Bobcat Build Makes Long Term Improvements to Ringtail Ridge

Saturday, March 27th broke chilly and cloudy but when the work day was called it was sunny and in the 80’s.  Almost 100 yards of the ADA trail was repaired, and new erosion measures were put in place. A new Montezuma cypress tree was planted in the first pond.  Many strands of barbed wire and fence posts were removed. And the single-track trails were made fresh and obstruction-free. 

More than 65 students and teachers from Texas State University, SMGA board members and trail crew and another roughly dozen City of San Marcos employees devoted more than 300 man-hours to the improvements to the trail.

The cypress planting crew was lead by Jo Ellen Korthals who said of the students, “The stalwart young men that planted the 8’ Montezuma cypress sacrificed their shoes in an effort to plant the tree with its roots in the water. They also cleared a wide area around the viewing bench. In the coming years, we look forward to watching the cypress spread its branches over the pond.”

Spring rains are responsible for the tremendous growth in grasses, wildflowers and just plain weeds that cover the 40+ acre greenspace. The former site of the Hughson Meat Packing plant has three tanks or offal ponds that contain rainwater in amounts not seen in years. The property was acquired by the city in exchange for an increase in land-use density on adjacent property. The all important greenspace resides in the Edward’s Aquifer recharge zone and several karst features throughout the land give evidence to the drainage of rainwater directly to the aquifer.

The annual Bobcat Build community service project of Texas State University bumps up the number of volunteer hours devoted to trail maintenance. A regular band of SMGA trail crew members spread their efforts through all six greenspaces owned by the city throughout the year. Click here for more photos from Bobcat Build.