Daniel Oppenheimer of the Hill Country Alliance (HCA) came to Blanco Sept. 15 to give a presentation regarding riparians to the Blanco County Master Gardeners.
The presentation took place at the amphitheater in Bindseil Park, which provided an opportunity to view the Town Creek Riparian Restoration project. Keep Blanco Beautiful (KBB) members also provided helpful information during the presentation regarding the history of the park and about the riparian project.
Retta Martin, KBB executive director and longtime Blanco citizen, spoke first and said Native Americans first occupied the area along with wildlife. Blanco County was formed in 1858 from portions of Burnet, Comal, Gillespie and Hays counties. In 1867, the first house was built near where the amphitheater is located now by the Bindseil family. There was a natural bowl which was part of the creek where horses often drank. In the 1980s, the Bindseil boys donated the land to the city. KBB was formed in 1999 and has taken care of Bindseil Park since 2005. There are nine committees within KBB, and the beautification committee is the most busy and focuses on maintaining the park.
Oppenheimer discussed HCA and the importance of riparians. HCA is a regional nonprofit organization that works throughout central Texas on issues such as land, water, and night skies.
“A riparian area is that transitional zone between when you’re down in the creek or the river and it’s that area adjacent to the creek or the river before you get up into the drier uplands..it can be along a great river or even a lake. They’re small..only about one to three present of the landscape,” said the HCA land program manager.
Riparians are beneficial in many ways. These benefits include erosion control, stabilizing the land, flood mitigations, creating floodplains, wildlife habitat, and water quality. A grow zone is an effort to stop mowing along rivers or streams and allow the growth of more dense, diverse riparian vegetation. A healthy functioning riparian area has a variety of plants including grasses, trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and sages all with diverse qualities such as root diversity, age, and growing seasons. Wood is also good and enjoyed by lightning bugs. Grazing in moderation is also fine.
Excessive mowing loosens the root systems too much, so it is best to avoid. Invasive animals such as axis deer and feral hogs can also cause issues for a riparian zone, but using cages for saplings/seedlings will increase the chance of survival for the plant. Before removing an invasive plant, one should understand how to control it in safe, effective ways.
Oppenheimer explained that once a stressor has been identified and removed, the riparian will come back. Droughts are not necessarily a bad thing for riparians because the plants tend to push their roots deeper; native plants are used to the climate and provide resources to pollinators.
Pete Powell, KBB co-chair of the Town Creek Riparian Restoration Project, spoke briefly about the project and explained the city mows the park and KBB maintains the plants. There are cedar logs that line the grow zone and prevent mowing. When it rains, the water goes over the logs, but the logs remain in place. Many plants were planted and these are all growing well. The Johnsongrasses are removed periodically. Rocks were placed around the culvert to help slow down stuff; the culvert is cleaned after storms. Only one log was stuck after the last three inch rain storm.
KBB waters the riparian zone plants once a week. There are access points along the logs for people to walk up to the creek. Powell expressed appreciation towards Martin and Judy Dorsett, KBB beautification chair, for their dedication and hard work to the park. Additional information regarding the project can be found at: https://keepblancobeautiful.org/town-creek-riparian-restoration-project/.
After the presentation, everyone was encouraged to help spread seed in the grow zone area while following social distancing guidelines. Participants lined the grow zone area and Oppenheimer tossed seed which were then stepped on by them.
