Property Evaluation

Bastrop County 2

Acreage:  85

County: Bastrop

Nearest Town:  Red Rock           

General Property Location:  Located approximately 5 miles southeast of Red Rock, TX

Photo Points:

Photo 1:  Five acre Bermudagrass pasture  

Photo 2:  Pine forest with open understory

Photo 3:  Patch of blackjack oak woodland on dry hilltop

Photo 4:  Post oak savannah across road from Bermudagrass pasture

Photo 5:  Opening on edge of pine-oak woodland

Site Description

This 85 acre site is located in southwestern Bastrop County approximately 5 miles southeast of Red Rock. It is composed of four properties that form an irregularly shaped but contiguous unit. It is less than ½ mile from Bastrop County Site 3 and shares many similarities with some key differences. Red Rock Ranch Road, an unpaved road, runs along the northwestern extent of the site, and Kestrel Lane, also unpaved, penetrates roughly halfway through the center running southeast. Numerous seasonal drainages dissect the site, though only one is large enough to appear on a USGS topographic map. This feeds directly into Sandy Creek, located approximately 100 yards to the southeast. Topography varies from gently rolling to steep, and elevation ranges from over 670 ft above MSL near Red Rock Ranch Road to 550 ft near Sandy Creek. The site lines the southwestern edge of a large drainage and incorporates the width of the drainage just below its head. The edges of the drainage are steep, especially near the top, while the land above is more gently sloped. The site is only partially fenced for livestock. All properties on the site are part of a large wildlife management cooperative centered around Red Rock.

Habitat Description

This site is located in a patch of loblolly pine forest that follows Sandy Creek and likely continued all the way to the “Lost Pines” near Bastrop historically, though it appears from aerial imagery that an unbroken connection may no longer exist. Pine forests in the area tend to occur in drainages and along creeks in deep, sandy soils where moisture is more available. The vast majority of the site is dominated by loblolly pine. The associated post oak-blackjack oak-loblolly pine woodland that occurs in conjunction with pine dominated forests in the area occurs on higher, rockier sites. The two oaks are intermixed, though a single species tends to dominate each patch. The understory varies in density but is fairly open compared to other sites in the area. This may be due to a large fire that occurred in 1978 or may be related to past land use. Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) dominates with farkleberry (Vaccinum arboretum), American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), black hickory (Carya texana), skunkbush (Rhus aromatica), sweet mountain grape (Vitis monticola), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). Herbaceous production is virtually nonexistent under the canopy due to a heavy duff (litter) layer. Very scattered examples of spurges (Euphorbia sp.), St. Andrews Cross (Ascyrum hypericoides) and milkpea (Galactia sp.) do occur. The scattered openings in the woodland support a fair amount of herbaceous production with partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), snake cotton (Froelichia floridana), western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and red lovegrass (Eragrostis secundiflora).

Two large openings occur near Red Rock Ranch Road. One of these is planted in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) with small patches of native grass along the edges while the other opening, adjacent to the first, appears to be a long-term natural opening with scattered patches of post oak, black hickory, and associated shrubs and vines interspersed in a matrix of forbs with native and invasive grasses. Poison ivy is common in this opening and grows in a short, shoot-like form less than foot high. Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), six weeks grass, (Vulpia bromoides), little bluestem, gumweed (Grindelia sp.), woolly croton (Croton capitatus), partridge pea, and ragweed are common. Bermudagrass has invaded from the adjacent field.

Soil Types

The property contains 2 soil types:

1. PaE – Padina fine sand, 1 to 12 percent slopes

2. SkC – Silstid loamy fine sand, 1 to 5 percent slopes

Padina fine sand is a deep sand soil greater than 60 inches deep with moderate permeability and low available water capacity but good plant-soil moisture relationship. The surface layer is slightly acid fine sand up to 52 inches deep. It is classified in the Deep Sand ecological site. Climax vegetation is a savannah of post oak, blackjack, live oak, and hickory, interspersed with little bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, sandhill lovegrass, brownseed and fringeleaf paspalums, sedges, lespedezas, tickclover, snowbean, partridge pea, and western indigo.

Silstid loamy fine sand is a deep sand soil greater than 60 inches deep with moderate permeability and available water capacity but good plant-soil moisture relationship. The surface layer is slightly acid loamy fine sand up to 28 inches deep. It is classified in the Sandy ecological site. Climax vegetation is post oak, blackjack oak savannah, with hickory, hawthorns, American beautyberry, little and big bluestems, Indiangrass, switchgrass, sand lovegrass, purpletop, uniola, paspalums, and panicums. Forbs include lespedezas, tickclovers, snoutbeans, butterflypea, milkpea, partridge pea, and tephrosia.

Research Potential

This site offers a chance for research in an island of habitat that is isolated from the remainder of southeastern pine forests. The most prominent research interest in the Lost Pines area is the endangered Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis). No ephemeral ponds suitable for Houston toad exist on this site, however. Sandy creek is a possible corridor for expansion. Surveys could be conducted in the surrounding area to determine presence/absence and ponds could be created to determine likelihood of expansion and colonization of new habitat by the toad. Establishment of new populations through reintroduction to newly created pond habitat could also be assessed.

Bastrop County suffers from unusually low populations of white-tailed deer, even compared to surrounding counties. The Red Rock Wildlife Management Cooperative has successfully established and managed deer populations in the area with assistance from TPWD. This is one of a few pockets of increased deer densities in the county and would be valuable to compare to past studies in the Lost Pines to determine food habits and impact on the habitat, including reliance on supplemental food sources supplied by the cooperative.

Attwater’s pocket gopher (Geomys attwateri) is endemic to southeastern Texas, including Bastrop Co. and offers potential opportunities for research here. Previous genetic research has been conducted on the Lost Pines’ isolated population of Elliot’s short-tailed shrews (Blarina hylophaga) that are separated from other isolated populations along the Gulf Coast and in Oklahoma. These shrews are closely related to the Southern short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis) of the southeastern US, but appear to be remnants of B. hylophaga populations. Surveys for their presence and collection of tissue for genetic analysis may help shed further light on the distribution and association of these two cryptic species.

There have been numerous sightings (confirmed by photograph) of at least four collared peccaries (Tayassu tajacu) in the area. This is within their historical range, but their presence this far north is no longer common. Examination of their possible source and comparison to more southern populations may shed light on their presence here and help determine if they are expanding their range.

The Lost Pines supports a unique and varied insect population, including nine species endemic to Texas and at least one recently discovered species of beetle, the Texas long-lipped beetle (Telegeusis texensis). Isolated habitats such as the Bastrop Pine Forests often spark development of new species and other undiscovered invertebrates may still occur there.

The suppression of fire from southern pine forests has resulted in stagnation of habitat. Research into the efficacy of fire in this westernmost example of southern pine forests and its impact on habitat and wildlife is important to future management of this unique area of Texas. This site could be used as a control or small test plots may be possible as a large ranch borders the site to the southeast, offering a buffer. The extent and impact of the 1978 fire may be possible to determine as it appears Bastrop 3 was not impacted.

Any research conducted has the potential luxury of two sites (Bastrop 2 and 3) in close proximity to each other that offer similar characteristics with slight differences in habitat density and composition that may offer opportunities for comparison.

Shane Kiefer

Senior Wildlife Biologist

Plateau Land & Wildlife Management

9/12/05