Hill Country Landowner's Guide (review)

After a career as a research chemist on the east coast, Jim Stanley moved to Texas, purchased property in the Hill Country, and became a master naturalist in a program sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Stanley spent some 400 hours studying the ecology of the region. He used his skills as a scientist to assess the condition of the Hill Country and to assimilate a large quantity of information generated by many field trips, seminars, and workshops. Stanley has written his Hill Country Landowner's Guide in nonscientific language for people who, like him, have moved into the Hill Country from other places, mostly cities, where the environmental conditions and history of land use are different.

The book has been published at a critical time for this region because the demand for water resources is exceeding supply as human populations continue to grow. There is a link between land stewardship in the Hill Country and the fate of the whooping crane (Grus americana) that winters in and around the Aransas Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast. During the drought of 2008–2009, additional water was withdrawn from the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers, which drain the Hill Country and feed the estuary, causing a crash in the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) population on which the whooping cranes feed. This resulted in the deaths of about 30% of the wintering flock of this endangered crane species. More recently, however, an analysis of the historic and current flows in these rivers indicates that more water is becoming available, especially during droughts, because of better land stewardship in the Hill Country (Wilcox and Huang 2010).

The guide begins with a chapter titled "Philosophy," which assumes that the reader wants to be a good land steward and includes this quote from Bada Diom: "we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we have been taught." The guide next devotes five chapters to a summary of how the ecology of the Hill Country has evolved with changes brought upon it by settlement in the 18th and 19th centuries and the resulting introduction of huge numbers of domesticated livestock. This, coupled with the droughts of the early 20th century, led to the native grasses' largely disappearing, resulting in extreme erosion in many locations. Loss of range carrying capacity and the economics of cattle production led to a large reduction in the stocking rates about mid-20th century. Also starting in the 19th century, wildfires that historically had burned and rejuvenated much of the Hill Country were contained or prevented, allowing the invasion of Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) into areas that were previously grasslands. Ranchers introduced numerous non-native grasses during the 20th century to try to overcome losses in carrying capacity. These are the conditions today discovered by anyone purchasing land in the Hill Country.

Good stewardship in the Hill Country as we find it today is basically restoration—and it starts with plants. One chapter is dedicated specifically to restoration, and the appendices list where landowners may seek help with specific aspects of restoration. Removal of Ashe juniper is often seen as a "quick fix" for many years of poor stewardship and climate change, a prevailing notion often advocated by the service industry that has grown up for large-scale mechanical removal of juniper. However, Stanley suggests (in chapter 6) that the removal of juniper be accomplished carefully and in consideration of topography and erosion potential. For example, Ashe juniper is the natural cover of many steep areas where fire historically would not have killed it.

The guide provides good coverage of native grasses, shrubs, and trees and suggests resources that landowners can access to inventory what exists on their property. Learning to identify natives, especially grasses, requires considerable skill that often takes years to acquire, yet inventorying the grasses is a critical component of good stewardship.

Riparian areas are given special...