Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes: A Transitional Ecoregion

The Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion spans a crescent along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico:

• Texas: Coastal bend from Corpus Christi northeast to Sabine Pass (includes Victoria, Port Lavaca, Galveston, Beaumont).
• Louisiana: Western Chenier Plain to Atchafalaya Basin (Lake Charles, Lafayette fringes).
• Oklahoma: Brief incursion in McCurtain County (Red River bottomlands).
• Arkansas: Southeastern corner (Miller, Lafayette counties) along Red River.

Character

A mosaic of coastal tallgrass prairie, freshwater/brackish/salt marshes, oak mottes, and tidal flats. Historically grazed by bison; now rice, cattle, oil/gas, petrochemicals, and critical waterbird habitat (whooping crane, mottled duck, shorebirds). Hurricanes, subsidence, and sea-level rise drive rapid change.