Wetlands)in)the)Texas) Coastal)Plain)

ela2vely)at)eleva2on:)Sea)level)to) R roughly)75)meters)as)far)in)as)160)KM) (Hempstead)))) ormed)over)millions)of)years)river) F sediment)deposi2on) nce)exposed)since)the)previous)Ice)Age) O (>))18,000)years)ago),)wind)is)presumed) to)be)mechanism)that)carved)out) depressions)and)created)the)gilgai) foma2ons,)a.k.a.)mima)mounds)
UTBEG&

Geologic(Map(of(Texas&

Texas&Coastal&Wetlands.org&Redrawn&from&Doering&1935&<& AAPG&BulleBn&19:651<688&

Prairie(Pothole(Region(of(Texas&

hGp://www.texaswetlands.org& Moulton&&&Jacob,&PublicaBon&TAMU<SG<00<605&

Near)Bay)City))Matagorda)Co.))1942)

Input&Google&Images.&

Near)Bay)City))Matagorda)Co.))2010)

Near)Cypress))Harris)Co.))1943)

Near)Cypress))Harris)Co.))2010)

Coastal'Prairie'Wetland'Ecology' Inuenced)primarily)by) precipita2on)(Rainfall)) Variable)Hydrology)) Variable)Vegeta2on)Composi2on)

Waterfowl Life Cycle Duck&life&cycle&ecology&

Characteristics of Gulf Coast Prairie

ormerly tall grass wet prairie, seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands F urrently dominated by agriculture (Rice, Pasture, or Row Crops) C ice agriculture, as a surrogate wetland habitat, provides waste grains R in farming years and moist soil seeds in fallow years

Degraded/Altered Hydrology Salt Water Intrusion & Subsidence Declining Rice Production Stressed Water Supplies Development Pressures Increasing Population & Water Demands

Coastal'Rice))

James)Nu_all1,2&and&Roger&Armstrong1& 1&Department&of&Primary&Industries,&PB&260,& Horsham,&Vic&3401.&

Reduc<on(of(Coastal(Rice&&

Rice)Land)Conversion)

Economic(and(Ecologically(Valuable(

Texas&Gulf&Coast&

Courtesy&of&NASA&"Planetary&Photo& Journal&&

Gulf Coast Joint Venture Conservation Planning

opulation-based foraging habitat models P abitat objectives developed each initiative area H ssess actual prairie/agricultural habitat A ssess coastal marsh habitat A llows comparisons of need versus availability A

kcal X 10 9

Courtesy: GCJV

Coastal Marsh Pond Foraging Values

Winslow (2003), Nyman (2004)

GCJV File Photo

GCJV)Coastal)Marsh)Energy)Demand)&)Availability)Es2mates)Texas) Chenier)&)Mid)Coast)Ini2a2ves)

Kcal&(Billions)&

GCJV&ObjecBve&& 3.3&M&Ducks&&&1M&Geese&&

586,000&Acres&

GCJV Foraging Habitat Objectives and Estimated Habitat for Dry, Average, and Wet Conditions on Texas Coast

Acres

Demand Supply

Laguna Madre

Mid-Coast

Chenier Plain

Population Decline of Northern Pintail

U.S.&Fish&and&Wildlife&Service.&2011.&Waterfowl&populaBon&status,&2011.&&U.S.&Department&of&the& Interior,&Washington,&D.C.&USA.&&&

GCJV Northern Pintail Population Objectives Initiative Area Laguna Madre TX Mid-Coast Chenier Plain LA Chenier Mississippi River Coastal Mississippi Mobile Bay Total Pintails Population Objective 173,355 775,755 124,193 396,313 99,967 0 1,236 1,570,819 Percentage of NAWMP BPOP* 3.1% 13.9% 2.2% 7.1% 1.8% 0.0% 0.02% 28.1%

*NAWMP Northern Pintail Breeding Population Objective = 5.6 million birds

Review of Northern Pintail Research to Guide Conservation Programs

Survival Rate Comparisons
Location MX CA SW LA TX PLR TX Coast Mallards MAV, PLR Age A, I A A I A, I A, I A, I Survival Rate 0.911 0.874 0.714 0.550 0.694 to 0.925 0.170 to 0.610 0.700 to 0.993

Three important research efforts on female pintails: (1)Cox and Afton in SW Louisiana (2)Ballard et al., Laguna Madre, Texas (3)Anderson et al., Texas Gulf Coast and Playa Lakes

Texas)Coast)Canary) The)Canary)in)the)Coal) in)Coal)Mine?) Mine?)

GCJV&and&USFWS<NWR&

Gulf)Coast)Joint)Venture)Fall)Shorebird)Objec2ves))
Species Black-bellied Plover Killdeer Black-necked Stilt Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Upland Sandpiper Long-billed Curlew Semipalmated Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Bairds Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Wilsons Phalarope Population Habitat Use, by Percent, Population Objective, Managed and all Inland Objective, GCJV Managed & all Inland Wetlands, Wetlands, Agriculture, and Grasslands, GCJV Region, BCR 37 Agriculture, & Grasslands Region

100,000 3,500,000 70,000 66,000 264,000 520,000 40,000 1,000,000 3,500,000 350,000 30,000 300,000 762,500 984,000 72,000 76,500 500,000 150,000

10 95 75 60 75 100 60 30 30 60 95 90 35 80 95 20 95 30 50

10,000 3,325,000 52,500 39,600 198,000 520,000 24,000 300,000 1,050,000 210,000 28,500 270,000 266,875 787,000 68,400 15,300 190,000 (LA) 90,000 (TX) 75,000
Vermillion,)W.G.))2011.)GCJV.&

Vermillion,)W.G.))2011.)GCJV.&

 39,625)ac) ~ needed) rimarily) P shallowhooded,) sparselyhvegetated) emote)sensing) R availability) assessment) pending)

Vermillion,)W.G.))2011.)GCJV.&

 Approximately&3,500&acres&conserved&annually.& More&than&50,000&acres&conserved&to&date.& 550&individual&wetland&agreements.& More&than&850&managed&wetland&units.&

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)2004)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1953)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1943)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)2002)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)2011)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1943)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1943)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1943)

Sheldon)Lake)SP)h)1943)