Editing Conroe, Texas (section)

===Ecosystem===
[[File:Jones State Forest.jpg|thumb|Middle Lake on the southern side of Jones State Forest.]]

Conroe is in the southwest corner of the East Texas [[Piney Woods]].<ref>[https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/pineywood/regulatory/ Pineywoods Wildlife District.] Texas Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved March 10, 2018.</ref> The Piney Woods consist of pine trees and hardwood forests. The most common type of tree in the southwest Piney Woods is the [[Pinus taeda|loblolly pine]]. [[Pinus echinata|Shortleaf pine]] are also abundant.<ref>[https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/pineywood/ Pineywoods Wildlife Management.] Texas Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved March 10, 2018.</ref> Pockets of [[Texas blackland prairies|blackland prairie]] vegetation are also present, but are disappearing due to [[urbanization]].<ref name=FEMA>[http://www.cityofconroe.org/home/showdocument?id=2686 "Flood Insurance Study: Montgomery County, Texas and incorporated areas volume 1 of 6"]. Federal Emergency Management Agency: September 23, 2008. Pages 6-8, 13. Retrieved March 11, 2018.</ref>

In 1926, the [[Texas A&M Forest Service]] purchased 1700 acres of Piney Woods to establish W. Goodrich Jones State Forest. The forest serves as a research and demonstration area for sustainable forestry techniques. The forest also preserves the habitat of the [[red-cockaded woodpecker]], a species classified in the early 21st century as [[Near-threatened species|Near Threatened]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]].<ref>[https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/jones-state-forest/ W. Goodrich Jones State Forest.] Texas A&M Forest Service. Retrieved March 11, 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2020 |title=''Leuconotopicus borealis'' |volume=2020 |page=e.T22681158A179376787 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22681158A179376787.en |access-date=10 July 2024}}</ref>

In 2017, Texas A&M asked Conroe state senator [[Brandon Creighton]] to author a bill setting aside 10 percent of the forest for educational and research-related development. The bill also opened the possibility of commercial development on the land.<ref>Fletcher, Abner. [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/education/2017/04/11/219001/the-present-and-future-of-the-w-g-jones-state-forest/ The Present and Future of the W.G. Jones State Forest.] Houston Public Media: April 11, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2018.</ref> Public concern over the bill persuaded Creighton to revise it. The final version, which passed the Senate unanimously, protected the entire forest from development.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=John S. |date=May 31, 2017 |title=Jones State Forest offering a sanctuary from the city for nearly 100 years |url=https://www.yourconroenews.com/125years/article/Jones-State-Forest-offering-a-sanctuary-from-the-11184922.php |work=[[The Courier (Conroe newspaper)|The Courier]] |location=Conroe, Texas |access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref>