KATY-CYPRESS WETLANDS MITIGATION BANK

The KCWMB site occupies 578 acres on the Katy Prairie, 20 miles northwest of Houston, Texas, and includes 134 acres that have been converted to wetlands as Section One. Click on the following photographs to see aerial views of the site before and after wetland creation.

KCWMB Site Initial Condition, January 1996	Winter Season, January 1997	Spring Season, April 1998

The entire KCWMB site is 578 acres. The Southern border (bottom) is Cypress Creek. While trees and brush surround the Creek, upland grasses cover the majority of the site. Although the site was once a rice farm, these grasses started growing when the farming stopped several years ago.	Section One can be seen in the lower right portion of the photograph, just above Cypress Creek. Fall rains are carefully directed to flood KCWMB and promote the abundant growth of wetland plants. The water and plants provide excellent habitat for waterfowl as they migrate down the central flyway on their way to South America.	This photo was taken during springtime when the site was semi-saturated. During this time there is an abundance of frogs, crawfish and small fish which attract herons, egrets and ibis.

The Katy-Cypress Wetland undergoes a cycle of water saturation and dryness each year. During the fall and winter, rain and run-off saturate the grounds and promote the growth of a myriad of hydrophilic plants. When the summer comes, parts of KCWMB dry out, causing wetland plants to die and decompose while other plants flourish. The process reverses itself when the rains come, and this constant cycle of growth and decay ensure that there is an abundance of organic plant matter (detritus) on the wetlands. Detritus provides nutrients for wetland plants and algae and is food for insects and forage fish. These plants and animals are, in turn, food for the larger predatory fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals that inhabit these wetlands.