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Bolivar Naturally

Wildflowers

Grasses & Sedges

Trees & Shrubs

Waterbirds

Landbirds

Notes

Bolivar Sanctuaries

Houston Audubon's Online Guides for the Bolivar Peninsula

Wildflowers

Grasses & Sedges

Trees & Shrubs

Waterbirds

Landbirds

Native Plants - Nature's Pantry for Wildlife on the Bolivar Peninsula

Leaves: food for caterpillars and other insects who in turn provide sustenance for birds and other wildlife
Flowers: nectar for bees, butterflies, and birds
Seeds and Berries: food for birds and other wildlife

Add Native Plants to Your Property

How to Get Started
The easiest way to add natives to your own property is to let the wind and birds do your planting for you! Set aside a section of your yard to let nature manage. Along roadside right-of-ways, low areas and ditches, or a vacant area of the yard are all ideal candidates. If you like, border the edge of your new native garden with edging material to make a pocket garden. You may wish to supplement the area with additional native plants. Even a small backyard native garden will help sustain wildlife on the Bolivar Peninsula.

How to Acquire Plants

Some natives are available commercially. Seeds of many natives may be obtained from from Native American Seed.
Join the Native Plant Society of Texas. Members often exchange seeds and plants.
Collect seed in the wild. The Coastal Prairie Partnership sponsors seed collection events. Participation in guided events such as theirs is a great way to learn the basics of collecting wildflower seeds.

Notes from the Peninsula ...

Bay Skipper being considered for federal Endangered Species status

The bay skipper (Euphyes bayensis) is an extremely rare small butterfly. It lives only in coastal marshes on the Bolivar Peninsula and in Mississippi. Currently there are only two known populations: one in Chambers and Jefferson Counties and one in Hancock County, MS. It is being considered for protection as a federal Endangered Species and is under status review.

Resources

USFWS News Release
Fact Sheet on the bay skipper
Xerces Society webpage on the bay skipper
Houston Chronicle article (note that the photograph in the Houston Chronicle article is NOT of the bay skipper)
More photos of the bay skipper on the Butterflies and Moths of North America website


	Contact Us
	Have a question about an ID? Need advice on a native? Like to share a success story? Send us your questions and photos!
	Resources
	Houston Audubon's Bolivar Restoration Projects Native Plants of Bolivar: PDF of Houston Audubon brochure Houston Audubon Recommended Native Plant List for the Bolivar Peninsula (PDF) Birds of Bolivar Peninsula Introductory field guide to the Birds of the Bolivar Peninsula (PDF) Native Plant Society of Texas Native Plant Society of Texas, Houston Chapter Coastal Prairie Plant Growers' Handbook on the Coastal Prairie Partnership website Paradise Lost? The Coastal Prairie of Louisiana and Texas. This USFWS/USGS pamphlet can be viewed online, but it is far better to carry a copy in the field. Although out of print, some USFWS refuge headquarters have a few copies.

Bolivar Naturally is supported by Together Green, an Audubon program with funding from Toyota.

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