By Carrie Knox, Melanie Pavlas and Courtney Young
Like so many great things, the Colorado River Refuge (CRR) started with a small idea. In early 2003, Joan Russell, a founding board member of Pines and Prairies Land Trust (PPLT), wanted to create a fire-wise landscape in Tahitian Village within Bastrop, Texas. The Bastrop County Water Control and Improvement District #2 (BCWCID) joined the project when PPLT asked about un-useable lots for the demonstration area. The platted, but never used “reserve areas” of Tahitian Village seemed like a perfect match; particularly the terribly trashed and abused “reserve” along the Colorado River.
The year 2005 was busy, rounding up funding and overseeing a massive “remodel” of the “old gravel pit and shooting range” at the now Two-Bridges Trailhead.
For many years trails were built at the Colorado River Refuge and a paved “all access” trail was installed. On Earth Day 2008 Pines and Prairies Land Trust hosted over 100 friends at the Refuge for a grand opening. Attendees enjoyed food, drinks, music and hiking.
In 2009, the Refuge trails were extended to the western side of the CRR; this opened up a completely different habitat with vibrant wildflower meadows, upland woods and interesting topography. The Lost Pines Master Naturalists of Bastrop and Caldwell County (LPMN) can take credit for these new trails and have helped maintain the network ever since.
Projects continued to pop up at the Colorado River Refuge. In 2013 the Native Plant Society of Texas funded a meadow restoration project to protect an old stand of Liatris (gayfeather) and plant native milkweeds to provide a Monarch Waystation.
2018 saw the start of PPLT’s new volunteer program and with it a monthly volunteer day at the Colorado River Refuge. These First Saturday Service Days keep the CRR trails trimmed and clear for hikers, bikers and picnickers.
A grant from REI jump-started the restoration of the Two Bridges Trailhead in 2019, including a new trail and trash can. Funds were also awarded from Texas Parks and Wildlife but as of 2021 have not yet been released.
In 2020 the Colorado River Refuge saw a 300% increase in visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic! New maps and welcome signs were installed to keep these new friends safe and on trial. A survey of the property bounds was also started in 2020 by a volunteer group with the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors.
The survey and associated boundary marking will be completed in 2021. In May of 2021 PPLT is already celebrating the reconnection of the Cliffhanger and River Trails via the Cliffhanger Extension as well as the reroute of the Dragonfly Trail. Attend a First Saturday Service Day to get involved! www.pplt.org/events.
