Practice What You Preach

Article by ILIANA A. PEÑA Photo by KIM HODGES

On a dew-covered May morning in 2020, while looking out at the Texas Wildlife Association’s (TWA) new 7-acre Anne-Weisman Campus north of New Braunfels, I had a strong realization—TWA is now a landowner, and the full weight of that responsibility took hold. We at TWA often talk about the importance of land stewardship and the responsibility it carries.

Our building’s namesake David K. Langford has often said, “There is a difference in landowners. There are landowners who take from the land and there are landowners who give to the land.” I found myself looking out over our small, rural acreage and imaging how TWA could fully embrace the role of giver.

For 36 years, TWA along with its numerous natural resource partners has conducted countless land stewardship workshops, conferences and field demonstrations across Texas. We work to bring applied rangeland and wildlife science to private landowners and Texans of all ages.

We believe the future well-being of habitat that supports wildlife and rare species depends upon a private landowners’ commitment to improving habitat and being good stewards of the land. Property size is a moot point because all of us, small and large landowners, can contribute to healthy open space that serves not only us but serves the greater community through the ecosystem services that our land supports.

The new TWA Campus is on the western edge of the Blackland Prairie Ecoregion. The tract of land was historically farmed and more recently seeded for hay production. Given our location, one mile west of the Interstate-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, our stewardship efforts will provide an easy and accessible place to educate and showcase the benefits of land stewardship on small rural acreage.

TWA solicited expertise from federal, state and NGO partners like the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Wildlife Habitat Federation, and coalesced their recommendations into a restoration plan that fits the Association’s land management and operational goals. The overarching theme for the rural acreage will be the improvement of soil health, control or suppression of non-native exotic grasses and forbs, and a goal of improving the overall diversity and habitat functions of native plants for the benefit of pollinators and wildlife.

TWA plans to give back by sharing our work through field days and events, contributing to bird and other wildlife surveys and inviting local educators to use our site as an extension of their classrooms.

Like any land management venture, this is going to take time and energy. We will continue to share our story and invite all of you to follow our journey.