The Nature Conservancy of Texas
Fire Management Program

Gulf Coast Prairie & Marshes Ecoregion

Scattered along the Texas coast are remnants of coastal tallgrass prairie. The Nature Conservancy of Texas is working to maintain and restore the remaining pieces of the tallgrass coastal prairie with prescribed fire. The two Preserves that are managed with fire are the Texas City Prairie Preserve (2,263 acres) and the Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve (7,048 acres). In this ecoregion, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has partnered with the Fire Management Program in order to provide additional fire resources on our sites, in exchange for assistance from The Nature Conservancy of Texas on their coastal refuges.

All of the prescribed burns on the coastal prairie and marshes that are managed by The Nature Conservancy of Texas are conducted in fuel model 3. The dominant grasses found on the preserves include gulf cordgrass (Spartina spartinae), seacoast bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. littoralis), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Late summer burns have been found to be the most effective in the control of invading hardwood species, notably mesquite (Proposis glandulosa), baccharis (Baccharis halmifolia) and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum).

Significant species benefiting from fire include the rare coastal gayfeather (Liatris bracteata), found at both Mad Island and Texas City, the state threatened Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) and the federally endangered Attwater's prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwaterui). The Texas City Prairie is one of the last two remaining sites that support this sub-species of the greater prairie chicken. It benefits from fire management in that it requires a variety of heights and densities of prairie grasses, short grasses for the lek, or booming ground, where courtship is performed, medium grasses for nesting, and taller grasses for cover. As prescribed fire is applied in a mosaic pattern on the site, the birds are able to benefit from the various lengths of grasses that are encouraged from its application.