Seed native groundcover on a karst recharge zone at Lake Brownwood State Park, site 2, a public trail inside Lake Brownwood State Park at the northern Edwards Plateau transition near Brownwood, TX 76801, Brown County (2026-08-04)

The survey above found a bare or sparsely covered karst recharge zone upland segment inside Lake Brownwood State Park, and a hand seeded native groundcover would otherwise leave this segment shedding soil and sediment into the recharge zone for another season. Standard: US EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols plus Edwards Aquifer Authority recharge zone protection framework, applied here to a karst recharge zone upland segment inside the public Lake Brownwood State Park near Brownwood, TX, Brown County, at the northern Edwards Plateau transition. SDG 6.3 and 6.6. Proof: before after photos plus seed mix and area record plus GPS Method (US EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols plus Edwards Aquifer Authority recharge zone protection framework, applied here to a karst recharge zone upland segment inside the public Lake Brownwood State Park near Brownwood, TX, Brown County, at the northern Edwards Plateau transition. SDG 6.3 and 6.6.): 1. 1. Confirm the segment with park staff and photograph the bare or sparse groundcover before starting, staying on stable open ground well clear of any sinkhole or cave feature. 2. 2. Hand rake the surface only, hand tools only, no power equipment, to prepare a seed bed on stable open ground. 3. 3. Hand broadcast a native Edwards Plateau herbaceous groundcover seed mix (sideoats grama, little bluestem, Texas winter grass) at the recommended rate. 4. 4. Hand roll or tamp the seeded area and photograph it from the matching before vantage, recording the seed mix and area seeded. Done when: Before photo of the bare or sparsely covered segment; Confirmation only hand tools were used, work stayed on stable open ground, never approaching a sinkhole or cave feature; Seed mix and area seeded recorded; After photo of the seeded segment from the matching vantage

Where

a public trail inside Lake Brownwood State Park at the northern Edwards Plateau transition near Brownwood, TX 76801, Brown County

Pay

$155 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

before after photos plus seed mix and area record plus GPS

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

intermediate

Open until

2026-09-03

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 30–60 minutes. Method of record: EPA dry-weather / AMD field screening

Bring

• GPS phone
• pH meter or strips
• conductivity meter
• ammonia + iron test kit as specified
• surfactant screen if specified
• gloves
• camera

Steps

1. 1. Navigate to the outfall/reach; record GPS; photograph it, capturing any visible flow or staining.
2. 2. Note whether flow is present in dry weather (yes/no).
3. 3. Measure and record pH, conductivity, and each specified analyte per kit instructions.
4. 4. Log any color, odor, floc, or aquatic-life observation.
5. 5. Enter all readings with units, GPS, time, and photos into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Dry-weather flow present with elevated conductivity/ammonia/surfactants -> flag suspected illicit discharge for the responsible agency.
• pH < 6 with visible iron floc -> tag suspected acid mine drainage; recommend metals lab panel.

What counts as done

• Before photo of the bare or sparsely covered segment
• Confirmation only hand tools were used, work stayed on stable open ground, never approaching a sinkhole or cave feature
• Seed mix and area seeded recorded
• After photo of the seeded segment from the matching vantage

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Watershed Health. A watershed is everything the land pours into a stream, and the stream keeps the record. The EPA's bioassessment method reads that record through the small creatures living in the gravel: mayflies and caddisflies mean clean water, only worms and midges mean trouble. Mastery looks like a person who can wade one riffle with a net and tell you how the whole valley is doing. That skill is built sample by sample. This packet is one of them: one site, one careful count, one entry in the long record of a stream.