Volunteers will plant about 50,000 plugs of Gulf Cordgrass/NPS

Turning the calendar back more than 150 years isn't easy, but work is under way at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park to at least restore some of the historical character of the battlefield.

The effort at hand is to plant 50,000 plugs of Gulf Cordgrass at the battlefield on the southern tip of Texas.

Joel Wagner, who is retiring this month from the National Park Service Water Resource Division out of Fort Collins, Colorado, has been the driving force behind this project. He partnered with Aaron Mahr, resource manager at Palo Alto in the late 1990s, to acquire project money. The funds allowed the USGS Wetland Center out of Lafayette, Louisiana, to research the historic wetlands and vegetation communities at Palo Alto Battlefield. Wagner also recruited and supported a Texas A&M graduate student to study the hydrology of the resacas and potential methods for reintroducing Gulf Cordgrass on to the core battlefield at Palo Alto.

Wagner spearheaded the 2009 and 2014 resource projects that gave birth to an important partnership. The partnership brought together David Cooper, wetland ecologist at Colorado State University, John Lloyd-Reilley, director of the E. Kika de la Garza Plant Material Center, and Palo Alto Battlefield.

The park has benefited tremendously from the work done through this partnership. Some of the work done so far includes the removal of 20th century water control features within the resaca in the heart of the Core Battlefield Management Zone. As a result, the natural function of this wetland feature was restored.

In addition, roughly 15,000 plugs of Gulf Cordgrass have been planted. Work is still being done on finding the most efficient methods for reintroducing Gulf Cordgrass into the core battlefield in the areas.

In the upcoming weeks, this restoration project will begin seeding experiments and plant about 50,000 plugs of Gulf Cordgrass. Work is also under way to create a grass nursery that will be used to stage 60,000 to 70,000 plugs of cordgrass.

The results of these experiments and gulf cordgrass planting will enhance the park’s ability to meet the 1992 legislative mandate of restoring and maintaining the historic character (Cultural Landscape) of Palo Alto Battlefield.