Dixon Water Foundation

Promoting healthy watersheds through sustainable land management

New Report Testing Novel Phenology Monitoring Approach to Help Inform Graze Planning

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In the spring and summer of 2022, Dixon Water Foundation helped sponsor and host a project that utilized novel imaging technology to track prairie plant phenology. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate, plant and animal life. As phenology relates to plants, it refers to flowering and seeding.

This project, conducted by the Bontanical Research Institute of Texas, explored the use of time-lapse cameras and community science protocols to observe and analyze pollinator abundance and plant phenology within various pastures of Dixon’s Leo Unit in North Texas. By understanding when and where pollinators and resources important to pollinators were on the landscape throughout the year and considering this information when making a grazing plan, ranchers may be able to promote conservation of essential species and native prairie functionality.

See the results of the pilot study in the report linked here.

Dixon Water Foundation Selects Casey Wade as New President and CEO

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Decatur, Texas (March 10, 2023) – Dixon Water Foundation, a Texas-based non-profit organization that promotes healthy watersheds through good land management, is announcing the selection of Casey Wade as new President and CEO.  Wade has been with the Foundation for 12 years, first serving as West Texas ranch manager before being promoted to Vice President of Ranching Operations.  Wade was selected by the Foundation’s Board in early February 2023.  Wade will immediately begin to succeed out-going President and CEO Robert Potts who is retiring March 16, 2023 while still serving as Chairman of the Board for the Foundation.  Potts has served as President and CEO since 2007.

“I am pleased that the board chose Casey Wade, our current VP for Ranching Operations, to be my successor,” states Potts. “He is an excellent choice and will lead the Foundation to the next level of effectiveness.”

Wade’s selection as President and CEO follows years of commitment to the management of the Foundation’s ranches, communication of the Foundation’s mission and guiding principles, and role as a valuable advocate of regenerative agriculture and watershed health. 

“I’m really honored to have been chosen by the Board of Directors to serve as the new President and CEO of Dixon Water Foundation.  Robert has done an amazing job of establishing the Foundation as a leader in watershed and ecological health.  I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Robert as he serves as Chairman of the Board.” states Wade. “Looking ahead, I see so many great opportunities for the Dixon Water Foundation.  We have an amazing staff, really talented people, who are very knowledgeable and care deeply about our mission.  It’s such a pleasure to get to work with them and be part of guiding the Foundation into the future.”

Wade is a husband and a father of three young sons.  He has a love of the land and has enjoyed caring for wildlife and livestock for many years.  He is a graduate of Hardin Simmons University and has spent most of his career managing hunting and wildlife operations as well as livestock ranches.

After a two year stay in Kenya, Africa, Casey was introduced to holistic land management while working with a wildlife management consulting firm.  He was drawn to the idea of using livestock to improve degraded landscapes.  At that point Casey began searching out further education and eventually a career in regenerative land management through ranching. Dixon Water Foundation strives to achieve its mission through its research and demonstration ranches in Presidio County, near Marfa, Texas, and Cooke and Wise Counties, near Decatur, Texas.  The Foundation hosts education events, supports research, awards grants and partners with organizations in line with their mission. 

April 2023 at Dixon Water Foundation’s Leo Unit: Regen Ag School: Integrating Holistic Management® into Your Ranch or Farm

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Don’t miss this rare opportunity at the award-winning Dixon Water Foundation Leo Ranch to gain comprehensive knowledge in Holistic Management® and create a livestock grazing plan that will help create more land health and financial success on your ranch or farm.

This school is for you if you’re interested in farming, ranching, land conservation, or urban agriculture and want to improve your decision-making, profitability, water use, and soil health. Large- and small-scale producers are all invited! Visit the link below for more information.

Regen Ag School: Integrating Holistic Management® into Your Ranch or Farm

HMI Grazing Workshop at Mimms Unit September 20-21, 2022

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September 20-21, 2022 | 8:30AM – 5:00PM CST
Marfa Visitor Center USO Hall, 302 S. Highland Ave., Marfa, TX 79843
and Mimms Ranch of Marfa, TX

This two-day Advanced Grazing Workshop is for ranchers and those who want to learn how livestock grazing management strategies benefit rangeland and businesses with a focus on land literacy. Land and livestock managers who practice Holistic Planned Grazing monitor for results and rely heavily on their observations to effectively manage and adapt when conditions require. In doing so, they’re able to mitigate risk and loss.

Click here to read more and register

Holistic Planned Grazing

DWF in Recent Episode of Marfa Public Radio’s Nature Notes

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The central grasslands stretch from Canada to West Texas, and extend into the desert highlands, from Arizona to the Marfa Plateau and Chihuahua. For many Americans, they remain as foreign as they were for Cather’s 19th-century narrator. Grasslands are thought to lack the “charisma” of mountains and forests – to some, they epitomize “fly-over country.”

But the grasslands in fact contain an immense natural and cultural richness. And they’re deeply imperiled. Of the 600 million acres of historic grasslands, two-thirds have been lost or degraded. There’s a growing effort to preserve and restore them. And in Trans-Pecos Texas, the Dixon Water Foundation is committed to that effort…

Read More Here

BCarbon Begins Joint Research Project on Soil Carbon Sequestration with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company

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Project involves 20,000 acres of public and private grasslands.

February 3, 2022

BCarbon and ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) will begin a three-year study of nature-based carbon sequestration potential in association with the King Ranch, the EXELL Cattle Company, the Clark Farm, the Dixon Water Foundation, the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, and the New Mexico State Land Office.

The research will measure variation in carbon sequestration rates between tallgrass, shortgrass, and Texas coastal prairie ecosystems across a variety of climate and soil conditions as well as quantify range management impacts on water and biodiversity. Other key capacity and cost issues will be studied, including new measurement technologies and regional soil carbon analysis infrastructure including data analytics, laboratories, education, and training.

BCarbon is a non-profit carbon credit certification organization based in Houston, Texas that was created in 2020 by a diverse stakeholder group sponsored by the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Jim Blackburn, CEO of BCarbon said, “Nature-based systems have the potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint as well as provide far greater resilience for floods and droughts. This is the kind of real-world collaboration we believe will produce lasting results. And make no mistake about it – we are looking to create lasting results on climate, ecology and economics.”

Robert Hodgen, President and CEO of King Ranch, Inc. stated, “This project aligns with several of our core values including innovation, sustainability and support of rural communities. Our team is excited to collaborate with BCarbon and EMRE in this important project to define the natural carbon sequestration capacity of ranchlands across the country.”

Land Commissioner Jodi Smith with the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands added, “The Department manages over 700,000 surface acres of trust lands to provide funds for public schools and other public institutions. Managing these lands to naturally store more carbon could be important for the future funding of public education in North Dakota, and for meeting the state’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030; however, we need the research to help us plan more effectively.”

Julie Maitland, Division Director for Agricultural Programs and Resources at the New Mexico Department of Agriculture said, “New Mexico is leading important efforts in climate change. Understanding how soil carbon might offer both climate solutions and important new economic revenue streams to our rural areas is critical to our long-term strategy.”

Will Barnes, Deputy Director of the Surface Resources Division of the New Mexico State Land Office added that, “working with state land agricultural lessees to conduct this kind of world class scientific research is vitally important to the protection of resilient rangelands and rural economies in New Mexico and helps the Commissioner’s efforts to create new diverse revenue streams on behalf of New Mexico public schools, universities and hospitals.”

Robert Potts, President of the Dixon Water Foundation offered, “We have supported our own research into soil carbon in the past. We know it occurs. We are very pleased to have a chance to extend our knowledge to areas like our Marfa, Texas ranching operations in drier climates where soil carbon accumulation will be more challenging.”

Dr. H.C. Clark, Owner of the Clark Farm in Texas, appreciates being part of this research project stating, “I’ve been reading about this potential soil carbon market for several years and am excited to be a part of the development of science-based research to help make better-informed decisions.”

“ExxonMobil’s continued investment in R&D plays an important role in developing breakthrough solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity across our businesses,” said Vijay Swarup, Vice President of Research and Development at ExxonMobil. “This collaboration with BCarbon is designed to study the nature-based carbon sequestration potential in grasslands in multiple states, with the potential to be deployed on and around ExxonMobil operations.”

The project will be underway as of January 15th , 2022, and research updates will be posted here regularly. For further information, contact Jim Blackburn, CEO and Chairman of the Board for BCarbon, at blackbur@rice.edu.

View full press release here.

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4528 County Road 398
Decatur, TX 76234

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P.O. Box 177
Marfa, TX 79843

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