TEXAS GEMS -SEA RIM STATE PARK

Site Description

Sea Rim State Park consists of 4141.1 acres of Gulf coast beach and marshland in Jefferson County, 10 miles west of Sabine Pass. The park is divided into two units, the D. Roy Harrington Beach Unit and the Marsh Lands Unit. The Harrington Beach Unit provides 20 RV sites with water & electrical hookups, a Visitor's Center with an adjoining restroom with shower facilities, ten tent sites and two primitive camping areas on the beach.

Area of Influence:

Primarily Gulf Coast beaches and marshlands.

Ecological and Cultural Characteristics

Habitat Type:

Gulf coast tidal marshlands and beach.

Rare/Endangered Species:

Rana grylio pig frog
Pelecanus occidentalis Brown Pelican
Elanoides forficatus Swallow-tailed Kite
Plegdis chihi White-faced ibis
Egretta rufescens Reddish Egret
Petrochelidon fulva Cave Swallow

List of occurring/potentially occuring species within and around the park
include:

Haliaeetus leucoephalus Bald Eagle
Charadrius melodus Piping Plover
Chelonia mydas Green Sea Turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Caretta caretta Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Breeding/Nursery Area:

The Marsh Unit section of the park is comprised of tidal saltmarsh and five shallow lakes, which are an estuary for redfish, shrimp, and alligators. The waters, with their abundant zooplankton, phytoplankton, and decomposing organic matter, produce fertile nursery grounds for marine life.

Forage Area:

The forage area is primarily marshhay cordgrass, saltgrass, and some saltmarsh bulrush. The park’s lakes and bayous are important areas for white and brown shrimps, crabs, and various sport fishes.

Migratory Species:

Year-round residents include the mottled duck, black-necked stilt, coot, common moorhen, egrets, bittterns, rails, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and other species. Migratory species include blue/green winged teal, geese, diving and dabbling ducks, brown pelican, swallows, buntings, swallows, orioles, and rubby-throated hummingbirds.

Geomorphic Features:

The primary beach-building materials in this area are muds & silts carried down the Sabine River. Low beach dunes and the backshore, the bordering upper and drier portions of beach at the park, support a Sea Oats-Bitter Panicum grassland community.

Sea Rim State Park is the only Texas State Park located on the Chenier Plain, a geologic feature characterized by marshy valleys separated by low ridges.

Uniqueness of Natural Community:

Of the park’s 5.2 miles of coastline, 2.2 miles contain a biologically important zone where tidal marshlands meet the Gulf waters. The three remaining miles of shoreline are sandy beach with small picturesque sand dunes that separate the beach from the marshlands. The marshes at Sea Rim Park rank as one of the premiere waterfowl resources in North America.

Archaeological and Cultural Significance:

The marshlands unit is dotted with a number of clam shell mounds or middens, attributed to prehistoric Indian cultures, some no doubt ancestral to the historic Atackapan who lived along the coast from Louisiana to the eastern Galveston Bay area.

Current and Potential Use of the Site

Educational Use:

Interpretive slideshows and educational programs for school groups and Scouts. Field studies for university students and professional researchers. Beach cleanups held in cooperation with GLO. Birding and guided nature walks. Interpretive marsh airboat tours. Visitor's Center contains educational and hands-on exhibits.

Recreational Use:

Observation decks, rinse showers and boardwalks in the day-use beach area. Camping, boardwalk nature trails, a boat ramp, canoe trails and fishing are offered. Paddleboats and canoes are available for rent at the Marsh Lands Unit. Dipping vat area provides walk-in hunting areas during waterfowl season.

Commercial Use:

None

Management Status

Land Ownership:

The WMA is owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Existing Designations:

Wildlife Management Area

Management Status:

The goal is to restore and maintain the functions, diversity, and productivity of the natural mosaic of endemic plant and animal communities.

Existing Monitoring Activities:

Resource management practices primarily relate to occasional burning of the marsh grasses.

Management Needs:

Continued resource management monitoring in the following areas: marsh burns, research with feral animals, aquatic and other wildlife kills in the Gulf of Mexico, beach management practices, and the protection of paleontological resources.