Houston Regional Group - News

Forestry Notes, November 2002

Brandt Mannchen

1) The Houston Sierra Club’s Forestry Subcommittee submitted comments to the Texas Water Development Board concerning the proposed designation of Groundwater Management Areas. The comments stressed the importance of the inventory, study, and protection of shallow groundwater sources, particularly in Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF). SHNF has many small springs, seepage areas, and spring fed creeks that provide important habitat for rare plants and ecosystems.

2) The Forestry Subcommittee visited three stands of trees next to Double Lake Recreation Area that were seed-tree logged (two-staged clear-cuts) in the spring of this year. Trees as old as 109 years old were logged by the U.S. Forest Service (FS). The Forestry Subcommittee found compaction, rutting, hardwoods that had blown down, and a wetland that had been damaged during logging. The FS bulldozed a 10 foot wide road around all three stands. Logging occurred within 10 feet of the mountain bike trail and the boundary of the Double Lake Recreation Area. The Sierra Club sent a letter to the FS reviewing these problems and requesting changes to forest management practices.

3) On September 9, 2002, the Forestry Subcommittee found a new population of the rare and sensitive plant species, Nodding Nixie. Nodding Nixie is a saprophytic plant (feeds on decaying organic matter) that is found in seepage areas. The seepage area where the new population was found consists of two, small, spring fed streams with heavy fern beds and large Southern Magnolias. This is the fifth population of Nodding Nixie that the Houston Sierra Club has found in SHNF. The Forestry Subcommittee submitted a letter to the U.S. Forest Service about the discovery.

4) The Forestry Subcommittee filed an appeal with the FS against the expansion of off-road vehicle (ORV) trails in SHNF. The FS calls these multi-use trails but admits the great majority of use is by motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. Some of the concerns that the Sierra Club has include the lack of analysis, assessment, and evaluation of the loss of quiet, natural sounds, and solitude; the lack of inventorying and monitoring information on soil, wildlife, recreation, and water; and the failure to assess cumulative impacts due to ORV and other activities in the project area.

5) The Forestry Subcommittee conducted trail maintenance on the Lone Star Hiking Trail in Little Lake Creek Wilderness on September 14, 2002. Six volunteers provided 48 hours of time for trail maintenance activities. About two miles of trail were cleared. Fall wildflowers included Cardinal Flower, Elephant foot, Blue Mistflower, blue lobelias, and several kinds of pea plants. A Broad Banded Water Snake and young Southern Copperhead were photographed during the trail maintenance hike.

November 2002

Last updated:  10/02/2005.   Content © 1999-2002 by the Sierra Club.