by LeAnn Beasley

Over a hundred years ago a patriotic Texan knew that Geronimo Creek was a good place to call home.

According to Carolyn Bading, author of “The History of Geronimo,” Jose Antonito Navarro who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 bought land on Geronimo Creek because it was a good source of clean water for his ranch.

“Navarro’s Rancho San Geronimo and home at the edge of the prairie land and near the Geronimo Creek was a refuge for his family as he fulfilled numerous political responsibilities,” Bading 39.

Geronimo Creek is a natural spring fed creek that flows through Guadalupe County. It serves as a place for recreational activities and provides a home for the natural habitat of this area.

“This is one of those priceless year round creeks in south Texas,” Forrest Mims, a science writer, said.

It is one of several natural springs in central Texas, like the Aquarena Springs and Comal Springs which head the San Marcos and Comal rivers.

These rivers flow through cities and countryside and into the Guadalupe River.
                                   
“It [Geronimo Creek] flows down to the southeast side of Seguin where it goes into the river,” Mark Gustafson, associate professor of Biology at Texas Lutheran University, said.

Gustafson has been studying the organisms of Geronimo Creek for several years.

The creek’s water is supplied year round through several small springs between San Marcos and Seguin, Gustafson said.

“Geronimo Creek is unique around here because it flows continuously, even during drought times; whereas a lot of others will dry out during the summer,” Gustafson, said.

Not only does Geronimo Creek last through all seasons, but has done so for thousands of years.

“Thousands of years before the Spanish, French, Mexicans and Americans came to settle in the Geronimo area, Indians roamed this region. The Indians found the cool, clear sprints water of the creek an ideal location for their basic needs- fish, buffalo, deer, edible berries, pecans and walnuts.” Bading page1.

Bading documented Indian artifacts such as arrowheads and tools in her study through photographs.

The creek was given the name Tio Geronimo during Spanish explorations. “When adventurous Spanish explorers roamed over Texas, they named creeks for a well-liked common person,” Bading 20.

The name of this creek reflected how the explorers felt about the person.

“Tio means uncle, relative or a friend, and this Geronimo Flores was friend to the Indians, because he owned this property, and also to the Hispanic and everybody who lived in that day, and that is why the creek is named after him,” Bading said.

According to Bading, the historic Tio Geronimo Creek is now what we recognize as Geronimo Creek.

Currently the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center (SOLC) in Seguin uses Geronimo Creek in daily activities. 

“We use the creek primary for education, in that we occasionally teach classes that focus on aquatic studies and we focus on the macro-invertebrates that live in our creek,” John Donley, executive director for the SOLC, said.

The SOLC is able to show campers and visitors examples of the wildlife that the center is teaching them about.

“Instead of talking about amphibians in the abstract, “Can you remember what a frog looks like?” they are looking a frog. It’s a wonderful place to find what you want to teach the kids about and have it right in front of you.” Donley said.

The creek supports an entire ecosystem; animals of all kinds call Geronimo Creek home.

“I think the most exciting thing as far as other wildlife goes is the birds that come down to that creek and the pond. Recently we had visits from a green heroin,” Donley said.

According to Donley, the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center has noticed many types of birds near Geronimo Creek.

“The woodpeckers and the Sapsuckers, they love to be down there in that creek area where they are some dead woods and some dead trees for them to hunt in.”

“A huge bird population depends on the Creek,” Mims said.

The SOLC also regularly spots reptiles and amphibians near the creek as well.

“We see lots of turtles down there, Red-eared Sliders and a few other species. The frogs are amazing, we have Cricket Frogs and bull frogs and a couple other species you can hear sounding off in the evenings or during the day and the kids love that. They love to find the little frogs,” Donley said.

Although Donley said that the SOLC does not use Geronimo Creek much for canoeing anymore, they still let the kids get wet.

“The kids sometimes go in there and splash around for fun. I know they did that during our summer camp,” Donley said.

[-Plants?]

The banks of Geronimo Creek are lined with animals, plants and even a unique type fungus called the Devil’s Cigar.

According to Mims this particular mushroom is only found on one Japanese island, and in seven counties in Texas.

“It’s one of the rarest mushrooms on the planet,” Mims said. “It’s called the Devil’s Cigar because back in the 1800s when the first Texans were here, the Texians as they called themselves, the spores look like smoke coming out of the ground, and when it first comes out of the ground it looks like a cigar.”

Although an abundance of life is found on the banks of the creek, if a person wanted to know the health status of a creek he would need to look in the benthos, which is the scientific name for the bottom of a stream.

“That’s where most organisms live, in the rocks and sand,” Gustafson said.

Through biomonitoring it is possible to discover pollutants in a river or stream by finding out what organisms live there, because some organisms are sensitive to pollution and others are not.

“If we find only insensitive organisms we know there are some pollutants,” Gustafson said.

According to Gustafson, the insect larvae that can be used as indicators of water condition are the Mayfly, Stonefly and Dobsonfly.

By the presence of the Dobsonfly larvae in Geronimo Creek, we can tell that it is a healthy creek, Gustafson said.

“It is in good condition now. That’s a good reason to want to protect the area along it, because it does provide good habitat for aquatic animals right now,” Gustafson said.

Pollutants that can affect the health of Geronimo Creek can come from several unexpected different sources, included city progress.

Recently there have been plans to build a new subdivision close to the creek that could have serious effects on its condition.

“If they put a subdivision right next to the creek that definitely has an impact. You have backyard septic tanks right next to the creek,” Mims said.

Not only is there the possibility of pollution entering the creek, but that certainty of natural habitat destruction.

“They bulldozed the bank along the side of the creek for several miles, pushing down every tree,” Mims said. “You can follow that like a road all along the creek and see where all that habit has been completely destroyed.”

The bulldozing destroys the habitat and building can also stop the flow of the creek.

“When they bury the pipes they block underground springs,” Mims said.

Another aspect of human progress that may have negative effects on the creek is the Seguin sewer plant.

“A potentially far worse impact on the creek is if Seguin expands the Geronimo Creek sewer plant, because they built the sewer plant right at the merger of the mouth of the creek with the Guadalupe River,” Mims said.

According to Mims, a new layer of algae was present in the Creek. “This probably blocks the natural movement of fish into the creek,” he said.

These events could possibly change the historic Geronimo Creek, and some of the natural wildlife of Seguin.

“There are all kinds of turtles and snakes and all the different things that are part of the environment that live on the creek that will not live there if the creek is degraded,” Mims said.

July 2007

!