Texas Hill Country state park's near-doubling will add 'rare plant community'

article

Clear Fork of Plum Creek at Lockhart State Park (TPWD)

LOCKHART, Texas - A Texas state park located between Austin and San Antonio is nearly doubling in size, the state parks department has announced.

The addition will add almost 200 acres of land, including an area of rare native plant life. 

Texas state park growing

Lockhart State Park is adding 188 acres of new parkland, growing it to about 453 acres, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced in a Monday, April 20 release. 

The acquisition comes in the form of two parcels. The southeast addition consists of about 148 acres, bringing a portion of the Clear Fork of Plum Creek to the park, as well as native blackland prairie, which is a "rare plant community" found exclusively in the Lone Star State. 

The second portion, in the northeast area of the park, will add another 40 acres. 

Featured

article

Texas' first new state park in 25 years sees over 17,000 visitors since March

Since March, the first Texas State Park to open in 25 years has seen over 17,000 visitors. Park officials say they were pleasantly surprised at the popularity.

Both areas are formerly family ranches, the TPWD release says, and will bring valuable wildlife habitat and feature a mixture of shrubland and riparian woodlands. They included a new album of pictures of the newly acquired land, which can be viewed here.

What they're saying:

"We were honored to work with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to expand Lockhart State Park, one of Central Texas’ oldest parks," said David Bezanson, land protection strategy director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas. "The two new tracts increase the size of the park and add native prairie, woods, and hilltop views. We are excited about adding acreage to a special state park in the rapidly urbanizing Austin area."

What's next:

Now that the sales are complete, agency teams will work to conduct natural and cultural resource surveys to help guide park planners with management plans and future visitor interpretive exhibits, the department said.

Featured

article

Bison-filled state park in Texas Panhandle gains 2,000 acres of canyonland

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway is getting over 2,000 acres larger after the state acquired two large pieces of property in the Texas Panhandle.

What is Texas blackland prairie?

Dig deeper:

The rare plant community the park plans to add is a part of the Blackland Prairie Ecological Region of Texas, which the TPWD says extends into the eastern portions of the counties of Denton, Hill and McLennan in Northcentral Texas.

According to an informational article from the department about the region, it's underlain by Upper Cretaceous marine chalks, marls, limestones, and shales which gave rise to the development of the characteristic black, calcareous, alkaline, heavy clay soils. 

The TPWD says few native prairie sites are still around in the state, as urban expansion into the region increases and space for wildlife and natural habitats recede.

Map of blackland prairie in Texas | Credit: Native Prairies Association of Texas