Collecting Seeds to Protect an Aquifer

A Full Circle Story

“Extremely peaceful. That's probably my favorite part of coming out here—there's no traffic noise; there are no phones ringing.”

Clover Clamons
Hays County Master Naturalist Trainee

My husband and I were drawn to the natural beauty of Central Texas in the late 90s, and after completing graduate work in geology at Baylor University, we made a pact that we would move to Austin as soon as one of us got a job. The circle began when we both ended up working for the City of Austin and bought a starter home in south Austin.

In 2005, we purchased property in north central Hays County on the eastern edge of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Our neighborhood was surrounded by undeveloped land. Horses grazed across open rangelands, and it felt like we had moved to the country.

Over the years, some of that land was developed, but much of it to our west and north was acquired by the City of Austin's Wildland Conservation Division for the Water Quality Protection Lands (WQPL) program. Today, like so many others in Central Texas, our ability to remain and thrive in this place that we love is dependent on groundwater conservation and protection.

Let’s look back for a moment to understand how Austin’s WQPL’s program was established and why it is so important to this ecology.

Austin’s Water Quality Protection Program

In 1998, City of Austin residents passed a $65 million bond to purchase land and conservation easements for the WQPL. Over two decades, Austin voters approved over $238 million in bonds to conserve the most sensitive lands in the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. Now, over 34,000 acres of land permanently protect 30% of the recharge zone and 6% of the contributing zone in Travis and Hays counties—forming one of the largest conservation areas in the region.

The City of Austin owns and actively manages more than 12,000 of the over 34,000 acres. Most of the land, over 22,000 acres (or greater than 64%) in the WQPL are protected using conservation easements, where lands are still privately owned and managed. Landowners are compensated for the development rights, and the available impervious cover on the land is reduced to about 1%. This protects the land at a much lower cost to the public—about 50% less than buying the land—and with no operations and maintenance costs beyond oversight and administration.

Why Hays County?

The Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer extends almost to Kyle, so water falling on the ground surface in the recharge and contributing zones may flow or recharge directly into the Edwards Aquifer, especially in creeks and streams. Research has shown over a third of the recharge into the Barton Springs segment of the aquifer comes from the Onion Creek Watershed.

The recharge zone (where water flows underground into the aquifer) is shown in dark green and the contributing zone (where water flows above ground to the recharge zone) is shown in light green. The WQPL are shown in blue. Reference: *Hydrogeology of the Barton Springs Segment of the Edwards Aquifer*

“The WQPL uses hydrogeological research to determine where to purchase land and conservation easements to best protect the [Barton] Springs’ source water.” Read more about how dye trace studies are conducted to understand the path that water takes through the aquifer to reach Barton Springs: Hydrogeology of the Barton Springs Segment of the Edwards Aquifer .

I've had the honor and privilege to work professionally on many of the WQPL properties—conducting surveys for karst features, cleaning out and restoring recharge in caves and creek beds, and monitoring construction projects. But I had to put my work with WQPL on hold because of a busy family life and changing jobs and roles. After our daughter graduated from high school, I was left with much more time on my hands. Luckily, I found out about the Hays County Master Naturalist (HCMN) program from a close friend and colleague, and that’s when the circle in this story started to take shape.

As a Master Naturalist trainee this year, I’ve been able to plug back in to WQPL. I’ve discovered just how much the WQPL has grown and evolved. I’ve been able to volunteer for a HCMN project with WQPL that is just minutes away from my house, which means a great deal to me both personally and professionally.

What does all this have to do with collecting seed?

Thriving grassland savannas provide excellent protection and enhancement of subsurface aquifers. By collecting and seeding grasses and wildflowers on parts of the WQPL that need it, we help improve water quality by decreasing erosion and sedimentation, improve biodiversity, compete with invasive plants and woody species, and help carry fire to prevent woody reinvasion.

WQPL staff and volunteers have created a fabulous WQPL Seed Collector's Guide with information on how, when, where, and what seeds to collect. It’s a great resource for anyone interested in seed collection for grassland savanna restoration.

Seed is harvested from about May to January, taking care to leave enough seed behind to avoid negatively impacting the source populations. Over several months, many volunteers gather a diverse mix of high-quality seed, which is well-adapted to local soils and climatic conditions.

Hays County Master Naturalist Dick McBride is the coordinator for Austin’s WQPL HCMN project. To learn more about this HCMN project, watch Dick’s short onsite video about the activities of project volunteers.

This year we have collected grasses including Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis), sideoats gramma (Bouteloua curtipendula), eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), silver bluestem. (Bothriochloa laguroides), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), melica (Melica nitens), and Texas cupgrass (Eriochloa sericea). While diverse grasses are prime collecting targets, forbs collected include milkweed (Asclepias syriaca, A. Asperula, and A. viridis), hairy wedelia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida), marbleseed (Onosmodium mole), American germander (Teucrium canadense), and mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea). In past years, volunteers and staff have collected seed from as many as 110 species of native grasses and wildflowers in a year. In 2021, a year in which many events were cancelled due to the pandemic, volunteers were still able to collect an impressive 100 pounds of seed by hand!

Starting in April, volunteer “seed ripeness monitors” and staff record observations in the WQPL Ripeness Monitoring iNaturalist project. Observations and collection times from past years are used to plan when and where to harvest ripe seed. Once collected, WQPL staff bring seed back to the “seed haus,” where it is logged in with collection date, location, and species codes. Then seed is processed to remove debris and seed coverings or chaff so the seed can make good contact with mineral soil when it is spread back on the land. Some seeds are combined into seed mixes; other seeds may be kept separate for propagation in the nursery.

October through April, staff and volunteers sow seed to restore grassland savanna on the WQPL. Seeding efforts follow other restoration techniques, such as brush thinning or removal and prescribed fire. For more information on the volunteer-based seed restoration program, check out this Austin Water Wildland Conservation article: The Life of a Seed in Restoration.

So why does a geologist enjoy collecting seeds?

If you’ve collected seed on the WQPL, then you have helped achieve a vital step in the seed-based restoration process. This is my way of giving back—just by doing the small things to ensure the aquifer is protected, and that our well will keep providing water. It’s where I go and what I do to recharge my battery. By being at one with nature—without phones or cars or anyone needing anything from me—just to be a good seed collector.

This is where the circle comes back around to its beginning, where my professional and personal existence and goals merge. The end is really the beginning of a rediscovery of the joy of the lands that surround us. One big circle.

Editor’s note: Watch CBS Austin’s Chief Meteorologist Chikage Windler’s “in the field” reporting, where she interviews Audrey Stewart, with Austin Water’s Wildland Conservation Division, and HCMN trainee Clover Clamons.
Click here: Volunteers collect seeds to protect Barton Springs water quality

Article contributions included:

Dick McBride, Hays County Master Naturalist, Water Quality Protection Lands HCMN Project Coordinator
Austin Water Wildland Conservation Division Staff

Collecting Seeds to Protect an Aquifer

Austin’s Water Quality Protection Program

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