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Values of Wetlands and Watersheds
Watershed - also called a drainage basin, is the area in which all water, sediments, and dissolved materials flow or drain from the land into a common river, lake, ocean, or other body of water. Wetland - lands where saturation with water is a dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the type of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on the surface .
I. Geographic Regions " When the well's dry, we know the worth of water ."- Benjamin Franklin , (1706-1790), Poor Richard's Almanac . Galveston Bay Watershed The Galveston Bay watershed consists of 33,000 square miles and extends from just a few miles south of Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico. Within the watershed, bayous, streams, and rivers carry freshwater and suspended sediments to the Galveston Bay. San Jacinto River "Let the river roll which way it will, cities will rise on its banks." - Ralph Waldo Emerson , (1803-1882) - Journals, 1988.
The San Jacinto river flows from its headwaters near Huntsville , through Lake Conroe and Lake Houston . The Ship Channel continues through the San Jacinto River and San Jacinto Bay to Galveston Bay , which is the ultimate outfall for all drainage in Harris County .
II. Values of Watersheds "So let's leave some blue up above us It's only ours to borrow, let's save some for tomorrow - Pass It On Down by the country music group Alabama Recreation "Nature never did betray The Heart that Loved her." - William Wordsworth, (1770-1850),"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" - 1798. Galveston Bay and the San Jacinto River have opportunities for citizens to go boating or fishing. It is important for the citizens of this country to be exposed to nature and aqualife. An excellent adventure would be taking a day trip to the wetlands, like Sheldon Lake Reservoir or Anahuac Wildlife Refuge.
Habitat “Without Habitat, there is no wildlife , it is that simple”- Wildlife Habitat Canada The habitat is a home for existing ecosystems of animals and plants. It gives animal and plant life territory to flourish and grow abundantly. Galveston Bay supports a wide diversity of marine habitat and wildlife, including adjacent marshes and estuaries. Many areas within the watershed are considered environmentally sensitive. Provides Economic Growth "A Healthy Ecology is the Basis for a Healthy Economy"- Claudine Schneider , U.S. Representative in The Green Lifestyle Handbook. Galveston Bay and the San Jancito River watersheds attract thousands of people every year. Billions of dollars are contributed to the region's economy and support tens of thousands of people through recreational and commercial fishing, shellfish harvesting, and tourism. Nurseries "If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in Water."- Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey, 1957. Nurseries are important for aquatic life because they provide food and protection, especially for baby animals like blue crabs, juvenile rockfish, perch, trout and many other aquatic species. Water Filters Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty." - John Ruskin , (1819-1900). Some plants and soil in the wetlands act as water filters, by absorbing pollution in water, which helps maintain the health of aquatic life and preserves groundwater. III. How to Care and Manage the Watersheds San Jacinto River Watershed and Galveston Bay "Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites." - William Ruckelshaus , first EPA Adminstrator, (1970-1973 and 1983-1985), Business Week , June 18, 1990. Home Owners should not use excessive fertilizer on plants and should
consider using native plants that are adapted to the existing soil
conditions. Car owners should also make sure that their car is working
at it's very best and not leaking oil, which may be a hazard to our
waterways. When changing oil, homeowners can take the spent oil to
Sears or other service stations for recycling. Home owners should
not pour oils,grease, or chemicals down the storm drain because it
ends up in the bayou and then the bay. Everyone should restrain from
throwing trash out of car windows because everything dumped on the
ground gets washed into a storm drain ends up in our waterways. REDUCE!
REUSE! RECYCLE! Educate the public You have taken your first step to becoming a part of the enviromental world around you by reading this brochure. Don't let this be the last step.
Credits Work Cited Texas Coastal Wetlands Guidebook, Daniel W. Moulton and John S. Jacob
Websites www.gbep.state.tx.us/about-galveston-bay/watersheds.asp www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/fact26.html ww.hcfcd.org/L-galvestonbay.html www.hcfcd.org/images/sanjacriver.jpg www.ducks.ca/resource/general/wetland/facts.html
Video Saving Our Streams, Channel 11 News
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