Frog Bottom Preserve

This site discusses activities to convert the "Frog Bottom Preserve" (FB) from a cattle ranch to an environment supportive to native plants and wildlife.

The sites objective is to share information and practices effective in "re-wilding" - returning land to a condition more hospitable to native plants, insects, aquatic animals and birds. There is extensive documentation at an academic level, and often has many helpful details. What was missing for me was case histories where these concepts were actually applied. This site shares information used to make management decisions, and how those decisions were actually conducted in the field.

As a kid, I spent time at a deer lease with my father, did conservation service projects and attended conservation camps in Scouts. Then a stint in the military, followed by 34 years in the oil industry - not a lot of conservation work in either of those industries! After retiring, I really wanted to get back to the conservation principles my dad tried to teach me. So got involved in the local National Forest, and started looking for a ranch I could do conservation work on. That resulted in the start of the Frog Bottom Preserve project.

Acknowledgements: numerous individuals have invested time in field trips, sharing recommendations, providing feedback on planned actions and helping execute plans. A partial list of contributors is linked here.

Note this site is under construction and continual revision. I've learned (and continue to learn!) a lot and am working to get it documented. Also, as better ways are figured out how to do things, I try to update the information on this and associated sites.

This site has gotten a bit unwheldy. To help navigate around the site, below is a table of contents and a list of associated websites.

Website Contents

NRCS Ecological Site - Claypan Savannah
Conditions when purchased
Work fronts

Associated Websites

Contacts
How to plant trees
Pond activities
How to convert a Bermudagrass pasture to native grass
How to build a large equipment storage shed
How to build a small tool storage shed
How to do a prescribed burn of a pasture
How to build a rainwater collection system

NRCS Ecological Site - Claypan Savannah

"So - what are you planning to do with your place?" Everything starts with a vision. What have you got, and what do you want it to look like. I find myself frequently referring to the goal for FB and use that to prioritize activities.

The goal for the Frog Bottom Preserve is to return to what it looked like before it was converted to cropland. I figure that is the state Mother Nature thought was best to maximize benefit to wildlife. So the question is - what did FB look like before all the alterations by man?

A good view is provided by the NRCS. The NRCS has developed a set of "State and Transition Models" for various ecological sites. I got lucky in there was one that fits Frog Bottom perfectly - "Claypan Savannah ecological site descrition (R087BY002TX)". If you go back in time 150 years, you would have seen an open savannah with trees along the drainages. These site descriptions contain lots of informative and helful information. Below are selected passages from the state model discussions:

The Clypan Savannah ecological site is characterized by a fine sandy loam or loam surface soil underlain by a dense clay subsoil. The clay subsoil impacts water movement through the soil, which often perches water.
The Claypan Savannah ecological site evolved and was maintained by the grazing and herding effects of native wild large ungulates, periodic fires, and climatic fluctuations. Conversion of this site to cropland and the subsequent abandonment of cropping removed the natural native vegetation, organic matter, fertility, and allowed woody species to invade the site. Continuous grazing by domestic livestock and the suppression of fire on non-cropland sites removes little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Engelmann's daisy (Engelmannia peristenia), yellow neptunia ( Neptunia lutea), and gayfeather (Liatris elegans). Less productive perennial and annual grasses, forbs, vines, and shrubs will replace these plants. With continued continuous grazing, no brush management, and the absence of periodic fires, a community dominated by winged elm (Ulmus alata), eastern persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), post oak (Quercus stellata), blackjack oak ( Quercus marilandica), and eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) will replace the savannah.
Peak rainfall periods occur in May and June from frontal passage thunderstorms and in September and October from tropical systems as well as frontal passages . Rainfall amounts may be high (three to five inches per event) and events may become intense. The site is subject to erosion where adequate herbaceous cover is not maintained and on heavy use areas such as roads and livestock trails. Gullies feeding into streams and drains are common on this site where adequate herbaceous cover has not been maintained. Extended periods (60 days) of little to no rainfall during the growing season are common. The hydrology of this site may be manipulated through management to yield higher runoff volumes or greater infiltration to groundwater. Management for less herbaceous cover will favor higher surface runoff while dense herbaceous cover will favor ground water recharge.
This site is a fire-climax savannah of post oak and blackjack oak trees that shade 15 to 20 percent of the ground. The herbaceous component is tall and midgrasses dominated by little bluestem, Indiangrass, and brownseed paspalum (Paspalum plicatulum), which usually make up 50 to 75 percent of the total annual yield. Purpletop tridens (Tridens flavus), Florida paspalum (Paspalum floridanum), switchgrass, tall dropseed (Sporobolus compositus), and thin paspalum ( Paspalum setaceum) also occur. Cool-season forage plants occurring on this site include Canada wildrye ( Elymus canadensis), Engelmann's daisy, and sedges (Carex spp.). A variety of shrubs, vines, and forbs occur in this community. Grazing prescriptions that permit acceptable grazing periods and allow adequate rest periods with prescribed fire every three to five years are important in the maintenance of the herbaceous plant community and the savannah landscape structure. Continuous overgrazing or over rest and the absence of fire tend to allow a vegetative shift towards woody species such as eastern persimmon, eastern red cedar, and winged elm.
Conversion of this site to cropland occurred from the middle 1800's to the early 1900's. Some remains in cropland today, typically cotton (Gossypium spp.), corn (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum spp.), and soybeans (Glycine max). Ditching, land leveling, and levee construction has significantly changed the topography and hydrology on many acres of this site. While restoration of this site to a semblance of the reference plant community is possible with seeding and prescribed grazing, complete restoration of the reference community in a reasonable time is very unlikely.
Following crop production, this site is often planted to native or introduced grasses and legumes for livestock grazing or hay production. Typical species planted include improved Bermudagrass varieties, bahiagrass, switchgrass, dallisgrass, kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), old world bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), and white clover. Many of the introduced species (bahiagrass, Bermudagrass, and dallisgrass) are invasive-moving by wind, water, and animals. Once established, they are extremely difficult to remove and will hinder the reestablishment of native species. The establishment and maintenance of these species requires cultivation, fertilization, weed control, and prescribed grazing management.
The restoration to State 1 can occur when the land manager ceases agronomic practices. Range planting of native species found in the reference community will be required to bring back a similar community as the State 1 plant composition. The extent of previous soil disturbances will determine how much seedbed preparation will be needed, as well as the ability to be restored. Proper grazing and brush management will be required to ensure success.

So all this means I need to learn how to plant grass, conduct prescribed burns and deal with droughts.

Conditions when purchased

The Frog Bottom Preserve (FB) is a 52 acre track being converted from a cattle ranch to a wildlife reserve. The property was purchased in April 2020. It was part of a 109 acre track being used for cattle grazing. The 52 acres was selected from the northern half of the 109 acres based on the location of existing water features (ponds, creeks, etc.) and a small bend in Hadley Creek, the eastern boundary of the property. FB is currently fenced into three pastures: Horse Pasture (5 ac), Front Pasture (15 ac) and Back Pasture (30 ac).

Survey

The area is classified as a "claypan savannah". There is 6 to 24 inches of sandy loam, followed with a hard layer of clay, then a layer of hard, brittle tuffaceous sandstone ("caliche"). The pastures can stay wet for an extended amount of time after a rain as there is little vertical percolation of water. Soil pH is acidic, between 4.8-5.5. Nitrogen is generally very low (almost 0), while phosphorous and potassium are in a more normal range for plant uptake. From the 1910's to 1930's, attempts were made to grow row crops (cotton), but the low nitrogen content and occasional droughts resulted poor yield. Currently, most of the land in the are has been replanted in bermudagrass or bahia grass and is used to graze cattle.

Soil profile, showing sandy loam, clay then caliche layer. These impede verticle movement of water.

Using the Texas Forest Service "Plan My Land Operation" mapping tool, several sensitive areas are identified:

5000' of stream or creeks,
10 acres of stream buffer, or SMZ,
.6 acres of severe slopes (>8%),
.5 acres of wet areas

Cattle

Cattle have been present since at least the 1930's - over 90 years. When the property was purchased, there were approximately 100 cows on the 110 acres. A grazing agreement was active with a neighbor to allow cows, horses and other livestock on the site. The primary water source was on FB, so they tended to converge there. Normal stocking levels incorporate the forage producing capacity of the land, and is typically one cow per three acres in this area. As a result of the cattle stocking levels, the pastures were significantly overgrazed, and no "weed" control or soil enhancements had been conducted. In addition, the cows would trample any plants they did not eat, such as Antelope Horn Milkweed, and preferentially eat any native grasses they found. To facilitate the transition of the property from an agriculture tax status to a wildlife status, the grazing agreement was extended to the end of the year. This also gave time to design and construct the south property line perimeter fence to exclude any livestock kept on those properties.

Cows

Cows on the property. Note the stocking level (>1 cow per acre, versus 1 cow per three acres), and the poor condition of the pastures (vegetation eaten to the ground). And there is cow dung everywhere. Cow dung is not a good fertilizer - after passing through the four stomachs a cow has, there is little nutrition left for plants. But it does host flys that fire ants like, so becomes a food source for fire ants.

Trash

A substantial amount of trash is present in the waterways and pastures. The trash consisted of tires, nylon hay bale mesh, appliances, bottles and cans, fencing material/barbed wire, and other household trash. A previous owner owned trucking and logging companies and an apparent practice was to dispose of tires in the local creeks and waterways. To date, over 50 tires of various sizes have been recovered from the streams, with many more identified for future removal. Current tire disposal charges at the local landfill are $4 for small tires and $22 for the large tires, we are waiting for the county to sponsor a "free tire dropoff" day. In addition, debris such as washers, refridgerators, barbed wire and household trash was dumped into creeks, removal is ongoing. Removal of plastic hay bale wrap continues when found in the pastures and streams.

Appliances recovered from creek, including washing machine.

Plastic mesh from round hay bales in creek. Very
difficult to remove, has to be cut out a piece at a time.

Car and truck batteries.

Tires in creeks. Hay bail mesh in creeks.

Ponds, Creeks and Stream Management Zones

Frog Bottom has a number of water features:

A ~1 acre pond in the front pasture, and a small impoundment in the horse pasture.
~5000' of wet weather creeks that cross the property.
Hadley creek is the east property line and is approximately 800 feet long.
Numerous smaller depressions that channel water.

All these features display significant impact from the long period of cattle presence. In the ponds, visibility down the water column is limited to 2-3 inches due to solid particles suspended in the water column. Vegetation along the more active streams has been trampled and damaged, allowing the sides of the creeks to wash into the streams. The smaller depressions that are active during major rain events also have vegetation loss, allowing sediment to be mobilized and transported downstream to the ponds. The pond in the front pasture is present on aerial photos from the 1960's and had experienced sediment filling it it - the deepest depth is 5 feet.

Stream

Hadley Creek. Water generally runs year-round. It is clear during low flow periods, but very muddy during rain events.

Trees

The Frog Bottom Preserve is mostly open savanna. However, there are a number of large trees in the pastures, the riparian zones are wooded and the fence rows have trees and vines.

A top priority is preserving the existing large trees. For example, there is a green ash large enough to quality as a "champion tree". There is a booklet that lists the largest trees in Walker County: TREES OF HUNTSVILLE AND WALKER COUNTY, TEXAS, & BIG TREE REGISTER

Additional goals include widening the corridor around the riparian zones and creating hedge rows along fence lines for wildlife travel and to make the property more difficult to see from the road.

In 2021 and 2022, approximately 800 trees (seedlings) were planted. Here is a link to a website that discusses how to plant trees.

Fencing

Invasives

Using a variety of survey techniques, invasives have been identified.

A game camera set up on a corn feeder routinely takes pictures of hog sounds.
Chinese Tallow are present along creeks.
Privets and Yaupon thickets are thick in abandoned sections of the fields.
Thickets of Winged Elm are present in abandoned sections of pasture.

Tax Status

Work Fronts

Labor

A project like this requires manpower and horsepower. Timing was fortunate in the Frog Bottom project started at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak. While the outbreak was certainly unfortunate, it did introduct me to Jonathon, a smart, hardworking, environmentally concious young man. With his help, we removed over 100 tires from the riprarian zones, installed 18,000 feet of barbed wire to exclude neighbors cows, and generally helped with all the activities, decisions and planning, big and small.

On the horsepower front, a small tractor has been a vital resource. See this link for more information on the tractor and modifications we did to improve it's performance in the type of general service we are using it.

Jonathon on Tractor