LMAP Resources

On this page you will find links to a wide range of land and wildlife management resources to assist Hill Country landowners.

Getting different points of view before making a large land management decision is smart. The links below will take you to their website where you click on your county to drill down to the person to contact. Each agency has experts that will visit your property, answer questions, and provide valuable advice.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Wildlife Biologists Assigned by County.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/county

Request Technical Guidance from TPWD
https://lma.tpwd.state.tx.us

Texas Forest Service Specialists Assigned by County
https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/contactus/county-map

Texas A&M AgriLife County Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent by County
https://counties.agrilife.org

USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Services by County
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/find-a-service-center?state=48&county=019

Wildlife Management Associations and Co-ops
https://www.landcan.org/pdfs/TPW_Guide_to%20start_WMA.pdf

Texas Parks & Wildlife Landowner Workshops & Field Days
https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/landowner-workshops-field-days

Native Plant Society of Texas—Kerrville Chapter
https://www.npsot.org/chapters/kerrville/

Native Plant Society of Texas—Fredericksburg Chapter
https://www.npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg/

Native Plant Society of Texas—Boerne Chapter
https://www.npsot.org/chapters/boerne/

Friends of the Fredericksburg Nature Center. For more info,
www.fredericksburgnaturecenter.com

Cibolo Center for Conservation: Off Rt. 46 in Boerne, 100 acres of prairie,
woodlands and streams, many workshops, and seminars on nature topics,
 www.cibolo.org

Common Land Stewardship Myths and Misperceptions
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/LandownerMythsIP2.pdf

A place in the Country. Guide for new landowners
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_br_w7000_1021.pdf

Land Management Tips for Small Ranches in Texas
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6155f249b9da4b1afcd374be/t/619265f55e325835ef680c19/1636984316018/Land_Mgt_Tips_Small_Ranches_Texas_comp.pdf

Conservation Easements and Working with Land Trusts
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/THC_Conservation-Easements_7.pdf

Owning agricultural land in Texas is certainly a privilege and comes with great responsibility. All Texas landowners should take the time to investigate and understand the laws applicable to their property and operation. From ownership of water beneath the land to potential liability if a person is injured on the property to the best practices for negotiating a pipeline easement, several legal issues face agricultural landowners daily in the Lone Star State. This handbook is designed to offer a basic overview of several of the legal issues facing Texas landowners.  Free download available.

https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/owning-your-piece-of-texas/01t4x000004Oi8cAAC

https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/files/2020/01/Owning-Your-Piece-of-Texas.pdf

Managing the land adjacent to and running parallel to Hill Country rivers and creeks is important to wildlife and the environment and has its own set of restoration practices. The resources below will give you a nice overview. For specific help, contact your County TPWD Biologist and ask for a visit.

Riparian Zone Management (Hill Country Land Trust)
Video: https://youtu.be/u5bR6nHOlCE

Riparian Stewardship in the Texas Hill Country: Strategies for Native Plant Restoration (Hill Country Land Trust)
Video: https://youtu.be/pqPP3RSZEhQ

Your Remarkable Riparian Texas Field Guide/Owner’s Manual Set
https://www.remarkableriparian.org

Grow Zones: Cultivating Texan Rivers and Creeksides in your own Backyard, Hill Country Alliance
https://youtu.be/suwmZJdYwxk

Riparian Management, Hill Country Alliance
https://hillcountryalliance.org/our-work/water-resources/riparian-management

Riparian Planting and Materials Resource Guide
https://www.hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HCA_RiparianPlantingGuide_2021.pdf

Healthy Riparian Areas
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/RiparianIP.pdf

Streamside Planting Guide
https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Watershed/riparian/riparian_template.pdf

Common Riparian Plants in Central Texas
https://texasriparian.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Riparian-Plants-Central-and-SW-Tx.pdf

Streamside Management in the Hill Country
https://www.nature.org/media/texas/hill_country_streamside_management_1008_lowres.pdf

Many of our native trees are disappearing from the landscape due to years of over browsing of cattle, goats, and deer. Seedlings don’t have a chance to mature without protection. Consider caging seedlings you find on your property or create brush piles that will become protected nurseries for young trees.

Hill Country Woodlands (Hill Country Land Trust)
Video: https://youtu.be/gTo9DYHffAM

Native Trees of the Edwards Plateau
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/eu4e03uvpzrucsrj61qhl/Native-Trees-of-Edwards-Plateau.pdf?rlkey=hf2jhrs3emkvbuvg1scunv0nt&e=1&dl=0

Know Your Hill Country Oaks
https://tx-lakeway.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/254/Know_Oaks-PDF?bidId=

Ashe Juniper is native to the Texas Hill Country and benefits land and wildlife. Learn more about this plant and its role in the Hill Country ecosystem before removing or thinning cedar on your property.

Managing Cedar (Hill Country Land Trust)
Video: https://youtu.be/fuuw9GEVcEs

Mountain Cedar – Understanding the role of the Ashe juniper in Central Texas History and Ecosystems
https://www.projectbedrocktx.org/uploads/1/4/3/8/143892428/ashe_juniper_e_mcg_copy.pdf

Rethinking Mountain Cedars
Strategy Sheets – PROJECT BEDROCK (projectbedrocktx.org)

Selective Removal of Ashe Juniper Trees (Hays County Master Naturalists)
Video: https://youtu.be/-zVs_CC37vk

Ash Juniper, Spring Creek Outdoors

Ashe Juniper is native to central Texas, Austin Water Wildland Conservation
https://youtu.be/zB0mB6ewZnY

Erosion areas are common in the hill country and can be addressed by using natural materials found on most properties.

HILL-SIDE STEWARDSHIP: REDUCING EROSION, ESTABLISHING VEGETATION, & ENHANCING WATER CATCHMENT, Hill Country Alliance
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/HILLSIDE_STEWARDSHIP_Part1.pdf

Methods for reducing erosion, establishing vegetation, and enhancing water catchment, Hill Country Alliance.
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/Hillside-Stewardship-Guide_2023.pdf

Sometimes due to over browsing or soil disturbance; trees, brush, and forb species quickly proliferate and sometimes must be selectively removed to benefit land, wildlife, and agricultural enterprises. Brush, including Cedar, is beneficial to wildlife and the land in the right places and amounts.

Consult your County AgriLife Extension Agent or County Wildlife Biologist for specific advice before conducting significant brush removal and always follow label directions when using chemicals.

The Chemical Weed & Brush Control Reference Guide published by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is the go-to reference.
chemical-weed-and-brush-control-suggestions-for-rangeland (2).pdf

Quick Reference Guide for Common Rangeland and Pasture Herbicides – Texas A&M AgriLife
https://cdn-de.agrilife.org/extension/departments/scsc/scsc-pu-170/publications/files/quick-reference-for-common-rangeland-and-pasture-herbicides.pdf

Brush Busters is a cooperative program of the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Service to expedite the adoption of Tactical Brush Management Systems (TBMS) technology.
https://texnat.tamu.edu/about/brush-busters

Cut Stump Demonstration, Equipment and Herbicide Video, Texas A&M AgriLife

How to control Prickly Pear and other cacti. Texas A&M AgriLife
how-to-control-prickly-pear.pdf (agrilife.org)

Prickly Pear Management (Hill Country Land Trust)
Video: https://youtu.be/Pm326J2y24I

How to Beat Mesquite, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
https://southtexasrangelands.tamu.edu/files/2021/11/how-to-beat-mesquite.pdf

How to Master Cedar (Red and Blueberry Juniper), Texas A&M AgriLife
https://cdn-de.agrilife.org/extension/departments/rwfm/rwfm-pu-055/publications/files/how-to-master-cedar.pdf

Ball Moss
https://hays.agrilife.org/files/2011/08/ballmoss_1.pdf

The Texas landscape was once managed by high-intensity and periodic grazing by Bison Herds. Similarly, appropriately managed livestock herds can mimic this pattern and benefit wildlife habitat by increasing plant diversity through soil disturbance and removing old growth vegetation.

Grazing on Small Acreages Webinar Video, Integrating Cattle and Wildlife, Texas A&M AgriLife
https://youtu.be/k_PUtEE4u2I?si=dLMm0l1tKoqOSQen

Management protocols, including removal, for each invasive plant variety commonly found in Texas are on this TexasInvasives.org website. A partnership between TPWD, Texas A&M AgriLife, and Texas Forest Service.
Texas Invasives

Coping with Feral Hogs, AgriLife Extension
https://feralhogs.tamu.edu/

AgriLife Extension Feral Hog Publications
https://agrilife.org/txwildlifeservices/species-information-and-publications/mammals/feral-hogs/

Fire Ant Control, AgriLife Extension
https://livestockvetento.tamu.edu/files/2010/10/FireAntControl.pdf

Imported Fire Ant Research & Management Project
http://fireant.tamu.edu/

Cowbird Trapping
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/nuisance/cowbirds/trappingProgram.phtml

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmhandbook/

TPWD – Nuisance Wildlife in Texas
http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/nuisance/

A viable option for those property owners that already have an agricultural valuation. Same property tax savings. Visit your county property tax accessor to learn about the application and reporting process for your county.

What is Wildlife Tax Valuation? Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Video: https://youtu.be/FWdMLFF9M4g?si=KmZvx0mMP8ZOo67X

Wildlife Management and Property Tax Valuation in Texas, Texas A&M AgriLife
https://www.hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wildlife_tax_valuation_from_extension.pdf

Agriculture Property Tax Conversion for Wildlife Management – TPWD
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land

Tax Valuation for Wildlife Management FAQ – TPWD
https://tpwd.texas.gov/faq/huntwild/tax_valuation.phtml

Agricultural Tax Appraisal Based on Wildlife Management:
Legal Summary of Wildlife Management Use Appraisal – TPWD
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/legal-summary.phtml

Wildlife valuation report used by most counties that is filed yearly.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdforms/media/pwd_885_w7000_open_space_agric_valuation_wildlife_mgmt_plan.pdf

Wildlife Valuation Workshop Videos by Jessica Alderson, Wildlife Biologist TPWD
2023 Wildlife Tax Valuation Workshop – YouTube

Webcast about Wildlife Tax Valuation

Wildlife Management Practices and Activities, Edwards Plateau.  TPWD
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0788.pdf

When pruning oak trees, be sure to immediately paint the wounds with any spray paint. The Texas A&M Forest Service will visit your property to confirm oak wilt and provide specific guidance.

Eight Step Program to Oak Wilt Management – Texas A&M AgriLife
https://plantdiseasehandbook.tamu.edu/landscaping/eight-step-program-to-oak-wilt-management

Oak Wilt Management – Texas A&M Forest Service
https://texasoakwilt.org/oakwilt/oak-wilt-management

Rapid Decline of Post Oaks
https://texasoakwilt.org/backend/Docs/NOW/Rapid-Decline-of-Post-Oaks-in-TX.pdf

Oak Wilt Pruning Calendar
https://texasoakwilt.org/backend/Docs/Materials/Oak-Wilt-in-Texas_eFlyer.pdf

Oak Wilt Resources
https://texasoakwilt.org

Below are Texas based seed companies that specialize in native grass and wildflower seeds including a wide selection seed mixes for the Texas Hill Country. Each company has its own niche and off-the-shelf blends; and will guide you in the planting process.

• Native American Seed – https://seedsource.com/

• Turner Seed Co. – https://www.turnerseed.com/

• Bamert Seed Co. – https://bamertseed.com/

• Douglas King Seeds – https://www.dkseeds.com/

How to Sow Your Seed

Growing wildflowers from seed, Texas Master Gardeners
https://www.dcmga.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/garden-basics-prepare/gb-growing-wildflower-seeds.pdf

Restoring Native Grasslands
https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/restoring-native-grasslands/01t4x000004OUdpAAG

Wildflowers in Bloom, Texas A&M AgriLife
https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/wildseed

White-Tailed Deer Browse Preferences for Edwards Plateau
https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/whitetailed-deer-browse-preferences-for-south-texas-and-the-edwards-plateau/01t4x000004OUdZAAW

White-Tailed Deer Management, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/epxt2010/Appendix%20F%20Specific%20Management%20Recommendations%20for%20White-tailed%20Deer.pdf

White-Tailed Deer Management in the Texas Hill Country, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_0828.pdf

Brush Management for White-Tailed Deer, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
https://www.ckwri.tamuk.edu/sites/default/files/pdf-attachment/2016-05/techpubno1.pdf

Food Plots for Deer – Central Texas
Appendix N

Bat House Builder’s Handbook
https://batweek.org/wpcontent/uploads/BHBuild ersHdbk13_Online.pdf

Bluebird Management
https://www.texasbluebirdsociety.org/Resources.php

Songbird Management
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYQ1tDBCmrY

DIY guide for Feeders, Houses, and Plants – TPWD
https://www.tpwmagazine.com/nature/media/Backyard-wildlife.pdf

Nest Watch-Cornell Lab of Ornithology
http://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/

Bird City – TPWD
https://tpwd.texas.gov/wildlife/birding/bird-city-texas/resources/community-resources

Dove Management
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/dove_management/dove_management_texas.pdf

Quail in Texas
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/game_management/quail

Reversing the Quail Decline – Habitat Management
http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_1025.pdf

Quail Management Recommendations -TPWD
http://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/epxt2010/Appendix%20G%20Specific%20Management%20Recommendations%20for%20Bobwhite%20Quail.pdf

Rio Grande Wild Turkey in Texas, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/game_management/turkey/pubs/rio_wild_turkey_BM.pdf

Rio Grande Wild Turkeys, AgriLife Extension
https://wildlife.tamu.edu/wildlifemanagement/turkeys

Rio Grande Turkey Habitat Management, Texas Parks & Wildlife
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_0263.pdf

Learn About Turkey including feeders, Texas Parks and Wildlife
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_lf_w7000_0053.pdf

Texas Turkey Talk, Texas Parks and Wildlife
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0827.pdf

Keep wildfire in mind when designing the landscape around your home.

Ready, Set, Go. Your personal wildfire protection plan, Texas Forest Service
https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/uploadedFiles/TFSMain/Preparing_for_Wildfires/Prepare_Your_Home_for_Wildfires/Contact_Us/Ready%20Set%20Go.pdf

Home Ignition Zones and Defensible Space, Texas Forest Service
https://texaswildfirerisk.com/home-ignition-zones

Firewise Landscaping in Texas, Texas Forest Service
https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/uploadedFiles/TFSMain/Preparing_for_Wildfires/Contact_Us(2)/EDITED%202012firelandscape.pdf

Firewise Landscaping, The Texas Gardener Video

Wildfire – Preparing the Ranch.  Texas A&M AgriLife Free Download
https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2025/01/27/wildfire-preparing-the-ranch

Fire was a natural ecological factor on most Texas rangelands before European settlement. Native vegetation is adapted to frequent burning. Fire serves to regenerate the land by returning nutrients to the soil, suppressing woody plants, and increasing grass and forb production. Not for every landowner or situation, but a tool for some. Be sure to contact your County Texas Parks & Wildlife Biologist to consult and guide you before conducting a prescribed fire on your property.

Wildland Fire Management, Texas Parks & Wildlife
https://search.app/TrDdmoWi32jWmY7P6

Prescribed burn associations in Texas
https://www.pbatexas.org/member-associations

Native Pollinators and Private Lands – TPWD

Escape Ramps
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/ND-152%20WILDLIFE%20ESCAPE%20RAMP.pdf

Harvesting Rainwater for Wildlife
http://www.akokd.gr/files/Harvesting-20Rainwater-20for-20Wildlife-202348437-2253.pdf

Wildlife Water Facilities
http://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/epxt2010/Appendix%20O%20Wildlife%20Watering%20Facilities.pdf

Map My Property provides landowners and other interested users with a quick and simple tool for making a map of their property that can be shared with others. With this application, you can find any location using a search tool and obtain coordinates for any point on the map. It allows you to draw and edit areas, circles, lines, and points of interest, and add text to the map. The application supports importing and exporting areas, circles, lines, points, and text in various formats. It enables the display of a variety of basemaps, aerial imagery, and thematic layers such as contours, parcels, flood zones, and more. You can interactively compare two different imagery layers, and view and identify soils, vegetation, and geology.

The application also enables clipping soil and vegetation layers to a boundary to determine the proportion of each type of vegetation or soil in the area. For soils you can create a report with detailed information that will help you determine the use and best native vegetation for different areas on your land based on soil type.

Additionally, you can measure areas and distances and save maps as PDF or PNG files.

Texas Forest Service – Map My Property
https://texasforestinfo.tamu.edu/mapmyproperty

National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Web Soil Survey

Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent soon. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.  Use to determine the suitability of the soils for a particular use. Maps and Reports can be saved and printed.

Web Soil Survey – NRCS
http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

Below are smart phone Apps to help identify plants on your property. Simply scan the plant using the camera on your smart phone. Results are best when plants are in bloom. Results are sometimes not accurate. If in doubt, confirm the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website. Enter the plant name on their plant search page. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/

PictureThis

iNaturalist

Seek by iNaturalist