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To increase riparian and shoreline vegetation coverage on Lake Houston and restore areas of anthropogenically impacted shoreline. This grant will allow us to immediately make a significant impact while also improving our processes to continue to make a significant impact year after year.

• Nonpoint source pollution
• Siltation
• Mudflats/shallowness
• Limited littoral structure

• • Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) • Blue gill (Lempomis mcrochirus.), Redear Sunfish (L. microlophus), Longear Sunfish (L. megalotis), Warmouth (L. gulosus) • Channel Catfish and Blue Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus and I. furcatus) • White Crappie and Black Crappie (Pomoxis annularis and P. nigromaculatus)

Lake Houston is a coastal plains reservoir with an increasingly urbanized watershed, creating erosion and resulting siltation an issue for our lake. As with many man-made reservoirs, there is little natural riparian or aquatic vegetation which helps stabilizes banks, improves water quality, and provides fish and wildlife habitat. This project will introduce native vegetation via founder colonies and in turn reduce erosion, improve water clarity, and improve fish and wildlife habitat.
Our goal within the next 5 years is to have 1500 acres of native vegetation here on Lake Houston. To do this we need to repair and expand our existing native aquatic plant nursery and purchase new broodstock plants. A nursery was originally constructed in 2013 from fundraising funds and received plants from Texas Parks and Wildlife and Reservoir Fisheries Habitat. The program has had many replanting’s and successes until 2017 when the original nursery was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Some materials and plants were salvages after the storm and relocated to the current project site, allowing us have a second smaller nursery. Volunteers propagated the salvaged brood stock plants, and were able to continue replanting into the lake. This was especially needed after damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey. Many founder colonies were destroyed in the flooding. Additionally, much of the woody habitat that had existed prior to the storm was removed during clean-up efforts. Though plants will not replace the woody habitat, they will provide needed habitat in a situation where introduction of any structural habitat is not supported locally.
Unfortunately the 2021 Winter Storm, that brought rare freezing temperatures to the Texas coast, killed the remaining vegetation in the nursery.
This project will allow us to make an immediate large impact by directly planting mature plants into the lake, but also restart our nursery boxes and to continually plant approximately 1000 plants annually.
The project includes constructing protective enclosures to create founder colonies. Founder colonies will be along the shoreline, sheltered from prevailing wind and away from development. The City of Houston Public Works department will be partnering with us to provide planting locations on some of their property. Plant propagules produced within these protected founder colonies will be available to populate nearby locations south of the causeway potentially benefiting the entire Lake. Founder colonies were established prior to Hurricane Harvey, but damage from the storm and associated dredging efforts destroyed many of them.
With help from our local business owners, a partnership with the youth and adult volunteers of National Charity League (NCL) Kingwood and public support, the Lake Houston Sports and Recreation Foundation has obtained a site to have as many as 12, 20 foot by 4 foot vegetation nursery boxes. Presently, we have 6 boxes constructed that need some repairs. The recent freeze has required us to have to start the vegetation habitat from scratch as no plants in the boxes survived. This grant would help acquire materials to repair the nursery boxes, a shade structure to improve nursery success, plants to restart the nursery broodstock, and plants that will be planted immediately.
With “boots on the ground” we are well positioned and ready to receive additional funds to ensure the success of our vegetation, habitat restoration project. Planting locations have been preliminarily discussed with TPWD and City of Houston PWD including shorelines with low wave activity, South side of the lake, islands, volunteer’s properties and Jacks ditch area. However, this will be reassessed with TPWD and PWD in Summer/Fall 21’ to geo-mark specific locations for each species of plant.
List of Partners for this project:

• Texas Adaptive Aquatics *
• National Charity League – Kingwood*
• The McFerrin Foundation*
• Lake Houston Patrol
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries*
• City of Houston Public Works – Source Water Protection Group*
• John Lopez on 610 AM Sports Radio

* Indicates included Letter of Support

List of annual supporters

• Congressman Dan Crenshaw*, Advocate
• State Representative Dan Huberty*, Advocate and Sponsor
• Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce, Public outreach and Speaker
• Lake Houston Brewery, Material support for fundraising events
• Zebco, Material support and donations for fishing events
• Tower One International, Sponsor and employee volunteers
• Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout project partnership
* Indicates included Letter of Support

The current vegetation habitat nursery is and will continue to be checked on every other month. Founder colonies will be checked and photographed at least once a year. We will also check these after every major storm/natural event.
We are partnered with TPWD to survey the native vegetation across the full reservoir at least once every 4 years.
Volunteer hours are recorded through NCL, other volunteers sign in at each project.

The current vegetation habitat nursery is and will continue to be checked on every other month. Founder colonies will be checked and photographed at least once a year. We will also check these after every major storm/natural event.
We are partnered with TPWD to survey the native vegetation across the full reservoir at least once every 4 years.
Volunteer hours are recorded through NCL, other volunteers sign in at each project.

Lake Houston Sports and Recreation Foundation is dedicated to improving fishing and outdoor recreation on Lake Houston and sharing our love of fishing and boating with youth. To do that we implement “teaching moments” by working with area youth organizations like NCL, the Boy Scouts and the National Honor Society, while increasing public awareness of the value of a healthy reservoir system.
Outreach that this grant would support includes adding signage about the conservation efforts on Lake Houston and support for ongoing projects like vegetation restoration, nursery and plantings, wood duck box management, and shoreline clean ups. LHSRF hosts a free “Take a Kid Fishing” day open supported by numerous sponsors and local volunteers. This is an annual event and brings over 100 young kids out to learn how to catch and measure their fish. They each receive a free fishing pole, bait, and awards for their efforts. Local Lake Houston Brewing allows us use of their docks and property to have this annual event. Youth also regularly clean debris off beaches as a part of LHSRF volunteer work. Youth help propagate nursery plants and transplant them throughout the lake. Youth volunteers also build wood duck boxes and maintain them throughout the year. During all of these outreach events, LHSRF highlights the importance of aquatic habitat and vegetation.

• Deliverable 1. Improve shoreline fish habitat and reduce erosion in Lake Houston. • Introduce mature native vegetation into Lake Houston according to TPWD’s Native Aquatic Vegetation Restoration Manual and in cooperation with TPWD and the City of Houston. Vegetation will be planted in Spring through fall 2022-2024. The grant funds will be used to repair and improve the nursery and to purchase mature plants, the majority of which will be immediately planted into the lake, bypassing the nursery. The initial plant goal will be 3,000 plants over 2 summers. This will be done in approx. 6-7 plant days each spring/summer with 10-15 volunteers each day. Some plants will be retained as nursery broodstock for future years. We anticipate propagation in the nursery will allow approximately 1,000 plants to be introduced to Lake Houston each year with minimal future costs. Plants will be protected by wire enclosures if deemed necessary by TPWD. New colonies will be monitored/pictured yearly. • Plant species will be determined based on availability of local and native phenotypes and will be planted in areas of soil appropriate and light requirements for each. Species in the original nursery included spatterdock, white water lily, pickerel weed, squarestem spike rush, bulrushes and American waterwillow. These and other species will be utilized for the renovated nursery and planting efforts. Candidate native plant species are listed below. Emergent Floating-leaved • Squarestem spike rush (Eleocharis quadrangulate) • Spatterdock (Nuphar advena [N. lutea]) • Soft bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani [Scirpus validus]) • White water lily (Nymphaea odorata) • American waterwillow (Justicia americana) • American pondweed (Potamogeton nodosus) • Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) • Bulltongue (Sagittaria platyphylla [S. graminea]) • Water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri) • Creeping Burrhead (Echinodorus cordifolius) • Alligator flag (Thalia spp.) • Success will be determined by surveying plant sites at the end of each growing season to determine plan survival and spread. All sites will be geo-referenced. Deliverable 2. Improve cove and backwater habitat in Lake Houston. • Lake Houston has multiple backwater areas, however these areas lack habitat structure. There are few aquatic plants and much of the woody debris was removed after Hurricane Harvey as part of the debris removal. Native plant species will be introduced to backwater areas, with a focus on floating leaved species such as spatterdock and American pondweed in water over 3 ft, and emergent species such as bulltongue in shallower areas to increase shallow water and back water habitat. • Impact will be determined through TPWD habitat and fisheries surveys. Deliverable 3. Increase current public education and outreach efforts to educate the public about the value of conservation efforts for Lake Houston’s fish, aquatic resources, and local residents’ quality of life. • Grant will provide monies to add signage strategically around the lake showing areas of conservation and educate the public of importance of fishery and vegetation habitats. The city of Houston Public Works – Source water protection group is partnering with us to find locations for each sign. • LHSRF will continue to promote habitat restoration efforts though media partners such as John Lopez on 610 AM Sports Radio to keep residents informed concerning the need for and progress of our project. Likewise, current fundraising events—such as our fishing tournament, golf tournament, and poker run—will always highlight the importance of habitat restoration, creating more community investment in the lake through other outdoor recreation programs • Success will be determined through website and other community feedback.

City of Houston Public Works Department - provide access to and advise planting locations on city property (shorelines)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries - Advise species of plants needed and where to plant them, overall project advisory role.

• LHSRF-Support-Letter-2.pdf
• LHSRF-support-letters.pdf

As soon as funding becomes available through this grant we will begin purchasing native species and plant them many of them directly into the lake with the direction and guidance of TPWD and the City of Houston. Metal fencing/poles will be purchased in bulk and placed around native colonies as directed by TPWD. We’ve had deer eat colonies and have learned 6ft fences are needed for certain species of plants. When founder colonies are established, the protective enclosures will be removed and we will reuse those to continue planting new colonies year after year. The remaining purchased plants will be retained in the nursery to use as future broodstock. Students are the primary volunteers so work days will begin at spring break (if funding available early enough) or Spring weekends and then June at the beginning of summer.
We will also use the Summer/Fall to build the permanent shade needed for some of the nursery boxes. The summer heat is intense in South Texas. The high temperatures and UV exposure lead to stunted and chlorotic growth in the original nursery before it was damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Shading will improve plant production by reducing evaporation, nursery box temperature, and “burning” of plants in the nursery. Shading will also increase the amount of volunteer effort available by protecting volunteers from harsh conditions and extending the hours when volunteers can safely work from morning and evening to afternoon hours as well. Quotes for shade structures that cover nursery box area were $5,500.
We will be creating metal signs to be strategically placed around the lake (with the guidance of TPWD and City of Houston Public Works) identifying vegetation and fishery habitat conservation areas, educating about lake conservation, and other outreach messages directly related to Lake Houston’s aquatic ecosystem and fisheries. We estimate putting up at least 75 signs around the reservoir at a cost of approx. $109/each. This work is easier to schedule year round and can be done by regular volunteers vs youth work days.
(See Budget Table above for price breakdowns)
On behalf of the LHSRF we would like to thank you for the opportunity to apply for the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Enrichment Project Grant. Please contact us if we can provide any more additional information to help complete the application process.
Thank you!
The LHSRF Volunteers
Letters of Support
• Congressman Dan Crenshaw
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries
• Texas Adaptive Aquatics
• National Charity League – Kingwood
• The McFerrin Foundation
• City of Houston Public Works
• State Representative Dan Huberty