Title
Approving a Letter of Understanding with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for managed native habitat areas within the City’s park system, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the same.
Summary
Staff is seeking Council approval of a Letter of Understanding between the City of Pflugerville and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a nationally recognized leader in native plant research, conservation, and landscape best practices based in Central Texas. The purpose of this agreement is to support the creation and long-term management of native habitat areas within the City’s park system.
Through this partnership, the City will work collaboratively with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Pflugerville Parks Foundation to identify appropriate locations across the park system for intentionally managed native habitat areas. These areas will prioritize native and pollinator-friendly plant communities and will be designed to support local ecosystems while maintaining a safe, intentional, and well-managed appearance within public park spaces.
The initiative is intended to accomplish two primary objectives. First, it will reduce long-term maintenance needs by transitioning select turf areas that require frequent mowing and inputs into native landscapes that are better adapted to local conditions. Second, it will improve native habitat throughout the city, providing environmental benefits such as enhanced pollinator support, improved soil health, increased biodiversity, and greater ecological resilience.
While these native habitat areas will not be maintained using traditional mowing practices, they will continue to receive active management. This includes ongoing monitoring, invasive species control, and stewardship practices consistent with established native landscape management standards. The approach reflects a shift from routine turf maintenance to intentional ecological management, rather than a reduction in care.
Under the Let...
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