Update on Robert C. Stuart Park at Sims Woods on Bellfort

After breaking ground for this 27 acre park along Sims Bayou in October, 2009, quite a bit of progress has been made.

At the entrance off Bellfort, just west of Telephone Road, there is a small parking lot, several picnic benches and a loop trail which leads to prairie, wetland, and woodland tracts, marked with appropriate signage.

Much work has been done to eradicate the Johnson and Bermuda grass and Tallow trees. This will be an ongoing project.

We identified a good number of native prairie plants including:

Little Bluestem
Yellow Indiangrass
Bushy Bluestem
Longspike Tridens
Rattlesnake Master
Maximillian Sunflower
Seaside Goldenrod
Goldenrod
Native Aster species
Baccharis

The Baccharis will have to be watched since it has the potential to crowd out other species. Retama was present and appeared to be spreading.
Pickerel Rush and Juncus were present in the wetland areas.
In the wooded areas, the trees included several species of oak, American elm, sugar hackberry, and box elder.

There is a second easily accessible parking lot near the bayou which can be used for canoe and/or kayak launching.

The transformation in a little over a year is remarkable. Robert C. Stuart is on its way to becoming an excellent educational and recreational park.

There was an interesting article in the Houston Chronicle, July 11, 2010, which noted that 18 miles of the 19 mile expansion of Sims Bayou, ongoing for 16 years, is nearing completion. According to Travis McGee of Sunnyside Gardens, even though the expansion has kept Sims from flooding over the last 16 years, the the city's storm drainage system is the primary flooding problem in the area at the moment. As he puts it, we've got "a $345 million project with a $5 city drainage system."

Houston Audubon has established 4 "pocket prairies" throughout Houston using rescued native grasses and wildflowers from development sites; one is located at the Sims Bayou Nature Center on River Road. A workday will be held there on August 6 to pull weeds, remove and pot-up native plants that are dominating the site, and add new native plants. The goal is to maintain and increase the diversity of native plants at the pocket prairies by monitoring the plant populations, determine what new plants are needed, remove alien plants, control aggressive natives, and continue to grow out additional native wildflowers and grasses.

All's fairly quiet on Sims Bayou. There is some activity in the new Robert C. Stuart park area--bulldozing, trees with protective fencing, etc., but nothing to report on yet.

Harris County Flood Control District - Profile of Sims Bayou Watershed
Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project (TSARP) Products
   Summary of Change between Preliminary and new LIDAR-derived FEMA Flood Maps and Current Flood Maps
   Detailed Comparison Map in PDF Format
   Flood Profile for major channels in Sims Bayou watershed

Sims Bayou Nature Center

Sims Bayou:Segment 1:  Reveille Park to Charlton Park / Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center
Sims Bayou:Segment 2:  Glenbrook Park to/from Charlton Park / Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center
Sims Bayou:Segment 3:  Charlton Park / Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center to Milby Park

Cullinan (JS & LH) Park
F.M. Law Park
Garden Villas Park
Glenbrook Park
Sims Bayou Hike & Bike Trail
Sunnyside Park
Wilson Memorial Park

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"Protecting and restoring the richness and diversity of our waterways"