Property Evaluation
Acreage : 80 Acres
County : Hays
Nearest Town: Dripping Springs
General Property Location: Located
in northern
Photo Points:
Photo 1. View from southern end of the property looking towards the northeast.
Photo 2. Sloped juniper/live oak parkland habitat. Multi-stemmed juniper dominated.
Photo 3. Live oak and Spanish oak present in the juniper/mixed oak woodland habitat.
Photo 4. Young Texas Madrone in juniper/live oak parkland habitat.
Photo 5. Shrubby juniper in juniper/live oak parkland.
Photo 6. Aerial view of pond. Cattail dominated.
Site Description
This approximately 80 acre-site is located in northern Hays County, approximately 5 miles west-northwest of Dripping Springs, Texas. The property is irregularly shaped. The high point on the property of 1440 ft MSL is present on the southwestern portion of the property. The property slopes down abruptly from the southern and western portions toward a steep canyon area in the east and northeast portions where several drainages can be found. The low point of 1240 ft MSL exists near a drainage on the far eastern part of the property. An approximately .25 acre pond is located in the southern part of the property and is not present on any of the attached maps.
Habitat Description
The vast majority of the property (75+ acres) has not been grazed by any form of livestock in 8 years. The herbaceous community is in good to excellent condition. Because the site visit was conducted in late-December, annual forbs could not be identified. Deer herbivory on vegetation showed a moderate to moderately-high deer population which is typical for the area.
Three distinct habitat types are present on the property. A shrubby juniper/live oak parkland/woodland is present on the steeply sloped areas of the property. Canopy cover ranges from 50-80%. In general, the lower end of the canopy range (parkland) was found on the flat “benches” along the slopes while the higher end of the canopy range (woodland) was found on the more steeply sloped areas. Multi-stemmed junipers comprise the bulk of the woody plant community. Live oaks occur as singles along with the junipers and in mottes. Several Spanish oaks can be found in this habitat type. The shrub layer consists mainly of regrowth cedar and live oak, though a few silktassel, Texas Madrone, persimmon, nolina, and Roemer acacia were observed. The dominant herbaceous plants on the slope areas were little bluestem, seep muhly, and hairy grama. Other herbaceous plants include King Ranch (KR) bluestem (along the roads), silver bluestem, and queen’s delight.
A juniper/mixed oak woodland is present in the drainages on the central and eastern parts of the property; however, the aforementioned parkland/woodland habitat often grades into this habitat. The abundance and height of juniper in this habitat is greater than that found on the sloped parkland/woodland habitat. Canopy cover here is over 90%. Many of the juniper trees were mature. Live oaks, Spanish oaks, and shin oaks comprised roughly 15% of the tree community. The shrub layer is sparse and included regrowth juniper and live oak. Where the canopy was dense, the herbaceous layer is very sparse and consists of sedges. In the openings and wood edges, little bluestem and hairy grama are present.
An approximately 2 acre grazing cell exists on one of the few flat portions in the southern part of the property. This habitat type does not offer significant research value.
The .25 acre pond was created by damming a steeply sloped drainage. The pond holds water year-round. Cattails and willow bacharis were observed on the pond edge. The pond is inhabited by frogs. No caves or springs are present on the property.
Soil Types
The two soil types present on the property are detailed below. The BtG soils are present over the vast majority of the property while BtD soils are found in small quantities near the northern and southern property borders.
Brackett-Rock outcrop-Comfort complex, undulating (BtD)
Brackett -Rock outcrop- Real complex, steep (BtG)
Both of the Brackett soil complexes (BtD and BtG) are shallow, loamy and occasionally clayey soils interspersed with limestone bedrock outcroppings. Both are moderately alkaline (pH 7.9 – 8.4) but only BtG contains a high percentage of calcium. These soils range from 11 – 17 inches in total depth. BtG soils are more steeply sloped than BtD soils. They are well drained, have a modernly slow permeability with very low available water capacity and a shallow rooting zone. Runoff is rapid and water erosion is a severe hazard. A distinguishing feature of these soils is a benched or stair-stepped appearance due to the bands of rock outcrop. BtD is classified as an Adobe ecological site, while BtG is classified as a Steep Adobe ecological site.
Research Potential
The canyon and drainage portions of this 80-acre site may be potential habitat for Golden-cheeked Warbler. Avian surveys could be performed for this species as well as others in the woodland bird guild.
Much of the property is in its own small watershed – the majority of the water flowing through the property’s drainages and flowing into the .25 acre pond originates on the property. Hydrologic studies looking at the rate, direction, and abundance of water movement throughout the property could be performed.
Researchers interested in frogs would find the pond, which holds water year-round, of interest. Ingress and regress of frogs into this very isolated pond could also be studied.
Because brush management has not been performed on much of the sloped and drainage areas, these areas could be used as baselines for carbon sequestration and plant succession studies. The lack of grazing in these areas over the past 8 years is a unique characteristic of this property for studying these subjects.
A wider variety of shrubs and recruitment of desirable woody plants species such as Spanish oak, Texas kidneywood, redbud and flameleaf sumac, would be present on the property if deer numbers were lower. A deer management program that reduced the population to low or low-moderate levels would allow for increased regeneration of preferred shrubs and trees. Another option would be to build exclosures. Several deer exclosures could be constructed, and recruitment of highly palatable shrubs and trees could be measured against areas receiving no protection. Information provided from such studies may help determine the long-term plant community changes resulting from moderate-high deer numbers.
The research site hosts a variety of insect species whose behavior and presence/absence could be monitored.
Keith Olenick
Senior Wildlife Biologist
Plateau Land & Wildlife Management
