Future of 7 Oaks Ranch is change

Story and photos compiled by Wade Day, Public Affairs Specialist, San Angelo

Future of 7 Oaks Ranch lies deep in the past (arcgis.com) (ArcGIS Story Map)

The land southwest of Ozona, Texas, may not look like anything special, but it doesn’t take long to spot the changes that have begun to occur on the 7 Oaks Ranch. The arid, dry landscape has begun to transition into something else entirely.

Bluebonnets pop into vision along with an array of other plants that now blanket the ground. There’s signs of life and new growth.

These signs of life are just what Wayne Walker likes to see.

Walker owns and operates 7 Oaks Ranch along with his brothers -- Philip and Caton. The land has been in the Walker family since the early 1930’s. Their grandmother, Ellen Ward, inherited the ranch in 1962 and lived on it with her husband, Jack Ward, into the late 1980s.

“She’s really the reason we do the conservation out here,” said Wayne. “She taught us about nature and Jack taught us about the business side of ranching.”

In an effort to continue the ranch’s legacy, the ranch needed a partner in conservation.

They were able to find that partner in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Through it, they have been able to start returning the ecosystem back to its natural balance.

Changing the Dynamic

When the Walker brothers inherited the 7,500-acre ranch in 2006, they wanted to continue their family’s commitment to the land.

For that to happen, the dynamic had to change.

Conservation needed to become the focus of their management decisions. The operation needed to change to fit the land and the resources it offered.

“By turning the old model on its head to the new model, we’ve started to see some real conservation gains here over the last 12, 13 years,” Wayne said. “It’s all hard, but we’ve made some great strides out here.”

To achieve the change they envisioned for the ranch, the Walkers reached out to NRCS for assistance.

“The main practices we focus on here at 7 Oaks to try to recover from the historic overgrazing is to reintroduce Mother Nature’s process,” said Wayne.

Chris Wolfenbarger, NRCS district conservationist for Crockett County, outlined some of the challenges at 7 Oaks Ranch.

“Livestock aren’t gonna travel very far to get to water, so they’re not gonna utilize parts of the ranch that don’t have water,” said Wolfenbarger. “We’re still working on getting our distribution where it needs to be on this ranch. NRCS helps make that a reality where it wouldn’t otherwise be because of the difficulty.”

Brush removal, prescribed burning and fencing are a few of the other tools that have been used to return 7 Oaks Ranch to a more natural, sustainable state. They’ve also reduced the number of livestock and have implemented rotational grazing strategies.

“Since 2000 — or really more so since 2009 — we’ve worked on landscape-style conservation out here,” said Wayne.

This change in management has shown results.

“We’ve done burning; we’ve done mechanical clearing; we’ve done limited chemical,” said Wayne. “Our fences were dilapidated. They were mostly 1950s and 1960s vintage — they were falling apart. We partnered with NRCS to replace those fences and talk to them about where those fences should go, so we have a better rotational grazing strategy.”

With a return to a more natural state, the Walkers are beginning to see an increase in deer, turkey and quail on the ranch.

The return of wildlife is an indicator of an improving landscape.

“We’re managing grass more than we’re managing cows,” said Wayne. “And if you manage the grass right, it’s gonna produce more pounds of beef and — the wildlife outcomes we need to have. In our view, holistic management is understanding all the parts of the landscape, how the whole ecosystem is working, not just focusing on one particular thing.”

Wayne is quick to credit the help he has received from NRCS.

“Our ranch struggles to break even, and we can’t afford to make all these infrastructure improvements just on our own dollars alone, so the incentive programs we participate in have been huge,” Wayne said.

Moving Forward

Despite the challenges in realizing their vision, the Walkers continue to expand the scope of their projects at 7 Oaks Ranch. As they do, their network of partners and collaborators has grown along with them.

“If you work with one good partner first,” said Wayne, “and NRCS was really our first partner, that can leverage into other partnerships. Through NRCS, we met Texas Parks & Wildlife (Department); through them we met Quail Forever; through them we met The Nature Conservancy — and on and on and on.”

All of these efforts demonstrates the Walker’s commitment to being stewards of nature.

“Ranches and private landowners provide immeasurable ecosystem benefits to society: clean water, clean air and biodiversity,” said Wayne. “We don’t get paid for any of that. People often ask, ‘why do you like to go out to the ranch and spend your time in a place that’s kind of in the middle of nowhere?’ And the answer is just having the peace and quiet with nature, the time with family, working the land and seeing the wildlife. That’s why I really love coming out here.”

With the progress that has been made on the ranch, it is apparent that the partnership has helped the Walkers.

“They pretty much take the lead on their conservation plan,” said Wolfenbarger. “I see my role as being there for any information they need and to help them get the resources they need to complete their vision.”