INDEX:
Natural Features
The majority of the site can be classified in one of two categories; the 7-8 miles of richly diverse Medina River pecan bottomland and, the adjoining uplands typical of the South Texas Plains "Brush Country".The soil along the river bottomland is primarily Frio clay loam, which supports a variety of native vegetation. Tree species include Pecan, Cypress, Sycamore, Cottonwood, Willow, and Elm. Much is covered with a dense understory of shrubs and vines such as, grape and acacia. Tall grasses and mid-grasses such as, bluestem, switchgrass, Virginia wildrye, Texas wintergrass, sideoats grama, and plains bristlegrass cover the plains. Common wildlife includes whitetail deer, wild turkey, feral hogs and over 150 species of game and songbirds. Along the river itself, herons, kingfishers, waterfowl, and other water loving species are normally found.
The upland areas are primarily the deep fertile soils of the Venus clay loam series. Originally this land was a naturally occurring grassland with scattered trees and shrubs. Native vegetation included grasses such as bluestem, sideoats grama, trichorus, bristlegrasses, Arizona cottontop, buffalograss and curlymesquite. Shrub and tree species included vine ephedra, whitebrush, pricklypear and tasajillo cactus, with scattered live oak, elm, mesquite and hackberry. Much of the upland areas are a mixture of native rangeland and old cropland. The primary wildlife species found in the upland areas include deer, turkey, bobwhite quail, rodents, armadillos, rabbits, songbirds and dove.