On Wednesday March 29th, six students from St. Edward’s University took a short roadtrip to the Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve in Lockhart, TX. On the drive, the students saw many wildflowers along the way on the highway. Once the students arrived to the wetlands preserve, they were greeted by Steven Risinger, the Conservation and Stewardship Manager as well as Tyler Sanderson, the Guadalupe Blanco River Trust Executive Director.
Upon arrival, all the students were given a pamphlet of the Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve while Steven and Tyler began to tell the students about the history of Plum Creek Preserve and how it was acquired. Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve is 265 acres of land with 16 easements and 11 acres of private land that both Steven and Tyler take care of. The preserve was founded in 2001 by the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority. The property was later acquired from TXDOT in 2014.
A picture of a beautiful tree on Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve
The students walked towards a bridge where Steven spoke about the invasive and native species of the wetland preserve. Steven stated that “Ragweed, Johnson grass, and Mesquite are invasive species that are burned with fire breaks to make room for blackland prairie plants”. Steven also stated that the native plants to the area were “Cedar Elm, Mexican Plum, Elder Berry, Pecan, and Walnut”.
Overall, the students learned about how the Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve is able to be maintained in terms of grants and salaries for Steven and Tyler and had a great time learning about easements and the preserve!
A small caterpillar on the bridge of Plum Creek Wetlands Preserve