Texas - E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center

The Plant Materials Center (STPMC) in Kingsville, Texas was initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M-Kingsville, the South Texas Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and the Soil Conservation Service. The driving force for this Center was the need for commercial plant materials adapted to the unique climate and soils of the South Texas area.

The Center serves South Texas. The major land uses are rangeland, pasture, and hay land. The Texas Gulf Coast is an internationally significant migration and wintering habitat for North American waterfowl. Oil field exploration and coastline urbanization are also land uses that require conservation plant development.

Current program emphasis includes rangeland restoration and wildlife habitat enhancement; coastal shoreline stabilization; coastal habitat restoration and enhancement; and erosion control/water quality improvement on agricultural land. The Center provides technical assistance to restore the Gulf Coast Prairie and the associated salt marshes, enhance water bird habitat, revegetate areas disturbed by oil field exploration, and improve range and pasture lands of the Rio Grande Plain.

To date, the E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center has developed 34 grasses and forb plant species to assist in addressing these issues.

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