By Brandt Mannchen

Recently, I’ve been very anxious and tense.  February was not a good month and I needed to get out, see the beauty of Nature, and as my Mother said, “Blow the stink off me!”

I did this by visiting, over a three-day period, Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR), the Loblolly Unit of Big Thicket National Preserve, and Marysee Prairie.  These visits were therapeutic and kept me “Sane and in the lane”.

First, I visited Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge.  This was the first time I had enjoyed the bottomland hardwoods and cypress swamps of the Trinity River in over four years.  What was particularly rewarding was reconnecting with Laurie, the wildlife biologist at TRNWR.  The Sierra Club had worked with Laurie in the 2010’s on a system of trails including the Knobby Knees and Great Egret Trails.

It was also an opportunity to introduce my friend Brandon, to Laurie.  Brandon is interested in a career in the conservation field and wanted to find out about the Refuge and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whhich manages the National Wildlife Refuge System.

I was also blessed because Laurie introduced me to Dean, the Refuge Manager of TRNWR.  Dean came in 2020, just before the pandemic hit, and like for all of us, things have never been the same!  But it was good to meet him and begin our relationship on behalf of the Sierra Club.

It was a great day to visit the Great Egret Trail and Laurie walked part of the southern loop with Brandon and me.  We talked about how a refuge operates and the need for volunteers and education for people so they can appreciate and take care of their public lands.

After Laurie left us, Brandon and I finished the loop trail.  We enjoyed seeing the Trinity River and its’ shoreline sand deposits.  The Trinity is a mighty river that starts west of Fort Worth and Gainesville and travels 710 miles to Galveston Bay.  The TRNWR protects 30,000 acres of the best floodplains in the lower Trinity River near Liberty, Texas.

We also saw Great Blue Herons, Bald Cypress lined lakes and sloughs, feral hog wallows, blooming Butterweed, and a host of hardwood trees including American Sycamore, Common Persimmon, Sweetgum, Overcup Oak, Cedar Elm, American Elm, Deciduous Holly, Hackberry, Boxelder, and many more.

Two days later I picked Brandon up and we headed to Marysee Prairie to view what I call, “The only restored (or in restoration) native tallgrass prairie in the Big Thicket”.  It was a monthly workday where we cut and treat with herbicide woody plants so that the native grasses and wildflowers can continue to grow.

But first, we made a detour and drove to and through the Loblolly Unit of Big Thicket National Preserve.  The Loblolly Unit, as its’ name implies, has many large and tall Loblolly Pine trees which tower over this 550 acre forest, the smallest Unit in Big Thicket National Preserve.

This flat forest, with poor internal drainage, is called a Hardwood Flatwoods and many hardwood trees grow here along with Lobololly Pine like Swamp Chestnut Oak, Cherrybark Oak, Water Oak, Willow Oak, American Holly, and Southern Magnolia.

We were lucky to see a pair of Wood Ducks, Gray Squirrels, Raccoon, and hear a Pileated Woodpecker in the distance.  The area was very wet with flooded swales, flats, and other low spots.  Several Spider Lilies were blooming on the submerged side of the gravel road and brought a great, serene, beauty to the forest.  As we left we saw several White-tailed Deer cross the road and leap in between the barbed wire fence just outside the Unit.

We finally made it to Marysee Prairie and saw old friends David, Ellen, Andrea, and others, 12 in all.  We worked on the slightly raised pimple mounds, cutting woody plants and stopped periodically to listen to American Crows, Blue Jays, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.  David spooked a Cottontail Rabbit as he worked on a pimple mound and it bounded off to hide in some other nook or cranny of Marysee.

We kept hearing calls in the distance, way up into the cloudless, blue sky.  After straining our eyes for a few minutes we saw to our delight several flights of Sandhill Cranes, about 50 in all, which flew almost directly over Marysee Prairie, headed north to parts unknown.  A more delightful sound could not be imagined.

We stopped for lunch and enjoyed an update about work being done to protect the Big Thicket area.  Then we celebrated the 50 year anniversary (1973) of the acquisition and protection of the first tract of Marysee Prairie with a wonderful yellow and white cake.  We are 30 years into our restoration of this incredible native prairie landscape and will probably always have to work for its’ continued protection.

All felt right and good when I left.  Several days of Nature restoration for my mind and body had been healing.  It’s always good to see the fruits of your labor and have that nourish you.  That’s what protected federal and private landscapes do.  Thank goodness for the free counseling they bring to my life.

Photo by Brandt Mannchen.