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.

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.

Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit becomes host to first Motus station in the Chihuahuan Desert

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In Mid-December, 2021, Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit ranch in the Marfa Grasslands became the first location in the Chihuahuan Desert to host a Motus wildlife tracking station. Motus is an international network of tracking stations that will document when radio-tagged migratory wildlife species come within the range of the a deployed station. This range is typically around 15-20km (9-12 miles). The station utilizes several radio antennas that coincide with widely used radio collar technologies, as well as a solar powered logger that catches observation data which is uploaded over a cellular network.

The Mimms Unit was selected as a host site due to the presence of over-wintering grassland birds that are the focus of several studies researching habitat requirements and causes of population declines for species of concern. Many birds spend their breeding seasons in the Northern Great Plains and migrate south to the Chihuahuan Desert for the winter. The goal of this station is to record the presence of radio-tagged birds to help answer questions about when and where birds spend various portions of their life cycle.

Dixon staff worked with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies to locate a site for the new station and chose to repurpose an out-of-service utility pole on a hillside overlooking large pastures.

Researchers and the public alike can learn more about Motus at their website, motus.org

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies technicians talk to seasonal survey teams about the newly deployed Mimms Unit Motus station, December 2021.

The Grasslands: Nice to Visit, Critical to Save

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Some of our West Texas neighbors posted a great set of Savory Institute articles and videos about grasslands, why we should care about them, and how we can restore them with sustainable grazing management. The Gill family used Holistic Management on this 32,000-acre high-desert mountain ranch located in the Sierra Diablo.

Below is one of the Savory Institute videos the Gills shared about grasslands:

National Conference on Grazing Lands on Dec. 13-16

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The sixth National Conference on Grazing Lands, a unique conference for livestock producers by livestock producers, is coming up December 13-16 in Grapevine, Texas. The program lineup includes a tour of Dixon Ranches Leo Unit and soil health presentations by ranch manager Robbie Tuggle and science advisory board members Dr. Lisa Bellows and Dr. Richard Teague.

Learn more about or register for the conference on the National Grazing Lands Coalition website or in this article by Hugh Aljoe, foundation board member and Noble Foundation producer relations manager.

Soil Carbon Curious

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Soil Carbon Curious is a new short film from Peter Byck, the producer of Soil Carbon Cowboys and Carbon Nation. It’s about an exciting new collaborative research group, the ASU•Soil Carbon Nation Whole Systems Science Team. As Byck describes:

“Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing (AMP grazing) is regenerating soils around the world, producing healthy grass-finished beef. But the science on AMP grazing is sparse, to say the least. Now, a group of leading soil, rangeland, bug and social scientists are setting out to fill the science gap. Led by Dr. Richard Teague of Texas A&M, and convened by filmmaker Peter Byck of Arizona State University, the ASU•Soil Carbon Nation Whole Systems Science Team is positioned to do large scale science that’s never been done before.”

The team is working on the 1 Million Metric Tons Pilot Program, which aims to demonstrate the carbon-sequestration potential of soil managed with adaptive multi-paddock grazing.

You can now also view Soil Carbon Cowboys en español.

Grass workshop and trail opening at Mimms

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The Overlook Trail at Dixon Ranches Mimms Unit officially opened September 26, 2015, in conjunction with a grass identification workshop with Dr. Michael Powell of Sul Ross State University. About 45 people attended the workshop, and many of them stayed for a group interpretive hike to the Overlook viewing area, designed by Marfa’s Joey Benton. Local flora and fauna experts from the Texas Master Naturalists Tierra Grande Chapter answered questions along the way.

The Big Bend Gazette featured the trail opening and workshop in an article in its October issue, available here as a PDF.

Powell is Director of the Herbarium at Sul Ross State University, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology, and author of numerous books and journal articles on plants native to the Chihuahuan Desert Region. Dr. Powell was assisted during the workshop with his wife Shirley Powell, a retired science teacher and the president of the board of directors at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute.

The 2.5-mile walking trail at Mimms is open during daylight hours and features exhibits about grazing management and the high-desert environment. The trail ends at the Overlook viewing area, where visitors can sit and appreciate spectacular views of the Marfa grasslands and surrounding mountains.

The foundation’s West Texas office and the trailhead are at the north end of Austin Street in Marfa. Please read and respect the guidelines for trail visitors posted at the entrance to the ranch. Dogs must remain leashed. Bicycles, motorized vehicles, camping, and firearms are not permitted.

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Research shows planned grazing restores grassland at TomKat Ranch

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Carefully planned grazing can increase native grasses and restore grassland overtaken by exotics, according to recent research at the TomKat Ranch in California. Like Dixon Ranches, TomKat Ranch practices Holistic Management.

From an article about the grazing study in Conservation magazine:

According to the experimental paradigm, the density of cattle was increased by subdividing the grazing area into sub-units. The cattle were allowed to graze in one area for a specified period of time (between one day and one week), and were then shifted to the next area. Each paddock therefore received between 70 and 120 days of rest in between grazing periods. This went on for two years. In July of 2011, 2012, and 2013, the researchers surveyed for native grasses.

The proportion of “vegetation survey units” that included native grasses at all increased from 8% in 2011 to 80% in 2013. The surface area covered by native grasses remained small throughout the study (less than 5%), but increased significantly over time. In 2011, the researchers spotted only single, dispersed, individual grasses from among the native species. By 2013, they found a number of small but dense patches, each containing multiple individuals.

The gains made by the native grasses were meager, but promising. The results convincingly suggest that switching from season-long open-ended continuous grazing to a more rigorous planned schedule will facilitate the restoration of California’s grassland.

This short video from NBC Bay Area explains more about the research, which was published in Ecological Restoration.

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