Park and Open Space Management Plan Table of Contents Page Park Management Plan…………………………………………………………….. 2 Valley Creek Park (1.5 acres)…………………………………………….. 3 Open Space Management Plan…………………………………………………….. 6 South Hills Conservation Area (42.83 acres)…………………………….. 7 Gaines Greenbelt (22.08 acres)….………………………………………… 14 Indian Prairie Grass Preserve (21.43 acres)….……………………………. 20 Cougar Creek Greenbelt (23.37 acres)…………………………………… 26 Sunset Valley Nature Area (64.59 acres)………………………………… 32 Miscellaneous Trail Links Village Trail……………………………………………………….. 38 Lone Oak and Curley Mesquite…………………………………… 40 Appendix Park and Open Space Management Plan Project Evaluation.………………42 Table 1. The Birds of Sunset Valley………………………………… 43 Table 2. Invasive/Exotic Plant List………………………………….. 46 Table 3. Plants Suitable For Open Space Plantings…………………. 47 CPSC Public Playground Safety Checklist………………………………… 51 References…………………………………………………………………..52 Gaines Greenbelt Cougar Creek Greenbelt Valley Creek Park and Buffer Indian Grass Sunset Valley Nature Prairie Area Preserve South Hills Conservation Area 1 2 Figure 1. Map of Sunset Valley Park and Open Spaces. 3 1 1 2 3 Park Management Plan 4 5 Objectives and Guidelines 6 The City of Sunset Valley Parklands shall be managed to maintain ecosystem 7 diversity while supplying appropriate recreational opportunities. At this time there is 8 only one Parkland space, Valley Creek Park. The management of Valley Creek Park 9 consists of landscape management, insect control, and playground management. 10 Parklands shall also be protected from degradation from surrounding urbanization 11 12 Park Management Plan 13 The Park Management plan for each tract shall contain: 14 I) A description of the area 15 II) A recommended management program. 16 Tract descriptions will include location and tract acreage, as well as descriptive 17 information on the habitat and public access. The management program will include a 18 description of the impacts of management activities. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 2 1 Park Management Plan 2 3 Valley Creek Park 4 5 I. Description 6 A. Physical Description and Access 7 Valley Creek Park is located at the end of Reese Drive, bordered by the main 8 branch of Williamson Creek along the southeastern edge (Figure 2). Valley Creek Park 9 is 1.5 acres in extent, with designated parking spaces. Valley Creek Park is designated 10 for recreational activities and is handicap accessible. Valley Creek Park contains a 11 playground area with various equipment including swings, geo-dome, tri-level bars, 12 spring saw, and picnic tables. 13 14 Figure 2. Valley Creek Park. Park boundary in turquoise. 15 16 B. Geology and Vegetative Analysis 17 With the close association with Williamson Creek, the soil type of Valley Creek 18 Park is primarily that of Mixed Alluvial Land (Md). Mixed Alluvial Land is comprised of 19 beds of exposed limestone and gravelly alluvium (USDA, 1974). The soil is a grayish, 20 brown calcareous clay loam. The creek bed is composed mostly of a gravelly alluvium. 3 1 Valley Creek Park is a wooded area comprised primarily of cedar elms (Ulmus 2 crassifolia), with a smaller number of live oaks (Quercus fusiformis), ashe juniper 3 (Juniperus asheii), and sugar hackberry (Celtis laevigata). Since the area is a park with a 4 playground there is very little understory. Zoysiagrass, a drought tolerant, shade friendly 5 grass, is the prominent ground cover. There is also a landscaped area around the sign for 6 the park, which has various perennials. 7 8 II. Management Program 9 A. Vegetative Management 10 Valley Creek Park will be mowed and the landscape bed monitored twice 11 monthly. The irrigation system within the landscape bed will be checked every other 12 month beginning in January. The tree canopy will be maintained following the 13 guidelines in the Urban Forest Management Plan. Oak Wilt is a significant threat to 14 native oak populations. Valley Creek Park shall be surveyed yearly to determine any 15 threats of oak wilt and proper oak wilt suppression techniques will be used. 16 17 B. Wildlife Management 18 Although there is a variety of wildlife that makes their home within Sunset 19 Valley, the primary concerns in Valley Creek Park are fire ants and other insects such as 20 wasps and hornets. Beginning in March and throughout the summer, Imported Fire Ants 21 (Solenopsis invicta) will be controlled using approved ant baits. In accordance with the 22 City’s Organics First Program and with concern for the nature of the area, organic 23 compounds such as Green-Light with Conserve will be the first choice for fire ant 24 control. All structures in Valley Creek Park will be inspected to make sure no stinging 25 insect nests are attached, if a nest is found it will be removed immediately. 26 27 C. Playground Management 28 There are specific guidelines to properly maintain a public playground. The 29 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has developed a checklist for playground 30 safety to reduce the number of accidents that occur on playgrounds. A copy of this 31 checklist has been included in the appendix. Valley Creek Park will be checked at least 32 once weekly. The inspections will include at a minimum checking for the following: 4 1 1. Trip hazards such as rocks, sticks, tree stumps, and litter. 2 2. Exposed equipment footings 3 3. Sharp points or edges on equipment 4 4. Function of equipment, including checking for loose or broken hardware 5 5. Rust and chipped paint on metal components 6 6. Appropriate fall zone sizes and mulch (double shredded bark mulch or engineered 7 wood fibers) will be maintained according to CPSC and ASTM standards. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 5 1 Open Space Management Plan 2 3 Objectives and Guidelines 4 The City of Sunset Valley Greenspace/Preservation and Conservation Areas 5 (Tracts) shall be managed to maintain and enhance ecosystem diversity while supplying 6 appropriate recreational opportunities. The management of these areas shall consist of 7 vegetative control and restoration, wildlife management, removal of trash, creek and 8 slope stabilization, maintenance of trails, and continued monitoring programs. These 9 areas shall also be protected from degradation from surrounding urbanization. In areas 10 where endangered, threatened, or species of concern exist, the welfare of these species 11 shall be paramount in management plan development. 12 The Tracts, currently, have several uses including wildlife habitat, ecological and 13 geologic preservation, and water quality protection. In 1999, an “Ecological and 14 Botanical Inventory” was conducted by Druid Environmental that determined the current 15 conditions of the Tracts and provided management recommendations. This plan 16 incorporates those recommendations as well as additional proposed activities. Most of 17 the physical descriptions are derived from the report completed by Druid Environmental. 18 19 I. Open Space Management Plan 20 Each tract provides varying habitats with different management issues and shall 21 be managed on an individual basis. The management plan for each tract shall contain: 22 I) A description of the tract. 23 II) A recommended management program. 24 III) A system for monitoring management activities. 25 Tract descriptions will include location and tract acreage, as well as descriptive 26 information on the habitat and public access. The management program will set specific 27 prioritized goals for each tract. The management program should include a description of 28 the impacts of management activities. The program will address habitat enhancement, 29 vegetative restoration, oak wilt suppression, animal management, fire ant control, and 30 other management goals. The monitoring section will be used as a system to monitor and 31 evaluate the effectiveness of the management program. This will provide the basis for 32 future changes in the management plan. 6 1 Open Space Management Plan 2 3 Tract 1: South Hills Conservation Area 4 5 I. Description 6 7 A. Location and Acreage 8 The South Hills Conservation Area is located at the southern edge of the City of 9 Sunset Valley, along the western edge of the Cherry Creek neighborhood (Figure 3). The 10 tract is 42.83 acres in extent. 11 12 Figure 3. South Hills Conservation Area. Footpath trail is marked in red. Maintenance 13 trail marked in yellow. 14 15 B. Physical Description 16 The South Hills Conservation Area has a peak elevation of approximately 740 17 feet above sea level, and is crossed by fault lines including the Balcones Fault. The 18 lowest elevation is 670 feet within the Dry Fork Branch of Williamson Creek, along the 19 western border of the tract. The Dry Fork branch of Williamson Creek is ephemeral and 20 has a confluence with the main branch of Williamson Creek at the northwestern edge of 21 the tract. The fault lines crossing the area have created an interesting geology exposing 22 various substrates. The creek channel has exposed Edward’s limestone, whereas the 7 1 sides of the creek and other outcroppings contain Georgetown limestone. Above the 2 Georgetown limestone, along the hills is Del Rio clay topped with Buda limestone. Some 3 portions along the hillsides have been eroded and demonstrate the high gypsum content 4 of the Del Rio clay. This site also contains fossil remains along the bottom of slopes 5 from the Buda limestone and Del Rio clay. 6 Soils within the area include Ferris-Heiden along slopes and flats. Ferris soils are 7 light olive-gray and are mottled with yellow at depths greater than six inches. Heiden 8 soils are dark grayish brown clay at the surface and olive-yellow below 15 inches. These 9 soils are highly susceptible to erosion.