Ranching Naturally

When Dr. Rickey Fain purchased the Quail Ridge Ranch near Glen Rose, Texas, in 1992, he would have been the first to tell you he wasn’t sure what he was doing. An outdoors enthusiast, Fain purchased the ranch with a deep desire to revert the land to the way it may have looked in the 1850s, before fencing and heavy grazing took their toll. But as a retired Dallas-area physician who lived in urban areas all his life, he had little ranching knowledge to fall back on.

“The best thing we did was tell some people we didn’t know what we were doing and that we needed some help,” he says. “The amazing thing is how much help is out there; all you have to do is ask for it.”

Fain’s humbleness and willingness to listen has paid off, not only for him but for the land and an endangered bird species, the black-capped vireo. By working with several state and federal wildlife and land agencies and implementing best land management practices, Fain has made Quail Ridge Ranch home to the largest population of black-capped vireos on privately owned land in the state.

Look but Don’t Touch
Although quick to admit that he wasn’t quite sure what to do with the property at first, looking back, Fain believes that pleading ignorant worked in his favor.

“The first thing you ought to do is just look,” Fain says. “It takes a year or two just to figure out how the land responds — where the springs are, where the cold spots are, where the hot spots are. I think the biggest mistake you see people make is they buy a piece of property and start throwing money at it. You should just do nothing to begin with. It’ll come to you.”

Improvements Attracted Endangered Bird Species
Gradually, Fain began making improvements to the land. He cleared out cedar that had left little room for grassland and re-established native grasses such as sideoats, bluestem and Indian grass. He also constructed a wetland area that brought in numerous wildlife species. In the midst of the improvements and restoration, Fain had created an ideal habitat for the black-capped vireo.

“Vireos like re-growth,” Fain explains. “They liked our land and they showed up.”
In the late 1990s, scientists were encouraged when they found two pairs of the bird in a two-week time period on the ranch and later found three black-capped vireo pairs during a single visit. Through partnerships with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Game, Environmental Defense and the National Resources Conservation Service, Quail Ridge Ranch’s black-capped vireo population has peaked and stayed at an estimated 29 to 31 nesting pairs.

Conservation Efforts: Not Just for the Birds
In addition to his efforts to aid the black-capped vireo population, Fain has several other wildlife and conservation management partnerships in place. He entered into a program with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to revitalize and manage the Texas horned lizard (popularly known as the horny toad) population, which has declined significantly in the past 30 years. This involved placing his land under a seven-year prescribed burning program. The result has been a decrease in fire ant numbers and an increase in the number of red ants, which like extremely hot climates and are the No. 1 food source for the horny toad.

Fain is a huge advocate of wildlife associations and has been active in numerous ones across the state. He was also instrumental in setting up a local association near Glen Rose.

“Every landowner should belong to a wildlife group,” Fain advises. “They give you a lot of bargaining power.”

Lone Star Ag Credit Benefits Landowner
Another organization that Fain credits for providing help along the way is Lone Star Ag Credit. Not only does he find the loan officers easy to work with, but Fain is confident in their rural real estate expertise and appreciates Lone Star’s patronage program.

“My patronage check has been one to two months’ worth of payments,” Fain says. “Also, for a commercial venture (like mine), they offer good loan rates.”

Hunters and Visitors Welcome
Like many landowners, Fain has found it economically beneficial to diversify his operation with hunting. He leases the ranch out to four corporations and offers a variety of upland bird hunts. These include traditional walking quail hunts, walking pheasant hunts and European-style pheasant hunts.

To accommodate the hunters, he has made several improvements to the ranch property, constructing a party pavilion and a large guest lodge. The ranch is also open for family hunts, weekend weddings and other special events.

“The ranch of yesterday used to have a big sign on the gate saying ‘keep out,’” Fain says. “The ranch of today has to have a big sign that says ‘welcome.’”

Focused On Long-Term Goals
But Fain always has the best intentions for the land in mind. He stresses that in order to best care for it, he must be adaptable and not get too focused on long-term goals.

“You can make five- and 10-year plans, but each year you throw that plan out and make another one. The land responds, and you don’t always know what it’s going to do,” he says. “You keep making those five- and 10-year plans, but you keep rewriting them.”
For more information on Quail Ridge Ranch, visit www.quailridgeranch.com.

Sources of Advice for Managing Your Land
If you’re a landowner looking for advice, here are some agencies that can help:

• Partners for Fish and Wildlife, a Private Lands Program sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Provides technical and financial help to landowners seeking to restore wildlife habitats on their properties. Go to http://ecos.fws.gov/partners or phone (817) 277-1100 (Texas and New Mexico) or (404) 679-7138 (Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi).
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service has offices in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app or check your phone book for local listings.
• Environmental Defense is a national nonprofit organization of scientists, economists and attorneys dedicated to solving environmental problems. Go online to www.environmentaldefense.org or phone (212) 505-2100 in Washington, D.C. or (512) 478-5161 in Austin, Texas.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists can help landowners determine the best management practices for their property. Workshops, field days and other programs are available. Visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landowners or phone (512) 389-4505.

Black-Capped Vireo: Finding Refuge at Quail Ridge
The tiny black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapillus) — a native of central Texas, northern Mexico and one isolated area of south-central Oklahoma — has been designated an endangered species in the United States since 1987.

This insect-eating songbird, measuring about 4½ inches long, nests in Texas from April through July and spends the winter on the western coast of Mexico. Its preferred habitat is rangeland scattered with clumps of shrubs that are separated by open grassland. It builds its nest in the branches of shrubs such as shin oak and sumac about 2 to 4 feet off the ground.

The black-capped vireo is endangered for these reasons:

• Low-growing woody cover it needs for nesting has been cleared or overgrazed by livestock and deer.
• Range fires, which kept the land open and shrubs growing low to the ground, are not as common today as in the days before people settled Texas.
• The brown-headed cowbird lays its eggs in vireo nests, causing the vireo to abandon its nest.

This species returns to the same area to nest year after year. In Texas, it is most often found in the Edwards Plateau and eastern Trans-Pecos regions. The black-capped vireo is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act in those states where it has been known to nest — Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Thanks to conservation efforts of landowners like Rickey Fain, its numbers have very slowly started to increase.

Article by Sarah Harris
Photos by Jim Lincoln, Greg Lasley and Sarah Harris