert Costanza, these three bay systems and their associated marshes and swamps provide more than $11 billion in ecosystem services – such as pollutant removal and food supply – each year. Also, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife, they generate more than $900 million in recreational economic benefits per year.

Naturally, coastal prairies were dotted with wetlands and covered in grasses. Over time, much of that has been converted to rice and soybeans, but many of the freshwater, pothole wetlands remain. These wetlands and the associated agricultural lands provide excellent food sources. More than 5 million birds of 134 different species move through the Katy Prairie. Hundreds of thousands of snow geese winter on the Katy, Lissie, and Winnie prairies. Bald eagles feed on these geese and other waterfowl; as many as 10 to 15 can be seen on a good day on the Katy Prairie.

The Columbia bottomlands is a natural forested area of about 170,000 acres that extends in a 50-mile-wide corridor alongside the Brazos, San Bernard, and Colorado rivers. Much of this area has a double canopy of trees and shrubs. During the spring, 102 migratory neo-tropical bird species use this forest as a rest and feeding stop. The number of birds stopping in this area is so large that they can be seen on radar when they fly in from across the Gulf of Mexico and depart for points north. A major effort is now underway to preserve this bottomland area.

The pine forests of the northern portion of the Houston area are interspersed with beautiful, clear streams surrounded by bottomland hardwood forests. They are home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Jones State Forest is one of the most accessible sites in the United States for birders to see the endangered bird. Hundreds of birders each year fly into Bush Intercontinental Airport, drive north for thirty minutes, see this “life bird” in Jones State Forest, and depart the same day.

The Big Thicket is found in the northeastern segment of the Houston region. It is called the “biological crossroads of North America,” where the southern, eastern, and western forest systems come together. There are ten different ecological systems within the Big Thicket, making it a truly amazing resource. It contains more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, 200 species of trees and shrubs, 300 species of birds, and 50 species of reptiles.

The Trinity Bottomlands are found along the Trinity River east of Houston. This is almost exclusively a bottomland hardwood habitat area, including bald cypress, tupelo gum, overcup and nuttal oaks, green ash, water hickory, water elm, willow oaks, and sugarberry. This area has 189 species of trees and shrubs, 42 woody vines, 75 grasses, 800 herbaceous species, 48 plant species of special concern, 500 vertebrate animal species, and 273 different bird species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently begun purchasing this land for the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge.

Texas’ open beaches act makes all of the beachfront open to the public. The beachfront runs from Sabine Lake to Mexico. Barrier islands or barrier peninsulas extend all along the Galveston and Matagorda Bay complexes. Migratory waterfowl gather at points along this beachfront, such as Bolivar Flats, in staggering numbers. Endangered species like piping plover and peregrine falcon frequent the shoreline. Houston Audubon Society owns and protects two major reserves along the beachfront, the High Island Sanctuary and Bolivar Flats. Both offer world-class birding.

Houston needs a new, better image. It could be an ecological tour destination. It could be a center of ecological preservation with national and international importance – a source of pride for the community and the nation.

The most wonderful aspect of these resources is that they still exist. They can still be saved. There is time for Houston to capitalize on this capital. Reserves could be purchased to surround the metropolitan area with a necklace of ecological jewels, stretching from the Columbia bottomlands up the Brazos River into the Katy Prairie, then east along Spring Creek into the San Jacinto bottomlands, then from Lake Houston across to the Trinity River and down the Trinity River into the Trinity Bay system and the coastal marshes and wildlife refuges, coming back around East Bay and West Bay to the Columbia bottomlands. Why don’t we just do it?