How to Manage Your Land for a Healthy Ecosystem in Texas
Managing Private Lands for Healthy Ecosystems in Texas:
Lessons from Aldo Leopold
By: Tiffany McFarland
On a warm June morning at Kerr Wildlife Management Area in Kerr County, Texas, I am trekking down a two-track road just as the sun is breaking over the horizon. While my visit this morning is purely job-related, for me, visiting the Kerr never feels like work.
Tucked away in the southwestern region of the Edwards Plateau, the Kerr delivers lovely scenery and abundant and diverse wildlife. On this clear morning, over my shoulder, I hear a turkey in the distance. Then, a bob-white declares his name cheerfully to the world, somewhere off to my right. Several deer startle at my approach and run on dainty hooves to make their getaway. And then, I hear the bird I have come to find, the friendly, questioning, exuberant song of a black-capped vireo, hopping around in the shrubs 50 m or so off to my left, singing his heart out to greet the day and warn off his competitors. Another answers him to my right, staking his claim on his own territorial boundaries.
The black-capped vireo, along with the golden-cheeked warbler, migrates to the Edwards Plateau region of Texas from Central America each spring to mate, nest, and raise young. Both of these federally endangered species breed almost exclusively within Texas, having a much smaller range and presumably narrower habitat requirements than most similar North American songbirds.
The golden-cheeked warbler relies on dense old-growth stands of Ashe juniper and oak, while the black-capped vireo relies on shrubbier, more open habitat, usually composed of these same tree species. The two songbirds have coexisted historically, with warblers moving into vireo habitat as shrubs mature into dense woodland, and vireos moving back into the area when a disturbance such as wildfire converts wooded areas back into the earlier successional stage.
In the midst of the WMA, amongst the cattle grazed pastures and among the plethora of game that attract hunters each year, these two songbirds not only live but appear to thrive.
Aldo Leopold wrote in his 1933 textbook titled Game Management, “The central thesis of game management is this: game can be restored by the creative use of the same tools which have heretofore destroyed it: axe, plow, cow, fire, and gun. “Management is their purposeful and continuing alignment.”
While wildlife management is often associated with extensive limitations on what activities landowners can accomplish on their land, in reality, grazing, hunting, and to some extent, agriculture can be used as tools to help create and maintain habitat for game and other species.
These management tactics, if used correctly and responsibly, can allow landowners to meet their own land needs while managing for a wide diversity of species, as habitat for game animals provides habitat for other species, as well. Hiking at the Kerr in the early morning hours, the calls and signs of vireos, warblers, turkeys, bobwhites, deer and other wildlife indicate that the Kerr has put these practices into play with great success.
Habitat Loss Through Fire Suppression
Habitat loss and degradation is the leading cause for listing the majority of the 93 federally threatened and endangered species of birds in the country. Historically on the Edwards Plateau, fire was a major part of the ecosystem, maintaining a savannah system with widely separated oak mottes (clumps) and other woodlands. This matrix of vegetation types provided a diverse array of habitats for wildlife. Animals need thickets for cover, open areas to graze, and other specific requirements for survival. However, as more and more people settled the Edwards Plateau of Texas, fires have been suppressed.
Prior to European settlement, fire-sensitive Ashe juniper only grew in areas that burned infrequently or were protected from fires, like steep canyons or areas with shallow soils. Since then, years of fire suppression has allowed juniper to increase substantially on the Edwards Plateau. While these dense juniper forests provide necessary cover and resources for wildlife and core habitat for the warbler, the dense canopy blocks light from reaching the understory, thus substantially decreasing the amount of understory vegetation like tree saplings, grasses and forbs.
Bison also existed historically in the region, grazing at high intensity for short durations during their annual migration. This cyclical grazing pressure kept the growth of woody species like juniper in check and promoted growth of grassland vegetation. As central Texas was settled from 1700 on, cattle replaced the bison, and the new grazing regime changed to continuous grazing pressure throughout the year. The encroachment of woody species such as mesquite and juniper is attributed to these cattle grazing practices. Once established, mesquite and juniper are difficult to control, turning what were once open savannahs into dense woodlands.
Tools for Managing the Kerr Wildlife Management Area
On the Kerr at the time of purchase in 1950, Ashe juniper was the dominant plant on the WMA, and dense forests existed throughout. The juniper was removed by hand cutting and chaining in the 1960s, leaving only stands of it in draws or on hillsides where it would have existed historically under natural disturbance regimes. One 530-acre parcel was left as a relic site for the golden-cheeked warbler. The rest of the WMA is now interspersed with shrublands, grasslands, and open woodlands, more similar to what the area was like before European settlement.
Continuing management for wildlife habitat on the Kerr WMA involves brush control, rotational grazing, culling white-tailed deer to keep the browsing pressure down, and prescribed burning. To control juniper, each year, ~20% of the WMA is burned in the late winter when many plants are dormant. Fire creates a release of nitrogen and phosphorus, both of which act as fertilizer for new vegetation, increasing productivity of grasses, browse, and perennial forbs.
Cattle are also used as a management tool to graze immediately following a burn to control areas of prickly pear as well as other unburned areas. The pastures are then rested for a short time and grazed again. Livestock reduce the amount of old grass material, which allows light to reach lower growing forb species and helps new seedlings germinate, providing more forage for livestock and deer. When and where cattle are moved depends on the season, growing conditions, vegetation state, soil, and livestock performance.
The Kerr also sponsors yearly hunts to prevent overpopulation of white-tailed deer, thus reducing over-browsing and harm to the ecosystem. As a result of this management, deer populations are thriving; deer weights, fawn survival, and antler development have increased over the last 50 years. Calf weights of cattle grazed on the WMA have increased by 130 lbs. since 1968. And aside from being a mecca for black-capped vireos and golden-cheeked warblers, the Kerr WMA boasts some of the healthiest plant and animal communities in the hill country.
Endangered Species on Ft. Hood
In the public eye, endangered species are thought of as fragile, and thus, species conservation is often equated with taking a hands-off approach, by setting land aside and letting it be wild. The idea that habitat must be protected from all human impacts is the underlying foundation for the animosity that landowners might have toward “conservationists.”
However, one of the more well-known residences for both the warbler and the vireo is Fort Hood Military installment. Here, where loud artillery and periodic explosions are normal and where troops and vehicles are often tramping across the landscape, some of the largest and most well-studied populations of these two endangered species exist. While every book or nature special has told us since we were children that wild things live in the jungles and forests of remote locations, far from any human impacts, the busy, noisy military installation seems like the last place on earth you would find populations of endangered species. But in the case of the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, periodic disturbance be it from natural wildfires or human activity is a key player in the creation of good habitat.
Endangered Species and Landowners
From textbooks and peer-reviewed publications to small-talk in small-town hardware stores, it is no secret that, traditionally, rural landowners do not jump for joy when they discover that they might have endangered species on their property. Unfortunately, this view results from equating the protection of endangered species’ habitat and the cessation of land use practices like agriculture, ranching, or development.
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), any “take”, broadly defined as causing any type of harm to the species, is met with fines or land mitigation requirements. These fines, along with a general distaste for being told what one can or cannot do on one’s own property, has led some landowners to take it upon themselves to rid their property of vegetation associated with endangered species habitat.
These reactions accomplish exactly the opposite of the ESAs goals, and this should not be the reality of endangered species policy. Conservation needs to happen across landscapes and not just properties and should provide for the needs of both the endangered species and the landowners alike. As the Kerr WMA and other properties across the Texas Hill Country have shown, conservation can coexist with grazing, hunting, and other recreational land uses.
Changes in Land Ownership and Management
Land management practices are changing as the human population becomes concentrated in cities. In this part of the world, historically, ranches for cattle and hunting provided landowners their primary source of income. Within the Edwards Plateau, approximately 90% of the land is still rangeland (native rangeland or non-native pasture).
However, the changing economy and way of life has led to large ranches being parceled up and sold off, especially in the last 20 years. The typical modern landowner in the Texas hill country lives and works in the city and uses their land as a weekend retreat. Land is typically no longer used for income, but instead, money earned in the cities now comes out into the hill country, improving or investing in the land. Although the average landowner now owns a smaller parcel of land than they once did, land parcels are typically a more manageable size for restoration and management. And, since fewer families depend on cattle for their livelihood, there should be less temptation to overgraze, and the overall goals for land use, such as recreation instead of heavy ranching, should more adequately align with proper management strategies.
Overgrazing in Texas
Driving through the Texas hill country, a trained eye can easily tell from the road which properties suffer from overgrazing; the browse lines, bare ground, and seas of prickly pear or mesquite are easy to spot. Grazing in this part of the world is not exclusive to cattle, but includes the impact of native browsers, such as white-tailed deer, but also exotic species kept behind tall fencing exclosures.
The characteristics resulting from overgrazing generally indicate that more animals are present in an area than what the vegetation can support. Once the preferred forage of grasses and forbs are consumed, grazers and browsers turn to less digestible vegetation such as oak leaves. This pressure on oaks and other hardwoods creates what managers refer to as a browse line, in which trees are denuded from the ground up to a height equating the maximum reach of the predominate browsers in an area. Expanses of bare rock and patches of prickly pear indicate that animals have overgrazed the grasses and forbs. Overgrazing can lead to increased runoff which can erode the land, washing away healthy topsoil, and can decrease water quality of local streams or water containment ponds.
Still, it is understandable how and why property owners sometimes find it difficult to manage their land. Proper management costs time and money. Especially in tough times when one’s livelihood is at stake, of course ranchers are tempted to resort to overgrazing instead of culling animals. Additionally, the best management practices for a property will change as vegetation changes, or with drought regimes, or as the population of deer and cattle change, and current management strategies must be reevaluated. Rotational grazing and several other grazing practices require that ranchers have the flexibility and land area to move their livestock around. This means having several pastures to rotate animals through, which requires more fences and means using fewer pastures at a time, which seemingly reduces the overall carrying capacity of the ranch.
Cattle as a Tool
Whether improperly managed in the past or poorly managed today, vegetation do not often recover without some additional help from land managers to restore the system? back to a state that is beneficial for native species. But despite its difficulty, land management has its perks. As on the Kerr WMA, cattle can be used as a restoration tool, and leasing land for grazing can provide landowners some extra cash.
Having wildlife can mean additional income if a landowner chooses to open their property up for hunting or for wildlife viewing. A few weekends of leasing for hunting can bring the same profit as an entire year of profit from running a modest number of cattle. Having wildlife is also good for property value, both monetarily and intrinsically. And although fire is an intimidating and potentially disastrous force, if used correctly, it will increase the health and nutrition of the vegetation. Plus, controlled burning reduces the fuel load and thus reduces the threat of accidental fires that burn too hot or out of control.
Proper Management Overall
Proper management of private lands in the Texas hill country would move the landscape back to a state more like what it was historically. And regardless of what native state each property manages for (open native grasslands for grazing cattle, shrublands, or interspersed woodlands), the resulting landscape will surely be a patchwork of different habitat types, creating a healthy smorgasbord of plant communities across the region. Managing for native habitats does not imply one right way of doing things, but instead, if landowners try to maintain something resembling a healthy, native landscape on their property, the overall result will create a matrix that will provide wildlife the different habitats they need.
Regardless of whether you are a Texas landowner or not, or if you own one-tenth of an acre or several thousand acres, we’re all after the same thing: the ability to feed our families, drink clean water, and pass on some of the magic of the great outdoors to our children. I encourage you to visit the hill-country and go for a hike, listening for the calls of turkeys, bobwhite quail, and the exuberant calls of the hopefully no-longer imperiled black-capped vireo.