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Long an exceptional fresh water fishery and a haven for ducks, wading birds and other wildlife, Lake Livingston is nearly 60 years old. It has lost much of its aquatic habitat and the water quality has declined. Once a destination for bass anglers, there has seen a precipitous decline in angling activity. Recreation on Lake Livingston is a major economic engine for numerous surrounding communities and the decline in the fishery has negatively affected local revenues.
Since 2013 and with start-up and continuing assistance from Friends of Reservoirs, Texas Parks & Wildlife the Trinity River Authority, the Hookers Fishing Club (Livingston, TX), and 5 local high school Ag programs, Friends of Lake Livingston is restoring habitat for fish and wildlife populations by adding aquatic and riparian plants to create feeding and breeding grounds and reducing erosion! Working with the local community to achieve these objectives is considered fundamental to the FoLL project. Additionally, the FoLL project has recently partnered with the Livingston, TX Hookers club who will be working with the FoLL project team to begin introducing hybrid bass into Lake Livingston.
The long-term goal of the project is to increase the abundance and diversity of native aquatic plant species and riparian habitat in and around Lake Livingston, TX, thereby improving littoral habitat conditions for the fish community and other aquatic life. Texas Parks & Wildlife has proposed that a successful restoration will need to cover 5% - (4,250 acres) of the lake and/or shoreline habitat. Additionally, through work with our volunteer high schools, we have discovered that a significant number of volunteering students do not know how to fish or if they do, rarely go. As such, we have started a new program called Angler Education, in collaboration with the Livingston “Hookers” fishing club and with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Fishing Futures – Angler Education program. At our recent high school plantings, fishing instruction and actual Fishing has now been incorporated into the volunteer effort.

Beginning in 2014, a single plant species (American water willow) was introduced at numerous sites around Lake Livingston. Beginning in 2017, multi-species aquatic plant propagation was added providing expansion of establishing more aquatic habitat. Plants introduced included American Water Willow, Bulrush, American Pondweed , Hyssop, and Lilies. These have been underway now for over 6 years. Recently, we received Pickerelweed as an additional new plant addition which we have begun propagating at the TDCJ Ellis Unit-Lee College horticulture program for subsequent distribution to our high school volunteers.
Since 2017, we have been applying RFHP principles including creating founder colonies that have been established in several locations. Founder colonies are now part of our planting process to provide initial protection against herbivory actions for all new sites. They have been wildly successful.
Volunteer propagation and plant introduction by the local community has been in place since the project started in 2013 and continues today. Our process at the 5 local high schools includes yearly ecology education, propagation of aquatic plant species on each high school campus and later introduction of their own plants at selected sites in Lake Livingston. Part of the instruction also includes Macro-Invertebrate monitoring at their planting sites as an indicator of water quality.
Additionally, we work with the Texas Dept. of Corrections (TDCJ) Ellis Unit-Lee College horticulture class which also includes ecology education outreach as well as plant propagation which supplements high school volunteer plant propagation. This prison unit is used as an initial plant propagation site after which plants are transferred to the high school groups for further growth. We continue to work with several other community groups including Master Gardeners (San Jacinto County), Texas Master Naturalists (Livingston, TX & Conroe, TX chapters), the Livingston, TX Hookers Club, Rotary Clubs, and the Livingston, TX Chamber of Commerce.
Over the course of 2023, we have hosted two “high school” plantings where participating high schools came to selected sites and constructed founder colonies with water willows and additional new aquatic plants. These sites have already shown positive expansion over the last few summer months. Additionally, one of our participating community sponsors, Carolina Creek Christian Camp, called us in May and requested we sponsor a conservation project for a visiting group, Camp Hope America – Ft. Worth. This Camp Hope Chapter works with kids exposed to domestic and sexual abuse over the course of 12 months. In early June 2023, we planted over 1,000 American Water Willows in the Carolina Creek area of Lake Livingston with the help of 90 middle school and high school kids from Camp Hope America. A very rewarding addition to our program this year.
Site monitoring of all of our planted sites occurs every other year in collaboration with our TPWD (Texas Parks & Wildlife) sponsor. Our last survey of planted sites occurred in 2022 and showed some sites that were no longer present and some that were very successful in expansion. Additionally, all sites that used fencing and founder colony concepts (started in 2017) continue to be highly successful and are expanding dramatically despite several flooding events. ALL of our fenced founder colony sites have doubled in size and a few are scheduled for fencing removal later this summer.
During the June 2023 Camp Hope America planting effort, a number of those high school kids completely removed t-posts and fencing from a nearby highly successful site that is now permanently in place going forward. This site was also where Texas Parks & Wildlife recently began restocking Lake Livingston with largemouth Black Bass for the first time in several years – due in large part to the new habitat set up by Friends of Lake Livingston.
Georgia Cube construction for artificial reef habitat began in 2019 (after viewing this at the FOR conference in Athens, Tx) as an additional effort by the high schools. At a large high school planting, 7 Georgia Cubes were built and introduced at two pre-approved TRA sites in early 2020. Additionally, 3 Mossback Trophy Reefs, received via a Mossback grant, were introduced in early 2019. All sites had their GPS coordinates marked and the coordinates were put on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for Lake Livingston.
After last years attendance at the Shelbyville FOR conference, we have now changed all artificial reef construction efforts to the Shelbyville Cube design and have set up production similar to the Corps of Engineers model.
After receipt of a Mossback grant in 2020 and 2022, Friends of Lake Livingston ordered several new near-shore reefs for further placement. The Trinity River Authority (co-sponsor for FoLL), placed an additional monetary order for more near shore reefs from Mossback to significantly expand that effort. In October, 2021, 34 Mossback artificial fish habitats were placed in the White Rock Creek area in the northern part of Lake Livingston. GPS coordinates for the reefs were placed on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for Lake Livingston.
As noted earlier, we have come to discover that a significant number of our high school students do not know how to fish or rarely fish. As such, we have partnered with the Livingston “Hookers” fishing club to provide fishing training at our high school plantings, which they executed at our two spring plantings for several high schools.
We have also partnered with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Fishing Futures – Angler Education program to expand this effort further. Several of our volunteer leadership team have now been certified as “Angler Educators”. We have now organized a Angler Education course led by TPWD Fishing Futures for the whole Friends of Lake Livingston leadership team. Certification allows us to have access to fishing instruction materials, a trailer full of rods and reels with tackle, and a wealth of support material from how to tie fishing knots, to how to fish, to identifying fish types. This will now be a permanent addition to our high school plantings where each kid will get a chance to learn how to fish and then actually fish as part of the morning activities.
Finally, we have formally formed a partnership with the Livingston, TX Hookers fishing club whereby they will lead an effort to privately fund and stock hybrid striped bass into Lake Livingston once permission is granted from TPWD. The Hookers Club has already aligned this project under the Friends of Lake Livingston 501c3 structure.

Beginning in 2014, a single plant species (American water willow) was introduced at numerous sites around Lake Livingston. Beginning in 2017, multi-species aquatic plant propagation was added providing expansion of establishing more aquatic habitat. Plants introduced included American Water Willow, Bulrush, American Pondweed , Hyssop, and Lilies. These have been underway now for over 6 years. Recently, we received Pickerelweed as an additional new plant addition which we have begun propagating at the TDCJ Ellis Unit-Lee College horticulture program for subsequent distribution to our high school volunteers.
Since 2017, we have been applying RFHP principles including creating founder colonies that have been established in several locations. Founder colonies are now part of our planting process to provide initial protection against herbivory actions for all new sites. They have been wildly successful.
Volunteer propagation and plant introduction by the local community has been in place since the project started in 2013 and continues today. Our process at the 5 local high schools includes yearly ecology education, propagation of aquatic plant species on each high school campus and later introduction of their own plants at selected sites in Lake Livingston. Part of the instruction also includes Macro-Invertebrate monitoring at their planting sites as an indicator of water quality.
Additionally, we work with the Texas Dept. of Corrections (TDCJ) Ellis Unit-Lee College horticulture class which also includes ecology education outreach as well as plant propagation which supplements high school volunteer plant propagation. This prison unit is used as an initial plant propagation site after which plants are transferred to the high school groups for further growth. We continue to work with several other community groups including Master Gardeners (San Jacinto County), Texas Master Naturalists (Livingston, TX & Conroe, TX chapters), the Livingston, TX Hookers Club, Rotary Clubs, and the Livingston, TX Chamber of Commerce.
Over the course of 2023, we have hosted two “high school” plantings where participating high schools came to selected sites and constructed founder colonies with water willows and additional new aquatic plants. These sites have already shown positive expansion over the last few summer months. Additionally, one of our participating community sponsors, Carolina Creek Christian Camp, called us in May and requested we sponsor a conservation project for a visiting group, Camp Hope America – Ft. Worth. This Camp Hope Chapter works with kids exposed to domestic and sexual abuse over the course of 12 months. In early June 2023, we planted over 1,000 American Water Willows in the Carolina Creek area of Lake Livingston with the help of 90 middle school and high school kids from Camp Hope America. A very rewarding addition to our program this year.
Site monitoring of all of our planted sites occurs every other year in collaboration with our TPWD (Texas Parks & Wildlife) sponsor. Our last survey of planted sites occurred in 2022 and showed some sites that were no longer present and some that were very successful in expansion. Additionally, all sites that used fencing and founder colony concepts (started in 2017) continue to be highly successful and are expanding dramatically despite several flooding events. ALL of our fenced founder colony sites have doubled in size and a few are scheduled for fencing removal later this summer.
During the June 2023 Camp Hope America planting effort, a number of those high school kids completely removed t-posts and fencing from a nearby highly successful site that is now permanently in place going forward. This site was also where Texas Parks & Wildlife recently began restocking Lake Livingston with largemouth Black Bass for the first time in several years – due in large part to the new habitat set up by Friends of Lake Livingston.
Georgia Cube construction for artificial reef habitat began in 2019 (after viewing this at the FOR conference in Athens, Tx) as an additional effort by the high schools. At a large high school planting, 7 Georgia Cubes were built and introduced at two pre-approved TRA sites in early 2020. Additionally, 3 Mossback Trophy Reefs, received via a Mossback grant, were introduced in early 2019. All sites had their GPS coordinates marked and the coordinates were put on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for Lake Livingston.
After last years attendance at the Shelbyville FOR conference, we have now changed all artificial reef construction efforts to the Shelbyville Cube design and have set up production similar to the Corps of Engineers model.
After receipt of a Mossback grant in 2020 and 2022, Friends of Lake Livingston ordered several new near-shore reefs for further placement. The Trinity River Authority (co-sponsor for FoLL), placed an additional monetary order for more near shore reefs from Mossback to significantly expand that effort. In October, 2021, 34 Mossback artificial fish habitats were placed in the White Rock Creek area in the northern part of Lake Livingston. GPS coordinates for the reefs were placed on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for Lake Livingston.
As noted earlier, we have come to discover that a significant number of our high school students do not know how to fish or rarely fish. As such, we have partnered with the Livingston “Hookers” fishing club to provide fishing training at our high school plantings, which they executed at our two spring plantings for several high schools.
We have also partnered with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Fishing Futures – Angler Education program to expand this effort further. Several of our volunteer leadership team have now been certified as “Angler Educators”. We have now organized a Angler Education course led by TPWD Fishing Futures for the whole Friends of Lake Livingston leadership team. Certification allows us to have access to fishing instruction materials, a trailer full of rods and reels with tackle, and a wealth of support material from how to tie fishing knots, to how to fish, to identifying fish types. This will now be a permanent addition to our high school plantings where each kid will get a chance to learn how to fish and then actually fish as part of the morning activities.
Finally, we have formally formed a partnership with the Livingston, TX Hookers fishing club whereby they will lead an effort to privately fund and stock hybrid striped bass into Lake Livingston once permission is granted from TPWD. The Hookers Club has already aligned this project under the Friends of Lake Livingston 501c3 structure.

NOTE - a link to the managment plan was not available so the actual pdf plan was uploaded with the support letter.

White Bass, Black Bass, Stripers, Crappie, Catfish, Bluegill

- FoLL has built a broad outreach plan that includes:
• Updated website – friendsoflakelivington.com
• Active Facebook site updates
• Bi-annual community newsletter
• Posting of activity in local community newspapers
• Presentations on the FoLL project to the local “Hookers” fishing club and several community organizations including the Livingston Lions Club, 2 master naturalist chapters and The Woodlands Seniors club
• Yearly Ecology outreach to our 6 participating local high school agriculture programs
o Education on lake ecology, littoral habitat, lake conservation, horticulture, active plant propagation in supplied propagation tanks, invertebrate monitoring, riparian habitat restoration and water quality testing
• Yearly instruction of Texas Master Naturalist concepts at the Texas Dept. of Corrections Lee College horticulture program including lake ecology, plant propagation, and supplied propagation tanks

• Lake-Livingston-2020.pdf
• 2023-FoLL-support-letter.pdf