Once considered an exceptional freshwater fishery and a haven for birds and other wildlife, the now 50+ year old Lake Livingston has lost much of its aquatic habitat and has experienced a decline in water quality due to siltation and reservoir aging. The mission of the Friends of Lake Livingston (FoLL) project is to restore the lake’s aquatic habitat and re-establish it as a prime destination for anglers and water enthusiasts. PWL is proud to be a key partner in that mission, along with the TMN Heartwood Chapter and sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Trinity River Authority.
An essential component of this habitat restoration is the addition of aquatic and riparian plants, which serve to create feeding and breeding grounds for fish, macro invertebrates, and water fowl, as well as to reduce erosion. Water willow is an ideal plant for this purpose.
Student volunteers from 6 high schools (Livingston, Onalaska, Coldspring, Shepherd, Goodrich, and Leggett) along with students from Livingston Jr High and Creekside Elementary have assisted with growing and propagating water willows, and planting them in Lake Livingston. To date, over 1,350 students have participated! This is a great hands-on effort that allows students to directly affect the health of the lake.
Adding to the overall restoration challenge, this past summer’s flooding damaged a significant portion of the existing plant colonies. In response, volunteers are now working even harder to re-establish those colonies as well as build new ones. Propagation activities at the participating schools have been ramped up to meet the need for additional plants; currently, approximately 2,000 water willow plants are being grown at these schools.
In fall 2024, approximately 100 students from 4 schools (Livingston HS, Onalaska HS, Coldspring HS, and Goodrich HS) planted a record 3,800 water willows at the Carolina Creek site. Everyone worked hard, got wet and muddy, and enjoyed doing something good for nature!
To date, 90,000 water willows have been planted via this project. The TDCJ Ellis Unit also continues to be a great partner, growing water willow, bull rush, spike rush, button bush and bald cypress for the FoLL plantings.
More plantings are scheduled for the spring semester. In the meantime, students will continue to monitor the plants in their grow tanks and propagate additional plants as needed.
If you are interested in joining the FoLL project team, contact Jessica Jones (jessica@jessicabjones.com).