Essays

Wild On The Prairie: Habitats

A new habitat for people -- greenbelt parks
February 25, 2001

The City of Midland owns several pieces of land that are "wild." Cattle grazing leases provide income to the city on most of the properties. Others are where rain water runs or collects and are considered "wasteland," unfit for development. To ecologists such areas are pockets of diversity. Tree seeds wash down the streets from town to find protected places to germinate and small forests begin to grow. Four-o-clocks, St. Augustine grass, and other plant seeds from landscapes ride the floodwater into the habitat as well, and because it stays moist longer, are able to survive. Because of the increased diversity of plants, a corresponding diversity of animal life develops.

The birdwatchers of Midland have had permission to visit these locations for years. For example, the tree grove at the Sibley Pond predates the Pond by thirty years. The birders named it the Ani Motte for a rare bird that in the 1960s visited it and the overflow from the old Hogan Swimming Pool. Other sites have allowed local birders glimpses of Sedge Wrens, Ospreys, and more. Plants such as the sensitive (leaves fold at a touch) Yellow Puff, Kansas Duckweed ( a plant not ever found anywhere else in Texas), and Illinois Bundleflower have arrived as seeds stuck to the feathers of birds, or in the hay brought by the leasees.

Few people other than birders visit these locations. A handful of fisherfolk have learned that fish exist in the old caliche quarry pits on some of the properties. Sometimes a few teenagers visit. Most of the kids are just exploring, and love having a "secret" place that they can hang out in private.

Why do we ignore these sites? Why not become proud of the weedy, swampy, wooded wildlands? In the arid grassland and brushland of the Llano Estacado such places are rare. Does a park have to mean a flat open space with mowed bermuda grass and a few struggling trees and sprinklers futilely sputtering against the wind?

It is grand to take a hike or ride a bike along a trail that has shadows of trees! We should create hiking, biking, and even horse-riding parks to match our wonderful sporting facilities and walking-the-dog frisbee-tossing neighborhood parks. Not everybody plays soccer, baseball, or softball. Dozens of people come to walk Sibley's trails. Many ask us if other locations exist for a person to walk. Wadley Barron and Grafa Parks have sidewalks, but monotypic bermuda spotted by a few trees is visually boring after repeated visits, although on the first visit it is attractive due to its spare formal lines.

People are stimulated by the diversity brought by changes due to the time of season. Here on the Llano the changes wrought by rain can invigorate a Llanero's soul to dance and sing.The "floodplains" will be lush this spring, even without more rain. At one site Venus's Looking Glass will speckle the ground with indigo. At the same place, the purple fruits of a central Texas species of Multiplying Onion will glow alongside the bluegreen leaves of Yellow Puff. The white froth of Kisses will dance in the wind above Huisache Daisy, Indian Blankets, and Golden Wave. Oh, it is so glorious when the earth laughs!

A bigger parcel of land can become a network of mountain bike trails. A good sized patch of land could become a campsite for local girl and boy "scouting" groups (such as the Awanas). Another property could be reserved for the motorized two and three wheeler riders to enjoy their addiction of speed and balance. Average pastureland on Amarillo Fine Sandy Loam or Reagan-Upton limestone clay loam is a natural for that sort of activity. Possible supporters of "greenbelt parks" include many more people beyond just "us bizarre nerdy amateur naturalists," as one of the idea's earliest supporters laughingly said. Let's reinvent the concept of parkland!