Central Texas ranchers and environmentalists are proving you
can restore a river, and they've assembled quite a team to
do the work. Their objective is to control ash juniper trees
on thousands of acres of watershed, which also should boost
cattle grazing and still protect endangered golden-cheeked
warblers and black-capped vireos. Locals call the trees
cedar.
"There's always been cedar here, but only in certain
places," says cattleman Steve Manning of Gatesville. "In the
past there were natural fires to control it."
Manning, who is a member of the Central Texas Cattlemen's
Association, is spearheading a drive to weed out regrowth
ash juniper trees in the Leon River watershed. He is the
project officer of the Leon River Restoration project.
As in most of the Southwest, people here in Hamilton and
Coryell counties are concerned there won't be enough water
for all users as populations grow. In the absence of fire
and the high-intensity, short-duration grazing of wandering
buffalo herds, juniper has spread over millions of acres in
central Texas. The roots of these trees are like drinking
straws that suck water out of the ground. As a result, the
water evaporates. This cycle has caused springs to dry up
and streams to stop flowing.
There's been a noticeable increase in juniper, resulting in
less water for livestock and wildlife. At the same time, the
junipers have shaded out grasses and forbs, destroying the
grazing. The two endangered songbirds that nest here made
clearing these scrub forests a tough sell. This situation
has led to a political mess, especially because two federal
agencies-the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-have been at odds over
restoring grazing versus leaving cedars for the
songbirds.
But following successful projects trapping cowbirds that
were taking over endangered songbird nests at Fort Hood,
roughly the same groups of ag, environmental and government
interests have teamed up for the brush control on private
lands. Manning and the CTCA got them together. Federal and
state agencies have gotten behind the effort in a big
way.
Texas Ag Commissioner Susan Combs was one of the earliest
supporters. "Dependable water supplies are important to the
economic development of Texas and the survival of our rural
communities," she says. "That's why we must look at ways to
not only conserve but also enhance our water resources."
Project leaders are signing up landowners in blocks, in six
subwatersheds feeding creeks that flow into the Leon.
The first 7,000-acre block was started in summer 2001 and is
complete. Ranchers there were given 85% cost-sharing to
mechanically shear off ash juniper trees and seed forage
plants as needed. If they follow up with prescribed burns to
control new cedar sprouts, within five years the 15% they
contributed will be returned to them.
"The first treatment money came from the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, with help from Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison (R-Texas)," says Manning. And now, he notes, state
and federal dollars will help.
The results so far? "Amazing," says Manning. "This area had
been covered in ash juniper with bare ground underneath. Now
it's bluestem, Indiangrass and sideoats gramma as high as
the hood of a pickup truck. Everyone is tickled, from ag
producers to wildlife folks." He adds that old-growth
junipers remain for nesting.
Texas A&M is doing long-term water studies, but ranchers
say they already see dry springs flowing again.
"We hope to be able to demonstrate that managers and people
who own the land can convert ash juniper to native grasses
and forbs and see increased water yields," says Manning.
"And we can do it in such a way as to affect endangered
species positively.
The rancher says government responded when ag and
environmental groups partnered on the project and took it,
in a united effort, to the agencies.
"People in Austin and Washington are watching this project
very closely," he says.