Advancing military readiness and ecological resiliency in the Hill Country
Few people associate productive agricultural lands or forests with military readiness, but thanks to the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and others, landowners in the Texas Hill Country can ensure their working lands provide that and so much more. Established in 2022, the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape is conserving the ecological health and perpetuity of working lands amid the rapidly urbanizing region surrounding Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis.
At nearly 1 million acres, the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape is the only area in Texas enrolled in the national Sentinel Landscape Partnership, a coalition of federal, state and local government agencies as well as local non-governmental organizations collaborating with private landowners to advance sustainable land-use practices around military installations nationwide.
In January, the program will open applications for landowners seeking funding to implement land management projects to address key areas of conservation concern, such as water quality and availability.
“A large part of the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape project area is in the drainage and catchment areas of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers, so we have a chance to help landowners make a direct impact on protecting and conserving a critical Texas resource,” said George Clendenin, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute project coordinator for the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape.
Stewardship of the land
“Military training and national defense, along with energy and agriculture, are important economic drivers in Texas,” said Roel Lopez, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and head of the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
“A key ingredient to sustaining these economies includes the continued stewardship of Texas’ working lands,” Lopez said. “Farmers and ranchers make good neighbors to military installations, and their cooperation is instrumental in safeguarding critical training environments.”
Maintaining ideal training environments, such as dark skies for nighttime operation exercises, is extremely important for Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, which provides training for 266 mission partners. This includes medical training, military intelligence, special forces as well as pre-deployment, national and international training requirements.
About the program
The Sentinel Landscape Partnership is a voluntary program that provides eligible landowners with financial assistance from various funding partners to implement conservation easements or engage in land management to promote soil health, water conservation, native plant health and wildlife habitat. In turn, these actions help Camp Bullis and other designated landscapes ensure community and military installation resilience.
“Each military installation and their neighbors outside of the installation have specific needs and objectives,” Clendenin said. “We work to align those goals with projects that support military readiness, ecological health and the landowner’s desires.”
For the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape, this means slowing land fragmentation, preventing light pollution, and advancing water conservation and flood control — actions that also benefit the region’s residents.
Established in 2022, the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape is conserving the ecological health and perpetuity of private agricultural lands amid the rapidly urbanizing region surrounding Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis. (Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute)
A two-pronged approach to conservation
Clendenin said the program utilizes conservation easements and diverse landscape-scale management practices to achieve the goals established by the installation and participating landowners.
Last month, the Institute began reviewing the first round of landowner applications for financial assistance in implementing conservation easements.
According to the Texas Agricultural Land Trust, a non-profit partner of the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape, a conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that allows landowners to retain title and management of their property while forfeiting, donating or selling certain development rights to a land trust.
“We have a big demographic shift occurring in Texas land ownership,” Clendenin said. “We have many aging landowners who are considering transitioning ownership to their children or trying to figure out how to ensure all the hard work they poured into stewarding the land isn’t lost — a conservation easement is one tool that can help achieve that.”
These easements allow landowners to define what sort of agricultural operations, such as cattle production or wildlife management, can take place on their property in perpetuity without the threat of development or fragmentation.
Impact guides project approval
Applications for both conservation easement and land management assistance are reviewed using a rubric to prioritize projects that will deliver the greatest program impact to the region.
For example, larger properties near Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis containing ecologically significant features, such as karst landforms and perennial streams, will rank higher in the review process than small, distant properties with partial development.
“We’re following criteria based on the needs of Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis as well as the ecological needs we and other science-based organizations have identified for the region,” Clendenin said.
Although not every application can be funded through the program, Clendenin said he and his team will work with those landowners not selected to direct them toward other potential programs that can assist in their land management goals.
“We encourage landowners to contact us with any questions about whether their property is a good fit or how it can benefit their long-term management goals,” Clendenin said. “Our team is happy to meet with you over the phone or even visit your property.”
Leaving a legacy
Aside from enhancing land stewardship for the region and supporting operations at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Clendenin said he most values the relationships he and other partners build with landowners.
Since the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape designation, more than 1,000 acres have been protected by voluntary conservation easements. More than 61,000 acres have been enrolled in land-management programs to promote sustainable agricultural production and ecological restoration.
“By conserving these landscapes, landowners are participating in an act of love and patriotism,” Clendenin said. “They’re doing this for future generations, for a healthy future water supply, and for the good of the land that is part of their DNA.”
For more information on participating in the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape program, visit https://tx.ag/CampBullis.
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Originally published by Texas A&M AgriLife Today, written by Sarah Fuller
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Authors
Erin Davis is a Project Specialist with the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape Regional Conservation Partnership Program. She works closely with landowners in the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape project area, offering land management guidance and connecting them with funding opportunities to support conservation efforts. Erin is passionate about preserving the unique features of the Texas Hill Country and sustaining its fragile natural resources.
Before joining NRI, Erin served as a Staff Forester with the Texas A&M Forest Service for seven years in Kerrville, where she assisted landowners and communities in a 12-county region with land management, proper tree care, and forest health issues such as oak wilt and drought stress.
She attended Texas A&M University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Renewable Natural Resources and Forestry. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Natural Resources Stewardship with a focus in Ecological Restoration from Colorado State University. She also holds accreditations as a Certified Forester and Certified Arborist.
In her free time, Erin enjoys hiking, renovating her mid-century home in the hill country with her husband, and scouting for vintage finds at local thrift stores.
George Clendenin serves as the Project Coordinator for the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). He leads a collective group of partners focusing on protecting and conserving open space and agricultural lands, bolstering land stewardship and management, and thereby strengthening military readiness around Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis.
Prior to his position as RCPP Coordinator, George served for twenty years with the U.S Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, primarily as a Rangeland Management Specialist. During this time, his focus was developing stewardship plans on rangelands and wildlands, planning and executing prescribed burns, and educating landowners and land stewards how to conserve and apply natural resource management on their lands. George also authored a book on Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas, during his time out west.
George received a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University, a Bachelor of Agriculture from Texas State University, and a Master of Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M University.
In his free time, George enjoys traveling, and experiencing the great outdoors. He loves the coast, hiking in the mountains, and spending time with his family and friends.
