Historically managed as a working cattle ranch since the mid-1800s, privately-owned Long Acres Ranch is now a 768-acre facility that includes three miles of frontage on the Brazos River. It is owned by the Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation which has partnered with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute to provide an opportunity for youth and adults to experience the benefits of nature through outdoor education and recreation. The property remains an important piece of history for Texas and Richmond.
Today, NRI staff works on the ranch and collaborates to build and optimize access for active outdoor learning. Because of this strategic educational framework, the ranch is becoming a venue for natural resource activities and nature education for surrounding communities and offers programing assistance to meet the specific interests of community groups. Long Acres also partners with Texas 4-H to focus on youth development by offering enrichment opportunities for county extension programs.
Dr. Jim Cathey is an associate director for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute. Jim is a regional and national expert in wildlife management, Extension outreach and programming, feral hog management and conservatio…
James Page
james.page@ag.tamu.edu
As a project coordinator for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, James plans and facilitates educational outreach efforts at Long Acres Ranch, a privately-owned venue spanning 768 acres and three miles of undevelop…
Youth learn soil conservation, nature appreciation at Long Acres Ranch
NRI's Jim Kidda and Long Acres Ranch near Richmond recently hosted four groups of fourth- and fifth-grade students from Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, providing firsthand instruction on soil erosion and its effect on the environment.
Celebrating the FFA Career Development Event at Long Acres Ranch this Spring
This spring, Texas FFA students had the opportunity to prove their knowledge and skills at the Seven Lakes Career Development Event Invitational held at Long Acres Ranch.
Long Acres Ranch welcomes hundreds for FFA Career Development Event
In late February, some of the brightest high school minds and future natural resource professionals from all across Texas converged on Long Acres Ranch to compete in an invitational Future Farmers of America, or FFA, Career Development Event.
Maintaining the Beauty of the Land: Mitigating the Scars Left Behind by Wild Pigs
Maintaining the natural beauty of Long Acres Ranch is an ever-evolving task, and as many land and natural resource managers would say, an immersive experience.
Long Acres Ranch: Fabricating a Rainfall Simulator to Teach the Future
At Long Acres Ranch, we have teaching opportunities that link youth with lessons revolving around the ranch’s natural resources. Recently, we partnered with the Seven Lakes High School FFA, located in Katy I.S.D. in Ft. Bend County, to fabricate a structure called a Rainfall Simulator.
Long Acres Ranch: Demonstrating Native Grassland Restoration
At Long Acres Ranch in Richmond, TX, we are looking forward to the response of native grasses and forbs planted in a demonstration field in the spring of 2018. We would love to jump to the future and see the results of our 30-acre planting that is full of potential for a variety of life. Even so, we know we will have to wait. As the saying goes, native grasses seem to sleep the first year as they develop their root systems, they creep in the second year with a little more obvious growth, and if we are lucky with rainfall, they leap with growth in the third year.
