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Comanche Rock Ranch has been on a long
term, multiple approach habitat improvement program including
prescribed burns, seedlings of native grasses and wildflowers,
seeding of creeks and tanks to produce deer and duck feeding
sources, planting of over 600 native trees and shrubs in 1999
and 2003/2004, establishment of game foods plots, increasing
water sources (rain water collection, new and deeper lakes,
and diking to direct water run off to entrapment areas), reducing
water run off and soil erosion by earth contouring and planting
of native plants, establishment of small in ground watering
areas for native birds and wildlife, and etc. We will continue
these efforts, with varying degrees of success, but with strong
backs, good intentions, and resolve for years to come. Next
year we hope to start our Quail Renewal Program and also to
clean four of our primary springs in an effort to increase
water flow.
We
have enjoyed identifying the diversified plant life on our
ranch and have included a comprehensive Plant
List for those of you who enjoy learning more about Nature's
bounty.
One
of our major commitments is to restoring and improving our
rich
native habitat. We use a combination of prescribed burning
along with planting of native grasses and wildflower seeds
periodically throughout the ranch. We have also built over
one hundred exclosures to protect some of our more rare, or
more productive food producers for ranch wildlife, or endangered
trees (e.g. Kidneywood, Hawthorn, Hackberry, Eve' Necklace,
Gum Bumelia, Rusty Blackhaw, Native Pecan, Mexican Plums,
Possum Haw, etc.). In addition in 2003/2004 we completed our
second major tree and shrub planting program and at that time
planted over 500 native trees and shrubs (e.g. Bald Cypress
along Lobo Creek, and Native Pecan, White Oaks, Kidneywood,
Goldenball leadtree, Hackberries, Eve's Necklace, Possum Haw,
Mexican Plum, and Western Sand Cherry, and Chickasaw Plum
and many others throughout the ranch. We have also constructed
and/or deepened our lakes, to save run off water, placed several
in ground watering areas for game animals, and built a 17,000
gallon rain water collection tank to insure that we maximize
our water resources to make the least impact on the water
table in this dry area. If you are interested in seeing more
of our ranch habitat let us arrange a Nature Tour for you
or your group. Next year we hope to have an interesting self-guided
tour using GPS so that you can hike through the ranch and
see and identify and photograph an extensive array of native
plants that exist here.
Below
you will find some photographs from our 2003/2004 planting
of native trees and shrubs and a table of our planting results.
As one might anticipate this Herculean effort was followed
by a two-year severe drought by we have persevered and have
acceptable results though costly in energy expended.
The
Relationship of Butterflies and Wildflowers to our Habitat
Renewal Programs
In
our long-term program of habitat improvement we have made
the selection of native plants with our butterflies in mind.
You ask why? Well, butterflies are extremely interesting and
beautiful creatures and to an old bird watcher they are just
a natural progression and one that has much to say for it.
In addition they have an extremely interesting life cycle,
migration patterns, identification difficulties, and are so
intimately associated with our native plant populations. They
are also a good marker insect and their presence demonstrates
to an aware observer just how balanced one's natural environment
is. It is also true that having many different types of butterflies
indicates you have a widely diversified plant inventory that
they feed upon and this implies your habitat is in good shape.
To attract a wide variety of butterflies you need a wide variety
of host plants and one can obtain an idea of the balance and
health of your native landscape by observing your butterfly
populations.
In
addition to a diversified plant inventory, our ranch also
has many beautiful butterflies. Their beauty and intriguing
life cycles enrich life on our ranch and they also play a
key role in flower fertilization. We have spent many pleasurable
hours observing and identifying butterflies. For our friend's
pleasure we have included a list of USGS
Butterflies of Gillespie County . In addition we have
also included our Comanche Rock Ranch Butterfly List, which
we have worked on for many years. To flesh out this rather
dry
list we have also included a photographic gallery of butterfies
that we have taken on the ranch.
View
a table of habitat renewal planting results
Take a photographic tour of our ranch habitat renewal programs.
Take
a photographic tour of the butterflies found on Comanche Rock
Ranch.
Comanche
Rock Ranch Butterfly List
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