Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is an undeveloped 4,000 plus acre
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
. The park is not yet open to the public.Palo Pinto Mountains State Park City of Strawn. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
The park land was originally a ranch. The land surrounds
Tucker Lake
This is a list of lakes in Nova Scotia.
Cape Breton Island
All Four Counties
* Bras d'Or Lake
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
* Anse aux Cannes Pond
*The Barachois
*Bear Cove Pond
*Bear Gulch Ponds
* Beaverdam Pond
*Belle Lake
*Benn ...
, which is owned by the City of Strawn and provides drinking water for the town.
Nature
Flora
The park is home to various types of trees, including live oak,
blackjack oak
''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States.
Description
''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...
,
Texas red oak
''Quercus buckleyi'', commonly known as Texas red oak or Buckley's oak, is a species of flowering plant. It is endemic to the southern Great Plains of the United States (Oklahoma and Texas).
Buckley's oak is smaller and more likely to be multitr ...
,
post oak
''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to ro ...
,
Texas ash
''Fraxinus albicans'', commonly called the Texas ash, is a species of tree in the olive family (Oleaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found from eastern Texas and southern Oklahoma in the United States, to the state of Durango in ...
cedar elm
''Ulmus crassifolia'' Nutt., the Texas cedar elm or simply cedar elm, is a deciduous tree native to south-central North America, mainly in southern and eastern Texas, southern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, with small populations in western M ...
ashe juniper
''Juniperus ashei'' (Ashe juniper, mountain cedar, blueberry juniper, post cedar, or just cedar) is a drought-tolerant evergreen tree, native from northeastern Mexico and the south-central United States to southern Missouri. The largest areas are ...
and
pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
Indian blanket
''Gaillardia pulchella'' (firewheel, Indian blanket, Indian blanketflower, or sundance) is a North American species of short-lived perennial or annual flowering plants in the sunflower family.
Description
The branching stem of ''G. pulchella' ...
sideoats grama
''Bouteloua curtipendula'', commonly known as sideoats grama, is a perennial, short prairie grass that is native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere, from Canada south to Argentina.
The species epithet comes from Latin "sh ...
, the state grass of Texas.
Fauna
The park has
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
wild turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...
squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
s, and various small mammals and a variety of songbirds. Fish found in Tucker Lake include
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
,
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
,
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
,
bluegill
The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...