Conservation
All of the area's native ecosystems have been significantly impacted by human use and settlement patterns. Many do not realize how rich the ecological capital of the region is.

Before European settlement, coastal prairies dominated the Houston region. Our rivers, bayous, and creeks ran through large tracts of bottomland forests. An extensive system of estuar-ies and barrier islands leading to the Gulf of Mexico covered the south. Upland forests of a mixed pine-hardwood character grew in the north. Wetlands of many types dotted the entire landscape. Eight major ecosystems converge in the region: the Big Thicket, the Sam Houston Pine Forests, the Coastal Prairies, the Columbia and Trinity Bottomlands, the Estuary Bay System, the Coastal Marshes, and the Gulf of Mexico. Each of these now severely threatened ecosystems has a role to play. Together, they provide wildlife habitat, protect biodiversity, detoxify pollutants, supply natural resources, and offer recreational opportunities. Native ecosystems are also part of the region's natural heritage and provide aesthetic and spiritual value.

Coastal Prairies
Before European settlement, coastal prairies spread across the Gulf Coast. More than two million acres of rolling grasslands, dotted with wetlands and creeks, could be found in the region; only 7,600 acres still exist untouched.

The Katy Prairie comprises more than 1,000 square miles bordered by the Brazos River to the southwest, the city of Houston to the east, and pine-hardwood forest to the north. It is home to more than 60 mammal species and 55 species of reptile and amphibian. The prairie's wetlands offer a haven for songbirds, herons, egrets, sandhill cranes, ibises, hawks, and bald eagles. In the winter, a dense concentration of migratory waterfowl lives on the Katy Prairie. The prairie provides a variety of recreational opportunities and supports the quality of rural life. It also protects the region from significant flooding and offers groundwater recharge benefits.

Originally, the Katy Prairie covered 500,000 acres. Only 200,000 acres of original prairie remain undeveloped or in agricultural use.

Agricultural use of the Katy Prairie is consis-tent with its role as habitat. Rice farms, pastures, and croplands provide wetlands, food, and cover for the prairie's wildlife.

Specific threats
Westward expansion: Over the past twenty years, 160,000 acres of the Katy Prairie have been destroyed by residential and commercial development. Westward expansion of metropolitan Houston continues to fragment the prairie. Plans for Houston's growth do not protect this valuable resource; in fact, some policies, such as freeway expansion, encourage urban sprawl and subsequent prairie destruction.

The Grand Parkway: Plans are underway to construct a 177-mile loop around Houston, approximately 40 miles from the city center. Construction of the road itself will destroy prairie land, as will associated development. (See Grand Parkway in the Transportation section.)

Recent Progress
In 2003, the Katy Prairie Conservancy reached its goal of protecting 10,000 acres of prairie land. The conservancy's new goal is to protect 20,000 acres by 2008.

Columbia and Trinity
Bottomland Hardwood Forests
The Columbia Bottomland hardwood forest lies in the floodplains of the San Bernard, Brazos, and Colorado rivers. Southwest of Lake Livingston and north of Liberty are the Trinity River bottomlands.

The rich organic matter and large water holding capacity of bottomland forests create an ideal environment for many insects, worms, and bacteria, which in turn support diverse reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Bottomland forests provide vital habitat for migratory and neotropical birds. These areas also help control flooding and erosion and provide recreational opportunities.

In general, bottomland forests in the area are shrinking. At one time, 700,000 acres of Columbia bottomlands covered the floodplains of the San Bernard, Brazos, and Colorado rivers; only 25 percent remain.

Early on, the woods were cleared for timber and agricultural use; urban development now threatens some areas. Damming and flood con-trol measures have reduced sediment deposition and changed the flooding patterns in regional bottomland forests as well, which could lead to decreased long-term viability. Many acres have also been taken over by the Chinese tallow tree, an invasive species. Despite these challenges, several large plots of bottomland forests near the Trinity, San Jacinto, Brazos, San Bernard, and Colorado Rivers remain.

Estuary Bay Systems
Freshwater from rivers and streams combines with saltwater from the Gulf to form the estuary system that lines the Texas coast. Shallow waters, thick vegetation, and abundant nutrients make the region's brackish bays extremely productive biological systems.

Galveston Bay, a shallow estuary with a surface area of 600 square miles, is the seventh largest estuary in the country. The bay's depth averages 6 to 12 feet, except along the 51-mile Houston Ship Channel, which has been dredged to a depth of 40 feet.

The bay offers diverse habitats, including emergent wetlands, oyster reefs, a river delta, mud flats seagrass beds, sand bars, and open water. Its wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation filter water, provide nursery areas for fish and shellfish, and protect the land from erosion. Colonial waterbirds, shorebirds, shrimp, crabs, oysters, finfish and many other species call it home.

Galveston Bay is highly productive. It provides seafood for the region and for export. Ninety percent of the commercial fish and shellfish caught in the Bay and the Gulf of Mexico spend some part of their lives in Galveston Bay.

Specific threats
Reduced freshwater inflow: Increasing use of river water for residential, agricultural, and industrial uses, as well as construction of dams and reservoirs, has significantly reduced the amount of freshwater that enters Galveston Bay. The biological community in the bay depends on the natural balance of river and sea water; disrupting this mix can impact productivity.

Water quality: Water quality in the Galveston Bay system has improved dramatically over the last two decades. However, localized problems exist. Several Houston Ship Channel segments exceed water quality standards for certain contaminants. Design and operational problems allow some raw or partially treated sewage and industrial waste to be discharged into the bay. Nonpoint-source pollution or the pollution from unidentifiable sources in urban runoff persists as a difficult problem to control as well.

Shoreline development: Shoreline development contributes to erosion, loss of wetlands, increased pollution, and reduced public access to the bay, particularly in Galveston's West End. Galveston City Council is currently considering changes to its current beach access plan, last updated in 1993. The changes would further limit beach access and increase development, which contributes to erosion. A group of citizens fighting the proposed changes called the Texas Open Beach Advocates have recently hired an attorney and could be headed to court.

Invasive species: Several invasive species have had significant impact on Galveston Bay. For example, nutria imported from South America have eaten away emergent marsh grasses, leaving bare ground susceptible to erosion.

Bayport: After years of review, the Port of Houston finally got the green light for its plans to build a 1,050 acre container and cruise ship terminal in residential Southeast Harris County on Galveston Bay.

Although a 1999 bond issue vote showed countywide support for the Bayport facility people who live near the proposed location and several regional air and water groups oppose the project. Residents of Seabrook felt so strongly against the project that they demanded a new election after city council members agreed to negotiate with the Port; they ousted the mayor and three council mem-bers in the revote.

Bayport would add an estimated 6,000 trucks and 20 trains daily to Houston's traffic, increasing nitrogen oxide emissions (a principal precursor of ground-level ozone) by five to ten tons per day. The facility, which will operate 24-hours a day, is expected to devalue property in neighboring communities, such as El Jardin, La Porte, Seabrook, and Shoreacres. If built, it will almost certainly lead to a deeping of the Houston Ship Channel with consequent further destruction of estuarine nurseries.

Since December 2001, conservationists have requested a supplemental draft environmental impact statement. The groups opposing the project may seek an injunction by amending their federal suit and are also considering filing a second action, a restraining order against the decision of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Recent progress
Habitat restoration: Over the last decade, local environmental groups have restored many acres of degraded estuary. These groups have a goal of restoring 24,000 acres by 2010.

Galveston Bay Plan: In 1995, the Galveston Bay Estuary Program released the twenty-year Galveston Bay Plan, a comprehensive conservation management guide for the Bay. The results of a five-year review show that, to date, 67 percent of the 82 actions recommended in the plan have been initiated; 5 percent are complete. The full Plan Review Summary can be viewed at http://gbep.tamug.tamu.edu. The most current review of the plan was completed in 2002.

Environmental Permits: In a novel approach toward conservation, five groups applied for permits with TCEQ for water rights to protect freshwater inflows. The San Marcos River Foundation was the first such applicant, followed by the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association and several others. But before the agency could consider issuing permits, state legislators intervened, passing a law that prevents TCEQ from hearing permit applications based on conservation. Legislators hold that permits should only be granted for development projects and that preserving water for environmental purposes is a duty belonging to the state. Environmentalists say they still have a strong case and may head to court to challenge the law. In the winter following the legislative session, the lieutenant governor appointed a commission to study environmental flows.

Freshwater Bodies
Lake Houston and Lake Conroe, both human-made reservoirs, are the largest freshwater bodies in the region. Trinity, Brazos, San Jacinto, and San Bernard are the major rivers.

Specific threats
Alteration: The area covered by freshwater in the region has increased over the years through the creation of reservoirs for drinking water, industrial process water, flood control, irrigation and pollution control. This gain, however, has come at the expense of natural freshwater bodies, bottomland hardwood forests, upland forest, and prairies. Human activity has changed almost all of the natural freshwater bodies in the region in some way. Damming has caused alteration and loss of habitat, but also created new ecosystems.

Pollution: Non-point and point source pollution are also problems. Urban runoff contains soil, motor oil, fertilizers, pesticides, and much more. Most waterways receive effluent of varying quality. Industry releases excess heat into freshwater bodies as well.

Water supply: The natural hydrology of a watershed supports its wild inhabitants. Water removal and dam construction reduces downstream water supply. Channelization of rivers, streams, and bayous increases the volume and speed of water in lower segments. These changes can alter species diversity and the composition of the freshwater community.

The Gulf of Mexico
The 619,000-square-mile Gulf of Mexico lies to the region's south. An arm of the Atlantic Ocean, this saltwater body receives water from 33 major river systems, 207 estuaries, and the Mississippi River, draining about two-thirds of the contiguous land mass of the United States.

The Gulf's shoreline is low and marshy, with many inlets and lagoons that protect various species of wildlife. The Gulf's wide, shallow continental shelf, ranging from inches deep to 100 meters at the shelf's break, is an ideal habitat for fish and shellfish. Many estuarine-dependent species spawn on its muddy bottom. Larger inhabitants of the Gulf include sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, sharks, alligators, and whales.

Although the deeper parts of the Gulf are relatively healthy, increasing human populations have resulted in pollution problems for many estuaries and near-coastal areas.

Upland Pine Forests
North of Houston lies a forest locked in a centuries-long cycle of pine tree and hardwood domination. Currently the pines prevail. Large oaks, sweet gum, pecan, and hickory grow tall as well. If left untouched, the hardwoods will eventually cut the pines off. Then, natural forest fires will destroy the hardwoods, and the pines will rush to the top of the forest, dominating again.

Deer, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, and an occasional bobcat roam the sandy forest floor. Above, birdwatchers can spot hawks, owls, flycatchers, blue jay, chickadee, wrens, thrashers, thrush, warblers, and more. Migrating neotropical songbirds rest in the trees before journeying across the Gulf of Mexico.

The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker carves its home in living older trees infected with heartrot, which makes the wood soft. Heartrot only affects trees more than 80 years of age. Unless protected, most trees are logged before their 80th birthday, leaving this unique bird homeless.

The Sam Houston National Forest protects more than 160,000 acres of upland forest thirty miles north of Houston. However, residential and commercial development threatens wooded areas outside the preserve.

Wetlands
The Clean Water Act defines wetlands as "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps marshes, bogs and similar areas." They are transition zones that have characteristics of both dry uplands and open water. Wetlands are not always wet year round; some are inundated only seasonally or for a few weeks out of the year. Before development, wetlands covered 30 to 40 percent of our region. They were formed by ancient rivers traversing the plain. As the waterways shifted, they left an intricately carved pattern of low and high, wet and dry. The Gulf Coast features diverse wetland types, including prairie pothole, estuarine, riverine forested, and coastal flatwood wetlands. The Houston area and the state of Texas have lost more than 50 percent of their original wetlands; 40 percent have dis-appeared since 1956.

Wetland functions
Wetlands have a variety of important ecologi-cal functions. Their plants and soils filter water before it enters groundwater or waterways. Wetlands are vital habitat for many species; fish and shellfish use them as nurseries. Wetlands act as flood buffers and control erosion. They also provide abundant wildlife-watching, hunting, and fishing opportunities.

Wetland protection
In 2003, the Bush administration abandoned its attempt to scale back wetland protection. Had the Environmental Protection Agency implemented new guidelines, it would have opened up 20 percent of the nation's wetlands to development. The federal government had begun to roll back wetlands protections based on a 2001 Supreme Court decision that rejected federal authority over wetlands not connected to navigable or interstate waterways. More than 130,000 public comments, including a recent letter from nearly half the members of Congress, forced the Administration to abandon its position. Even so, along 1,000 miles of Texas coast, the wetlands over which the Army Corps of Engineers claims jurisdiction have shrunk to 1.8 million acres, roughly 60 percent of what they were in 2000. The Clean Water Act protects wetlands. Landowners who have wetlands on property must:

• try to avoid impacting the wetlands, or, if they can't avoid impact,
• minimize the damage done, or, if the impact is unavoidable and non-trivial,
• mitigate the damage by replacing the destroyed tract of wetlands with another.

The Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District Office at (409) 766-3930 is charged with enforcing the Clean Water Act in the Gulf Coast region.

Specific threats
Human activity: Historically, agriculture, industrial activities, and urban and suburban development have destroyed freshwater wetlands; today, continued urban sprawl is the biggest threat. Subsidence (see Drinking Water section) has been a primary source of salt water wetland loss. As the land sinks, wetlands drown. Reduced freshwater inflow from rivers has depleted estuarine wetlands as well.

Poor protection: Many environmentalists believe the system of wetland protection is flawed. They claim that developers without permits destroy wetlands, that the system of delineation (measuring wetlands to be mitigated) is inconsistent, and that the mitigation process is not well monitored. Also, the Clean Water Act does not prioritize the most valuable wetlands. In the eyes of the law, all wetlands are created equal; not even the most rare or unique are completely protected from development. Recent shifts in federal policy have further weakened wetlands protection.

What you can do
Enjoy the area’s diverse ecosystems

Voice your concerns
Write to elected officials, newspapers, and developers about the need to protect the region’s shrinking open spaces.

Volunteer for native ecosystems
Many local organizations restore native ecosystems. Contact the Galveston Bay Foundation at (281) 332-3381, SCENIC GALVESTON at (409) 744-7431, or the Katy Prairie Conservancy at (713) 523-6135 for more information.

Watch for wetland violations
If you suspect a developer is filling wetlands, contact the Corps' regulatory office at (409) 766-3930 to find out if a permit has been issued.