Native Grasses Thrive and Expand at Parkhill PrairiePreserve and Lake Lavon
Collin County Open Space Program
210 S. McDonald St. Suite 22 McKinney, TX 75069
(972) 548-4141 or 4147
Collin County, through their Open Space Program begun in 1983, manages one of the few remnant tallgrass prairies in Texas. Parkhill Prairie is a 55-acre native prairie located within a 436-acre preserve approximately 50 miles northeast of Dallas.
Other remnant prairies nearby include Clymer Meadow, located approximately 5 miles northeast, and Countyline Prairie, located approximately 1 mile south, both managed by The Nature Conservancy, and a site at the Heard Museum, located approximately 20 miles southwest in McKinney.
In addition to the 55-acre native prairie at Parkhill, there is also a 15-20 acre area of old field to the north that is designated as restored prairie. Grazing has been eliminated at this site since its purchase in 1988. While no other restoration measures have been implemented on this adjacent northern site, native grasses are flourishing. Little bluestem, and to a lesser degree indiangrass, have colonized from the native prairie and are dominating the old field site.
Native grasses, mostly indiangrass and little bluestem, are also flourishing in a 30-acre prairie site reconstructed at Parkhill in 1991. Since this was an old crop field and not just a former grazing area, this site underwent more intensive treatment, including deep chisel plowing, planting of grass plugs, seed have mulch, and seeding. It lies on the south and west-facing slope, just to the south of the native prairie.
Jim Eidson of The Nature Conservancy conducted prairie restoration research on this site while studying at Texas A&M. Research items of interest (by Jim and others) include comparative treatments, the role of soil invertebrates (some channeling as deep as 10 feet), and the discovery of an endemic upland crayfish.
Native grasses are also returning to sites where grazing has been curtailed at Lake Lavon. According to Park Ranger Bob Wooley, little bluestem, big bluestem, and indiangrass are thriving on at least one "rested" site at Lavonia Park, located east of the lake dam.
Other restoration plans at Parkhill Prairie may include: determining natural erosion patterns and treating gullies and headwalls to fit within them, wetlands restoration on adjacent creeks, and periodic burning to maintain native prairie. More information is available from: Collin County Open Space Program.