Where the First Raindrop Falls - Water Cycle

“Saving the water and the soil must start where the first raindrop falls”

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1947

Where the First Raindrop Falls

““All my life I have drawn sustenance All my life I have drawn sustenance from the rivers and from the hills of from the rivers and from the hills of my native state . . .I want no less for my native state . . .I want no less for

all the children of America than what I all the children of America than what I was privileged to have as a boy.”was privileged to have as a boy.”

Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson

Healthy and Abundant Waters

Texas has some severe water Texas has some severe water challengeschallenges

Common “Solutions”

to Water Crisis

Dams / ReservoirsDredgingWells /PipelinesDesalinizationBrush ControlWater Conservation

An Overlooked Opportunity

Water Comes From the Land

“In the primitive state of the country, the mountains and hills were covered with soil and there was an abundance of timber. The

plains were full of rich earth, bearing an abundance of food for

cattle.”

The Land / Water Connection is not a new concept

“Moreover, the land reaped the benefit of the annual rainfall, having an abundant supply of water in all places; receiving the rainfall into

herself and storing it up in the soil. The land let off the water into the

hollows which it absorbed from the heights, providing everywhere

abundant fountains and rivers.”

“Such was the state of the country, which was cultivated by true

husbandmen, who made husbandry their business, and had a soil the

best in the world and an abundance of water.”

A description of Ancient Greece

Plato, 400 B.C

“In comparison of what then was, there now remain only the bones of the wasted body. All the richer and softer parts of the soil have fallen

away … a single night of excessive rain now washes away the earth and lays bare the rock. Now the land is losing

the water, which flows off the bare earth into the sea.”

What happens to rainfall when it hits the ground?

Soaks in Runoff

Watershed

Water Catchment

Dysfunctional

Water Cycle

Properly Functioning Water Cycle

Water Water CatchmentCatchment

WatersheWatershedd

The essence ofGood Land / Water Management

Keeping a healthy cover of desirable vegetation on the ground

Minimizing bare ground

Key Principle of Land / Water Management:

Slow the movement of water as it flows downhill.

The Premise of Ecologically The Premise of Ecologically Sustainable Livestock Ranching:Sustainable Livestock Ranching:

Grass Grass SurplusSurplus

is Available For is Available For GrazingGrazing

Plant Vigor-Leaves and RootsCaring for the Green Zone, Riparian Areas and Grazing ManagementAlberta Riparian Habitat Management Project, “Cows and Fish Project”

Water Catchment

Watershed

Land Stewardship helps process and protect the water of Texas:

• Absorbs the rainfall• Stores the water• Releases the water in moderation• A more even distribution over time• Prolongs base flows• Maintains high quality water

What is Land Stewardship?

What is a Land Stewardship Ethic?

Aldo Leopold

1887-1948

“A land ethic reflects the existence of an

ecological conscience,

and this in turn reflects a conviction of

individual responsibility for the

health of land.”

“An ethic, ecologically, is a limitation of freedom of action.” - Leopold

Land Health and the A – B Cleavage

“Conservationists are notorious for their dissentions:

Group A regards the land as soil and its function as commodity production

Group B regards the land as a biological complex; and its function as something broader.”

“In my own field of forestry . . .

Group A is quite content to grow trees, like cabbage, with cellulose as the basic forest commodity.

Group B manages a natural environment rather than creating an artificial one. It worries on biotic as well as economic grounds . . . about a whole host of secondary functions – wildlife, recreation, watersheds.”

“In the field of wildlife, cleavage also exists

Group A the basic commodities are sport and meat; the yardsticks of production are ciphers of take in game. Artificial propagation is acceptable as a permanent or temporary recourse.

Group B worries about a whole series of biotic side issues: predators . . . exotic species . . . rare species”

Land Stewardship: A deeply held inner conviction that motivates land managers to care for the land entrusted to them . . .

not only for their own personal benefit,

or for the benefit of future generations,

but also for the benefits to society

JX  RANCH

Ranch Stewardship

. . . . we realize that the decisions we make on this ranch have a rippling effect . . . .

  Our goal is to improve the ecological health of the land, while at the same time making a living for ourselves . . .

The basis for successful ranching and wildlife management

A Land Stewardship EthicA Land Stewardship Ethic

The Basis for Successful Ranching, The Basis for Successful Ranching, Wildlife Management and Water Wildlife Management and Water

ConservationConservation

Maintaining the Integrity of the Hill Country

Large tracts of land . . . .Native vegetationPrivate ownershipGood stewardshipEconomically sustainable

Everything is Connected

Those who do not understand natureThose who do not understand nature are destined to deplete it are destined to deplete it

Those who understand nature Those who understand nature bestbest

are compelled to conserve it are compelled to conserve it

No easy answers

No simple

solutions

JuniperJuniper

““For every complex For every complex problem, there is a problem, there is a

solution that is simple, solution that is simple, neat and wrong”neat and wrong”

H. L. Menken; 1880 - 1956H. L. Menken; 1880 - 1956

What is the basis of land knowledge?

• Misinformation; Hearsay• Myths• Tradition• Paradigms; Bias• Ignorance• Good intentions• Accurate information• Good science; Logic• Stewardship ethic

Food for Thought

Land Management Questions to Ponder:

• What was the historical vegetation of EP (pre 1850)?• Was the EP a vast open grassland?• Is juniper an “invader”?• Is juniper undesirable?• What effect does juniper have on water dynamics?• Does juniper destroy grasslands?• Does juniper cause erosion?• Do you understand juniper?• How do you decide what is the best mgt for your land?• Do you ever get conflicting information and advice?• Do land management professionals necessarily have the correct answers

Hill Country Natural History:Myths *, Legends and the Record

Eric Lautzenheiser

1. Hill Country was a sea of grass2. Cedar does not belong in Hill

Country3. Removal of cedar restores the

land4. Cedar is a great water guzzler 5. Hill Country can be restored“It ain’t what it used to be; it never was and never will be”

Understanding Juniper

Juniper Water

Deer Managemen

t

Aesthetic Value

Soil

Livestock Ranching

Political Legal Social

Other Plants

Land Value

Other Animals

Economics

Endangered Species

Fire

The complexity The complexity of land of land managementmanagement

Miranda Expedition; 1756Describing conditions along Cibolo Creek, and Guadalupe, Blanco, San

Marcos Rivers

“In all this region, there are no commodities nor anything except

good cedar and oak timber… Crossing many swollen creeks and thickets of cedar and oak

timber”

“The forests are very heavy. There is an abundance of cedar and

various oaks scattered about in groupings…we went out… to survey

the cedar forest to the east..”

Berlandier; 1828In the Guadalupe basin near

present day Hunt

“…our course lay over mountains of rock and through cedar brake,

which so impeded our course and bewildered our guides…”

W. B. Dewees; 1830Near confluence of San Saba

and Colorado River

“The mountains are are of third and fourth magnitude…They are clothed with forests of pine, oak, cedar and other trees, with a great variety of

shrubbery.”

William Kennedy; 1839A composite description of a large area

including the canyons and uplands of the Nueces, Medina, Pedernales, Guadalupe, Llano, Colorado, San Saba, and Bosque

Rivers

“From the Medina to the Hondo…prairie fairly timbered up to the

mountains, which are covered with cedar”

DeCordova;1858Present day Bandera County

“an open grassy plain, only broken here and there by brushwood and

scattered live oak trees”

Roemer 1845-1847Describing the landscape to the west of the Hill Country

“Some portions of the hills are very well timbered – others are prairie.”

George Bonnell; 1840Area northwest of Austin

“The periodic burning…drove out the shrubs and prevented

the timber from gaining on the prairie”

William Bray, 1904

“Overgrazing has greatly reduced the density of the

grass. The practice of burning has disappeared. These

conditions have brought about a rapid expansion of woody

growth”

Foster, 1917

Did Cedar Destroy Did Cedar Destroy the Grasslands?the Grasslands?

Does Cedar Destroy or Restore the Land?

Juniper Trees, Soil Loss, and Local Runoff Juniper Trees, Soil Loss, and Local Runoff Processes; William and Nina Marsh; 1992Processes; William and Nina Marsh; 1992

The landscape . . . has been characterized by episodic change, fluctuating from waves of instability and soil loss to waves of stability and soil building. Instability was initiated by widespread overgrazing . . . Whereas relative stability came with juniper invasions. With each wave of juniper clearing, instability was renewed.It is essential to recognize the value of ashe juniper as a stabilizing agent in the landscape.Juniper stands also function as effective sediment sinks. With each juniper invasion, runoff and soil loss rates declined and soil material accumulated under the canopies.On the other hand, ashe junipers do not represent an environmental panacea. Careful consideration must be given to the appropriate balance among grasses, oaks, junipers and other vegetation types . . . Based on many factors including soil stabilization, runoff rates, biodiversity, etc . .

What should you do with Cedar?

Get rid of ?Reduce / Thin ?Trim / Prune ?Leave alone ?

No easy answers

No simple

solutions

Helping Landowners Become Land Stewards

Maintaining Large Tracts of Private Land Undeveloped in Perpetuity