Listed as a federally endangered species, Texas Prairie Dawn is an extremely rare annual wildflower found in only a handful of counties in Texas. Participants will assist with monitoring efforts while enjoying behind-the-scenes access to Warren Ranch and Jack Road South. One of the goals of this activity beyond quantifying more information about these Prairie Dawn populations is to train citizens including TX Master Naturalist to recognize a Texas Prairie Dawn.
Jan Culbertson (Fish and Wildlife Biologist with Texas Coastal and Central Plains Ecological Services Field Office Ecological Services specializing in the Prairie Dawn) shared the below:
Surveys for this endangered plant in Austin, Colorado, Fayette, Lee, & Washington Counties so this is a fantastic opportunity for the TMN Gideon Lincecum Chapter to learn to identify this tiny endangered plant from the largest populations on private lands in Texas.
Even if your members cannot get down on their hands and knees to count flowers we have other walking or standing tasks like moving quadrats or picking up clickers to report information to the data handlers. The data we are collecting over the three-day period will provide Coastal Prairie Conservancy a density estimate of how many plants may be present over all of their property where saline barren habitat otherwise known as “slicks” have previously been mapped.
We count the plants in quarter-meter-square quadrats then calculate the density of plants (number of plants per meter-square) from multiple patches, then multiply those density estimates by the total area of saline barrens on CPC’s property to obtain an overall number of plants present on CPC lands. We have been doing this detailed monitoring for three years in a row and are getting a better idea of the trend for the six separate populations on Warren Ranch and Jack Roads Prairies.
Although collecting data for population estimates is a good way for Texas Master Naturalists to learn how to monitor this species, we are primarily focused on training citizens (Texas Master Naturalists and/or Consultants) on identification of this tiny endangered plant wherever or whenever they recognize it in the field in the future. We also want these Texas Master Naturalists to be actively looking for this species and reporting it directly to TPWD through their Survey 123 app. I will be sharing that app with all the Texas Master Naturalists that participate in this training event once they are able to identify this species and understand what saline barren habitat to look for when they are out in the field during the flower’s blooming season (February through May).
The more trained volunteers we have searching for this plant on the ground, the more populations of Texas Prairie Dawn that can be reported to TPWD from areas not normally surveyed. TPWD uses this data to identify areas where Texas Prairie Dawn might be present when consulted before any development begins. Unfortunately much of the rare soils that are only present in saline barren habitats in Harris and Waller Counties have been removed because there was no data to indicate these flowers were ever present and should be protected. Recently we found new populations in Cypress (North Harris County), but also in Madison County. We are still hoping to find new populations in the saline soils present in adjacent counties to Waller and Harris Counties.
We encourage as many Texas Master Naturalist Chapters as possible to participate in this training event so they can help us promote the benefits of identifying this endangered plant and its habitat to their members. Through our collective efforts of identifying this plant and reporting it, there will be more opportunities for it to continue to survive.
Organizer: Coastal Prairie Conservancy, (713) 523-6135, info@coastalprairieconservancy.org
