Photo Courtesy Dr. James Cathey, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
In recent years there have been an increasing number of incentives available to Texas landowners for planting native, warm-season grasses Little and Big Bluestem, Sideoats Grama, and Indian Switchgrass) and restoring native prairies. The question from many folks is quite simple: why? This is certainly a fair question: why should a person destroy field of good, strong sod-forming grass like Bermuda Grass to plant other types of grasses? Simply put, not all grasses are created equal. There are a number of advantages to native, warm-season grasses. Some of these are especially important to watersheds, such as the Trinity River Basin, where the landowner-led Trinity Waters group is spearheading conservation efforts.
Advantages of native, warm-season grasses include:
· Improved habitat for game and non-game species of wildlife, such as ground nesting birds like quail, turkey, and eastern meadowlarks. These birds utilize the space between grass bunches to forage for seeds and often nest within the bunches. In these open spaces, forbs (weeds) also grow which animals, such as deer, consume.
· Healthy, ample, protein forage for livestock with reduced input costs as compared with exotic grasses.
· Improve water quality: These grasses help protect the watersheds they occur in by using less water than sod-forming types, reduces erosion and sedimentation of water systems, and improve water quality in general by not requiring fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
· Conserving Texas’ landscape heritage. When settlers first arrived in Texas the landscape consisted of native grass prairies. These early settlers were influenced as much by the natural beauty of the landscape. Now, common sights, sounds, and smells that represent “Texas” to many Texans are disappearing. Planting native grasses in place of sod-forming grasses helps protect that rich heritage for future generations.
For more information, see this very informative article by the Native Prairies Association of Texas, and TPWD’s Native Grassland Restoration Guide or for information on getting started or incentive programs contact your local Texas AgriLife Extension Service County Extension Agent, TPWD Wildlife Biologist, and/or biologists at the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service.