The Lost Pines chapter serves primarily Bastrop and Caldwell counties of Central Texas (click here to find a statewide list of chapters). These counties are predominantly in the Post Oak Savannah and Blackland Prairie Ecoregions. In addition, our area includes the unique “island forest” of the Lost Pines, the westernmost extent of the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), separated by about 100 miles from the pine forests of East Texas. Species in the Lost Pines are particularly adapted to the drier conditions here, and provide unique habitat for varied flora and fauna that can be seen in Bastrop and Buescher state parks and other nearby natural areas. You can learn more about what makes these parks so special and see pictures of them by visiting our “State Parks & Natural Areas” page; you can also find many links to information about the native plants, animals and ecology of the Lost Pines region on our resources page.
- Back Roads Nature–Fort Parker State Park
What determines who we become? Is it encoded in our DNA, is it Karma, is it a result of our environment? In one of the most amazing true stories from the American west, in 1836 a little girl was captured by Comanches during a raid on her Texas family’s frontier fort. This little girl—one Cynthia… Read More → - A Blueprint for Survival
300 million years ago. . .that’s over 3 million human lifetimes. . .puts us firmly into the Paleozoic Period. It was when the land was dominated by the ancestors of all mammals (Synapsids), and the ancestors of all reptiles and birds (Diapsids). It was a time when amphibians would evolve into reptiles and, in just… Read More → - What’s Your Reason?
Hello all, I am a member of the Class of 2023. We recently had a training session about Dark Skies. I knew some of the information we went over. The in-depth information on hummingbirds really helped me ‘drink the nectar’ however…let me set the scene: Hummingbirds normally feed heavily in the morning and evening around… Read More → - Canyon Lake Spillway Tour
All aboard! The first of us load up and head out in the tour bus. As we round a corner all you can see is a monstrous earthen wall. Takes one by surprise if you haven’t been there before. We unload on a calm and quiet morning. Wandering over to the fence overlooking the lake… Read More → - Flying Tiger
A young skunk shuffles from the foliage to sip from a rivulet—cool, refreshing. There’s a pleasant breeze along the water, damp and soft like spring. Late March breaks the buds on the trees. Stars flicker overhead in an immense firmament; a silver curve of the moon hovers in the western sky. The bank is bare… Read More → - Canyon Lake Gorge Field TripOften I’ve wondered how boulders were deposited where they are. Did they just crack and fall off of a bigger rock? Or did a giant force of nature move them across a longer distance? Many of the boulders at Canyon Lake Gorge, it turns out, were tossed around from the flood of 2002. There… Read More →