2023 Coastal Prairies Restoration Practitioners Forum

April 26–27, 2023
Goliad, Texas

Program Overview

The University of Houston Coastal Center and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department co-hosted the second Coastal Prairies Restoration Practitioners Forum on April 26-27, 2023. Since the Gulf Coast Prairie extends the length of the Texas Gulf Coast east into Louisiana, organizers held the forum in Goliad, Texas. The program addressed topics that apply to any restoration practitioner in the coastal prairie universe. See detailed agenda below.

Forum sessions covered topics useful for hands-on practitioners who make decisions on managing invasive species, brush management, seeding native plants, and prescribed grazing. The forum was structured to allow presenters time for an in-depth discussion with attendees in the auditorium and in the field. In partnership with the Goliad County AgriLife Extension Service, Agricultural Pesticide Applicator license holders received 3 CEUs for this program.

Attendees had the opportunity to discuss restoration strategies at sites where prairie restoration and management are in progress.

Meeting Location

All indoor presentations were held at the Julie Wimberly Memorial Homemaking Building in Goliad at 925 US Hwy. 183.

Agenda

April 26 - Day 1 at Two Private Ranches and Julie Wimberly Memorial Homemaking Bldg. in Goliad, TX

11:00 AM START
Site Visit to Grahmann Ranch, Host: Eric Grahmann (Brush Management, Grazing, and Re-seeding Project)

12:30 PM
Leave Grahmann Ranch for Goliad

1:00–1:30 PM
Registration and Light Lunch at Goliad Julie Wimberly Memorial Homemaking Bldg.

First Session: Strategies for Non-Native Brush and Trees

1:30–2:15 PM
Huisache Management (Trey Barron, TPWD) - 10–15 minutes for discussion

2:15–3:00 PM
Running Live Oak Management (Dan Walker, TPWD) - 10–15 minutes for discussion

3:00–3:15 PM
Break

3:15–4:00 PM
Chinese Tallow and McCartney Rose Management on the Texas Mid-Coast (Speaker TBD) - 10–15 minutes for discussion

Second Session: Prescribed Grazing as a Management Tool

4:00–5:00 PM
Prescribed Grazing (Matt Machacek, NRCS and Grazing Lands Coalition) - 15–20 minutes for discussion

Dinner and Tour of The Duke Ranch

5:00–5:45 PM
BBQ Dinner at Goliad

5:45 PM
Depart for The Duke Ranch, Host: Kai Buckert

6:15–8:30 PM
The Duke Ranch Tour, covering Historic and Current Perspectives of Prairie Management, until Sunset on the Prairie (8 PM)

8:30 PM
Leave The Duke Ranch for Lodging

April 27 - Day 2 at Julie Wimberly Memorial Homemaking Bldg. in Goliad, TX

First Session: Strategies for Old World Bluestem (OWB) Control, Structure Manipulation, and Roadside Spraying of Invasives

8:00–8:20 AM
Registration with Coffee, Juice, and Pastries

8:20–8:50 AM
OWB Current Research and Agri-Life Publications (Meagan Lesak, TPWD) - 10 minutes for discussion

8:50–9:50 AM
Managing OWBs for Structure with Patch Burn Grazing (Dr. Poncho Ortega, Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute) - 10–20 minutes for discussion

9:50–10:05 AM
Break

10:05–10:40 AM
Managing OWB at Mad Island (Stephen Goertz, TNC) - 10–15 minutes for discussion

Second Session: Seeding Your Coastal Prairie: Seed Collecting, Pure Live Seed Calculation and Seed Drill Calibration and Native Prairie Grass Seed for the Mass Market

10:40–10:55 AM
Pure Live Seed, Seed Tags, No-till Seed Drills, Commercial Seed Sourcing, Species Accession, and Seed Collecting (Texas Native Seeds Doug Jobes and Dr. Tony Falk, CKWRI)

11:55 AM–NOON
Closing Remarks and Adjournment

NOON
Sandwich Lunch and Departure to Powderhorn Ranch WMA for Optional Field Visit

1:15 PM
Optional Powderhorn Ranch WMA Visit, covering Applied Brush Management and Prescribed Fire