Central Texas Floodplain Reforestation Program

TreeFolks’ Travis County and Central Texas Floodplain Reforestation Programs (TCFRP & CTFRP) restore degraded riparian forest buffers along creeks, streams, and rivers within the 100-year floodplains of Travis, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell, Williamson, Blanco, and Burnet counties. Some of the partners that have been involved in this program include the City of Austin Office of Sustainability, the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department, Travis County Parks, the City of Wimberley Parks and Recreation Department, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust, and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Through this program, TreeFolks plants an average of 53,000 trees from 50+ species on 65 acres, each year, for private and public landowners in Central Texas. Reestablishing riparian forest corridors will increase canopy cover and diversity in an ecosystem that has been degraded by human activities and will provide many benefits throughout Central Texas, including the protection of watersheds, erosion control, increased groundwater infiltration, interception, and filtration of stormwater run-off into sensitive waterways, regional cooling, and creation of vital wildlife habitat.

The reforestation project also engages local community members with the environment, complementing Austin’s participation in the Biophilic Cities Network and the Children and Nature Collaborative and aligning with the citywide green infrastructure efforts. Reforesting local stream corridors will create lasting change within the city limits and across Central Texas.

Co-Benefits

Trees planted as part of this program will provide ecosystem services, also known as co-benefits when they reach 25 years of age. The co-benefits represent savings (avoided costs) of more than $25,000 per year when the trees reach age 25 and upwards of $700,000 over the next 25 to 50 years. Co-benefits include: