South Salado Creek Greenway, South Side Lions Park Trailhead, A September Sequel

Friday, September 9, 2011

Today's photos:

I have been curious for a while how the Salado Creek area on the south side has been doing since my first walks there on June 1 and 3. More specifically, are the springs still flowing? As it turned out, my schedule today made it easier to return to Salado Creek than to drive across town to Leon Creek.

The above photos show a remarkable situation of contrasts. The upland area in South Side Lions Park is as dry and drought stressed as any in Bexar County. However the two springs just north of Roland Ave are still flowing, if at a somewhat slower rate than they were in June. 

The area immediately along the creek is doing fairly well with the presence of the water source. The springs are a few feet below 600 feet elevation and are likely to continue flowing throughout the drought. The Edwards Aquifer level is highly unlikely to fall below that level.

Possibly the best way I can illustrate the effect of the drought is to post these two photos, both taken from about the same place on the bridge over the creek at the trailhead:

Salado Creek
June 3, 2011

Salado Creek
September 9, 2011

There are a couple things I didn't discover until I set the photos up for publication. The bird on the wire was a bit more than 200 yards from where I was standing when I took the photo. I thought it was a mockingbird. It wasn't until I saw the photo that I realized it is actually a loggerhead shrike. Also, I didn't see that the lizard was molting until I saw the photos.

As has been the case on most of my recent walks, there are three more sets of photos from today that I will publish in upcoming posts.

An Update on the Ongoing Wildfire Danger:

Since Labor Day the San Antonio Fire Department has responded to at least 124 grass and brush fires. Yesterday, a grass fire in far south Bexar County burned four homes. That fire was started by some idiot illegally burning trash. Today a brush fire in far west Bexar County near Potranco Rd and Texas 211 that county officials thought would be easy to contain quickly spread from about 25 acres to over 200 acres. In the past week the Texas Forest Service has responded to 186 fires statewide that have burned more than 156,000 acres. It is a tragic situation that, unfortunately, is only going to get worse.

The Austin American Statesman has an excellent article, "Final environmental toll yet to be reckoned for Central Texas wildfires," on the environmental / ecological impact of the wildfires.

Update Sunday, September 11, 2011:

mysanantonio.com has an excellent article online today about Texas' fire culture and the necessity for reintroducing controlled burns to manage ecosystem balance: "Burning needed to limit fires."

statesman.com has another relevant article: "Texas was warned about risk of building in backcountry."