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Big Thicket Big Thicket onc over 3.5 million acres of southeast Texas. Today Big Thicket National Preserve protects 15 remnant areas— 108,208 acres—with nine habitats. Multiple habitats, and the fact that species from other regions converge to co-exist here, account for this biological preserve'’s remarkable diversity of animals and plants. In Big Thicket you won't find a high peak, deep gorge, or other dramatic feature. You will find instead a surprising lushness and density of life. Big Thicket is not a place to hurry through, but a place to discover and to explore. Painted bunting (op), eardinal PALMETTO HARDWOOD FLATS ‘The dwarf palmetto palm’s fan-shaped {fronds (below), give 9 tropical feel to this hardwood forests dense understory. Watch {or armadillos, who put on surprising bursts (of speed despite their short legs AYE Ch hm A etna wetehedtrmtd A LONGLEAF PINE UPLANDS fire nearly destroyed the species. Preserve staff promotes longleaf pine recovery by planting seedlings and conducting controlled burns to maintain this fire adapted habitat CYPRESS SLOUGH Bald cypress trees love water. Their fluted trunk and knees-woody protrusions grow- ing up from the roots help anchor them in wet soll Water moccasins thrive in swampy reas near streams In season, tree frogs falze their loud chorus to attract a mat Explore Your Preserve ‘The Preserve offers you a diverse mix of recreation. Rivers and creeks host canoeing, boating, kayaking, and fishing: Birders delight in this hotspot for adding species to their lf lists, Hunters pursue white-tailed deer, squirrels, rabbits, feral hogs, and fovl. Hikers enjoy 40 miles of trails. Ther are backpacking, bicycling, horseback riding, and ranger-led programs, too. You may even i‘ tree frog find one of the Preserves 20 species of wild orchids or come across evidence of is rich history and cultural heritage You can walk where great forests once stood until commercial logging began in the 1800s and driling for oil began in 1901 in 1877 a get down on our hands and knees to craw! through the thik, close-knitted growth of baygall bushes and canebrakes. Yellow pines Armadillo Big Thicket National Preserve SLOPE FOREST Beech, magnolia, and loblolly pine favor this well-drained habitat. Dense canopies ‘of leaves and needles that shade the forest floor, discourage shrub growth and give the forest ts open park-like appearance. I's not the scenery you would expect to find in a "big thicket" ARID SANDYLANDS, Ancient seas and stream currents deposited ‘sand here, forming dunes and sandhills. Sandy Sel, hot sun, and rapid drainage create good habitat for prickly pear cacti (above) and the roadrunner (below lef), who is more often ‘associated with arid lands. Yucca aso grows here, another plant more generally associa with ae a Plants that Eat Insects ‘and (photo, for See sof the wetland pine savannah. Both her plants and Binge BAYGALL ‘An underlying clay layer traps water in poorly ‘rained depressions called baygalls or 0d bogs. Tannin from rotting plants colors the ‘water lke coffee or root beer Tangled vines, the calls of unseen birds, and aquatic animals ‘i to Big Thicker's mystique. BOTTOMLAND FLOODPLAIN Plants that can tolerate both dry spells and ‘episodes offloading grow here: sweet gum, hickory, oak, and river cane, a native bamboo. When streams flood, water may stand on the land surface fora tne rather than drain five and six feet in diameter grew here then, took mussels, fish, birds, and deer. Caddos and the Big Thicket harbored many black bears, hunted and grew squash, corn, and beans, panthers, wolves, and nw-extinctfvory-billed— In ther large villages they built big earthen woodpeckers. Precious few panthers remain, mounds for ceremonies and burials, Later, Blak bears might one dy ret, rom those _Coushatalndans pushed west by American Follow the footsteps of the Atakapans and Caddos who lived on the edges ofthe thicket before European contact. Earlier cultures left litte trace, Atakapans, hunter-gatherer, Bearded grass pink orchid Nationa ark Service US Department ofthe Interior I leet stipes Cy Ser in this habitat ft can hold surface water for months or block ground water trom rising during dry spells. Pine trees poke long taproots through the day layer. Camivorous plants (below) live here, ‘getting vital nitrogen—which this soll lacks by eating insects quid, an insect wl fing se stuck fs atydid on black-eyed susan ESTUARINE WETLANDS Below the saltwater barrier (see map) lie marshes, streams with tidal influence, and tstuaries where salt and fresh waters mix 3: brackish water Estuaries, crucial nursery areas, protect the young of shrimp and other Species before they move into deep water. - Inf Snowy egret share, See the land where English and French settlers from east of Texas attempted cotton plantations—but all failed before the mid lumber mills,but 9s logging played out they faded imo the Thicket. Oi exleration re ‘and you can see modern innovations syouexplore the Big Thicket, tation to explore the Big Thicket PLACES TO See, ANG TO D0 Some popula areas are listed here, but these are Just the beginning, Thee are nine land and sx water Units to explore. You can walk im dark, quiet forest, float a cool creek, wateh @ plant atcha bug, hear the ycxony Cesk SAVANNAH ‘echoing tap-tap-tp of ‘it ‘woodpecker, of smell the ‘wilflowers. Take your ‘ime and reconnect with nature as you experience ‘the Big Thicket. | coumesuen = Be Uren eens ven cree connor Un tag tr 2 Acawvomanos “ei ow SAVANNAH UNIT |_-F MENARD CREEK) ‘wowoon CORRIDOR UNI ~)NecHes Borrom AND 7/ JACK GORE BAYGALL UNIT VILLAGE. . ae ‘CREEK CORRIDOR UNIT ¢ P LoBLouy a a (( oar a | tance non ~~. owen neous Aven ‘ — vr ort (G{comibon unt » x r oot é h 2 ‘ un! LITTLE PINE ISLAND - PINE ISLAND BAYOU ‘CORRIDOR UNIT