Stats for the State of Texas Certified Signature Sanctuaries: 2 Featured Signature Courses: The Reserve: Tierra Verde Golf Club/ Martin Luther King Jr. Phase I Sports Center FAZIIO Canyons

FAZIIO Canyons
The FAZIIO  Canyons golf course is located in Travis County, west of the city of Austin, Texas, within the Barton Creek Resort & Country Club.  The site is part of the Edward’s Plateau, a specific geographic region also known as the “Texas Hill Country.”  The 255-acre Tom Fazio-designed golf course is characterized by spring fed creeks, cut rugged canyons, small fragmented grasslands, and oak-juniper savannahs that cover limestone hills.  There are two known endangered species that utilize the woodlands as habitat during their annual migration and mating seasons between March and August each year.  These species are the Golden-Cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) and the Black-Capped Vireo (Vireo altricapilla).  The golf course is also home of the rare Texas Madrone (Arbutus xalapensis), a plant species which occurs in three forms on site (tree, shrub, vine), limited in distribution to the last nine holes of the course and most likely remnants of the last ice age.  Ninety-nine percent of all landscape plantings are species native to the Hill Country. There are two irrigation lakes on the front nine but the primary water source for the main pond is raw water from Lake Travis which is regulated by the Lower Colorado River Authority.  The irrigated acreage is only 68 acres of turfgrass.  On October 22, 2003, FAZIIO Canyons was the first resort golf course in Texas to become certified as an Audubon Signature Sanctuary.  To learn more about the Texas Hill Country, Edward’s Aquifer and FAZIIO Canyons, go to the website at www.bartoncreek.com/Fazio_canyons_golf_course.asp.

The Reserve: Tierra Verde Golf Club/ Martin Luther King Jr. Phase I Sports Center
As the City of Arlington Parks & Recreation Department faced the need to expand sport facilities, its goal  was to conserve existing natural resources and cut operating budgets, while providing quality recreational opportunities. The result is two facilities that showcase the region’s unique biodiversity, provide an educational interpretive program for the communities, and offer sport enthusiasts an outlet for their activities. Located within the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, The Reserve is a 250-acre recreational facility that includes a golf course and an adjacent sports center built on a site historically used for cattle grazing, hunting, and homesteading.  Tierra Verde  (which means green earth) Golf Club, an 18-hole municipal course, comprises only 93 acres of the site.  An additional 150 acres, including creeks, bottomland hardwoods, native grassland, and prairies is preserved.  One hundred fifteen acres, including wildflowers and native plum thickets, remained untouched during development and provides valuable cover and food sources for insects, birds, and mammals.  Ten acres of degraded land were reestablished with bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, and sprangletop.  Five acres of ponds and over 9000 linear feet of shoreline were created to provided habitat and water sources for migratory waterfowl.  Tierra Verde uses “raw water” for irrigation.  This water, which is tapped prior to purification, conserves potable water for domestic consumption and provides cost savings.  Just 20% of the 100-acre site designated for MLK Sports Center  Phase I was developed, providing ball fields, park areas, parking, and walkways.  The remaining 80 acres contain bottomland hardwoods and native grassland.  The MLK Sports Center is the first sports center in the world to become certified as an Audubon Signature Sanctuary and Tierra Verde is the first certified Signature Sanctuary in Texas. Visit The Reserve's website at: http://www.arlingtongolf.com/default.aspx?tabid=81