Prairie dogma: the farm and ranch country West of Houston isn't much to look at, but birders and their allies say preserving the grassland and will protect the city's air and water. (on Environment)

Texas Monthly, September, 2002 by Joe Nick Patoski

AT FIRST GLANCE, THE KATY PRAIRIE IS LITTLE MORE than a flat expanse of land beyond Houston's western suburbs, lacking distinguishing features to the point that it appears to be just a giant plat waiting for a subdivision. Ponder it long enough, though, and the nuances begin to manifest themselves. Cattle egrets emerging from the brush. Two varieties of whistling ducks in flight. Critters flushed out of the grasses. A horizon so totally level that on a clear day, you can see the skyline of Houston, thirty miles away. Once upon a time, the entire distance between the heart of the Katy Prairie and the land now covered by skyscrapers and parking lots was nothing but tall grass, high enough to tickle a horse's belly. It sprawled for another 25 miles west to the Brazos River...