Parks & Recreation Policy Advisory Board

Agenda Request

Agenda Of:

5/13/08

Agenda Request No:

ii-A

Initiated By:

 

Kimberly Terrell, Development Manager  

Manager:

N/A

Presented By:

Joe Chesser, Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation*

Department Head:

Jim Browne,  Director of Parks and Recreation 

 

 

Additional Department. Head (s):

N/A

Subject / Proceeding:

Houston Wilderness Presentation of the Sam Houston Trail

 

Exhibits:

N/A

Clearances

Approval

Legal:

N/A

Executive Director:

Joseph A. Esch, Business and Intergovernmental Relations

Recommended Action

Receive presentation from Houston Wilderness

Executive Summary

Houston Wilderness encompasses a twenty-four county area in the Southeast Texas region that contains more than 19,000 square miles of diverse habitat and a wide array of ecosystems, from hardwood bottomlands and prairie grasslands to upland forests and coastal wetlands. The natural landscapes provided by these systems surround our urban areas and enter our cities through a network of bayous and rivers.

 

The Sam Houston Trail and Wilderness Preserve links the habitats and ecosystems together through a series of trails. Houston Wilderness will present their vision of the Sam Houston Trail and show how the City of Sugar Land plays an integral part of the regional system.

 

The City has been progressive in the planning and implementation of trails particularly along the Brazos River Park corridor via the development of the Sugar Land Memorial Park Phase I and ongoing plans for Brazos River Park Phase II. The City has identified the importance of the Brazos River and the surrounding ecosystems. The 9-miles of the Brazos River that travel through Sugar Land offer extensive trail opportunities for interpretive nature learning, possible prairie restoration projects as well as an ecotourism destination for migratory and year-round bird watching.

 

The City has been in communication and has coordinated planning efforts with the Houston Wilderness organization throughout the planning and implementation process and embrace the partnership opportunity to be a critical link in the Sam Houston Trail and its regional benefits and its outstanding local access for Sugar Land residents.

 

Houston Wilderness aims to provide citizens of the region with the opportunity to better understand the interdependence of our local natural systems to one another, and to appreciate Houston’s long history of reliance upon them. Additionally, Houston Wilderness works to facilitate inter-group communication and inspire collaborative achievements in land conservation and preservation.

 

This continued partnership with Houston Wilderness opens doors for future opportunities to maximize the preservation and enjoyment of our natural resources and unique environments within the Sugar Land community. It supports and reinforces the City's efforts to grow in attractiveness as a "destination city" through eco-tourism and other recreational opportunities. The pro-active planning of festival opportunities and entertainment opportunities are well balanced with the conservation and preservation opportunities that exist along this important corridor and will allow a greater group of citizens’ access to the natural environments that the Brazos River Park offers.