Fire & Grazing Alliance

Mechanical Fuel Reduction Grant - Texas A&M Forest Service Purpose Cost-share reimbursement grant for private Texas landowners to protect surrounding communities at risk of wildfire through accepted mechanical fuel reduction.  Practices Create defensible space and/or fuel breaks with hand cutting tools, chainsaws, chippers, and/or forestry mulcher/masticat...

What would happen if fire was removed from our rangelands?

Fire has played an important role in shaping rangelands for thousands of years. Historically, lightning fires and Indigenous burning helped maintain open grasslands across much of North America.

When fire is removed from the landscape, vegetation begins to change over time.

You may start to see:
🌳 Woody plants increase as brush and trees move into open grasslands
🌱 Native grasses decline as they compete with woody plants for sunlight, water, and nutrients
🌿 Less plant diversity as dense vegetation shades out many grasses and wildflowers
🔥 Fuel buildup increases, which can lead to larger, hotter wildfires

Over time, grasslands can slowly transition into dense brush or woodland, reducing forage production, wildlife habitat, and overall rangeland health.

When applied safely and under the right conditions, prescribed fire helps restore the natural processes that keep rangelands productive, diverse, and resilient.

Sometimes the best way to protect the our rangeland is to bring fire back to the landscape.

The Power of Fire to Revive Grasslands Prescribed fire can revive wildlife habitat, prevent wildfires and maintain healthy grasslands that once covered much of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

🔥 Learn to use fire as a land management tool, online and on your schedule.

West Texas Rangelands and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension have launched an updated Online Prescribed Burn School, designed for landowners and land management professionals who want science-based training on planning and applying prescribed fire safely and effectively.

This self-paced course covers fire behavior, equipment and safety, ecological effects, smoke management, and prescribed burn planning, providing a strong foundation for responsible fire use on rangelands.

👉 Learn more and get started here:
https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2026/04/03/online-prescribed-burn-school-2026/

📣 Know a landowner, burn partner, or prescribed fire practitioner who would benefit from this training? Please share this post to help spread the word.

Why Bare Soil Is a Problem?

Bare ground might not look like much, but it can have big impacts on rangelands.
When soil is left exposed, rainwater can’t soak in as easily. Instead, it runs across the surface, carrying soil with it.
Bare ground often leads to:
🌧️ More runoff
🌱 Less plant growth
🪨 More erosion

Healthy rangelands keep the soil covered with grasses, plants, and plant litter. This living cover helps slow rainfall, improve infiltration, and protect the soil from erosion.
Good rangeland management helps keep soil covered, water soaking in, and rangelands productive.

Read More:
👉 https://texnat.tamu.edu/about/risk-management/grazing-mistakes-2/

PBA SPOTLIGHT: CINCO CHAPTER OF EDWARDS PLATEAU PRESCRIBED BURN ASSOCIATION
The founding chapter of the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association , Cinco has continued to lead burning and education efforts in Edwards, Crockett, Sutton, Val Verde, Schleicher, and surrounding counties. Through successful burn workshops, pursuit of grants for equipment, and responsible burning practices, they have treated tens of thousands of acres with prescribed fire since their inception. Like many others, specific focuses include combatting woody encroachment, prickly pear reduction, and improving wildlife and grazing habitats. We encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a fire practitioner or learning more about the Cinco chapter to visit the PBAT website link below for contact information!

Link to EPPBA page: https://www.facebook.com/EPPBA
Or scan the QR code for their application form!

Thank you to Marcy Epperson for the photos and support!

The Prescribed Burn Alliance of Texas is now on Instagram and Youtube! Follow both to see more stories, videos, and all things prescribed fire!

https://www.instagram.com/prescribedburnalliancetexas/

https://www.youtube.com/

PrescribedBurnAllianceTexas (@prescribedburnalliancetexas) • Instagram photos and videos 9 Followers, 1 Following, 3 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from PrescribedBurnAllianceTexas ()

🐐🌿 Bringing Ranching Back to Town

Across many communities, goats and sheep are helping manage vegetation in places where tractors and mowers can’t easily go

From parks to greenbelts, utility corridors, and neighborhoods near the wildland urban interface, small ruminants are bringing a bit of ranching back to town.

Urban grazing can help:
🌱 Control invasive plants
🔥 Reduce wildfire fuels
🌾 Maintain open spaces
🌿 Improve vegetation diversity

Sometimes the best management tools aren’t machines , they’re just a herd of hungry goats.

Read More:
👉 https://www.dallascitynews.net/city-of-dallas-uses-goats-to-remove-invasive-privet-at-white-rock-lake
👉 https://www.goatscapingllc.com

Episode 19 | Burning Pastures on Purpose? Here’s Why It Works! | Treadwell Cattle Company

Protect the Bank, Not the Water

Livestock naturally seek out creeks, ponds, and rivers to drink and cool off. But when they have unrestricted access to soft riverbanks, repeated hoof action can break down soil structure and cause erosion.

One simple management tool that can help is temporary electric fencing. (pictured a single strand poly wire)

By using hot wire, producers can limit access to sensitive areas while still allowing their livestock to reach water. Many managers create small sacrificial access points where their animals can safely drink without trampling the entire shoreline.

This approach helps:
🌱 Protect vegetation along the bank
💧 Reduce erosion and sediment runoff
🐄 Maintain reliable water access for livestock

Good grazing management doesn’t mean keeping or livestock away from water, it means protecting the banks that hold it together.

Read more:
👉https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/grazing_management_for_riparian_areas

Good Deer Habitat Isn’t Always the Thickest Woods

Sunlight → Plants
Plants → Deer Food

White-tailed deer depend on grasses, forbs, and tender shrubs for much of their diet. When landscapes become too dense with trees or woody brush, sunlight can’t reach the ground and fewer of those plants grow.

Open rangelands and patchy landscapes allow sunlight to reach the soil, helping produce the diverse vegetation deer rely on for food.

Healthy rangelands create the balance of forage and cover deer need to thrive.

Sometimes the best deer habitat isn’t thicker woods , it’s healthy open land.

Read More:
👉 https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g9495
👉 https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/white-tailed-deer.html