New Organization Takes Root at Big Thicket

Bayou in Big Thicket, courtesy Ellen Buchanan.

Big Thicket Biosphere Region (BTBR) has formed a new private nonprofit organization to coordinate programs and activities around conserving the natural heritage and productivity of the Big Thicket.

For nearly two centuries, the resources of the Big Thicket in Southeast Texas have driven the economy with energy and timber production, fisheries, agriculture, and recreation. However, for most of this period, an emphasis on maximizing commercial yields surpassed concerns for sound resource management, putting many of the Thicket’s diverse ecosystems under pressure.

First recognized in 1981 by the international Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the BTBR offered a pathway to sustainability.

The MAB Program subsequently accepted the Periodic Review update of the BTBR’s status and goals in 2017. Covering a 19-county area associated with piney woods and bayous in Southeast Texas, its mission is to develop community-based partnerships to promote sustainable economies, protect natural and cultural resources, and create a legacy of environmental stewardship in Southeast Texas.

Like all U.S. biospheres, the new BTBR organization is dedicated to providing an open and collaborative forum for people to work together and thrive in harmony with the environment. The BTBR will engage residents and stakeholders drawing from commercial and industrial entities, federal agencies, local and municipal governments, independent school districts, and others as members of an advisory council.

Activities of the BTBR organization will focus on community-based conservation, although conservation is only part of the equation. Reconnecting people to the value of the biosphere is key to maintaining the services that nature provides. An educational outreach program will connect with communities in the seven-county region bordering the Big Thicket National Preserve, and a marketing strategy will brand and communicate the biosphere region’s mission and objectives to the broader public.

The BTBR’s initial focus will be on volunteer projects to: 1) establish regional trash collection of discarded materials along the roads, streams, and bayous of the thicket, 2) replant longleaf pine in a concerted effort to restore habitat in areas inside and adjacent to the thicket, and, 3) repair trails within the Big Thicket National Preserve for recreational enjoyment. Building financial support for scientific research also will be a high priority.

Learn more at https://btbiospherereserve.org

Mary Bernard, [e-mail]