Buffalo Bayou ecosystem explained on trail-side educational display

Wetlands Restoration Area in Barker Reservoir

Treeline and ditch on side of Noble Road Trail looking West
(Feb 2013 photo)

Buffalo Bayou without buffaloes - American Bison hard to find these days

Where have all the Buffaloes gone?

Not sure who gave Buffalo Bayou its name and whether the obvious explanation holds water. The American Bison was once abundant throughout North America and the largest land-borne mammal. Thanks to industrial-scale slaughter at the hands of the white man, the bison was almost on the brink of extinction in the early part of the past century when conservation efforts were finally undertaken to preserve the iconic American beast and assure its survival.  

While Buffalo Bayou teems with other wildlife, there are no buffalo anywhere to be seen on its banks today except for the word “Buffalo” on bayou name markers on roads,  bridges, and trails, and some commercial signs of companies that have appropriated the name.  

  

But a few specimen of the iconic large grazer that once roamed the vast lands from Canada to Mexico in huge herds can be seen at Bear Creek Pioneers Park, which also hosts a number of other native and more exotic species, most notably birds, along with ponies, donkeys, sheep and goats. 

But Bear Creek, as much as Buffalo Bayou, may be have become a misnomer as civilization encroached on the wilderness and natural habitats. The bears at Bear Creek seem to have gone the way of the buffalo on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou; and there aren’t even any in the fenced areas and pens that house other animals there, including the two live exemplars of American Bison and farm animals such as goats and sheep. 

Texas Buffaloes on the Map - Bear Creek Pioneers Park with animal pens and pastures in West Houston

Why George Bush Park?

How did Bush Park get its name? It's not the bushes, no. Just one Bush, with capital letter. The elder. 

A poster in the section of the park South of Westheimer Parkway explains the role of former president George H.W. Bush -- along with Terry Hershey (for whom the park along the bayou is named) -- in preserving natural habitat and preventing Buffalo Bayou from being channelized -- i.e. straightened and its banks lined with concrete -- like other bayous in the greater Houston area.  

George Bush Park Map with trails and facilities shown (click to enlarge)

The 41st President of the United States is also being honored elsewhere in the City of Houston. Downtown, there is a George Bush Monument that has him (or rather a statute of him) looking over the Bayou, and there is also a Presidential Grove at Memorial Park. Current President Obama has a mural of his image in Midtown near the Breakfast Club restaurant, but it has been defaced already several times, and had to be redone by the artist. 

George Herbert Walker Bush Memorial

Comeback of George Bush Park Wilderness after the 2011 Wildfire

Miles Lease gravel road inside George Bush Park

Wetlands Restoration Area inside the Barker Reservoir

South of Noble Road Trail behind Barker Dam

This trail runs along the perimeter of the US Army Corps of Engineers officially designated Wetlands Restoration Area inside George Bush Park. It is essentially a cul-de-sac and even less traveled by humans than Noble Road Trail, from which it branches off at a right angle near the edges of the a lake to the North and the better known one to the South, which is visible from the top of the dam, has a number of benches and open meadow area along its shores. 

The lake to the South of Noble Road is better known and more popular. No doubt because it is a great place for romantic sunsets, or just a place to watch great sunset without any romance, period.


There are some signs posted where the Tim Miles access trail branches off from Noble Road, but they are not all readily visible over the summer because of the more ample vegetation, except for the one that bans dogs (and their poop) from the grounds. (It’s all going down to Buffalo Bayou and on to the Bay via the Ship Channel).

Initially Tim Miles trail runs straight South and may have connected in the past all the way down to Westheimer Parkway. Not sure. I would not want to venture down there, lest I end up in the shooting range. 

Warning Sign elsewhere in George Bush Park

As of today, the gravel road makes a sharp right turn at a 90 degree angle and continues westward until it reaches the Tim Miles lease parcel, which is fenced off and has a number of oil tanks in it, with metal rods sticking into the sky on which birds occasionally roost. 

Tim Miles Lease well site with oil tank

In theory, you could continue to the West, but if there ever was a road or trail there, it is now covered in chest-high vegetation – at least during the warmer part of the year – and cannot really be called a trail. I have not ventured beyond.

The trail is lined almost throughout its entire length by a trench running North-South on the Eastern side, and one running West-East after the turn (North of the trail).

These ditches fill with water after a good rain and are totally dry at other times. The segments of the Miles Lease Trail runs alongside what is designated a wetlands restoration area. This whole area was devastated by a large-scale bushfire in 2011. 

All of the young trees on the open land are dead. Most still remain as charred skeletons. They create an eerie, yet inspiring, vista as the prairie grass and undergrowth is back is if nothing happened and furnishes a bed of green from which the charred trunks and branches jot up into the sky.

On a pretty day, this makes for a landscape in green, black, and blue … and white … if there are some clouds too to complete the composition. Gradually, the black deadwood is coming down during storms, and a few tree limbs have fallen on the trail here and there.  

When wet but not flooded, there will be puddles on the gravel road and snakes may hang out near them, which is true of Noble Road trail too. Watch your step. There are plenty of insects along the way. Of greatest aesthetic appeal are the butterflies. The most common one seems to be the Gulf Frittilary, which has different color and patterns on the upside and bottom sides of its wings. The top side is almost solidly orange with a few specks, the bottom side is white with more of a pattern. 

Depending on the season, there may also be Monarchs, Admirals, Buckeyes, and even Swallowtails. 

Additionally, there are dragonflies here too, as elsewhere in the area, but probably not as numerous as around the lakes and waterholes unless the road-side ditch are flooded after heavy rain.  They like to hunt above the surface and lay their eggs in shallow water. 

Reddish (roseate) skimmer dragonfly

Vegetation alongside the trail in Fall

 

Overgrown access road to Tim Miles Lease oil well site inside Barker Reservoir

Don't mess with the lake in my neighborhood: Residents take on new corporate owner of commercial property to save their beloved Lake Thicket

Memorial-area home owners organize to stop developer from draining neighborhood lake on land slated for re-development. Demolition of huge but obsolete office complex at South Mayde Creek Lane in the 15300 block of Memorial Drive is already well underway. The lake has been fenced off -- and no trespassing signs posted -- although the birds remain - for now. 

Memorial Thicket home owners love "their" lake and have started campaign to  stop new
owner/developer  from draining it: savelatethicket.org
Also see blog: http://savelakethicket.blogspot.com/

Neighbors fight for their recreation area next door:

Save Lake Thicket campaign sign on neighborhood fence on Memorial Drive 

Location of large-scale demolition and re-development project:
South Mayde Creek at 15200-15300 block South of Memorial Drive

Transocean and Global Santa Fe used to occupy the buildings,
which have now been vacant for many months

A smattering of home-made sign express residents' sentiment

Only shell of office building remains

The site is close to Terry Hershey Park at Langham Creek and Memorial Loop segment
of Terry Hershey Hike & Bike Trail