Lost Maples State Natural Area

Lost Maples State Natural Area

Location	Bandera County / Real County, Texas
Nearest city	Vanderpool
Coordinates	29°49′11″N 99°34′59″W / 29.81972°N 99.58306°W / 29.81972; -99.58306Coordinates: 29°49′11″N 99°34′59″W / 29.81972°N 99.58306°W / 29.81972; -99.58306
Area	2,906 acres (1,176 ha)
Established	1979
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1980

Stalactite along the East Trail in Lost Maples State Natural Area

One of the ponds in Can Creek Canyon, seen from an East Trail overlook

Lost Maples State Natural Area is a pristine area of hills and canyons on the upper Sabinal River in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, United States. It is designated a Natural Area, rather than a State Park, and therefore the primary focus is maintenance and protection of the property's natural state. Accordingly, access and recreational activities may be restricted if the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) deems such action necessary to protect the environment.

Location

Lost Maples State Natural Area is located about 5 miles (8 km) north of Vanderpool, Texas and 71 miles (114 km) west of San Antonio. The preserve sits along the Sabinal River in western Bandera County and far eastern Real County.

History

The land for Lost Maples State Natural Area was acquired by the state of Texas in 1973 and 1974, and was opened to the public in 1979. In 1980, the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service made the Natural Area a National Natural Landmark.

Man has inhabited this area since prehistoric times. The recorded history of the area, beginning with Spanish explorations in the 17th century, identifies a number of Indian groups, including the Apache, Lipan Apache and Comanche as having foraged, hunted, and occasionally lived in this part of the Texas Hill Country.

Geology

Much of the area's limestone bedrock is exposed on elevated terrain, which has a shallow, discontinuous cover of dark gray stony clay (Eckrant series). Most valley bottoms have deep, dark brown silty clay (Krum series) or clay loam (Pratley series). Deposits of gravel, sand, and loam (Orif-Boerne association) lie within a few hundred feet of the Sabinal River. All of these soils have free calcium carbonate throughout their profiles and are moderately alkaline. Despite a high clay content in most cases, poorly drained soils are too inextensive to be mapped.

Fauna

As in much of the Hill Country, White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are by far the most common large mammal on the property. Additionally, wild turkeys, armadillos, skunks, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, and fox squirrels are present. Feral pigs, exotic axis deer, porcupines, rock squirrels, and ringtailed cats may occasionally be encountered. Bobcats, coyotes, both red and grey foxes, and rarely, mountain lions, also inhabit the general area, but are seldom seen by visitors. Bird life, including several different raptors, is particularly diverse throughout the year. The Sabinal River maintains surface water even during exceptional drought, so fish and other aquatic animals are present.

Flora

Primary vegetation includes the Ashe juniper, commonly known as "mountain cedar", several different species of oak, and also bigtooth maple, sycamore, mesquite, Texas persimmon, Texas mountain-laurel, Texas madrone, redbud, wild grape, prickly pear, various grasses, and ferns. Maple colors are brilliant if autumn is droughty, or has cold nights, but are muted in a mild, damp autumn. Texas red oak gives a fine crimson display almost every year and may retain its leaves well into winter. The Natural Area is most crowded when the fall colors peak in November. Evidence suggests that the maples that give the preserve its name are relics: remnants of a larger, more widespread population that flourished during the cooler and wetter climate of the last glacial period. Today, soils and microclimate control their present distribution.^[1]

A more extensive list of the preserve's fauna and flora can be found at the LMSNA Ranger Station.

Recreation

Lost Maples has been developed only enough to provide access to visitors, while still protecting its resources. The 2,906-acre (1,176 ha) Natural Area contains 11 miles (18 km) of hiking trails, 30 campsites, and 8 primitive camping areas, some of which have outhouses. In the center of the park are two small lakes along Can Creek.

The TPWD urges all visitors to respect the LEAVE NO TRACE set of wilderness ethics: 1) Plan Ahead and Prepare, 2) Travel on Marked Trails Only, 3) Always Dispose of Waste Properly, 4) Leave Behind What You Find, 5) Never Build An Open Fire, 6) Respect Wildlife, and 7) Be Considerate of Other Visitors.

Be ethical...leave no trace of your visit!

References

↑ http://www.npsot.org/Boerne/newsletters/BigtoothPOM.pdf

Park of the Month, September 2007
Texas Parks & Wildlife - Lost Maples State Natural Area
Web Soil Survey (select Bandera County, Texas)
Lost Maples State Natural Area from the Handbook of Texas Online
City of San Antonio donates 3,000 acres to Government Canyon SNA; 732 acres to Lost Maples SNA.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lost Maples State Natural Area.

Official Texas Parks and Wildlife Site

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

National Natural Landmarks in Texas

Attwater Prairie Chicken Preserve Bayside Resaca Area Catfish Creek Caverns of Sonora Devil's Sinkhole Dinosaur Valley State Park Ezell's Cave Enchanted Rock Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge Greenwood Canyon High Plains Natural Area Little Blanco River Bluff Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge Odessa Meteor Crater Palo Duro Canyon State Park Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Natural Bridge Caverns Cave Without a Name

List of National Natural Landmarks in Texas

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