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PrOl!ram narrative General Information The project sponsor is the City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department Watershed Protection Division. The project name is City of San Marcos Interpretive Center Wildscape program. Documents were prepared by Sherrill Solum, Watershed Protection Supervisor and Melani Howard, Watershed Protection Manager. Description of the proposed Project The City of San Marcos is very excited about our new Greenhouse Interpretive Center that was completed in December. The Interpretive Center is ajoint venture project with several local organizations working together to make it a success. This project began with donations from the Crook's family ($100,000 for park land and greenhouse renovations), then the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department donated the actual greenhouse to the city (in-kind donation of $40,000) at the request of the San Marcos River Foundation. This historic greenhouse was built in the 1940s on the Governor's Mansion grounds in Austin. The interior was incomplete, however, so the Heritage Association and San Marcos River Foundation stepped in with matching donations of $2,500 each to complete the interior of the building. The greenhouse will serve as the trailhead for an extensive nature trail along the San Marcos River. In March 1998, the Lower Colorado River Authority awarded the City of San Marcos $25,000 for interpretive signs to be used along the nature trail system. The Interpretive Center is located 250 feet from the San Marcos River. The San Marcos River is home to numerous unique plant and animal species including five federal and state-listed species. People enjoy the river throughout the year with activities such as tubing, swimming, snorkeling, fishing and bird watching. Due to the high usage of the river and its ecological sensitivity, the primary objectives of the interpretive center are to educate the public about the ecology of the San Marcos River and the role of its watershed, as well as to encourage its users to protect and conserve this natural resource. We are requesting grant money for the primary program phase of the Interpretive Center - "Wildscaping". Wildscaping the acreage directly behind the greenhouse with native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs will provide excellent opportunities for learning about habitat management and conservation, and restore the natural area, including the riparian zone along a portion of the San Marcos River. We can teach our community, local and regional schools the importance of native plants and how wildscaping their own backyards can establish habitat that attracts native wildlife. We plan on using a "hands-on" approach to provide the community, and local and regional schools, a place where learning about our environment will be fun. We will be working closely with the Hays County Master Naturalists, The Native Plant Society, and Hays County Master Gardeners to give workshops on various topics such as