Wildlife Management Plan
Real County

The Edwards Plateau is the limestone backbone of the Texas Hill Country, a karst landscape of spring-fed creeks, steep canyons, and rocky uplands covered in a mosaic of Ashe juniper, live oak, and Texas red oak. The region sits atop one of the most productive aquifer systems in the world, and its thin, rocky soils conceal a vast network of caves, sinkholes, and underground streams that support an extraordinary community of endemic invertebrates found nowhere else on Earth. This is where Texas ranching tradition meets some of the state's most sensitive ecological systems.

Cedar management is the dominant wildlife management activity on the Edwards Plateau, but it must be approached with nuance. While dense Ashe juniper mottes suppress native grass production and reduce spring flow, the golden-cheeked warbler, federally listed as endangered, nests exclusively in mature stands of Ashe juniper with shredding bark. Effective management removes regrowth juniper from grassland and savannah areas while protecting mature juniper in canyon bottoms and steep slopes where the warbler nests. Brush sculpting, rather than blanket clearing, is the standard of care. Supplemental water development is critical on the plateau, where thin soils and fractured limestone create limited surface water retention. Rainwater collection systems and small impoundments along seasonal drainages provide water for deer, turkey, and upland birds during the dry months of late summer.

The Edwards Plateau harbors the highest concentration of endemic species in Texas. The golden-cheeked warbler breeds only in central Texas juniper-oak woodlands, and the black-capped vireo nests in low, scrubby vegetation on rocky hillsides. Below ground, dozens of cave-adapted invertebrate species, including Tooth Cave spider, Bone Cave harvestman, and several cave-adapted beetles, depend on the integrity of the karst system. White-tailed deer populations on the plateau are among the densest in North America, and intensive harvest management is often necessary to prevent overbrowing of native forbs and browse species like Texas kidneywood and agarito.