| Chanas Ranch Foreman Rodney Hooten (left) and Richard McMillan, owner of the 16,000 acre Chanas Ranch, stand next to heavy equipment used at the ranch. |
LLANO — Deep in the heart of Texas, in Llano County that is, a hint of the Old West still lingers. Rodney Hooten, manager of the 16,000-acre Chanas Ranch starts his day much like the frontier cowboys of his past.
Atop his favorite horse, Hooten makes his way across the range to a 700-acre pasture — the job site. The goal this day is to gather a herd of cattle, and drive them across the ranch to “fresh ground” as part of a prescribed rotational grazing system.
This is where the Old West meets the modern-day rancher. In the latter part of the 1800s, settlers began to use a new tool of the trade — barbed wire. Fencing provided a way for landowners to contain their livestock , cattle and goats, to keep them from destroying the crops they had planted. Confined within the fence boundaries, livestock would often graze one area continuously, ultimately leaving the ground bare and depleted.
The land that had once been a vast open range of grassland mixed with large stands of oaks began to undergo a dramatic change due to the “one pasture” grazing system. Invasive brush species such as ashe juniper, also called cedar, had previously been limited to steep canyonlands that were naturally resistant to periodic wildfires. With overgrazing and repression of fire, the cedar began to encroach on the rangeland.
New tools of the trade
Today, cedar and other brush species, such as prickly pear and mesquite, are present where native grasses once thrived. Underneath this brush, the bare ground has become susceptible to heavy soil erosion and rapid rainfall runoff, contributing to sedimentation in nearby waterways. But today, Hooten, under the direction of Chanas Ranch owner, Richard McMillan, is using new “tools of the trade” to restore the land to what it once was. As often as Hooten can be found on the back of a horse, he can now be found selectively removing large areas of regrowth cedar and mesquite.
“This is just the first step in our plan to improve and restore this rangeland. The follow-up step of implementing a rotational grazing system and creating wildlife corridors is just as important, McMillan said.
“The Chanas Ranch is participating in a new regional program to provide landowners with financial and technical assistance for land conservation projects,” said Natural Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist Randy Ward.
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and local soil and water conservation districts are administering the effort by tapping a federal Clean Water Act program designed to control agricultural nonpoint-source pollution caused by rainwater runoff. LCRA received a three-year, $500,000 grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The funding supports LCRA’s Creekside Conservation Program, a 15-year-old effort to help farmers and ranchers in Central Texas reduce soil erosion and keep the precious topsoil on their land from washing into the waterways of the lower Colorado River basin.
Landowners who participate can receive a 50 percent reimbursement for such land conservation projects.
A comprehensive plan
“This project provides more than just a financial incentive for land improvement. It provides a comprehensive plan that is workable, technically sound, and reproducible for other landowners,” said Kenneth Brandenberger, chairman of the Llano County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors.
McMillan added, “It’s not just about brush control, but making long-range conservation efforts that benefit wildlife, the land and livestock.” McMillan said he plans to continue the ranching tradition on the Chanas Ranch, which is located about 10 miles east of Llano.
“What they’re doing here is an example of proper land stewardship being put into practice and a demonstration of these land management practices to other landowners,” said Rusty Ray, Conservation Services supervisor for LCRA.
“Over time, native vegetation will come back and thrive in these treated areas,” said Hooten, as he mounts up and heads off once again into the sunset.
For more information on the LCRA’s Creekside Conservation Program, contact Bobby Humphrey, conservation specialist, LCRA Conservation Services, at 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 7155. |
Editor's note: This is one of a series on landowners who are tapping an LCRA program to implement best management land conservation practices. 
