A PERMACULTURE ASSESSMENT AND MASTER PLAN FOR THE GULF ROAD, LIBERTY COUNTY, TEXAS PROPERTY

BY

permacultureproject@gmail.com

AND

dhalsey@integra.net

AND

PHASE2 ARCHITECTURE

s js@phase2archi tecture.com

November 2, 2011

Table of Contents Master Plan Narrative The Master Plan Appendices: Maps and Site Plans Plants Building Notes Liberty County Building Codes Shooting Range Documents

Goals as stated for the Liberty County Property by the Texas Group: Existing Site In 2011 a group of people from Houston, Texas acquired a 30-acre parcel of land in Liberty County, East Texas. The property is not improved by any structures and is comprised of approximately 20 acres of pine-oak forest and 10 acres of grassland. There are currently 5 families committed to the project. Proposed Development The Texas group wishes to make the property their primary residence in the near future. The complete vision for the property includes multiple buildings and structures, significant landscape features, and agricultural components such as gardens and orchards.

They will form a community consisting of 15-20 homes; a possible community utility coop for electricity, water, water treatment, A/C; a central community center; a land use plan including orchards, animal crops and food crops using Permaculture techniques; animals – chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats and pertinent buildings; stocked lakes – possible lake view; a gun and archery range; greenhouses; possible residential expansion; possible income generating activities, i.e. farmer’s market, homes sales, rentals, excess utility generation, etc; bee keeping; hydroponics; possible community pool; biological waste treatment.

It is anticipated that the complete build-out of the property may happen in a series of phases of construction. The vision for the property is so much more than just a combination of the programmatic elements, but rather, the design of and relationships between residents will be guided by the principles of Permaculture in a desire to have the man-made built environment seamlessly and naturally fit-in to the natural landscape and habitat. As Wayne Weiseman has expressed, “Permaculture, above all else, is a comprehensive design system that takes all possible functions into account and attempts to create relationships between the geological, botanical, animal and human systems to create a high yielding and ecologically sound environment for all.” For the buildings themselves, following a Permaculture approach will ensure sustainable and natural construction techniques and materials as well as provide for energy use through passive design strategies and renewable active mechanical and electrical systems. As noted by the Texas group, simplicity but high quality in design; function rather than size; and attention to detail will also be guiding principles for the design of the man-made elements. The key to development of the property lies in the delineation of how the Texas group will operate as a community: legal structures, covenants, by-laws. In order to proceed with subsequent design work and master planning these organizational and infrastructural questions take priority over active physical planning stages. Here are but a few ideas and questions to date: How do we operate as a community?

Development of the concepts for the Covenants, Codicils and Restrictions (CCR) Do we incorporate references to biblical principles to establish covenant and restrictions? Entity for communal property? For Profit – LLC with equal shares Private initial funding then purchase lots like a typical development model Land Trust – possible 501C3 Cooperative How are zones set up and distribution of produce and animals determined? Determine governing body type for leadership. Who sits on the Board of Directors, Elders, etc.? How do we utilize undeveloped portion of lands? Income generating ideas? – Rentals, farmers market, etc. What is overall performa of development costs, infrastructure, and common shared elements and components? What is the flow of money and accounting? Permaculture Principles This master plan will be informed by the ethics and principles of Permaculture design. A sampling of principles: Permaculture Ethics: Care of Earth Care of People Fair Share or Benevolent Distribution of Yields and Services Principles of Permaculture Design

• Relative location • Each element performs multiple functions • Each function is supported by many elements • Energy efficient planning • Using biological resources • Energy cycling • Small-scale intensive systems • Natural plant succession and stacking • Polyculture and diversity of species • Increasing “edge” within a system • Observe and replicate natural patterns

• Pay attention to scale • Attitude

In order to delineate an integrated and balanced master plan these principles are the infrastructure for all subsequent design considerations and decisions. Based on the large scale of this project we will utilize the Permaculture Scale of Permanence as our guiding framework for assessment, design and clarity. The Scale of Permanence, created by Australian PA Yeomans in the 1950’s, is an outline of ten salient and more permanent features of a landbase. Because the organization and definition of the legal, social and cultural aspects of community development are tantamount to moving forward on master planning we will include it as an important and critical eleventh step, but as the top priority. Scale of Permanence

• Climate • Landform • Water • Access and Circulation • Microclimate • Vegetation and Animals • Buldings and Infrastructure (energy, the waste stream, communications) • Zones of Use • Soil • Aesthetics • Community Organization (added as the top priority)

Master Plan The master plan is a concept map and requires an integration of many ideas into functional areas of structural, infrastructural and physical placement Legal structure of the community Social structure, personal inclinations, energy –shared renewal systems, waste water, kitchens, A/C, material for construction, covenants and by-laws (lots of variables to consider in the design plan) Synopsis of project: covenants and legal structure Possible scenarios: clustering homes in a fashion where the fronts of homes are close, but back of property opened up for space. Not looking to spread homes across 40 acres. Not looking for multifamily community homes, or shared walls. Instead looking for single-family homes, typical of what’s in current homes, but not typical about energy flows inside and outside the homes. Homes sizes – primarily 3-4 bedroom single-family homes. What happens as time goes on and the homes are going to be used and occupied by other people? Growth and expansion part of the mix. Legal structure – greater 40 acres includes one

zone for residential area, owned by the individual families, with the remainder owned in common. Look at Village Homes, Davis, CA and other examples. When family passes on, how do you make selection about who comes into the community? New families have to apply to be approved by the community. Ministry-owned property, individuals can build on the property but must sell back to community at cost. Funding mechanism for building individual homes – Development by initials investors. Agreement with a contractor to build the whole community, even though all 20 homes won’t be built at the same time. Economy of scale by numbers 15-20 families, rolling fashion so that costs can be controlled and give time to fill all lots. Some level of homogeny to the community buildings using similar materials. Families purchase single lots – ½ acre lots per family, and building costs at the responsibility of the family. (10 acres for individual lots, with remaining for common areas) Development costs decide the price of the first 15 lots and development costs will be realized in the sale of the first 15 lots. All members, even initial contributors, will be required to pay the initial lot cost. Infra-structure – development costs. Everything in common? Common harvest times – not discussed specifics yet. Ideas - at certain times all families would have to be represented in the labor. Or different talents and skills contributed as needed by the community. Labor forces needed to make this community work. Will have to design into the community with limited experience with phases of development. Noise curfew. Illegal to make any noise on Sunday? Includes vacuuming the car, cutting grass, doing laundry, etc? Use of remote control toys on community property (cars, boats, planes, helicopters) could be gas or electric. Community views on guns and possible shooting range. Addressing Goals In order to honor and address these goals, the designers have rigorously attempted to lift the veil of the words and penetrate to the essence of their meaning. A master plan is a complex endeavor and needs insight, intuitiveness and practical skill in order to create a comprehensive design that will pay heed to the ecological integrity that will bring health to the land for generations to come. As stated by Bill Mollison, the founder of the Permaculture system of design: “Cultures cannot survive without a sustainable agricultural base and land use ethic. Permaculture is about the relationships we can create between minerals, plants, animals and humans by the way we place them in the landscape. The aim is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term.”

Well said. In order to deliver this narrative in a well wrought structure, and to make it accessible for the many, this report will follow the Scale of Permanence as defined in the initial assessment for the Liberty County property, with one caveat: this narrative is an explanation of how the master plan meets all the goals set forth in the original discussions so it will also need to address items that may or may not easily fall into this Scale of Permanence outline. The ten steps in delineating this master plan are as follows: Climate Landform Water Systems Access and Circulation Vegetation Microclimate The Built Environment Zones of Use Soil Aesthetics These ten points of permanence ground the vision for the project in “real time” and offer a comprehensive framework for planning and design. A master plan is by no means a finished product. It is a scaffold for depicting the vision and goals of the stakeholders involved in a land development project. We might liken it to a painting wherein the painter works within a frame (think of the property perimeter), and initiates the painting with broad, brush strokes before the details emerge. The painter sets the table, so to speak, before the guests arrive. One by one they are seated at the table, then all the meal’s courses are served. Another point to note is that the painter enters the canvas from the outside. Think of this as the designer and stakeholders imprinting their ideas on the blank canvas. We also might think of the canvas within a frame as the land within the property lines, this land that is not isolated from the external forces that course through it always. Change is inevitable. The natural world is constantly forcing its hand on the plants, soils, stones, animals, structures, and human beings. One of the critical dicta of Permaculture is to “make the least amount of change for the greatest affect”. Why would we make any change to a landscape? By making small (or at times momentous) changes we are attempting to augment the general health and balance of the ecological functions of the land and make the land viable for not only the present, but for future generations. So, as we journey through the Liberty County property design, and examine why we place each element where we place it, we will take a look at the significance of placement and the interconnections produced thereof. From authors Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, from “Permaculture One”: “In any landscape planning, relative permanence is of great importance if the planning itself is to be part of some ongoing evolution of the landscape. Time scales for complex landscape evolution span many generations and cannot be considered a finite task. For the purpose of putting planning

and design work into perspective, Yeoman’s Scale of Permanence is very useful. However we would amend the scale to adapt it to planning for Permaculture systems.” From author David Jacke: “This Scale of Permanence can be used as a way of structuring one’s observations and analysis of the landscape, as a means of prioritizing which aspects of the design are most important to design first, and, in some cases, which parts may be most important to implement first.” One more note on the Scale of Permanence: Originally set out by P.A. Yeomans of Australia, best known for his work with the Keyline system (a method of holding water and nutrients on the land where and when the rain falls), this method of assessing the landscape has since been modified by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren (the founders of Permaculture) and David Jacke and the current designers. Of course, without sound observation and rigorous design practice, the Scale of Permanence becomes just another list amongst lists. We utilize this system in order to help us organize our assessments, inventories, ideas, goals and visions into a comprehensive whole. Permaculture is about functional relationship and seeks to delineate the interconnections of the many functions of all elements in the landscape. A comprehensive design is a “whole” design, a unified expression of all stakeholders involved in the creation of a landbase. We will be referring back, from time to time, to the original goals and vision stated by the Texas Group as we proceed through this narrative. Liberty County, Texas and the Surrounding Bioregion Our first steps in the design of a property begin with observation and an assessment of where the property lies and all the natural forces that affect it. We also take inventory of what is already there: the geology, soils, biology, climate, vegetation, animals, built environment, movement of water through the land, and general health and ecological balance. In order to enter a Permaculture design process and utilize “the biological intelligence” already present on and around the property, and to merge the design with landform and life already present at the site, this initial assessment dictates the direction that we take. Therefore, an encapsulated description of the Piney Woods habitat of Liberty County and the surrounding bioregion is presented here. Piney Woods Forest Natural Division Introduction The Piney Woods Forests stretch across eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, and southwestern Arkansas. This ecoregion includes parts of what is commonly known as the Big Thicket region of east Texas. The Piney Woods occupies the western extent of the Southeastern coastal plain and its vegetation reflects similarities with the communities found within the Southeastern Mixed Forests [NA0413] and the Southeastern Conifer Forests [NA0529]. Despite its name, Küchler (1985) classified this ecoregion as oak-hickory-pine forest. Little of the long-leaf pine forests that once dominated this ecoregion remain. Pine plantations are widespread and the effects of fire suppression have caused considerable ecological damage to this ecoregion.

Biological Distinctiveness Sandhill pine forests are one of the communities characteristic of the Piney Woods. Long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris) shares dominance with shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). In this flatwood like habitat, pines dominate the overstory with a well-developed woody understory (Christensen 1988). Pine density is low, the herb layer is sparse, and exposed sandy tracts are common. Common associated trees are bluejack oak (Quercus incana) and post oak (Q. stellata), with a characteristic understory of Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Savanna-like areas occur on poorly drained soils and contain scattered individuals of longleaf and loblolly pine along with tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). The interaction of moisture and fire frequency determines vegetation structure and composition. In other sections oaks and hickories are mixed in with pines. Conservation Status Habitat Loss and Degradation About three percent of the remaining habitat is considered intact. Bottomland forests around the Red River have been completely converted. Long-leaf pine areas have been converted to loblolly or slash pine plantations or severely fire suppressed. Urban development was a major cause of habitat loss in the early part of this century as was logging. Today, fire suppression is a major factor of habitat loss for fire-dependent species as is conversion to pine plantation. Remaining Blocks of Intact Habitat Remaining small fragments include:

• Fort Polk and Vernon District of the Kisatchie National Forest - central Louisiana

• Remainder (other districts) of Kisatchie National Forest - central and northern Louisiana

• Big Thicket National Reserve (very linear-shaped habitat block offering little core area) - eastern Texas

• Texas National Forests (Sabine, Angela, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, all with lower level of protection and the last two heavily used for timber production)

• Sandylands (TNC reserve of about 2500 hectares) - east Texas • Smaller fragments in adjacent areas of Arkansas and Louisiana

Degree of Fragmentation Fire dynamics in this ecoregion are very much affected by fragmentation. Fragmentation also has a significant affect on large carnivores (e.g. black bears) and the ability to find the properly size range. Expert assessment is that it will be difficult to restore corridors in this ecoregion and perhaps greater attention should be given to expanding existing areas.

Degree of Protection Poor, and protected areas do not adequately represent typical vegetation. One of the major conservation initiatives in this ecoregion is the Pineywoods Conservation Initiative that seeks to maintain nearly 3,200 hectares of long-leaf pine forest. Types and Severity of Threats Conversion threats are continued conversion to pine plantations and to a lesser extent urban areas. The main degradation threat is considered to be fire suppression. Suite of Priority Activities to Enhance Biodiversity Conservation

• Ensure better representation of major community types in protected areas (poor representation at present)

• Promote fire management and promulgate right to burn laws • Work to conserve wilderness areas by removing fire suppression policies • Continue inventory and identification of important sites for biodiversity and

protect remaining areas

Conservation Partners

• Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission • Louisiana Natural Heritage Program • The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas • The Nature Conservancy • The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana • The Nature Conservancy, Piney Woods • The Nature Conservancy of Texas • The Nature Conservancy - Southeast Regional Office • Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory • Texas Biological and Conservation Data System

The Piney Woods is a temperate coniferous forest terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering 54,400 square miles (141,000 km2) of East Texas, southern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma. These coniferous forests are dominated by several species of pine as well as hardwoods including hickory and oak. The World Wide Fund for Nature considers the Piney Woods to be one of the critically endangered ecoregions of the United States. Setting The Piney Woods cover an area of 140,900 square kilometres (54,400 sq mi) of eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and the southeastern corner of Oklahoma.http://www.txbase.com/piney_woods/encyclopedia.htm - cite_note-WWFReport-0 They are bounded on the east by the Mississippi lowland forests, on the south by the Western Gulf coastal grasslands, on the west by the East Central Texas forests and the Texas blackland

prairies, on the northwest by the Central forest-grasslands transition, on the north by the Ozark Mountain forests. Flora The region has heavy to moderate rainfall, with some places receiving over 60 inches (1,500 mm) of rain per year. Longleaf, Shortleaf and Loblolly Pines, along with Bluejack and Post Oaks, dominate sandhills. A well developed understory grows beneath the sparse canopy, and includes Yaupon Holly and Flowering Dogwood. Pine savannas consist of scattered Longleaf and Loblolly Pines alongside Black Tupelos, Sweetgums, and Sweetbay Magnolias. Other common trees in this ecoregion include Eastern Redbud, Southern Sugar Maple, and American Elm. American Wisteria, a vine, may cover groves of trees. Two varieties of wetlands are common in the Piney Woods: bayous are generally found near rivers and sloughs that are generally found near creeks. In bayous Bald cypress, Spanish moss, and water lilies are common plants. Sloughs are shallow pools of standing water that most trees are capable of growing in, and other species such as the Purple bladderwort, a small carnivorous plant, have found a niche in sloughs. Hearty species of Prickly pear cactus and Yucca can be found both in the forests and wetlands. The indigenous Texas trailing phlox (Phlox nivalis texensisis), an endangered species, grows in the sandy soils of Longleaf Pine forests. Fauna Mammals such as Eastern Cottontail rabbits, Eastern Gray Squirrels, Virginia Opossums, Nine-banded Armadillos, White-tailed deer, North American Cougars, Gray Foxes, Bobcats, Ring-tailed Cats, Rafinesque's Big-eared Bats, and Seminole Bat; and reptiles such as Cottonmouth Water Moccasins, Prairie Kingsnakes, Slender glass lizards, and Squirrel Treefrogs, thrive in the Piney Woods. Birds include Sandhill Cranes, Black and Turkey Vultures, Northern Mockingbirds, and the vulnerable Red-cockaded Woodpecker. American Alligators are not as common as they once were, but their population has rebounded since the 1960s. Louisiana Black Bears are rare today, but still live in remote thickets. Recently, there has been significant talk of reintroducing the Black Bear into many parts of East Texas. The most common fish is Catfish, which are a native species but also stocked in local reservoirs. Crayfish are common along river and creek banks. The Piney Woods Region of the four state area is a noted area for Bigfoot (Sasquatch) sightings; with many legends dating back to pre European settlement. One such noted legend is the story of the Fouke Monster of Southern Arkansas; documented in the 1972 film The Legend of Boggy Creek. The area according to references lists this area to be the third highest in North America for these such sightings. Melanistic (black) cougars, another probable cryptid, have been noted by residents.

Conservation and threats Newly cleared forest in East Texas. Most of the mature trees have been cleared and the litter layer—the bottom layer of decaying matter that enriches the soil with nutrients—of the forest has begun to wash away due to recent rains. The majority of the commercial timber growing and wood processing in the state of Texas takes place in the Piney Woods region, which contains about 50,000 square kilometres (12,000,000 acres) of commercial forestland. National forests Four National Forests are found in the Piney Woods of East Texas, covering some 634,912 acres (2,569.40 km2) in 12 counties.

• Angelina National Forest (Angelina, Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Jasper counties)

• Sabine National Forest • Davy Crockett National Forest • Sam Houston National Forest (Huntsville)

Major Habitats and Historical Constraints Forest - historic over-grazing, species composition, invasive species, fire suppression, fragmentation, poor timber harvest practices, changes in hydrology, exurban development. Open Woodland/Savanna/Barren - scarcity, overgrazing, succession, lack of prescribed fire, invasive species, poor timber harvest practices, exurban development. Grassland - scarcity, fragmentation, conversion to hay/pasture monocultures, dominance by invasive species (especially fescue), overgrazing of pasture, excessively high or low disturbance levels, low structural diversity, loss and degradation of prairie remnants; much of the grassland acreage in the division is temporary in the Conservation Reserve Program. Wetlands - scarcity, altered hydrology, dominance by invasive plants, sedimentation. Lakes and Ponds - sedimentation, nutrient loading, backwater lakes have been nearly eliminated; water level fluctuations in the reservoirs and downstream of Rend and Carlyle lakes. Streams - sediment load, incision, lack of riparian habitat, channelization; impoundment for water supply, flood control, and recreation. Native History and Settlement Settlement patterns strongly influence the landscape in a region. Human beings have manipulated the endemic landforms and life of most of the United States. Tracing these patterns to those that came before us affects the way that we perceive the landscape. We are not attempting to reestablish some pristine mirage of “what the land used to be”. We simply research what was here

in order to establish the ecosystem processes that underlie all the processes in the landscape that we witness on a daily basis. The more we learn and know the history, biology and geology of a bioregion the more we come into “place”. Indigenous People Before European settlement, the area was home for many centuries to indigenous peoples. Texas lies at the juncture of two major cultural spheres of Pre-Columbian North America, the Southwestern and the Plains areas. The area now covered by Texas comprised three major indigenous cultures which had reached their developmental peak prior to the arrival of European explorers and are known from archaeology. These are[3]

• The Pueblo from the upper Rio Grande region, centered west of Texas; The Mound Builder culture of the Mississippi Valley region, centered east of Texas, ancestral to the Caddo nation;

• The civilizations of Mesoamerica, centered south of Texas. Influence of Teotihuacan in northern Mexico peaked around AD 500 and declined over the 8th to 10th centuries.

The Paleo-Indians that lived in Texas between 9200 – 6000 BC may have links to Clovis and Folsom cultures; these nomadic people hunted mammoths and bison latifrons using atlatls. They extracted Alibates flint from quarries in the panhandle region. Beginning during the 3rd millennium BC, the population of Texas increased despite experiencing a changing climate and the extinction of giant mammals. Many pictograms drawn on the walls of caves or on rocks are visible in the state, including at Hueco Tanks and Seminole Canyon. Native Americans in East Texas began to settle in villages shortly after 500 BC, farming and building the first burial mounds. They were influenced by the Mound Builder civilizations that lived in the Mississippi basin. In the Trans-Pecos area, populations were influenced by Mogollon culture. From the 8th century, the bow and arrow appeared in the region, manufacture of pottery developed and Native Americans increasingly depended on bison for survival. Obsidian objects found in various Texan sites attest of trade with cultures in present day Mexico and the Rocky Mountains. No one culture was dominant in the present-day Texas region and many different peoples inhabited the area. Native American tribes that lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include the Alabama, Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Cherokee, Choctaw, Coushatta, Hasinai, Jumano, Karankawa, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita. The name Texas derives from táyshaʼ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies”. Native Americans determined the fate of European explorers and settlers depending on whether a tribe was friendly or warlike. Friendly tribes taught newcomers how to grow indigenous crops, prepare foods, and hunting methods for wild game. Warlike tribes made life unpleasant, difficult and dangerous for explorers and settlers through their attacks and resistance to European conquest.

A remnant of the Choctaw tribe in East Texas still lives in the Mt. Tabor Community near Amberly, Texas. Currently, there are three federally-recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas. European Exploration and Settlement We include a short synopsis of the history and settlement of Texas. This information is taken directly from Wikipedia. See the link at the end of this section for a complete history if Texas to the present. Early European exploration The first European to see Texas was Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, who led an expedition on behalf of the governor of Jamaica, Francisco de Garay, in 1519. While searching for a passage between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia, Álvarez de Pineda created the first map of the northern Gulf Coast. This map is the earliest recorded document of Texas history. Between 1528 and 1535, four survivors of the Narváez expedition, including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Estevanico, spent six and a half years in Texas as slaves and traders among various native groups. Cabeza de Vaca was the first European explorer to explore the interior of Texas. French colonization of Texas: 1684–1689 The French flag of the Bourbons Main article: French colonization of Texas Although Álvarez de Pineda had claimed the area that is now Texas for Spain, the area was essentially ignored for over 160 years. Its initial settlement by Europeans occurred by accident. In April 1682, French nobleman René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle had claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France. The following year, he convinced King Louis XIV to establish a colony near the Mississippi, essentially splitting Spanish Florida from New Spain. La Salle's colonization expedition left France on July 24, 1684 and soon lost one of its supply ships to Spanish privateers. A combination of inaccurate maps, La Salle's previous miscalculation of the latitude of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and overcorrecting for the Gulf currents led the ships to be unable to find the Mississippi. Instead, they landed at Matagorda Bay in early 1685, 400 miles (644 km) west of the Mississippi. In February, the colonists constructed Fort Saint Louis. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle founded the French colony in Texas. After the fort was constructed, one of the ships returned to France, and the other two were soon destroyed in storms, stranding the settlers. La Salle and his men searched overland for the Mississippi River, traveling as far west as the Rio Grande and as far east as the Trinity River. Disease and hardship laid waste to the colony, and by early January 1687, fewer than 45 people remained. That month, a third

expedition launched a final attempt to find the Mississippi. The expedition experienced much infighting, and La Salle was ambushed and killed somewhere in East Texas. The Spanish learned of the French colony in late 1685. Feeling that the French colony was a threat to Spanish mines and shipping routes, King Carlos II's Council of war recommended the removal of "this thorn which has been thrust into the heart of America. The greater the delay the greater the difficulty of attainment." Having no idea where to find La Salle, the Spanish launched ten expeditions—both land and sea—over the next three years. The last expedition discovered a French deserter living in Southern Texas with the Coahuiltecans. The Frenchman guided the Spanish to the French fort in late April 1689. The fort and the five crude houses surrounding it were in ruins. Several months before, the Karankawa had become angry that the French had taken their canoes without payment and had attacked the settlement sparing only four children. Please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas for more information. History of Liberty County Liberty County (G-5), bisected by the Trinity River, is on U.S. Highway 90 halfway between Beaumont and Houston. This part of Southeast Texas is in the Coastal Prairie. The center point of the county, which comprises 1,174 square miles, is at 30°11' north latitude and 94°50' west longitude, near the Trinity River and the Hardin oilfield. The altitude varies from twenty to 200 feet. The climate is subtropical and humid, the annual rainfall averages 51.15 inches, and the temperature ranges from a minimum of 40° F in January to a maximum of 94° in July. The northern fourth of the county is part of the Big Thicket, a once-impenetrable wilderness wooded with pine, oak, ash, hickory, cypress, and walnut. Today, this area is covered with loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf, and slash pines, hardwoods including oak, hickory, and maple, shrubs, Indian grass, and native legumes. The county's southern section consists of Gulf prairies and marshes vegetated with tall prairie grasses, oak, mesquite, and prickly pear. The soils types include sandy, sandy loam, black sandy, and black waxy. Between 41 and 50 percent of the land is considered prime farmland. Drainage and irrigation systems provide for diversified crops-rice, cotton, grains, potatoes, corn, vegetables, and fruits. Hogs, beef cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry are raised, and honey is produced commercially. Natural resources include deposits of lignite, iron ore, sulfur, brick clay, salt, lime, and glass sand, as well as oil and gas. The county is served by the Southern Pacific, Missouri Pacific, and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe lines. The future Liberty County was first inhabited by prehistoric Indians, whose artifacts can be found at various sites including those of Orcoquisac Indian villages. The Jamison and Daniel sites, located opposite each other on the margins of the Trinity about three miles north of Liberty, have revealed mass burials, arrow points, pottery, and other artifacts dating to 1000 B.C. or earlier, as has a site near Dayton. During most of the eighteenth century, the area was contested by French interests seeking to expand from Louisiana to the east and Spanish interests from the west and south. Though the Spanish crown granted Pánfilo de Narváez the privilege to colonize the lands between the Rio Grande and the cape of Florida in 1526, Karankawa Indians, including Coapites and related groups, were the sole occupants of the future Liberty County until the 1740s. Rumors of French exploration on the Texas coast by Joseph Blancpain and others prompted the Spanish to

send Joaquín de Orobio y Basterra on an exploratory expedition in 1748, and fears of French intrusion continued. The Spanish established Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission and San Agustín de Ahumada Presidio in 1756; the mission was for the Akokisa and Bidai Indians. Spanish maps in 1757 showed the Atascosito settlement and a Spanish military road known as the Atascosito Road, which crossed the Trinity near the present site of Liberty. Ten years later the Marqués de Rubí included the area in his tour of inspection, but parts of the mission were destroyed by a storm in 1766 and the presidio was abandoned in 1772. According to some sources, a trading-post settlement named Arkokisa or Arkosisa (variants of Akokisa) existed from roughly 1770 to 1790 near what later became the townsite of Liberty. The Louisiana Purchase altered the balance of power between the Spanish and the French in 1803, and Spanish efforts to discourage American immigration to Texas increased. Nonetheless, the open land attracted numerous immigrants from Louisiana, Mississippi, and the adjoining states. In 1818 Charles F. A. Lallemand and Antoine Rigaud made an unsuccessful attempt to colonize Bonapartist refugees at Champ d'Asile, near the site of present Liberty. Coushatta Indians, who arrived in Texas from Alabama around 1807 and were later placed on an East Texas reservation, inhabited the east bank of the Trinity during this period (see ALABAMA-COUSHATTA INDIANS). After Mexico won her independence from Spain, more American settlers came in response to promised grants of land, and much of what later became Liberty County and adjacent counties soon were part of an empresario grant made to Joseph B. Vehlein in 1826 and transferred to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in 1830. A new Atascosito District developed in Mexican Texas when settlers established an independent colony in 1826. Local administration of the area was conducted at Atascosito until 1831. In the battle for allegiance, some residents of the Liberty area supported the Mexican government and participated in quelling the Fredonian Rebellion. But the Law of April 6, 1830, which prohibited further American immigration, pushed settlers too far. When the Mexican government failed to recognize titles given by the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company, settlers and squatters in the coastal area petitioned the commander-in-chief of Coahuila and Texas for land titles and organization of a local government. In 1831 land commissioner José Francisco Madero organized a municipality known as Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de la Libertad, which embraced most of Southeast Texas; it was bounded on the east by the Sabine River, on the west by the San Jacinto, by Nacogdoches Municipality on the north, and by the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Hugh B. Johnston served as alcalde. The new seat of government, called Liberty by the Anglo-Americans, was located about three miles southwest of old Atascosito. In activities that led to the Anahuac disturbances of 1832, John Davis Bradburn, commander of the fort at Anahuac, attempted to annul the act, arrested Madero and the land commissioners who had given titles in the Liberty area, and attempted to dissolve the municipality. Some settlers pledged loyalty to Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Turtle Bayou Resolutions. Nonetheless, the territory between the San Jacinto and Sabine rivers continued to be known thereafter as Liberty and functioned as a municipality. As events began to foreshadow the Texas Revolution, Augustine B. Hardin, Pierre J. Menard, Henry W. Millard, Claiborne West and Hugh B. Johnston represented the area at the Consultation. By 1835, despite governmental difficulties and a lack of land titles, the municipality's population increased to more than 1,000. Andrew Briscoe's Liberty Volunteers were organized in 1835 and later fought at the battle of Concepción and the siege of Bexar. Soldiers from Liberty County

formed the Third Infantry Company, Second Regiment, under William M. Logan; this unit fought along with other men from the county at the battle of San Jacinto. Mexican prisoners captured at San Jacinto were sent to Liberty before release. Liberty County, formed and organized in 1836 in the new Republic of Texas, originally included all of the future Tyler County and parts of what later became Hardin, Chambers, San Jacinto, and Polk counties. Liberty was named county seat and incorporated in 1837. Sam Houston maintained two homes in the area and purchased more than 20,000 acres of land within the county's original boundaries. Antebellum Liberty County was characterized by plantations along the Trinity that raised cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, indigo, grains, and vegetables. Lumber mills were in operation, and Liberty shipped cotton, hides, Indian corn, cattle, and lumber down the Trinity. The county economy received a further boost in 1840 when James Taylor White established the cattle industry with an extensive ranch at Turtle Bayou in what is now Chambers County. Cattle drives began moving eastward to Louisiana, and some cattlemen sold their animals to a meatpacking plant at Liberty Landing, operated by the English firm Jones and Company. Cattle numbered 14,058 in 1840 and 45,670 in 1850. Wealthy aristocratic Creole planters from Louisiana arrived in Liberty County with their slaves in 1845, and by 1850 the county population had grown to 2,522. Sawmills made the lumber industry the county's first major industry. River travel by steamboat flourished from 1838 to 1878. Early attempts to build a railroad from Liberty to Livingston were interrupted by the Civil War. Efforts to extend the navigable portion of the Trinity began in 1852 and continued spasmodically thereafter. Only the Texas and New Orleans Railroad (later the Southern Pacific) from Houston via Liberty and Beaumont to Orange was in place by 1860. Liberty County residents voted 422 to 10 for secession and contributed to several Confederate units in the Civil War. The Liberty Invincibles, organized in 1861, were later Company F of the Fifth Regiment of Texas Volunteers. The Moss Bluff Rebels, also organized in 1861, served mostly as cavalry Company F of Maj. J. B. Likens's battalion. Captains W. D. Davis and Edward Bradford Pickett commanded companies, while other groups served under S. G. Cleveland and Thomas Dudley Wooten. A militia company was organized to guard the home front. After the war, many freedmen worked for their former masters or settled in the county and started small farms. The black population was 1,079 in 1860 and 1,975 in 1870. The Freedmen's Bureau operated in Liberty from 1866 until 1868, with Dr. J. Orville Shelby and A. H. Mayer serving as the bureau representatives for most of the period. Suffrage caused conflict during Reconstruction. Officials arrested and tried a Republican organizer for "exciting Negroes to acts of hostility to whites," and Republican voters in the county dropped from 255 in 1869 to 0 in 1873. The black population approached parity with the white in 1880, but declined thereafter to about a third of the county population in the early decades of the twentieth century. In 1871 steamboat travel resumed when the Trinity River Navigation Company, with headquarters at Liberty, incorporated to run steamboats from that city to Galveston. United States government assistance for making the Trinity more navigable came after 1880, and by 1940 a total of 236 miles of waterway had been constructed. Nonetheless, railroad construction, which began largely after Reconstruction, caused a severe blow to the port of Liberty. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe (later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe) crossed the northern part of the county through Cleveland, Romayor, Fuqua, and other former timber towns by 1900, and by 1907 ten miles of the proposed Trinity Valley and Northern line from Dayton to Cleveland had been completed. The Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway (later the Missouri Pacific) built across the central part of the county through

Eastgate, Kenefick, Sandune Station, Hardin, and Hull parallel to the Texas and New Orleans, and Ross S. Sterling's Dayton-Goose Creek line reached Dayton in 1917. Liberty County had twenty-two white schools in operation by 1880. The population remained nearly constant from 1870, when the figure of 4,414 included some residents of what became San Jacinto County that year, to 1890, when it numbered 4,230. In the next decade, however, it nearly doubled in size, reaching 8,102 in 1900 in an expansion that reflected important growth in the county's agriculture and industry. Much as they had become a center for Texas cattle production, Liberty County and the Atascosito District became a center of the Texas rice industry around 1900, when irrigation plants were developed at Stilton and White's Bayou and the Raywood Rice Company began promotion of rice culture. E. W. Boyt, for example, combined rice growing and cattle raising on a large spread in Liberty and Chambers counties. Prospecting for oil began about 1901, chiefly in the southern part of the county. Daisetta and Hull became oil towns after a nearby field was discovered in 1918. Wells were brought in at Old River Lake by 1904. Others were opened at North Dayton, Esperson Dome, Moss Bluff, Davis Hill, and South Liberty in 1925 and Hankamer in 1929. Pipelines crossed the county. By 1990, oilfields in Liberty County had cumulatively produced almost 496 million barrels of oil, as well as significant amounts of natural gas. The county population increased steadily in the first half of the twentieth century, reaching 14,637 by 1920 and 24,541 by 1940. The number of farms increased from 1,001 in 1900 to an all-time high of 1,961 in 1940. Corn, rice, and cotton, the major crops, though fluctuating somewhat in relative importance, accounted for 85 to 92 percent of Liberty County agricultural revenue in the 1920s and 1930s. Livestock raising was also important. In 1930 swine raising peaked at 31,242 hogs, and in 1936 Liberty County was the leading hog county in the state. Hog production declined in the 1930s and recovered somewhat by 1940. Cattle raising held steady at some 30,000 head through 1950. Lumbering also remained an important county industry. With its varied agriculture and resource industries, Liberty County was spared some of the worst effects of the agricultural fluctuations of the 1920s and the Great Depression. The number of tenant farmers increased from 294 in 1920 to 709 (46 percent of county farmers) in 1930, and remained high through the 1930s. The value of farms actually increased by almost 30 percent during the 1930s. During World War II a camp for German prisoners of war operated at the fairgrounds in Liberty. Manufacturing in the county, which had been minimal, expanded as a result of the war, from twenty-two establishments employing 370 workers in 1940 to fifty-two firms employing 744 workers by 1948. In that year Texas Gulf Sulphur Company (later Texasgulf mined sulfur at Moss Bluff, south of Liberty. Forty manufacturing plants operated in 1958, along with 165 mineral companies, and a Central Chemical Corporation plant was completed by 1962. Cotton and corn declined after the war, and soybeans joined rice as the most important crops. More than two-thirds of the county's farms had electricity by 1945, and farm tenancy declined dramatically during the 1940s. Further improvement in transportation came in the 1960s, when U.S. Highway 59 was built through the county. Cleveland became a lumber and oilfield supply center, Dayton a rice and oilfield center, and Hull and Daisetta oil and lumber markets. Liberty, remaining a key port on the barge canal, shipped sulfur, chemicals, and steel. Agribusiness and tourism expanded in this period, and many residents found work in the Houston metropolitan area. By the 1980s, 52 percent of the land was in farms and ranches and 36 percent was under cultivation. Nevertheless, the county continued to be known primarily for forest products. Primary crops included rice and soybeans, wheat, hay, and some watermelons, peaches, and pecans.

Business establishments numbered 954. Oil and gas, sulfur, veneer and plywood, concrete, steel, and metal goods were other major industrial products. Farmers planted 4,800 acres of hay, 34,100 acres of rice, and 89,300 acres of sorghum in 1982, when cattle numbered 22,000. A total of 858 farms, or roughly half the number of 1940, continued in operation. Their average size was 418 acres. In the postwar period, the population in rural Liberty County grew approximately twice as fast as that in urban areas. The aggregate population continued to grow steadily, reaching 26,729 in 1950, 33,014 in 1970, 47,088 in 1980, and 52,716 in 1990. In contrast to the 30 percent growth in the 1970s, the increase in the 1980s was a more sedate 11 percent. The proportion of African Americans fell to 25 percent in 1940, 20 percent in 1970, and 13 percent in 1990. A small Hispanic population grew from some 2 percent of county residents in 1980 to 5.5 percent in 1990. The larger communities in 1990 included Liberty (pop. 7,733), Cleveland (7,124), Dayton (5,151), Ames (pop. 989), Daisetta (969), Hardin (563), Plum Grove (480), Kenefick (435), North Cleveland (176), and Devers (318). Liberty County residents have voted consistently for Democratic candidates, with several important exceptions. Only one Republican, Ulysses S. Grant (1872), won support before the turn of the century. Thereafter, Herbert Hoover won a majority in 1928, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, Richard M. Nixon for a second term in 1972, Ronald Reagan for a second term in 1984, and George H. W. Bush in 1988. The county voted for William J. Clinton in 1992. In 1994 Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge in northern Liberty County was established with the purchase of 4,400 acres. The purpose of the refuge, which continued to grow to 25,000 acres, is to protect part of the bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem along the Trinity River. The refuge is also a habitat for diverse waterfowl species, more than 620 plant species and 400 vertebrate species. In the 1990s the Big Thicket National Preserve, in the northern part of the county, provided recreation with its several lakes. The county had seven municipal parks. The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center opened in Liberty in 1977, and the Geraldine D. Humphreys Museum in Liberty drew visitors from 1969 until it closed in 1984. The county celebrated the Mayhaw Festival at Hull and Daisetta in April and May, the Trinity Valley Exposition and County Fair at Liberty in October, and the Santa Claus Parade at Liberty and Dayton in November and December. Historical markers in the county are placed at the La Bahía Road crossing on the Trinity, at the site of Old Atascosito three miles northeast of Liberty, and at the site of Champ d'Asile. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rosalie Fincher, History of Liberty County (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1937). Frank W. Johnson, A History of Texas and Texans (5 vols., ed. E. C. Barker and E. W. Winkler [Chicago and New York: American Historical Society, 1914; rpt. 1916]). Carl H. Moneyhon, Republicanism in Reconstruction Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1980). Miriam Partlow, Liberty, Liberty County, and the Atascosito District (Austin: Pemberton, 1974). Arlene Pickett, Historic Liberty County (Dallas: Tardy, 1936). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. WPA Texas Historical Records Survey, Inventory of the County Archives of Texas (MS, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin). Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Texas/trinityriver/index.html/), accessed March 31, 2010.

Climate Data for Liberty County, Texas Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Tornado activity: Liberty-area historical tornado activity is above Texas state average. It is 170% greater than the overall U.S. average. On 11/21/1992, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 6.4 miles away from the Liberty city center injured 16 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages. On 9/12/1961, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 7.5 miles away from the city center . Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Liberty County (23) is a lot greater than the US average (12). Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 15 Emergencies Declared: 7 Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 11, Floods: 10, Hurricanes: 7, Tornadoes: 6, Fires: 4, Tropical Storm: 1 (Note: Some incidents may be assigned to more than one category). Climate for Liberty County, Texas Climate Tables are created from climate station LIBERTY Texas Thunderstorm days, relative humidity, percent sunshine, and wind information are estimated from First Order station Beaumont, Texas.

In winter, the average temperature is 53.1 degrees F and the average daily minimum temperature is 42.4 degrees. The lowest temperature on record, which occurred at LIBERTY on December 24, 1989, is 7 degrees. In summer, the average temperature is 82.3 degrees and the average daily maximum temperature is 92.4 degrees. The highest temperature, which occurred at LIBERTY on July 20, 1913, is 108 degrees.

Growing degree days are equivalent to "heat units". During the month, growing degree days accumulate by the amount that the average temperature each day exceeds a base temperature (50 degrees F). The normal monthly accumulation is used to schedule single or successive plantings of a crop between the last freeze in spring and the first freeze in fall. The average annual total precipitation is about 60.52 inches. Of this, about 50.62 inches, or 84 percent, usually falls in February through November. The growing season for most crops falls within this period. The heaviest 1-day rainfall during the period of record was 18.50 inches at LIBERTY on November 18, 1994. Thunderstorms occur on about 67 days each year, and most occur in July. The average seasonal snowfall is 0.2 inches. The greatest snow depth at any one time during the period of record was 3 inches recorded on January 12, 1973. On an average, 0 days per year have at least 1 inch of snow on the ground. The heaviest 1-day snowfall on record was 9.0 inches recorded on February 13, 1960. The average relative humidity in mid-afternoon is about 64 percent. Humidity is higher at night, and the average at dawn is about 89 percent. The sun shines 66 percent of the time in summer and 47 percent in winter. The prevailing wind is from the south. Average wind speed is highest, 11.1 miles per hour, in February, March, and April. USDA Hardiness Zone: 8b (15°F to 20°F) Last Frost Date (Spring 2011): Last Frost: Feb. 21 - Feb. 29 First Frost Date (Fall 2011): First Frost: Dec. 1 - Dec. 10 Average Growing Season: 12 months (use seasonally appropriate planting regimes) (A frost is defined as a light freeze of 32° F. There is a 10% chance that a frost will occur outside of the average frost dates above.) Climate More on Liberty County: Liberty County is located in the flat Coastal Plains, about 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and about 25 miles from Galveston Bay. The climate is humid subtropical. Numerous streams and bayous, plus close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico contributes to the development of heavy fog that averages 18 days per year and light fog 70 days per year. Humidity is high, especially during the summer when morning humidity values average over 90% and afternoon values exceed 60%. As a result, Liberty County is one of the Top 10 most humid counties in the U.S. The record high for Liberty County is 108, set on September 4, 2000. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast, except in January when polar cold fronts cause strong north winds to occur. The record low for Liberty County is 5 degrees, set on January 23, 1940 Temperatures are moderated by the influence of the Gulf of Mexico that results in mild winters. The average number of days below freezing is 19, and these usually last only a few hours since they are usually accompanied by clear skies.

Another effect of the Gulf is abundant rainfall, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. Annual precipitation totals range between 30 and 60 inches about 75% of the time, with thunderstorms being the major contributor. Snow rarely occurs, but on December 22, 1989 Liberty County received 1.7 inches of snow and experienced the current record low of 7 degrees. Since 1985, Liberty County has only experienced 11 snowfalls of 1" or greater. Tropical storms occasionally pass through, with Tropical Storm Allison hitting the area on June 5, 2001. Allison caused devastating flooding in the southeast Texas area, with Houston quickly receiving 16-24 inches of rain. The flooding damaged over 48,000 homes and 70,000 automobiles for a total value of 5.2 billion. From 1950-2007, Liberty County reported the most tornadoes in Texas with 212, with most being weak F0 tornadoes. This is a result of high annual thunderstorm and tropical/hurricane activity along the Gulf coast. The strongest was an F4 tornado that struck on 11/12/1992, causing $250 million in damage. Interesting Texas Climate Facts An average of 153 tornadoes touch down in Texas each year. Tornadoes may occur in any month, but occur most often during April, May and June between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. In the period 1959-2000, 6417 tornadoes were reported in Texas, with 63% of tornadoes occurring from April-June and 33% occurring in May. From 1950-2007, Texas encountered 84 tornadoes with a strength of F4 or higher (winds > 207 mph). Texas ranks 11th among the 50 states in density of tornadoes with an average of 5.7 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year. The U.S. record for the fastest tornado winds occurred at Wichita Falls on April, 2 1958 with a top wind speed of 258 mph. Hail is common with severe thunderstorms during the spring, mainly in North and Northwest Texas where 2.5 inch hail (tennis ball size) or greater occurs on the average of 2.5 days per year. During the period 1950-2007, Texas experienced 348 incidents of 4.0 inch hail (grapefruit size) or greater, causing $578 million in damage. Texas has experienced 98 degrees or higher during every month of the year, Record highs for Texas during May through September are 116 degrees or higher The average number of days between the first and last freeze of the winter season in Brownsville averages only 44 days, while Dalhart in the Texas Panhandle averages over four times as long with 189 days The coldest location in Texas is Stratford in the Texas Panhandle with an annual temperature of 55.0 F degrees. The hottest location is Mc Allen in the Texas Valley with an annual temperature of 74.1 F. The highest monthly average occurs during June in Presidio with 102.1 F, and the lowest occurs in Dalhart during January with an average temperature of 19.4 F. How does climate impact this design? In the temperate latitudes, large masses of warm, moist air from more tropical climates advance northward to meet masses of cooler, drier air from the polar-regions. The warm front, characterized by low barometric pressure, and the higher-pressure cold front collide and swirl about each other, increasing local wind velocities and releasing precipitation where the warm air is suddenly cooled

by contact with the cold air. Weather patterns in the temperate latitudes are the result of such frontal systems. They are less stable and predictable than tropical weather, which is dominated by the general sun-induced circulation of the atmosphere. Because of this instability it behooves us to plan accordingly: proper shelter, microclimate delineation, frost and wind protection. Sun angles change throughout the year. This also affects local climate in that there are diverse patches of cold and warmth generated in the landscape based on variations in topography. These colder and warmer areas mix and match and create the potential for weather patterns based on the differences between these extremes. Winds develop, rains fall, cold and frost roll down into the valleys, fogs form. These sun angles also determine the length of growing potential for field crops: the more sunlight during the warmer months, the more photosynthesis, biomass and food production. As we initially walk the land and observe we take an inventory of the affects and movements of the local weather patterns that are written in the configurations created by wind and water, cold and heat, geological processes and plants and animals. Are the trees flagging in one direction (wind), is there any erosion (water), dams created by animals (beaver), abundant organic matter laying on the surface of the ground (plants)? All of these indicators, and more, belie the importance of recognizing how and where the forces of nature leave an imprint on the landscape, a curvilinear line here, a straight line there, a gully here, a steep slope there. Assessment of climate is first and foremost a determiner of what we can and cannot do at a particular site. No matter where we go, there it is. The Liberty County property slopes gradually to the south with the back 25 acres covered in predominately pine-oak forest topping out around 60 feet. The forest will help cool the land through shade and evapotranspiration. There are many opportunities to develop microclimates. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast, except in January when polar cold fronts cause strong north winds to occur. The forest shelters the land from the northern winter winds. The south side of the property will have full exposure to prevailing southerly winds as well as very intense sun exposure most of the year. Through design we will utilize vegetation for shading and cooling, proper orientation, materials and passive design for homes and outbuildings, and hold water high and low in the landscape for cooling and water resource for plants. Landform By changing the landscape where needed, we will accomplish this task through:

Utilizing the Keyline system: Keyline design is a technique for maximizing beneficial use of water resources of a piece of land. The Keyline refers to a specific topographic feature linked to water flow. Beyond that however, Keyline can be seen as a collection of design principles, techniques and systems for development of rural and urban landscapes. Keyline design was developed in Australia by farmer and engineer P.A. Yeomans, and described and explained in his books The Keyline Plan, The Challenge of Landscape, Water For Every Farm and The City Forest.

In a smooth grassy valley, a location called the keypoint can be found where the lower and flatter portion of a primary valley floor suddenly steepens. The – Keyline – of this primary valley is revealed by pegging a contour line through the keypoint, within the valley shape. All the points on the line are at the same elevation as the keypoint. Contour plowing parallel to the Keyline, both above and below will automatically become "off-contour" but the developing pattern will tend to drift rainwater runoff away from the valley centre and incidentally, prevent erosion. Keyline pattern cultivation on ridge shapes is done parallel to any suitable contour but only working on the upper side of the contour guideline. This automatically develops a pattern of off-contour cultivation in which all the rip marks left in the soil will slope down towards the centre of the ridge shape. This pattern of cultivation allows more time for water to soak in. Keyline pattern cultivation also enables controlled flood irrigation of undulating land, which further assists in the fast development of deep biologically fertile soil, which results in improving soil nutrition and health. If the need arises on the larger areas of the proerty we will consider keylining. Creating swales and bio-swales at specific locations: A swale is a slight depression that runs along the contour of the land. That is to say, it is level all along its length. It can be deep or shallow, or even hidden (a ditch filled with gravel and capped with topsoil), and the dirt from digging the swale is usually used to make a berm on the downhill side. A common sized swale is two or three feet wide. Of course, you can make them any size you want. An important distinction is that a swale is not a drain. It is a water collection device. The cheapest way to store water is in the soil. And of course, by stopping the run-off, it prevents erosion as well. How it works: Rain falls on your property, and instead of running straight down the slope, it runs to the swale and gathers. There it soaks in slowly, forming a lens of water underneath the swale. This provides a plume of shallow sub-surface water down slope from it for an extended length of time. Please refer to site plan for location of swales. Building terraces (not needed initially on the Liberty County property) that grade back slightly toward the up slope below the centrally located buildings and structures. This is recommended for future agricultural sites. It is important to have flat areas for planting annual crops for both accessibility and ease of planting and harvesting. Digging ponds for catchment, wildlife and human needs: please refer to site plan for pond locations. Installing cisterns near houses and outbuildings for holding capacity, supplied by roof surfaces. This will become important during later phases of development. Clean water is one our most basic needs. Directing roof and surface runoff into agricultural areas for thirsty plants. In essence, a building is as much a landform as a hill, its surfaces producing significant runoff. There is also opportunity to collect, store and distribute runoff from hard surfaces (driveways, sidewalks, etc).

It is recommended that we set up a roof gutter and downspout systems to move water from the private residences and outbuildings into agricultural fields. Excavation for roads, houses, outbuildings, recreational areas, underground cables and pipes, biological wastewater treatment tanks, root cellars. Earth excavation runs at $3.50 a cubic foot. (Please refer to attachment on pond excavation for calculations) Installing raised beds for agricultural areas. In order to address the runoff from the clearcut land at the north of the property it is recommended that a swale be dug the length of the inner fenceline and small feeder swales be dug off the trunk of the main swale. This will infiltrate the water flowing off the property to the north into the Texas group’s ridgetop, which will allow the water to be absorbed slowly by the forest and, through capillary action, to move deliberately down slope to the south.

Water Systems Water and landform are inseparable. Water knits the landscape together with its power to give and support all life, and reveals its multifunctional ability to connect all the dots in the design matrix. As already stated above we direct water where needed through the “manipulation” of landform, moving structural earth around to hold and shift water to point of use. As already explained, we will do this by developing these key earthmoving objectives: Swales, keylines, terraces, roof catchment, cisterns, ponds, well, graywater, wetlands. The fact that most of the activity of the Liberty County property is located at a higher point in the landscape, mid-slope from the top of the ridge to the bottoms (and the clearcut to the north) means that the only water available (outside the well) for capture is the water that falls on the site, whereas parcels of land situated lower in the landscape, will have water flowing down from higher elevations for potential capture and use. Therefore, we must strike a careful balance between placing our points of collection high in the landscape for use but low enough to effectively collect surface groundwater. The implications of beginning at the top of the ridge, and making our way down from there, are that the potential for collecting a high volume of water for multiple uses, when starting high in the landscape, is paramount to quenching the many “thirsts” needed for all. We also diminish the possibility that a large percentage of the water falling on the property will find its way to the creeks, small rivers, the Trinity River, before we have the chance to convert it to the landscape’s many needs. Our first step in slowing down and holding water on the Liberty County property will be to “Keyline” the entire fland base by spring 2012. We accomplish this task by first observing where the head of a valley (which is steepest) begins to flatten out and move gradually downhill. This point, where concave and convex landforms meet in the valleys, is known as the keypoint. Once identified, we use the contour line that intersects the keypoint for our primary reference line. We will do this for all the essential valleys on the farm. All subsequent lines that we need to know about will run parallel to the original keylines. We then use a “Keyline Plow”, or subsoiler, which consists of several 12” to 18” shanks on a toolbar pulled by a tractor through the soil. This opens slits in the soil profile and allows for water and air to circulate freely through the topsoil and vertically beneath. This action supports the biotic life in the soil matrix to do the work of building topsoil anew. It also opens channels for roots that not only support trees and plants, but it allows for free exchange of nutrients and gases and for the network of mycelial threads to reach out easily and transfer nutrients between perennial woody species. We will be installing a large pond at the base of the forested area and two smaller ponds further south, along with a series of small retention rain gardens along the central road. The likelihood of flooding during the year is tantamount to planning large amounts of runoff and the capture thereof. There will be a boat and equipment storage structure near the lake. The surface pond water is a source of backup for irrigation, fire control and drinking when needed. The pond will be dug incrementally as each house is constructed. In order to eliminate the need for stockpiling the earth until needed it will be utilized directly for earth berming the homes as construction proceeds.

We will also be installing a biological wastewater treatment wetland for graywater from all the buildings. This water will gravity feed to the wetlands at the bottom of the slope closer to the main road access and pumped back up to the garden sites around the homes. Because of the size of the footprint for wetland cells for so many homes and outbuildings it might behoove us to work with branch drain graywater systems per house that can be fed directly into gardens and agricultural areas. Facts and figures about graywater: 42%-79% of household graywater comes from bathtubs and showers, 5%-23% from laundry, 10%-17% from kitchen sinks, 5%-6% from bathroom sinks. The average amount of graywater generated per person varies from 25-45 gallons. A family of four could produce 1300 gallons per week. Each person would fill a 50 gallons drum each day of the week. If we were to utilize all graywater streaming from our homes we could recycle 28,000 gallons a year, along with our rainwater catchment. This is a significant amount. The two common constructed wetlands are surface and subsurface flow wetlands. Capacity for these wetland cells is: for a one-bedroom house 120 sq/ft. For a four-bedroom house 480 sq/ft. If we are designing in 15-20 houses, let’s say, at two bedrooms each we would need a reclamation area of approximately 4500 sq/ft of area for the wetland. A lateral overflow, drain field is required at something over 2000 feet. Graywater will flow into the small catchments near each home. The large wetland will be used for community graywater runoff and overflow from homes. Wetland installation costs $35000.00 per acre for construction. The footprint of the designed wetland for the property comes in one tenth of that: $3500.00. Bioswales will filter and clean water that pours into the property from several points along the site. Vegetated Contour Swales cross property for water collection and drainage during extreme events. Vegetated contour swales cross property for water collection and drainage during extreme events. Vegetated Swales are 8¹ across with moderately sloping sides. A stone path center collects and distributes most water events. The entire swale is used for access, and during extreme rain events. Raised roadbeds are designed for water diversion to swales away from homes. As we travel down the slopes there will be smaller swales at the up slope of major woody species plantings, with an accompanying berm to the down slope of the swale (ditch on contour). The roof systems of structures planned for the property are significant water collecting surfaces. These surfaces will collect rainwater that will be directed to large capacity cisterns buried below frost line. This water will be used for landscape needs and a backup resource for human use. Low flow showerheads, taps, and conscious use of water will also be implemented. The pre-existing well will serve for primary human usage, irrigation and potable purposes. It is also important to note that plants are great collectors of water. Plants dig their roots into the soil and drink when rainfall and snowmelt make water available. Plant roots also mitigate erosion and absorb nutrients that are used for growth, and are then given back to the soil at leaf fall and by shedding roots and branches, and eventually, death. Without this constant cycle renewal of the landscape would be impossible. Therefore, we are designing a significant amount of trees and

plants into this landscape. Trees and plants will also help to sequester carbon that will benefit this property, macroclimate, local climate and land in infinite ways. It is anticipated that cisterns will be first filled with the roof collection water. One cistern could be dedicated to gravity fed irrigation to agricultural fields. The second cistern could be dedicated to pumped irrigation for the greenhouse and plantings around the front of the buildings. Both cisterns will have a back-up supply from the well. During a rain storm, and after the cisterns have been filled, the water will be directed through overflow lines to supplement surface groundwater that has also been channeled to fill the ponds. This pond water will be able to be pumped and used for irrigation of the terraces and fields as might be needed. As it is unknown yet how much water the Liberty County property agricultural operations may use per day during the growing season, we cannot yet calculate how full the ponds are likely to remain. Future calculations of anticipated use in the gardens (based on types of plants selected); use in the greenhouses (based on types of plants selected); and volume of surface groundwater channeled to the pond(s) can more accurately estimate anticipated pond levels. Access and Circulation General access and flow through a property helps to weave all the elements in the landscape together, and directs people and animals to nodes of activity (or quietude) where they need to be. There are vistas, gardens, homes, outbuildings, utility areas, meeting areas, places of meditation and contemplation, storage areas, forests, that are central to how and why we move through a site. These avenues of access are fairly permanent once established in the general design. Therefore, much contemplation is required for the appropriate direction, scale and frequency of use of these pathways. When we think of access and circulation we can think of the circulation of blood and nutrients in the human body. All of the veins and arteries are connected as they move from larger trunks to smaller capillaries in a network of flow. The paths and byways on a property do the same thing. We are directed into a main entrance and, as we proceed, we move to smaller paths, which point the way to significant nodes of life. The Liberty County property needs consideration for both public and private use. As a place for domicile we have created private spaces with separate access: please refer to site plan. For possibilities of economic development and education, we must design for large (and small) groups of people that will visit the community and for any value added production form community members. As the world goes through major changes this land will become an important center for people to learn about and practice the skills that may become all important in the current state of affairs, to learn self reliance in their daily endeavors. Therefore, vehicle access must work, but the site should not be designed around it as first priority. People and nature are more important. There will be limited access for vehicles in order to eliminate the potential for soil compaction, inundation by vehicular chemicals, and noise. Raised roadbeds are tantamount for water diversion to swales away from homes. Access road staged as needed for construction and expansion. Swales are used as access when dry. Swales will be access most of the time although vegetation will suffer unless a stone path is used and sides are planted.

The road scales at 24 feet wide and 40foot at the entrance. The site set back scales at 20’. Road costs are $200.00 per linear foot. It is possible that in later phases future homes will get separate access around the pond and sit on the north of the pond. The problem is that even more trees will have to be cut down in order to accommodate these buildings. The base of the property (to the south) should be left as large as possible for farming and as a buffer to mask from outsiders. We have to watch the road locations as the slope of soil coming off the roofs at a 2:1 slope would put the toe of the mounds 18 feet away from the exterior wall and more if we do a partial basement. This will all be work in progress. Walking paths are linked together in flowing fashion. These walking paths direct people to all the important activity nodes or places of quietude on the property. Planted along these paths will be fruits, foods and herbs for the picking and for scent, interest and beauty. There is access for work related activities: truck access, a one-way in-out, main drive, access for fire department vehicles turnaround for trucks, and a two-way exit. Please note all the paths and roads on the site plan for work and private domicile. Parking will be located near the homes. Carports will be constructed for shelter. All rainwater from the roofs of the carports will be collected in rain barrels for irrigation use. Paths and roads are built on contour as much as possible in order to eliminate potential erosion. Rain gardens catchment basins (ponds, wetlands) will be located adjacent to the roads for management of severe storm water events. An interwoven series of paths will circulate through the forest for walking and access to retreat cabins and shooting range. Natural barriers are planned. Fencing will be installed on most of the boundaries. The client would like to incorporate the opportunity for deer hunting. There will be a gate at a bend on the incoming road so it isn’t seen. Location of trash/recycling dumpsters is located near the front of property for convenient pick up. Organic materials storage is located on the west side of the entrance to the property between the trees and entrance road. All organic materials from the land and from outside sources will be stockpiled for use on an as needs basis. Pines and other woody materials can be utilized in hugelkultur beds (see attachment on hugelkultur).

Vegetation and Animals Please see master site plan and appendix for master plant lists of native species and agricultural species. (See attached Excel spreadsheet for all plants utilized in full design) Animals will play an important role at the Liberty County property. Goats and chickens will patrol the fields and pastures. We have delineated pasture perimeter on the south side and north of the large pond. Movable paddocks will need to be utilized to move animals around once they have their fill of grasses and browse. Dedicated goat housing and feeding areas will be part of future plans. A milking area will be required. Community space is designated for goats, chickens and possibly other fowl. The chickens will be free-ranged as much as possible. Secure nighttime housing is important for protection from predators for the chickens. (Please refer to site plan for animal housing and placement). In the future turkeys, ducks, quail, etc, are recommended for a diverse animal landscape. Possible products from goat milk: soaps, cheeses, yogurt, etc are a possibility for home and commercial use. Plants, of course, are key to the entire development. We especially feel that by developing a perennial culture, with annual crops mixed in, will yield the most produce and biomass (for reintegration into the landscape). We have planned for small, intensive gardens around the houses and common areas for community gardening and raising woody species grouped in guilds, which are beneficial combinations of plants with different functions that help one another. Over the long haul the development of food forests will be key. Please refer to the site plan for placement of the plant matrix and planting regime. Woody Species will fill all edge spaces for food and privacy. Placed trees are secondary to existing trees. Some trees on this design may not be implemented. Treed area may limit solar arrays. Trees not placed near utility lines or septic systems. Tree symbols are representative of size and position. Species, cultivar and height will change due to community and resident preference. Species candidates for residential landscape will be supplied for final selection. Gardens – the client has requested specific planting schedules for at least 50% of the property, with details for the fruit tree guilds (see site plan) in the overall plan. Bamboo groves are also recommended. Water features close to home to attract bird life with fountain pond and small wetlands complete with bamboo, etc. Stands of bamboo will be planted at the south end of the property near the entrance and wetlands as a screen.

A large high tunnel has been planned for vegetable culture in all four seasons: plastic cover during winter-shade cloth during summer. High Tunnels are 35 Œx. 95¹, contains 8 production beds). -Alternates shade cloth (summer) and plastic (winter). -Commercial kitchen recommended for processing. Personal green spaces will surround each home for personal growing: herbs, vegeatables, small fruits, etc. We recommend compost bins for each home with easy access for deposit of kitchen scraps and organic materials. There will also be a central composting operation at the high tunnel in the central community space. Microclimate By developing microclimate, opportunities for outdoor and indoor crop season extension, building temperature regulation, outdoor recreation and gathering, present themselves. As we move into phase two of this project, and design buildings and intensive gardens, these opportunities will show themselves many fold. White walls reflect heat. Black walls absorb heat. Plant against these walls and we extend our growing season. Shelterbelts, screens, and walls will slow down incoming winter wind, intense prevailing winds and rainfall squalls and such. By observing the path of the sun we utilize sunlight to create pockets of warmth. After making an assessment of the movement of the sun through the Liberty County property we agreed that there are already many microclimate opportunities on the site: tree shelterbelts and windbreaks, walls of buildings, slopes at different sun angles, etc. The planting regime makes use of these opportunities. As trees and plants grow and as water features and buildings develop more possibilities for microclimatic season extension will arise. A possible resulting constraint is the amount of intense, hot climatic extremes that exist during the summer months. Ongoing observation is required in order to assess any extremes at the site that might put constraints on possible agricultural yields, especially where the south facing sun is most intense. A natural shelterbelt exists around the property perimeter where mature trees populate from the ridgetop to the bottomlands. The Built Environment Maximize solar gain, protect them from weather extremes, supply easy access, and for integration into the greater land base so that they are both beautiful and part and parcel of the natural flow and texture of site ecology. Structures are multi-functional entities that not only require inputs, but also can be a major source of supply for all that surrounds them in the landscape. Think of the structure as a metabolic entity. Organic materials seem to pour from buildings. If we pay close attention to these “outpourings” we have ready resources to build soil, water plants, construct buildings and other site features, and

utilize “waste” heat. The house is as much part of the “food chain” at a site as an animal that crosses the land every day or a tree that has fallen in the forest nearby. The central structures of the Liberty County property are located mid-ridge and have excellent south-facing, solar exposure, so that passive solar techniques can be used to help regulate temperature and comfort levels in the buildings. Another adjunct point is that the panoramic view from mid-ridge is spectacular and ties the structures into the surrounding landscape. Attention to the size of the building footprint and construction site disturbance is tantamount to achieving ecological integrity. How often do we pass by building sites where the land has been completely bulldozed of all vegetation, and when construction is complete, a small mono-crop of sapling trees is planted, without regard for what was there and could have been saved and included in the original site plan? Local sourcing of materials is key in order to eliminate the footprint based on fuel costs, minimizing the ability for local businesses to supply needed materials, and making use of local stone, wood and other materials that “fit” local climate and bioregion. Energy systems, especially photovoltaics and solar hot water are a big part of the discussion on how to power, heat and heat water in the buildings. We recommend separate pv systems for each building. This creates personal responsibility in amounts of energy used per household. After running the numbers for a community wide photovoltaic system it will amount to approximately $300,000.00 in up front costs, before incentives. The community wide system will not only have to power each home, but community and outbuildings, street lights, emergency systems, etc. Power for shared areas will still have to be delineated. All of this is pending, based on home and community building designs. Depending on personal usage a home system ranges in price from $15,000.00 to $60,000.00. The price of a system is based on $7.60 a watt. A kilowatt is 1000 watts. A single home requires from 4 to 8 kilowatts with battery backup and generator included. A 4- kilowatt system at $7.60 per kilowatt equals $30,400.00. With state and federal incentives this cost can be cut in half. As state and federal cuts come into play in the near future the funding may not be there for the taking. Do this sooner than later. Solar hot water, preferably evacuated tubes are recommended for potable uses, showering, etc. Evacuated tubes along with related equipment ranges from $4000.00 to $10,000.00, before incentives. We recommend composting toilets for each home in order to separate black water from gray. A separate composting operation for this will have to be established. All gray water will circulate through biological wetlands for purification. Manufactured composting toilets range in price from $1000.00-$3000.00. Example: Sun Mar composting toilets- Sun Mar Excel-NE $1395.00. There is no precedent for large blackwater wetland systems in the US. This would have to go through many levels of red tape in order to make it happen.

There has been mention of installing a biogas system for solid waste. Biogas would require a significant amount of solid waste in order to be viable. 15-20 households would not be able to generate enough “waste” in order to keep a constant supply of methane consistent. The amount of methane generated would be miniscule and could not power even a small generator for backup power, let alone cooking for 20 households. If individual septic systems are to be installed, the drainage fields will need to be shown at each house and then probably perk tests ordered. According to County regulations, if there is a rising groundwater, which we have, there may be restrictions on conventional septic systems. While septic systems might be an option (worse case use mounded systems), we are concerned that it doesn’t take advantage of using humanure, urine or gray water. There will not be shared kitchens or kitchens outside the homes, as originally requested. In home designs: some families want kitchen centrally located, others want kitchen to be set off from main living space in order to keep heat from affecting the overall temperature in the house. Dishwashers will be in use. Appliances will include washing machines, clothes lines, gas dryer. Other major construction pieces that will need a closer look as to materials, construction methods and style and aesthetics, are parking areas, paths, driveways, cisterns, a possible wind turbine tower, roads, and the potential for more animals and agricultural areas to be inserted into the landscape later on that will require shelter, fencing and other needs. Initially, we are designating sites and footprint for 15 houses, expanding to 20. We are currently exploring methods and materials and developing a timeline for construction of at least five homes during phase one, along with important infrastructure, roads, power generation, pathways, gardens, trees, waste treatment. Lot placement is more important than lot size. No one wants to look out at a hill. Home design is dependent on technology. The design of the systems in the house – energy efficient, cooling, low energy costs, etc. The client wants inexpensive building options that also meet the energy efficiency needed. Earthberm buildings are acceptable if it will get energy expenses down significantly. Whether or not earthbermed buildings will be constructed is pending based on home and outbuilding design. The community center will be a single building with an open field for recreation. A small lap pool needs to be planned into the overall design. Basically the client wants an indoor pool that's not too big, and can function as a lap pool. There has been discussion about how the water will be treated. A chlorinated pool is inadvisable since any runoff will filter through the waste water system, ie gardens and wetlands, and chlorine kills vegetation and wildlife. This is a situation that will have to be looked at long and hard before a final decision can be made. Activity Center - 75Œ diameter 37.5¹-height Geodesic Dome -Lap Pool- 75¹ x 8¹ x 3.5¹ -Picnic Area/Playground

The community center building that is designed here is only one of many configurations. Until the building template is configured we do not know what will be constructed here. This is strictly one concept out of any number of possibilities. Tool shed for small tools and large equipment, approximately two bay garage size, with room for expansion. The community center as it develops will probably require an architectural license and stamp as this is more of a commercial structure and gathering space. There will be two retreat cabins located in the north woods. Parking –2 cars per home, covered spots. 2-4 spots for each community parking scattered throughout the property. Car Ports - 20¹ x 20¹ x 8¹ (plus roof). It would be advisable to utilize the roof footprint for either water collection (rain barrels) or for installation of solar panels (see site plan). An outdoor shooting range requires a buffer with a footprint approximately the size of a football field. Please refer to all the specs in the attached document on shooting ranges. An indoor range will require a smaller footprint. All in all, the only logical placement for the range would be in the wooded areas of the property that would require the removal of a large portion of woody species. There is very little room left on the property because of preexisting planned development.   Once the master plan is complete, phase two of the work for the Liberty County property will be to generate detailed designs and drawings for all structures on the property. Elements that will be incorporated into these designs are spelled out in the goals stated by the Texas group at the onset of this document. Materials, energy systems, style and structure, the waste stream, footings, foundation, roofing materials, and much more go in to planning for a house that will withstand the affects of time and weather, and if planned consciously, will be completely compostable and recyclable at the termination of its habitation. Please see building NOTES at end of document Zones of Use Zones of use are how each area in a design is made use of. In general terms, Zone 0 is the house itself and Zone 1 is used for herbs, annual vegetable gardens, and intensive plantings. Zone 2 is still heavily cultivated and requires maintenance of orchards and small animals (chickens, ducks, pigeon, quail). This zone includes most outbuildings and incorporates perennials. Zone 3 is the first zone that probably requires less than daily maintenance/visitation and can be somewhat wild. It incorporates shelterbelts, nut forests, waterfowl habitat and potentially bees. Larger animals (goats, sheep, pigs and cattle) can be located as is appropriate in either Zone 3 or Zone 4. Zone 4 is utilized for both larger animals and for timber production.

And finally, Zone 5 is uncultivated and “wild”. The zones of use revolve around public and private use at the Liberty County property. Please refer to the site plan for placement of specific land use elements. Soils One often wonders why, in the Scale of Permanence, soils sit so low in the list. In reality, none of the points in the Scale of Permanence is any more or less important that any other. But, if there is a hierarchy here, then the one that sits close to last takes on even more importance. We are in an age of peak water and peak soil. So little of the water on this earth is potable and we have polluted it to no end. And most of the topsoil on our continent now lies in the depths of the Mississippi Delta. 2/3 of all drainages in the US end up in the Mississippi which happily makes its way past New Orleans and dumps what little is left of our topsoil in the gulf. The key to all of our endeavors with soil is organic matter. We have this strange tendency to clear our land of anything that covers the lawn or creates what we perceive as a nuisance of rotting branches, leaves, cardboard, paper, and whatever organic materials get in our way. These materials are a source of gold to the Permaculture practitioner. Whether we are on sand or clay it is the organic materials that matter. This is what builds soil for our crops. And, as was previously stated, without these crops we simply do not exist. Everything else that we have looked at in this master plan produces “waste’. All of this can be recycled into our soil matrix where the micro and macro organisms go to work on it, turning it into accessible nutrients for our plants, and then of course, for animals and us. On the Liberty County property we will use numerous strategies to keep the soil in good tilth and good health. Currently there is a 50/50 split of silt and sand on the property with very little clay in the soil matrix. Organic matter is the key to regenerating the fertility needed for high yield of food, medicine and utility crops. We will hold nutrients with keylines, swales, mulches, plant density and diversity, and eventually, animals integrated into the system to help build soil. All “waste” from the entire site will be recycled into compost bins, used for sheet mulch, in hugelkultur mounds and as part and parcel of the cycle of nutrients in the food chain and the great web of life and death.

Golf Road Property Soil  

Soil  Chemistry  Soil  Name:       Waller-­‐Dallardsville  complex    Parent  Material:     Loamy  Fluviomarine  deposits  of  Early  Pleistocene  age  Organic  Matter       1.25%  pH         5.3  CEC:       6.0  Soil  Components  (Percent)  

Clay    10%  

Sand    46%  Silt        44%  

Available  Water  Capacity  0.18  cm/cm  (above  water  table)    Liberty County, Texas

Wd—Waller-Dallardsville complex

Map Unit Setting

• Elevation: 20 to 400 feet • Mean annual precipitation: 40 to 63

inches

• Mean annual air temperature: 64 to 70 degrees F

• Frost-free period: 240 to 285 days

Map Unit Composition

• Waller and similar soils: 50 percent • Dallardsville and similar soils: 35

percent • Minor components: 15 percent

 USDA  Rated  as:     Prime  Farmland  if  Drained

   

Design  Drivers,  Limiting  Factors    

 

High  Water  Table  and  Acid  Soil  combine  to  complicate  excavation  and  placement  of  concrete  foots  or  slabs.  The  water  table  is  38  centimeters  below  grade  in  a  soil  with  a  pH  of  5.3.  Without  considerable  aggregate  and  elevated  grades,  these  factors  severely  limit  the  use  of  paths,  roads,  trails  and  building  slabs.    The  high  water  table  in  the  soil  precludes  the  direct  use  of  ponds  for  wastewater  collection,  filtration,  and  distribution.  This  soil  condition  is  consistent  throughout  the  property.    

Summary by Map Unit — Liberty County, Texas (TX291) Map unit symbol Map unit name Rating Acres in AOI Percent of AOI Wd Waller-Dallardsville complex Moderate 38.5 100.0% Totals for Area of Interest 38.5 100.0% "Risk of corrosion" pertains to potential soil-induced electrochemical or chemical action that corrodes or weakens concrete. The rate of corrosion of concrete is based mainly on the sulfate and sodium content, texture, moisture content, and acidity of the soil. Special site examination and design may be needed if the combination of factors results in a severe hazard

of corrosion. The concrete in installations that intersect soil boundaries or soil layers is more susceptible to corrosion than the concrete in installations that are entirely within one kind of soil or within one soil layer. The risk of corrosion is expressed as "low," "moderate," or "high."  

 Dwellings  on  Concrete  Slab          Somewhat  Limited  due  to  depth  of  saturated  zone  (.94).    Acid  Soil  (.84).    

Dwellings  are  single-­‐family  houses  of  three  stories  or  less.  For  dwellings  without  basements,  the  foundation  is  assumed  to  consist  of  spread  footings  of  reinforced  concrete  built  on  undisturbed  soil  at  a  depth  of  2  to  3  feet.    The  ratings  for  dwellings  are  based  on  the  soil  properties  that  affect  the  capacity  of  the  soil  

to  support  a  load  without  movement  and  on  the  properties  that  affect  excavation  and  construction  costs.  The  properties  that  affect  the  load-­‐supporting  capacity  include  depth  to  a  water  table,  ponding,  flooding,  subsidence,  linear  extensibility  (shrink-­‐swell  potential),  and  compressibility.  Compressibility  is  inferred  from  the  Unified  classification  of  the  soil.    

to  help  the  user  better  understand  the  percentage  of  each  map  unit  that  has  the  rating  presented.      Other  components  with  different  ratings  may  be  present  in  each  map  unit.  The  ratings  for  all  components,  regardless  of  the  map  unit  aggregated  rating,  can  be  viewed  by  

generating  the  equivalent  report  from  the  Soil  Reports  tab  in  Web  Soil  Survey  or  from  the  Soil  Data  Mart  site.  Onsite  investigation  may  be  needed  to  validate  these  interpretations  and  to  confirm  the  identity  of  the  soil  on  a  given  site.    

 Local  Roads  and  Streets,  Somewhat  Limited.  Low  Strength  (.78)      Depth  of  Saturated  Zone  (.76)    Local  roads  and  streets  have  an  all-­‐weather  surface  and  carry  automobile  and  light  truck  traffic  all  year.  They  have  a  subgrade  of  cut  or  fill  soil  material;  a  base  of  gravel,  crushed  rock,  or  soil  material  stabilized  by  lime  or  cement;  and  a  surface  of  flexible  material  (asphalt),  rigid  material  (concrete),  or  gravel  with  a  binder.  The  ratings  are  based  on  the  soil  properties  that  affect  the  ease  of  excavation  and  grading  and  the  traffic-­‐supporting  capacity.  The  properties  that  affect  the  ease  of  excavation  and  grading  are  depth  to  bedrock  or  a  cemented  pan,  hardness  of  bedrock  or  a  cemented  pan,  depth  to  a  water  

table,  ponding,  flooding,  the  amount  of  large  stones,  and  slope.  The  properties  that  affect  the  traffic-­‐supporting  capacity  are  soil  strength  (as  inferred  from  the  AASHTO  group  index  number),  subsidence,  linear  extensibility  (shrink-­‐swell  potential),  the  potential  for  frost  action,  depth  to  a  water  table,  and  ponding.  The  limitations  generally  cannot  be  overcome  without  major  soil  reclamation,  special  design,  or  expensive  installation  procedures.  Poor  performance  and  high  maintenance  can  be  expected

   

     

Water  Catchments    Reservoir,  No  Limitations    Pond  reservoir  areas  hold  water  behind  a  dam  or  embankment.  Soils  best  suited  to  this  use  have  low  seepage  potential  in  the  upper  60  inches.  The  seepage  potential  is  determined  by  the  saturated  hydraulic  conductivity  (Ksat)  of  the  soil  and  the  depth  to  fractured  bedrock  or  other  permeable  material.  Excessive  slope  can  affect  the  storage  capacity  of  the  reservoir  area.  

 Permeability,  Intake  family  0.5;  (0  Clay  –  4  Sand)  soils  in  this  family  are  moderately  deep  or  deeper,  have  loamy  textured  surface  and  subsurface  layers  and  moderately  slow  over  moderate  permeability.    

Terraces  and  Diversions,  Very  Limited    Terraces  and  diversions  are  a  combination  of  embankments,  channels,  and  drains  that  remove  excess  water  from  an  area.  These  structures  are  designed  to  convey  surface  water  to  stable  outlets  at  a  non-­‐erosive  velocity.    The  soil  properties  and  qualities  that  influence  construction  are  slope,  large  stones,  depth  to  bedrock  or  to  a  cemented  pan,  and  wetness.  Other  properties  and  qualities  that  may  cause  problems  after  construction  are  restricted  rooting  depth,  a  high  susceptibility  to  wind  or  water  erosion,  and  restricted  permeability  to  water  and  air.  A  high  content  of  gypsum  may  cause  piping  or  pitting.    The  Grassed  Waterways,  Not  Limited    Grassed  waterways  are  broad  and  

shallow  and  are  covered  with  erosion-­‐resistant  grasses.  They  are  used  to  conduct  surface  water  to  outlets  or  surface  drains  at  a  non-­‐erosive  velocity.    The  soil  properties  and  qualities  that  affect  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  grassed  waterways  and  surface  drains  are  large  stones,  wetness,  slope,  and  depth  to  bedrock  or  to  a  cemented  pan.  The  soil  properties  and  qualities  that  affect  the  growth  of  grass  after  construction  are  soil  moisture  regime,  susceptibility  to  wind  or  water  erosion,  available  water  capacity,  rooting  depth,  presence  of  toxic  substances,  such  as  salts  or  sodium,  and  permeability  to  water  and  air.    

 

 

Description

Setting

• Landform: Flats • Landform position (three-dimensional): Talf • Down-slope shape: Linear • Across-slope shape: Linear • Parent material: Loamy fluviomarine deposits of early pleistocene age

Properties and qualities

• Slope: 0 to 1 percent (3 Percent) • Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches • Drainage class: Poorly drained • Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately low to moderately high (0.06 to 0.20 in/hr) • Depth to water table: About 0 to 30 inches • Frequency of flooding: None • Frequency of ponding: None • Maximum salinity: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm) • Available water capacity: High (about 10.8 inches)

Interpretive groups

• Land capability classification (irrigated): 4w • Land capability (nonirrigated): 4w

Typical profile

• 0 to 6 inches: Loam • 6 to 16 inches: Loam • 16 to 60 inches: Sandy clay loam

Description of Dallardsville

Setting

• Landform: Flats • Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise • Microfeatures of landform position: Pimple mounds • Down-slope shape: Convex • Across-slope shape: Convex • Parent material: Loamy eolian deposits • over loamy fluviomarine deposits of pleistocene age

Properties and qualities

• Slope: 0 to 1 percent • Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches • Drainage class: Moderately well drained • Capacity to transmit watery high (0.57 to 1.98 in/hr) • Depth to water table: About 12 to 24 inches • Frequency of flooding: None • Frequency of ponding: None • Available water capacity: Moderate (about 8.4 inches)

 

Interpretive groups

• Land capability (nonirrigated): 2w

Typical profile

• 0 to 4 inches: Fine sandy loam • 4 to 27 inches: Fine sandy loam • 27 to 47 inches: Loam • 47 to 72 inches: Sandy clay loam

Minor Components

Kirbyville

• Percent of map unit: 8 percent • Landform: Meander scrolls

Otanya

• Percent of map unit: 7 percent

Aesthetics   The Liberty County site, already beautiful in its topography, views and vegetation, has the potential to be even more exquisite. It is, all in all, about a feeling of “place”. Proper placement of flowers, trees, and all types of plants, along with the general flow of the design will turn all residents and visitors into “budding” artists and adventurers in the natural world. Attention to scale, terracing, the native savannah landscape, building design, year round color in vegetation, the use of natural materials, the winding pathways, all of this, creates more than simply an aesthetic. Aesthetics goes much deeper than surfaces even though these may be shimmering and seductive. As we knit together this landscape in all its possible and impossible connections and convolutions the delight that we obtain from immersing ourselves in it will reach into our personal depths. The opportunity for the “look” of the place, merged with the functional relationships that we design into it and that grow on their own, is an opportunity not lost to anyone with a heart for deeper communication and connection and an eye for beauty. Beauty, certainly, is not only skin-deep. A Permaculture landscape is a unique landscape, one that takes everything under the sun, literally, into consideration. The Liberty County property will be a shining example of what can be done for anyone with the heart, soul and mind to put it on the ground. This shining is the true aesthetic. After all, what shines most? The sun, of course. The sun. We might say that these elements are, because of the many connotations that have accumulated through the years about them, “the” entities that belie something deeper. But when we examine the whole of it, the whole project as it stands, and the reasons for doing it, it is all about the deeper essences that sit inside all of us. The way the natural world works is through inner-connectivity, this seemingly never-ending cycle that keeps giving back and keeps regenerating its self forever. This project and community development is about all of this and there is the willingness to see it all the way through, to follow a thread that few follow, to risk what one believes to be true. This narrative has explored what is possible on a piece of land, if there is such a creature as a “piece” of land. For how can we take a segment of land out of the greater whole? The forces that act on the land act on all land whether contiguous to what we call “my” place or not. Permaculture is a light shining in the food forests. And it is taking the

 

world by storm. Is it because it simply is the right thing to do? Questions of wrong or right may not hold much water for many, but to tell you truth, a cistern does, and a pond. And this water quenches the thirst of the many. Phases:

1. Infrastructure is the required first step in order to support the building of the five initial residences. The entire main road, using existing roadbed to the south end of the circle, which begins at the clearing. Ponds (phased based on house construction) and water infrastructure (swales, wetlands, etc). Organic materials collection area, dumpsters, compost piles. Decisions on home designs are pending. Construction drawings and timeline are also pending. Five homes at the north pond and any services that are attached to those homes. Solar arrays, pump for well, hardware, water features, woody species, intensive gardens around homes, etc. Medeski wants to be on before August 1; Fisher mentioned December. Others have not indicated move in dates.

2. Community buildings and shared services not addressed at individual residences. The South loop

additional homes and completion of south loop access road. These phases are basic. There needs to be more discussion around who will be building homes and how the community buildings and infrastructure will be designed, contracted, and funded.

NOTES (Questions to date) The concern that I think we all (including the Client) need to understand is the amount of computer modeling, and building science that will need to be done to make sure that humidity levels don’t get out of control in the buildings. This is especially important when a passive cooling strategy is incorporated into the mix with thermal mass that stays cool and then has warmer moisture saturated air up against it. It is easy to just build a house with operable windows all around so that when systems shut down due to no energy you just open windows and doors and bear with the heat and humidity. The building equalizes quickly and condensation never occurs. With an earthberm house or any other thermal mass structure, it is so easy for the dew point to be reached on the colder surfaces if the dehumidification system stops (just like a cave but worse with people living inside exuding moisture). We can always design wood framed, heavy insulated with stack effect ventilation and efficient split system cooling which will require more electric than can reasonably be done by PV and batteries, and/or a back-up generator. But, if we are to eliminate the Generator, (or have it as the extreme backup when no sun for a couple of days and the batteries are exhausted) then the most efficient integrated design with materials that can flux naturally absorb and release moisture must be modeled and examined otherwise, when the building is always on the edge of condensation and mold creation, the risk to the homeowner is higher than even a normal framed house which just gets hotter. We are looking at creating the energy model and assisting with the cooling strategies and the net zero strategy for the prototype house. We are assuming a standard 2200 SF box with a couple of fenestration modifications for changing up the appearance.

 

Scale is 1:50, concept is in process until final positions are set. Houses have a 2200 sq. ft. foot print. South side lofts were mentioned. One house / energy system sim's for the project? Then re-runs for different orientations? Would like to see a set of elevations, with windows and doors, and some cross sections to get a better idea of the whole set of issues. [Stan] THIS WOULD BE DEVELOPED BUT BASICALLY 2,200 sf (APPROX) WITH MINIMAL EGRESS WINDOWS ON THE NORTH – EAST AND WEST AND MOSTLY OPEN WITH OVERHANGING SUN CONTROL ON THE SOUTH ELEVATION. (BUT LIKE YOU SAY, THIS IS MOSTLY GOING TO BE IN COOLING MODE SO PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING WILL NOT REALLY BE NEEDED NOR DESIRED FOR THE MINIMAL TIME IT MIGHT BE NEEDED. INTERNAL GAINS AND INTERNAL MOISTURE BUILT UP ARE THE ISSUES. Will the earth tube, desiccant, and moisture control mechanical system be a "district" approach serving all community buildings or will each residential unit 12 / 15 have its own system? This is pretty important.[Stan] MOST LIKELY IT WILL DEALTH WITH ON AN INDIVIDUAL HOUSE BY HOUSE BASIS AS I DON’T SEE A COST EFFECTIVE CENTRAL SYSTEM, DO YOU? Can you provide a "dump" of all your ideas up front so I don't second guess a lot of stuff? ABSOLUTELY, MAIN THING IS USING COOLING OF THE MOIST WALL CONNECTED EARTH TO COOL THE CONCRETE ALONG WITH PROBABLY PUMPING THE REPORTED COOL GROUND WATER (PERCHED WATER TABLE FROM 15 FEET DOWN) VIA SOLAR PUMPS THROUGH PEX EMBEDDED IN THE WALLS AND CEILING. (SOME THOUGHTS). IDEA IS TO MINIMIZE THE NEED TO COOL ONLY TO DEHUMIDIFY ENOUGH. _______________________________________ Building Science Where this project is located cries for significant up front investment in design and excellent building science to avoid serious moisture and comfort problems. Earth Sheltered Buildings in Houston Area Unknown fenestration package, concrete high mass, perched water tables, possible expansive soils, moist climate. For this climate, light weight above grade buildings, with excellent solar gain controls, planned\controlled natural ventilation (but good air-barrier and leakage control), daylighting, super-efficient appliances (reduce internal gains) and low water adsorption contents. POTENTIALLY A PAINTED CONCRETE THAT WOULD MINIMIZE THE INTERIOR MOISTURE ABSORPTION ??? AND IF THEY ARE ABSORBED AT LEAST THEY ARE NOT CELLULOSE BASED TO PROMOTE MOLD GROWTH. (So they can dry out easily) might make more sense. Micro cooling loads are then addressed systematically. A concern right away -- full-year almost continuous cooling load. This cooling load would be tempered in the high-mass earth sheltered case, but with a continuous base level of heat and moisture transport into the indoor spaces, there would likely be need for considerable designed moisture removal by multiple means both passive and mechanical. If the building is earth sheltered in a climate where rain wetting of the earth would be frequent, and drying rates low (high ambient dew-points), then indoor moisture would have a hard time drying to the exterior. A system for continuous moisture management and removal would be the resulting system requirement. There the average soil temps might run in the 70- 74 range in winter (summer soil temps 76-84), and would be

 

pretty near surface dew points so condensation moisture indoors could be an issue. I would need to compute a data-based soil temperature profile using equations derived at NIST. This requires soil characteristics data (mineralogy, moisture content, etc.) If the earth sheltering will be done with cached back-fill then it will dry out over time, but then will get re-wetted by rainfall. Soil is a poor insulator, running about R-3 per foot. (Rule of thumb is 1 foot of earth is about the same as 1 INCH of insulation). In Houston, the covering soil would likely be wetted then drain, so the installed R-value would be highly variable over time. For cooling and heating calculations, one needs to assume the worst case (lowest insulating potential). The moist soils could however support plant growth, which would then lose heat to the atmosphere by transpiration as well as the surface losing heat through evaporation when wetted. Earth tubes May not likely be a good option in this climate, but can be explored. We would expect the below grade soil temps to be elevated to the extent the tube surfaces would not have a significant moisture condensation effect during peak and later summer months. Houston climate would require an extensive and expensive earth tube system with large surface areas, since the delta-T from intake air to tube surfaces might be small. Earth tube internal volumes need to have a good temperature drop between the intake air and surfaces so that condensation may occur. If the outdoor air is 90F at 40% RH, and the tube surfaces are 76-80F then lower condensation rates may occur than in another climates where earth temps might be 60-65 F and well below the dew point of the incoming air. PERHAPS WE SHOULD GET SOMEONE TO DO A CURRENT SOIL TEMPERATURE PROFILE WITH SOME DEEP TEMPERATURE PROBES.? The gradient could actually reverse in winter (depending on cool weather fronts coming south) when the earth tube surface temps might float above intake air temps. Then some space tempering would occur however, intake-air moisture content would become elevated. So very humid outdoor air would be introduced, and heat the space. If the indoor surfaces were cooler than OA dew point due to earth coupling through the walls and roof, then condensation could occur. Under these conditions the earth tubes would NOT remove any moisture from intake air. Dehumidification is Key Linking up a large earth tube de-humidification make-up air intake with desiccant cooling system (solar recharged) could work. The trick would be finding an affordable enough unit(s) to do this. There would still need to be some positive air-coil/dehumidifier in the loop to knock down the absolute humidity (latent heat in fresh air) overall otherwise -- back to surface dew point concerns. All this would only work for extreme micro-load houses otherwise the sizing of the renewable energy system and battery storage would blow up and get expensive.

 

Texas  Group  Concept  Drawings  for  Home  Prototype