Plant local-seed-source maple saplings in a canopy gap, site 5, the maintained East Trail through the relict bigtooth maple stand, Lost Maples State Natural Area (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, public state natural area), Vanderpool, TX 78885, Bandera and Real Counties (2026-08-04)

The survey above found a bare canopy gap in the relict bigtooth maple stand with no visible seedling regeneration, and hand-planted local-seed-source saplings are the concrete step that keeps this Ice Age relict population from thinning out another season. Standard: USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 612 tree/shrub establishment plus Texas Parks and Wildlife Department relict-forest and canyon-microclimate stewardship guidance, applied here to the disjunct relict bigtooth maple stand along the Sabinal Canyon East Trail, Lost Maples State Natural Area, Bandera and Real Counties, TX, an Ice Age holdover surviving hundreds of miles from its main range. SDG 15.1 and 15.5. Proof: local seed source confirm plus before after photos plus sapling count record plus GPS Method (USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 612 tree/shrub establishment plus Texas Parks and Wildlife Department relict-forest and canyon-microclimate stewardship guidance, applied here to the disjunct relict bigtooth maple stand along the Sabinal Canyon East Trail, Lost Maples State Natural Area, Bandera and Real Counties, TX, an Ice Age holdover surviving hundreds of miles from its main range. SDG 15.1 and 15.5.): 1. 1. Confirm the planting plan and local-seed-source stock with park staff, and photograph the bare canopy gap before starting, from the same vantage used in the survey. 2. 2. Working only in the soil pocket immediately beside the maintained trail, never on the canyon slope above it, hand dig planting holes with hand tools only. 3. 3. Hand plant local-seed-source bigtooth maple saplings at the design spacing in the canopy gap. 4. 4. Hand mulch around the new plantings and photograph the planted gap from the matching before vantage, recording sapling count and source. Done when: Confirmation the sapling stock is local-seed-source bigtooth maple; Before photo of the bare canopy gap; Confirmation planting stayed in the soil pocket beside the trail, never on the canyon slope; Sapling count and source recorded; After photo of the planted gap from the matching vantage

Where

the maintained East Trail through the relict bigtooth maple stand, Lost Maples State Natural Area (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, public state natural area), Vanderpool, TX 78885, Bandera and Real Counties

Pay

$210 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

local seed source confirm plus before after photos plus sapling count 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 45–90 minutes. Method of record: ANSI A300 Part 6 (Planting) + ISA Best Management Practices for tree planting & establishment; Arbor Day Foundation planting standard. DIY-safe volunteer planting on cleared, utility-marked ground; no mechanized or utility-conflict digging.

Bring

• GPS-capable phone
• camera
• round-point shovel + digging fork
• hand pruners
• mulch (wood chips) + measuring stick
• watering can or hose
• gloves + closed-toe boots

Steps

1. 1. Confirm the planting spot is inside the posting radius and clear of marked utilities (811 locate honored); record the GPS waypoint.
2. 2. Photograph the bare site and the nursery stock (label/species visible) before planting.
3. 3. Dig the hole 2-3x the root-ball width and no deeper than the root ball, so the root flare will sit at or just above grade.
4. 4. Remove the container or cut away burlap/wire, gently loosen circling roots, and set the tree with the root flare visible at grade.
5. 5. Backfill with the native soil in layers, firming out air pockets; do not bury the root flare or amend heavily.
6. 6. Build a shallow watering basin, water in slowly until the backfill is saturated, and apply 2-3 inches of mulch kept 3 inches off the trunk.
7. 7. Stake only if the tree cannot stand on its own; use two loose ties that allow trunk movement, and note a removal date within one year.
8. 8. Record species, GPS, before/after photos, root-flare-at-grade confirmation, mulch depth, and water applied into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Unmarked or suspected buried utility, or the 811 locate is not honored -> STOP: do not dig; reschedule after a confirmed locate.
• Root ball is dry, circling/kinked, or the trunk is wounded -> do not plant as-is; soak/correct or reject the stock and note it, rather than establish a failing tree.
• Right-of-way, overhead-line conflict, or a species/site mismatch -> flag for the site steward and choose an approved spot/species; never plant into a conflict.

What counts as done

• Confirmation the sapling stock is local-seed-source bigtooth maple
• Before photo of the bare canopy gap
• Confirmation planting stayed in the soil pocket beside the trail, never on the canyon slope
• Sapling count and source recorded
• After photo of the planted gap from the matching vantage

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Tree Planting and Establishment. Planting a tree properly is a codified craft, and the arborists' standards are blunt about why: most young trees that die were killed at planting, by a hole dug too deep, a root ball left bound, a first summer without water. Mastery looks like trees you planted years ago still standing, which is the only measure arborists accept. The craft lives in exactly the steps this packet asks for: the wide shallow hole, the freed roots, the mulch kept off the trunk, the watering that follows. Plant one tree correctly and you know something real.