Hands Off!
Prairie project spreads the seeds of conservation
By Becky Rader
Thinking outside the box can have positive consequences for an organization—if you take that leap of faith. I know because I was one of those crazy citizens who pushed for change in park management and helped make it happen.
Photos: Becky Rader
Some twenty years ago, I was driving past one of my favorite parks in Dallas, Texas—White Rock Lake Park—when I noticed workers mowing at the height of wildflower bloom season. The chalky slopes were covered with Engelmann’s daisies, Blanket flowers, and more. Why on earth, I wondered, was the parks department mowing at the worst possible time, not allowing those hardy native perennials to produce seed for next year’s spectacular wildflower show that the local residents loved?
So, I began calling to find an answer. At that time, I only knew to contact the city council representative for my district. Her office sent me to another office because it had no idea why I was so concerned, and so on. You can just imagine. About the tenth call, as I was continually passed on to someone else, I finally reached Larry Smith, a staff member with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. That is when I realized I had struck pay dirt. Larry knew exactly what I was talking about and shared my concerns, but the call had come in that someone complained about the “weeds,” so the department had to mow. I told him that being reactive is not the way to go in this situation, but a proactive approach using education would be the responsible thing to do. Somehow, I became the lead for that endeavor. You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?
A New Role
Park professionals know that many parks have a stalwart group of supporters who care enough to focus on and raise funds for different projects—possibly out of the scope of a city department’s capabilities. One could say that White Rock Lake Park has several groups that care deeply—and to some extent, obsessively—about the park. My task became more than a year-long (almost two years) effort to educate and garner support for not just changing the mowing regime but also recognizing that around the lake exist remnants of the most endangered ecosystem in North America—the Blackland Prairie, part of the Tallgrass Prairie ecosystem, which, at one time extended from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Canada.
I did not blindly agree to take this on. I knew a mountain of work was going to be necessary to make this happen. My background gave me the ability to justify the decision: a B.S. in Wildlife Science and minors in Education, Biology, and English, with some graduate courses so I could teach in DODDS (Department of Defense Dependent Schools) overseas and stateside. Plus, I loved research and had just been introduced to the Texas Master Naturalist program; with the second state chapter forming in Dallas, all of the pieces fell into place to make this happen at the right time.
Rallying The Troops
The first step was to do the research and gather a group of experts who would verify the need to preserve and change maintenance practices to restore the prairie remnants. The Master Naturalist chapter had access to some of the top scientists for this endeavor through its support groups, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas Agricultural Extension Service (now the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service). I asked four experts I knew if they would be interested in assisting with this project: Jim Eidson—Texas Nature Conservancy, Lou Verner—Texas Parks and Wildlife, George Diggs—Botanical Research Institute of Texas, and Ken Steigman—McKinney Heard Museum. They agreed to meet me at the lake and walk some of the areas to get an idea of our next steps.
The result of this initial walk-through was astounding as to the number of native-prairie species identified. What began as an initial list of over 100 species grew to more than 300 species within two years. None of those were introduced by any outside seeding sources, but only from self-seeding species that had existed on site for hundreds of years. As I later discovered, some of the local residents had been conducting wildflower walks for several years and knew of the special attributes around the lake.
Once it was determined that this area was an extremely rare prairie site, the information was shared with park staff members, and a meeting was held to evaluate the potential advantages of recognizing it as such. Changing the mowing routine alone would save the department thousands of dollars. Staff members agreed that preservation of a rare natural resource would be advantageous for the park department.
Next, a decision was made to make this a chapter project by the Master Naturalist group and provide education by conducting a Prairie Fest each spring for residents and others to enjoy wildflower walks, talks from local experts about prairies, wildlife and wildflowers, and Audubon, TPWD, The Botanical Research Institute of Texas, and other organizations setting up informational booths, etc.
Buy-in and support spread for the project, so today, when a remnant is mowed during the season based on the criteria we now have in place, staff members have to explain the need. No grazing, no burns (as of yet), and the only ability to manage is by mowing and controlling invasive-plant species.
Fighting For Recognition
TPWD recognizes and honors landowners for their accomplishments in habitat management and wildlife-conservation efforts with the Lone Star Land Steward Award program. In 2003, I applied for our group to be recognized, but no city or urban park had ever been before. I pleaded the case with TPWD personnel, who ran the program, and they agreed that a new category should include city parks. As the lead biologist for this project, I did more research, provided documentation through photos and assistance from experts, wrote and filled out several pages of technical information, and applied three times. The third time was the one! In 2005, the White Rock Lake Prairie was awarded the Lone Star Land Steward Award for its effort in conserving the Blackland Prairie remnants under the Corporate entity category—a great achievement!
Fourteen years later, prairie conservation continues through the Adopt-A-Prairie Program, in which groups adopt a prairie area and record data and control invasive species. The Dallas Park and Recreation Department hired Brett Johnson, an Urban Biologist (formerly with TPWD), who works with the residents on the program, as well as in other areas, such as feral hog management, BioBlitzes, etc. Spread the word—citizen science rocks!
The question always arises—why should we care? Lessons in science, history, water, pollution, wildlife, and the connection between us and the natural world are the answers. How do you incorporate those lessons into the business of today’s parks? It can occur when you actively consider a different viewpoint and determine the management necessary to incorporate ecotourism to your parks. You never know what can happen—it just might be amazing—if you take that leap of faith.
Becky Rader is a former Chief Naturalist at the Dallas Museum of Natural History/Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. She also served as lead consultant for Interpretive Content for the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center, as well as a general consultant on environmental education and natural history. She is a long-time parks volunteer and advocate of the Prairies and White Rock Lake, as well as a past president and board member of the North Texas Master Naturalist Chapter and Chair for the White Rock Lake Task Force. She served on the Dallas Environmental Health Commission and the Dallas Park and Recreation Board. Reach her at beckyhrader@gmail.com.
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Take On A Prairie Project
1. Know the history of the area you are considering for restoration or conservation.
2. Involve experts you know or seek them out from local universities and wildlife organizations.
3. Contact residents and recruit volunteers; give them ownership and acknowledge their participation. Citizen scientists—at any age—can collect data with a hand-held computer and the iNaturalist app.
4. Document everything and use that information to apply for grants.
5. Know the common elements in order to connect with the public: habitat is disappearing in the urban core, a prairie sequesters more carbon than a forest of equal size, the water catchment for storm and floodwater retention, and water filtration, etc.