The City of Austin has scheduled a series of three plant rescue dates for December 2009 with an alternate rain date also.  The dates are December 10, 12 and 16 with a rain date of December 18th in case one of the days is rained out.  The rescue times are approximately from 10 AM to 2 PM.  Volunteers will be needed to help with sign in and supervision each of these dates so please let Dale and Pat know if you can staff a table or help direct traffic for an hour or two.

The site is at the location for the Water Treatment Plant #4.  The City of Austin is sponsoring this rescue with the assistance of several groups.   The property is fenced off so you will not be able to visit the site except on the designated dates.  As with our other plant rescues, please dig some plants for the city before digging for yourself.  The city will only provide pots for plants that go into preserves and park areas.  Therefore, you must bring your own pots or containers for plants you intend to keep.

Release forms will be available on site and everybody must sign BEFORE he/she can begin digging.  The city staff person in charge on site will be:

John Chenoweth, Field Biologist

Balcones Canyonlands Preserve

City of Austin

John.Chenoweth@ci.austin.tx.us

Directions to the Site:

You MUST see the city representatives, sign in, and sign a release form BEFORE proceeding to the rescue site.   

BACKGROUND:

The whole property is fairly large (maybe sixty + acres, although a large section is in a conservation easement which can’t be disturbed).  Rescuers will not be allowed in certain areas since the city is preserving several  "buffer" zones of trees, etc.  We certainly want to support that!   

The following may give you an overall idea of the "ecozone" and types of plants available.  There are large, relatively flat areas as well as slopes and drainage areas.  The property contains heavy ashe juniper/oak areas as well as a mixture of cedar elms, Spanish red oaks, live oaks (even some fairly large ones), escarpment black cherries (a few), evergreen sumacs, yaupon holly, flame leaf sumacs, Mexican Buckeye, redbud trees and Texas persimmons; there are various sized seedlings of most of these, appropriate for hand digging. In addition there are grassy areas.

A sample of other plants might include agarita, twisted leaf yucca, rusty blackhaw vibernum, cedar sedge  (and maybe other sedges), American beauty berry (a few), two-leaf senna, Lindheimer senna, Lindheimer crown beard, a few lantana (horrida), little bluestem, silver bluestem, Indian grass, tall gramma and even a few mountain laurels and lots more including prickly pear cactus.  Some of you "grass experts" will probably be able to identify many additional grasses.