Page 5 - September Real Estate Guide

Polk County Publishing
SENIOR LIVING
Page 5
By: Greg Peak Editor, PCE
For retirees who enjoy the outdoors and are look- ing to help with a signi - cant community project, volunteering with the Lake Livingston Friends of Reservoirs (LLFoR) plant restocking program might be the answer.
“Bringing life back to the lake” is the motto and goal of the 10-year pro- gram which is operated by volunteers who are seeking to boost the beau- ty, economy and value of the Lake Livingston area. Working in concert with six local school districts, LLFoR is growing and transplanting American water-willow plants into the shallow areas of the lake.
One of the largest lakes in Texas, Lake Livings- ton has a surface area of 83,000 acres and contains about 1.75 million acre feet of water. The dam was completed by the Trinity River Authority (TRA) in September 1969 and the lake crested at its normal level of 131 feet above mean sea level for the rst time in November 1971.
Like many man-made reservoirs, over time the plant life below the sur- face of the water has died. The introduction of grass carp into the lake hasn’t helped as those sh eat al- most any plant that tries to take root in the waters. Today, there is very little plant life in the lake which is causing problems.
“Basically, Lake Liv- ingston is a wet dessert. Its bottom is a mud at and that is what we are trying to change,” said Ron Diderich, the LL- FoR’s outreach manager.
By reversing the process, LLFoR hopes to stimulate a number of economic streams that will bene t the community includ- ing boosting the number of major shing tourna- ments, increasing birding opportunities and in gen- eral, creating a more at- tractive recreational area. First established in early 2012 by the Piney Wood Lakes Chapter of the Tex- as Master Naturalist pro-
gram, the plant restocking effort quickly expanded with a number of “part- ners” joining. Texas Black Bass Unlimited (TBBU) became a leading partner in late 2013 and handles grant funds and project donations under its non- pro t501ctaxexemptsta- tus.
However, the actual work is performed by school students and volun- teers who grow the plants and then transplant them into the shallow areas of the lake.
LLFoR Director Tom McDonough, who has helped oversee the project from the start, noted that American water-willow was chosen for the effort because it is a native plant with as high cellulous content.
“This means that the turtles and the grass carp really don’t like to eat it. They may take a taste or two from the ‘salad bar’ but soon realize that when they go to that salad bar they get sick,” Mc- Donough explained.
The volunteers plant the water-willow in water that is between six and 12 inches deep, although it can thrive in water up to four feet deep. Once the plant takes root in the lake, it propagates through its root structure which spreads out and generates new plants.
McDonough noted should lake levels drop and the plants end up out of the water, the tops will die but the roots will re- main alive but dormant. Once the lake level rises and the roots are again un- derwater, they will begin to grow.
One bene t derived from the plants is shoreline ero- sion control thanks to the water-willow’s root struc- ture. The plants them- selves also act as a lter for the water and provide cover for small sh, rep- tiles and other animals seeking to hide from pred- ators.
While the large sh do not eat the water-willow, the plants do help generate the microbiotic life that serves as a food source for the small, young sh. This is one of the reasons why
State Rep. James White (center) was given a tour of Livingston High School’s water-willow program during a visit last year. Lake Livingston Friends of Reservoirs Director Tom McDonough (right) explains the process while LHS Principal Bake Barron (left)watches.–Contributedphoto
LLFoR has targeted the creeks that feed into the lake as sites for the plant- ings.
“These are the areas where the sh spawn so we have been concentrat- ing a great deal of our ef- forts there,” McDonough said. He added that the planting sites are selected by the TRA and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
LLFoR hopes to plant 10,000 water-willow per year and are almost at that point. The plants are pro- duced by students from seven lake-area schools, including Onalaska, Go- odrich, Corrigan-Camden, Coldspring and Shepherd high schools and Livings- ton’s high school and in- termediate school.
Each school maintains aquatic tanks to grow the plants which are periodi- cally propagated by cut- ting off about three-inches off their tops, dipping the cutting into a root hor- mone and placing it into a starter tray. Once the cut- ting has developed roots it is goes into a pot which is placed into the aquatic tank to await transplanta- tion into the lake.
When the students turn out to help transplant the
water-willow, they put between 2,000 and 3,500 in the lake during each planting event. During the summer, smaller groups of adult volunteers will plant around 350 per event.
During a planting in the spring of 2016, about 100 students and 75 adults turnout out to transplant the water-willow into the Wolf Creek and Indian Creek areas of San Jacinto County. Sites in Polk and Trinity counties also have been planted.
Diderich noted he began working with LLFoR as a volunteer and recently moved up to the manage- ment team. As the out- reach manager, he has more responsibility but is still a volunteer.
“We are all volunteers and that is the beauty of this. You can donate as much of your time to help- ing as you want and you don’t have to join a group to do it,” he said.
Diderich said that while many of their volunteers do come from the ranks of their partner groups, some are “independent” and turn up because they enjoy providing a service to their community.
After retiring from Vol- vo where he worked in
dealership development, Diderich moved fulltime to the Lake Livingston area of Polk County.
“When I retired, I want- ed to be a part of the com-
munity. I saw an added in the Enterprise about this project and since I live on the lake, I decided to get involved,” he said.
cont. pg. 6
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