Hill Country Land Stewardship Workshop
When you visit Gentry Springs Ranch you see tall native grasses, a beautiful
flowing spring fed creek, and a home, landscaped with native plants, blending
in with its natural setting. What you also see is the planning and practices
that make for good land stewardship. With the removal of cedar, a schedule
of prescribed burns, and the rotation of livestock, native grasses flourish.
These management practices allow range land to catch rainwater, which
feeds the aquifer below and beyond the property. Fire keeps the cedar
and brush down, and allows a diversity of plants that serve as cover and
food for wildlife.
Gentry Springs Ranch is one of a growing number of individual properties
within the Gentry Creek watershed, which flows into the Llano River. How
does the stewardship of each of these ever increasing number of land owners
affect the resources and health of their shared watershed and ultimately
the Llano River? To help understand this question and its answer come
to the “Hill Country Land Stewardship Workshop” (Plans and
Practices for Maximizing the Value and Resources of Your Land) on Saturday,
April 19th, at Texas Tech University Center at Junction. The workshop,
sponsored by the Western Edwards Plateau Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists,
TTU at Junction, and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, will consist
of a morning session of speakers ending with a lunch followed by a tour
of Gentry Springs Ranch and a small acreage tract in the same watershed.
Sign in and late registration (see registration details below) will be
from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. Starting at 9:00 a.m. Bill Armstrong, the former
director of Kerr Wildlife Management Area, will speak on “The Historical
Perspective of the Hill Country.” Dr. Tom Arsuffi, TTU at Junction,
Director, Llano River Field Station & Research, will address “Water:
Where Does It Come From and Where Does It Go?” Billy Kniffen, Menard
Co. TAES agent, will help you “Be the Change You Wish to See on
Your Land.” Following lunch participants will tour Gentry Springs
Ranch. The tour will continue on to a small acreage tract to see the results
of over 15 years of cutting cedar and stacking it to form terraces on
slopes.
A registration form may be obtained by contacting Martha Richardson at
marthar@ctesc.net or 325-475-2271. The form will also be available at
some local real estate offices, county agents’ offices, and through
members of the Western Edwards Plateau chapter of Texas Master Naturalists.
A registration fee of $15.00 covers materials and lunch until April 9th
after which a late registration fee of $20.00 will be required. The workshop
is limited to the first 120 registrants.
Work Shop Flyer
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