The area is to the east of the 14,000-acre Upland Island wilderness, one of the five remaining ancient Texas wilderness areas.   This is a series of seven sites on a group of 300-foot tall hills, on two sides of a longleaf savanna.     This page gives a general description of the hillsides.   To see the seepage-bog locations use the buttons and links on this page.  Sand covers the hills, deposited there millions of years ago by the Neches river's changing deltas.

Giant longleaf pines have dominated for thousands of years, making a canopy 100 feet up.   Scrub- and other oaks (they only grow to 50 feet, hence "scrub") are making a comeback.   Here and there, big magnolia trees filter the sunlight and their leafs mix with pine needles to carpet the ground.

Standing in the middle of an ancient sea of the huge pine trunks, miles and miles of creeks and waters, and wooded, live hillsides away from anyone, listening to the breezes through the trees in the diffused light, brings the mind to peace and a more intense physical awareness of the primordial beauty all around.

Bluestem and ferns cover the ground, with frequent stands of sugar maple.   All species of Texas carnivorous plants live here.  From the looks of it, prescribed fires do not give the advantage to pines, and some of the pitcher plant sites are being crowded by other native competing species.

Sites 16B and 16C are next to each other and, along with 16F 60 feet away, are seeps in forest clearings on the same hillside.   These three sites are representative of all the sites in these hills.  16F is the only one with butterworts (Pinguicula pumila).

Site No. 16E

Site 16E is in a creek, about 100 feet north of the 16BCF group. Site 16E is featured here.   It's overgrown, and clumps of pitcher plants are still holding on in the shade of other natives, which have all but overtaken the space.  Nature deciding what lives and what doesn't.