Water Conservation in Central Texas
Cedar fever season is right around the corner! But the tree that produces it pays us back amply with aquifer recharge and habitat restoration.
Tag Archive for: Land Management
Spread Love for Texas Cedar Trees: A Maas Verde Challenge
Cedar fever season is right around the corner! But the tree that produces it pays us back amply with aquifer recharge and habitat restoration.
Here’s Why Land Management is so Critical in Texas
Land management is super critical for the ecology of our beautiful state, and the onus is on private land owners, and we want to help you!
Did you know that 97% (+/-) of the State of Texas is privately owned?
Why is land management so challenging and what are the opportunities? The agriculture and ranching culture has been an important part of land ownership in Texas. As the scientific discipline of ecology has emerged over the last five plus decades, the idea and practice of being a “land steward” has become more commonplace.
The three quotes below from Aldo Leopold, a renowned naturalist, philosopher, and ecologist showcase how important it is for humans to respect our local ecology.
“Individual ethics is the basis of land conservation. It is hard to make a man do a thing which does not spring naturally from his own personal sense of right and wrong.”
“A land ethic reflects the existence of an ecological conscience.”
“Conservation can accomplish its objectives only when it springs from an impelling conviction on the part of the private landowners.”
Being a land steward is more than just trying to bring back native grasses on an overgrazed piece of property. It is a set of ethics and morals one lives their life. Land management is a life-long, multi-generational commitment to promoting biodiversity, ecological resilience, and ensuring the security of ecosystem services for all biological life.
As a landscape management firm, we at Maas Verde do our best to uphold these values in our personal and professional lives.
Some of the services we provide in the area of land management are the following.
- Maintain 1-D-1 Wildlife Management Plans to maintain a property owner’s property tax valuation
- Implement and document land management activities to achieve desired outcomes
- Assist in green infrastructure construction and maintenance
- Wildlife and plant surveys
Have any questions about land management, please feel free to drop us an email at ted@maasverde.com
Prescribed Burn for Land Management
Project Description
A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration, or greenhouse gas abatement. Maas Verde Landscape Restoration was hired to safely execute a prescribed burn on a property in Central Texas to reduce dead biomass build-up, decrease non-native plant competition, increase the potential for other native species to take hold, increase soil temperature by allowing sunlight to hit the ground instead of dead thatch, and control Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) encroachment.
Because safely executing a controlled burn relies on varied factors like the weather and humidity, it can be a challenge to schedule a burn. The conditions have to be within a certain range in order for a burn to be executed safely and confidently. During the event, clear and consistent communication of safety procedures is critical for a successful outcome.
The Maas Verde team held a safety and procedure meeting before splitting up into groups and using radios to stay in constant communication across the fields. Two ATVs carrying water tanks and sprayers were employed, and drip torches were used to ignite burn lines. One crew was dedicated solely to ensuring the fire did not jump the mowed lines. This client is a repeat client on a cadence of every 24 months for sustainable land management.
Project Details
Skills Needed:
Controlled Burn
Sustainability Education
