January 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 29

verse regions in the country with the merging of coastal
wetland marsh, coastal prairie, riparian forest and piney
woods. But Houston is also a growing city and its remaining natural habitats, now only present in patches
throughout the city, experience increasing threats from
development. HPARD aims to permanently preserve
the remaining large areas of habitat in city parks through
a Nature Preserve Ordinance focused on preventing development in more than 7,500 acres of parkland.
Under the ordinance, outdoor activities in the affected park areas will be restricted to passive recreation,
such as hiking and birdwatching, and amenities will
be limited to trails, benches, signs and bird-friendly
lighting. Existing and future sports fields, parking lots
and buildings will only be erected in specific sections
of the affected parks and excluded within the nature
preserve boundaries of the ordinance. Of the 380 parks
in the city's portfolio, 26 have been identified for protection. Although the park number seems low, preservation acres total more than 20 percent of the total
parkland for the city of Houston. Of the targeted parks,
approximately 75 percent of each park will fall within
the nature preserve designation, and the remaining 25
percent will be available for active recreation amenities.
However, land preservation is just the beginning of
Houston's conservation efforts. Research conducted
in some of the city's forested areas have shown that
approximately 40 percent of vegetation is filled with
harmful invasive species, such as Chinese tallow.
Therefore, each nature preserve will have a management plan that outlines specific habitat goals and
plans for improvement. Additionally, Houston's tree
protection ordinance is currently undergoing a revision: To deter the planting of less desirable species
that may become a problem to natural areas in the
future, the city is developing a new all-native tree list
that will help support the establishment of species native to Houston and its surrounding counties.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, HPARD's motivation for land preservation focused on the unseen
benefits that nature can provide. Now that HPARD is
witnessing a surge in use of natural areas, it is apparent
that the recreation aspect is vitally important to park
visitors. HPARD is currently mapping all nature trails
throughout its park system and creating online trail
maps to guide visitors through some of its large, forested parks. In the past, HPARD has chosen not to actively assist visitors in navigating these big, wooded areas:

encouraging people to enter and explore them seemed
irresponsible and potentially unsafe. But now HPARD
has realized that nature trails allow park visitors to experience the outdoors in a safe but enjoyable way.

Making an Impact
With a goal to present the Nature Preserve Ordinance to council before the end of the year, Houston
has the opportunity to take the lead in urban conservation with the city's parks department stepping to
the forefront. Supported by an inclusion in the Mayor's Resilient Houston Plan and Houston Climate
Action Plan released earlier this year, this ordinance
will have a huge impact on Houston's residents, both
people and wildlife, and offer Houstonians a safe
opportunity to enjoy these beautiful nature spaces
that dot the southeast Texas landscape, home to thefourth-largest city in the country.
Kelli Ondracek is Natural Resources Manager for the Houston Parks
and Recreation Department (kelli.ondracek@houstontx.gov).

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Parks & Recreation

January 2021 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2021 - Parks & Recreation