KERR COUNTY, Texas – During the floods on the Fourth of July last year, experts say the Guadalupe River lost as much as half of the overall green material in the riparian area.
Katherine Romans with the Hill Country Alliance says it will take years for the water temperature to normalize and for the tree canopy to grow back. All of that also depends on the future rain, drought and other factors.
“In some places, we lost almost 100% of the natural vegetation along the river,” Romans said. “And when you look at the entire Upper Guadalupe Basin, those areas that were most impacted, it’s 52% of the vegetation that was lost.”
Several nonprofits have teamed up to apply their expertise and resources to work and help the Guadalupe River heal.
William Whitson with Kerr Together says the healing process is going to take a collective effort, which includes assistance from private property owners.
Last fall, Kerr Together handed out 7,000 one-pound bags of native grass and sedge seeds to landowners.
“We have GIS markings on some of these areas. And so we’re going to be monitoring them and watching them, and we’ll do it again and again as long as it takes to get the river back in shape,” Whitson said.
Kerr Together has a contract with two dive teams. The nonprofits are helping to clear the most popular swimming areas in the river of debris.
Watching from San Antonio, Katherine Trumble said that she had experts at the San Antonio Botanical help restore the trees.
Trumble’s team collected thousands of seeds from the eight most common native trees along the ravaged area. Once rooted, the trees will begin to be planted starting as early as next fall and spring.
“It would take more than 500,000 to replant the whole region. Some of these trees will grow back on their own,” Trumble said. “Nature is powerful. We’re giving it a really big boost, and we’re going to do as much as we can.”
Organizers say the Guadalupe River cleanup is a long-term process. They have taken notes from landowners near the Blanco River after it flooded in 2015. In the 10 years since the flood, the landowners say they’ve had their ups and downs.
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