City To Host Q&A Session On Upcoming Forestry Work

The City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department has been working closely with several civic organizations and private citizens regarding the care and restoration.

The City will host a public question and answer session about an upcoming forestry project to remove invasive species from Sessom Creek Natural Area on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. at the Discovery Center, 430 Riverside Drive.

The week of Feb. 27, a forestry mulcher will be on site at Sessom Creek Park to mulch non-native trees and improve the soil conditions for existing trees and reestablish the understory of native grasses and wildflowers.

Some of the native plants on site that will benefit from this work include the Texas buckeye, anaqua, agarita and frost weed.

The City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department has been working closely with several civic organizations and private citizens regarding the care and restoration of Sessom Creek Park.

The property is composed of approximately 17 acres. It is a mixture of mature shade trees like cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), live oak (Quercus virginiana, ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) and many non-native tree and woody species such as Ligustrum (Ligustrum spp), chinaberry (Melia azedarach), golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea), and sacred bamboo (Nandina domestica).

The invasive non-native trees are in direct competition for soil and water with the native trees and plants on the property, and they produce chemicals that inhibit other species from growing. Many of the native trees have died or are dying because of this competition.

Volunteers and civic groups like the San Marcos Green Belt Alliance, Sessom Creek neighborhood residents, Texas Conservation Corps, San Marcos Parks Board members and Hays County Master Naturalists have begun work to remove these non-native woody invasives, thus helping to repair the ecological imbalance.

More information about invasive trees and plants is available online at www.texasinvasives.org.

For additional questions and information please contact Kelly Eby, Urban Forester keby@sanmarcostx.gov.