Wildlife Management Plan
Williamson County

The Blackland Prairies form a crescent of deep, fertile soils stretching from the Red River south to San Antonio, historically supporting tallgrass prairie dominated by big bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, and eastern gamagrass. Less than 1% of the original Blackland Prairie remains intact, making it one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. The rest has been converted to cropland, improved pasture, or urban development. What survives exists in small remnants along railroad rights-of-way, in old cemeteries, and on a handful of working ranches.

Wildlife management on Blackland Prairie properties focuses on restoring native grassland structure and converting improved bermudagrass pastures back to diverse native warm-season grass and forb communities. This is slow, deliberate work. Successful restoration requires soil preparation, targeted herbicide application to suppress bermudagrass and King Ranch bluestem, and patient seeding of locally sourced native grass mixes. Once established, these grasslands need periodic disturbance through prescribed fire or rotational mowing to prevent woody encroachment by mesquite, Osage orange, and eastern red cedar. Riparian corridors along the region's creeks provide disproportionate habitat value and should be fenced from livestock and managed for native canopy cover.

Despite widespread conversion, the Blackland Prairies still support grassland birds of high conservation concern including northern bobwhite, loggerhead shrike, and dickcissel. Migrating raptors, waterfowl, and neotropical songbirds use the region's remaining grasslands and riparian corridors as critical stopover habitat along the Central Flyway. Texas horned lizard, once common across the Blacklands, has declined sharply due to fire ant invasion and habitat loss. Management that restores native harvester ant populations through fire ant suppression and native grassland restoration directly benefits this iconic species.