The Sierra Club met with Rob Potts, Theresa Mathis, and Kara Davis of the U.S. Forest Service (FS) on July 25, 2017 in Lufkin, Texas to discuss the comments that the Sierra Club submitted in April 2017 about the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) Forest Plan revision assessment. The meeting went from 10 am to 3:30 pm. The FS and Sierra Club discussed the Sierra Club’s comments so that they could be clarified.
On August 17, 2017, the Sierra Club met with Theresa Mathis and Kara Davis of the FS in Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF). The meeting was held in-the-field. Four sites were visited. First, a visit was made to the Welch Prairie to show the FS planning team an example of a blackland prairie ecosystem. The FS asked about blackland prairies and the Sierra Club’s proposal for their designation as a special management area. Bluebells, Snow-on-the-Prairie, blazing star, and other wildflowers were blooming on Welch Prairie.
The next stop was made near Huntsville State Park and Compartment 57 of SHNF. The discussion here dealt with fragmentation of endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) habitat, the Lone Star Hiking Trail (LSHT), and other recreational trails. The Sierra Club showed the FS a potential corridor that could link the RCW and trails in Compartment 57 of SHNF to a part of SHNF that is east of Huntsville State Park along Park Road 40.
The next stop was at the Phelps Section of the LSHT. The Sierra Club and FS hiked about one-half mile on the LSHT to view an upland hardwood area that is located on a slope near an ephemeral stream. This is one of the few upland hardwood areas with canopy hardwood trees (Southern Red Oak, White Oak, Black Hickory) and is a rare ecosystem in SHNF.
There was discussion about hardwood standards which allow up to 10 canopy hardwood trees and three midstory hardwood trees per acre in RCW habitat. The Sierra Club expressed its preference for the maximum number of hardwood trees allowed rather than zero or a low number of hardwood trees.
The final stop of the day was at a SHNF tract on FM 1375, near the Four Notch Area, where Winters Bayou flows. This area mostly consists of the floodplain of Winters Bayou and contains Walker Lake. Just before pulling into a small parking area at this location we saw four White-tailed Deer cross the road and plunge into the Winters Bayou Floodplain. The FS was impressed with the bottomland hardwood forest. The Sierra Club explained its desire for this tract to be added to the existing Winters Bayou Scenic Area.
The Sierra Club may meet again with the FS on August 31st in SHNF to complete the in-the-field look at several more areas that the Sierra Club wants managed as special management areas. For more information contact Brandt Mannchen at 832-907-3615 or brandtshnfbt@juno.com.