“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a commodity to which we belong, we may use it with love and respect.” This quote by conservationist, Aldo Leopold addresses why many people fail to care for the property on which they live. Texas is a private property state. The responsibility for maintaining a healthy, productive ecosystem in Texas lies in the hands of its property owners. Homeowners, businesses, corporations, farmers and ranchers, municipal, state, and national entities, and all of us who utilize public and private spaces in Texas must become environmental stewards. It is incumbent upon all of us to be good environmental stewards.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines stewardship as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” After looking closely at ways to halt the destructive practices that have been perpetrated on the land, it becomes evident that good stewardship produces positive, sustainable changes. The good steward realizes that water conservation is most critical. Texas is largely an arid state except for the eastern portion. During an average year, Corpus Christi receives an average of 27 inches of rain. This statistic is a bit misleading since wet years usually include some tropical event that provides large rainfall over short periods of time, skewing the average higher than it really is. Yet when we consider how much water is used, it would seem that we have copious amounts of rainfall readily available throughout the year. Proper irrigating in our arid climate means conserving water usage by watering less, not more.
Watering without concern for conservation indirectly brings about other detrimental issues: water runoff from the yard; runoff water carrying excess fertilizer and poisons into the bays and estuaries; high evaporation rate of many water sprinkler systems. Much of landscape watering is done to keep turfgrass alive. This is problematic since turfgrass provides weak water penetration into the soil. Much of the water runs down the sidewalk, down the street, and down the storm drain into the bay or estuary. Because the turfgrass does not allow for good water penetration, it must be frequently watered. Landscapes not only are over-watered, but they are also over-fertilized and over-poisoned. These two issues are of great concern to the good steward. The excesses of fertilizers and poisons end up down the sidewalk, down the street, into the storm drain, and into the bays and estuaries. It is here that the greatest damage is done. Fertilizers in the bays and estuaries cause algae blooms which can deplete oxygen and asphyxiates them. Some algal blooms are toxic like “Red Tide” poison aquatic wildlife. Neither scenario is desirable to the good steward. Landscapes should not be watered by spray.
Many sprinkler systems produce fine droplets. The finer the droplet, the faster they evaporate. Large water droplet size is okay, but drip line irrigation is better. The best stewardship is to limit turfgrass. Beyond aesthetics, it provides little to the environment except expense and potential pollution. Corpus Christians generally do a good job of water conservation. Texas applies 50% of its water for landscape usage, while Corpus Christi uses around 23%. However, any runoff from chemically treated landscapes imposes environmental harm due to our proximity to bays, estuaries, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The good steward dominates the landscape with environmentally appropriate flora. As we live in an arid, alkaline, salty, windy coastal portion of Texas, It makes little sense to grow plants that are indigenous to milder, wetter climates. Plants native to the Coastal Bend grow in an arid environment adjoining a desert and have evolved adaptations to address the environmental stresses of living here. Adapted to the soil, rainfall, wind, and temperature of South Texas, native plants do not need artificial support in order to keep them alive.
A good steward knows where to look for successful models to emulate. Lush, healthy native plants thrive at the Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve, South Texas Botanical Garden and Nature Center, Mustang Island and Lake Corpus Christi State Parks, and Charlie’s Pasture in Port Aransas. Once established these grasses and forbs require little attention. They provide the good steward with the satisfaction that water and chemicals are conserved, and that the insect habitat is available to control pests. Aesthetically, blooms on these plants are as beautiful as any alien plant sold by the landscape industry.
As humans populate urban areas that were once native habitats, it is essential that urban centers redevelop into a sustainable habitat for native flora and fauna that have been squeezed out. It is up to the urban dweller to rekindle agrarian roots in order to provide sanctuary for native plants and animals that have enriched this continent. The good steward understands that the local and continental loss of native plants and animals has resulted in one of the greatest extinction rates in history, and recognizes that it is caused by humans, the most significant invasive species on Earth. The flip side is that humans are the only species that can reverse these extinctions.
The easy scientific process is low–cost while politically and environmentally conservative. Stewardship does require long term commitment on behalf of all property owners and State officials responsible for future progress in Texas.
What does the good steward do to honor this commitment? The good steward replaces the turfgrass with native grasses and forbs. He is replacing it with native trees, grasses, and forbs. Exotic trees, shrubs, and bushes are now native. The good steward still maintains his vegetable garden, his favorite rose, or plumeria, but he has at least half landscape covered in native plants. The transition may be completed all at once or gradually over time. With the establishment of a balanced ecosystem, the good steward notices an increase in insects, lizards, and birds. After about 10 years the good steward no longer poisons the neighborhood with insecticides. By conserving precious water the good steward does not pollute the bays and estuaries with chemicals He may make the transition all at once or gradually. Over time the good steward notices increase in insects, lizards, and birds that now serve as predators control pests. The good steward enjoys the daily array of colorful butterflies, beetles, dragonflies, lizards, and birds. Now a role model for the community, the good steward shares with neighbors valuable tips in the growing and maintaining of easy-care native plants. Over time they are pleased with their successful creation of an urban environmental equilibrium. Most importantly, these stewards leave future generations with a viable planet and the skills necessary to continue its maintenance.
Earth is the only place we or our progeny will ever know. The question we face is will humans have a future on Earth. There will be life. It may be reduced to microbial life, but it is life, and has been the starting point on Earth many times. The Earth does not need people, people need the Earth.
By Chad Huckabee, South Texas Master Naturalist & Caller-Times Guest Columnist