On January 24, 2025, the Houston Sierra Club and Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club (Sierra Club) met the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF), Compartments 95 and 96, to discuss the proposed Butch Arthur Project (BAP) in-the-field.

We first visited the site of the Coldspring population of the rare Sabine Wake-Robin (Trillium gracile) that’s found on 9 acres of Compartment 96, Stands 7, 22, and 36, just north of Forest Road (FR) 256.  We discussed whether this is a separate population of Sabine Wake-Robin from the one found on the Lone Star Hiking Trial (LSHT) that we viewed later.

We then drove to the end of FR 256A to view Stands 23, 24, and 31.  On our way, we saw many Southern Magnolia trees along streams and in the forest next to FR 256A.

We talked about leaving either all or part of these stands un-mulched, although prescribed burning would be allowed, due to the high number of hardwoods, including many large, pole, and sapling sized Southern Magnolia, in addition to American Holly, Cherry Laurel, Sweetgum, White Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak, and other hardwood trees.

Compartments 95 and 96 have the most significant concentration of Southern Magnolia trees that the Sierra Club has seen in SHNF.  Intensive Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) management in these stands would take hardwood dominated stands or stands with large portions of hardwoods and turn them into pine stands.  This would result in type conversion of hardwood stands on a significant scale.

The Sierra Club requested that all or parts of Stands 23, 24, and 31, and hardwood stands 25 and 26, next to the East Fork of the San Jacinto River, be burned only and not thinned (logged), midstory removed (removal of medium to small hardwoods), or mulched (ground down small hardwoods).  These stands are fine examples of hardwood dominated stands or parts of stands and exist on flatwoods, sloping topographical terrain, or floodplains of streams or rivers.

We then drove to the LSHT trailhead at the corner of S. Butch Arthur Road and FM 945.  We visited a site on or near the LSHT where the Sabine Wake-Robin was found in 2023 by the Sierra Club.  This may be a population of this plant that isn’t connected to the Coldspring population.

One Sabine Wake-Robin was found beginning to leaf out at this site.  This is the earliest the Sierra Club has seen this plant leaf out.  Climate change is in full operation!  Usually, the Sierra Club sees this plant leaf out from mid-February to mid-March.  Sabine Wake-Robin is a Spring ephemeral plant that blooms before full tree leaf-out occurs in the forest.

The Sierra Club requested from the FS a specific management plan for this plant in Compartments 95/96 as a mitigation measure for the proposed BAP.  The National Forests and Grasslands in Texas Forest Botanist should be called in for specific expertise to protect this plant via Management Area 8d, Natural Heritage Program (NHP).  There are suggestions in the 1990 NHP report that should help in protection of the Sabine Wake-Robin in Compartments 95/96.

Finally, we walked part of the LSHT in Compartment 95, Stands 2 and 21.  We hiked in about ¼ mile and looked at a large hardwood inclusion with large Southern Magnolias, American Hornbeams, American Sycamores, Sweetgums, and other hardwoods.  This inclusion and natural depressions found in these two stands along with other areas with significant Southern Magnolia populations should be protected during implementation of the proposed BAP.  

The Sierra Club told the FS that it looks forward to further discussions about protection measures and other mitigation to support the biological diversity that is found in the proposed BAP area.