Deeprooted sedge:  Cyperus entrerianus

 

The Texas Coastal program is working cooperatively with the Nature Conservancy to control and prevent Cyperus entrerianus, an exotic plant from South America, that has recently become a serious threat to the coastal plain of Texas. Currently deeprooted sedge is beginning to displace native vegetation even in undisturbed habitats. Without widespread control it will likely continue to spread rapidly, infesting agricultural, urban, forested, riparian, and other natural areas. Currently, there is no single treatment that selectively eliminates deeprooted sedge infestations without potentially affecting at least some native plants. Large plants can produce a million viable seeds per year, and this aggressive perennial can overwinter in much of the south. 

The preserve, 2,303 acres, is situated on Galveston Bay in Texas City, approximately 40 miles south of Houston. The Texas City Prairie Preserve features rare coastal prairie habitat and is one of the last remaining sites that supports wild Attwater's prairie chickens. At the turn of the century, there were approximately 1 million Attwater's prairie chickens along the Texas coast. However, loss of coastal prairie habitat over the years devastated the population, and less than 50 remain in the wild today, making the bird one of the most endangered in North America. The recovery program for the Attwater's prairie chicken has included the introduction of captive-bred juvenile birds into the wild at the preserve each summer since 1996.

A lack of suitable habitat is the greatest threat to long-term recovery of the Attwater’s prairie chickens. While much work has been done to restore habitat for the prairie chickens at Texas City Prairie Preserve, conservation scientists and prairie chicken experts recognize that a great deal more habitat must be made available in order for the birds to recover healthy population numbers. Creating suitable habitat of adequate size will require coastal prairie restoration efforts over a large land area in multiple locations. In addition, an aggressive program to release greater numbers of captive-bred birds must be undertaken to populate suitable existing and new habitat.

Partners:  The Nature Conservancy, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Texas Coastal Program

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