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t <br />Texas Blackland Prairies - Northern Blackland Prairie <br />The Texas Blackland Prairies form a disjunct ecological region, distinguished from surrounding <br />regions by fine - textured, clayey soils and predominantly prairie potential natural vegetation. <br />Dominant grasses included little bluestem, big bluestem, yellow Indiangrass, and switchgrass. <br />This region now contains a higher percentage of cropland than adjacent regions; pasture and <br />forage production for livestock is common. Large areas of the region are being converted to <br />urban and industrial uses. <br />San Marcos River <br />The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs. The Springs are home to several <br />threatened or endangered species, including the San Marcos Salamander, Fountain Darter, <br />Comal Spring Riffle Beetle, and Texas Wild Rice. The river is a popular recreational area, and is <br />frequented for tubing, canoeing, swimming, and fishing. <br />The River begins at San Marcos Springs, rising from the Edwards Aquifer into Spring Lake. The <br />upper river flows through Texas State University and San Marcos, and is a popular recreational <br />area. It is joined by the Blanco River several miles downstream. <br />Park Inventory and Data Sheets <br />A comprehensive inventory spreadsheet is included with this document detailing park types, <br />location, facilities, acreage and other data. The inventory categorizes parks by size and then <br />catalogues the quantity of amenities and facilities available for use. This inventory of the <br />existing park system creates a base line for analysis of deficits and surplus within the City when <br />viewing level -of- service (LOS) and needs. <br />This plan also includes a quality assessment of all the current City parks. Each park was <br />catalogued by photos and had the quantity of program items recorded. In addition, the <br />condition, safety, and accessibility (where applicable) of each program item were assessed to <br />begin to gauge the quality of a park. This quality aspect will help the Parks Department begin to <br />prioritize maintenance and capital improvement efforts. <br />The condition of an amenity is listed as "Good ", "Fair" or "Replace" (as determined by <br />representatives of Land Design Partners and the City of San Marcos): <br />Good New, or free of obvious deficiencies; no action needed <br />Fair Some deficiencies; maintenance required <br />Replace Damaged, broken, or general safety concern; repair /replace as needed <br />11 <br />