People Ranching – Continues

It was in the mid1990’s that we really got big into People Ranching. I can assure you that ranching people requires more preparation and more planning than traditional cattle ranching.

As the economics of cattle ranching began to fade away and with generation changes and so did attitudes and interest in the environment, in conservation and in endangered species issues change, I found that the effort and experience gained here had unknowingly positioned Selah as a place to demonstrate just what can be achieved with habitat restoration. We were constantly being asked to speak to groups as well as requests to visit, especially after articles began showing up in newspapers, magazines and on television.

One day after I put had an exhausting two days, more or less showing off Selah to individuals, couples and groups who were eager to hear the gospel of conservation from me, Margaret said, “David, you’re wearing yourself out. You’ve had ten different guests; you’ve spent hours and hours with them. You can’t keep this up.” I replied, “People either own ranches and or have just bought land and they are searching for answers. I’m eager to help them.” “But you can’t keep this up. Why not just tell everyone that calls you’re going to hold a public tour this Saturday and for $5.00 per person you’ll show them what you’ve done, how you did it and answer questions. Tell them to be at the front gate at 9 a.m.” I’m supposed to be the businessman, but I never thought of this! Well, come Saturday morning I loaded bales of hay on a trailer thinking that maybe 10 or 15 people might be at the gate. Was I surprised – there was a crowd! We had two-way radios and I called for help and another trailer. I really don’t remember exactly how many people were there that day, it was more than 50, but this is when People Ranching began.

I’ve never inherited any money – what I did inherit, mostly from my mother Hester, was a love and respect for the natural world. In 1980, she died and I built, Hes’ Country Store, which came to be the first “infrastructure” that facilitated People Ranching. It was a gathering place, a place to sit and talk, a place to have a drink or to eat one’s lunch. A place to pause and reflect – Selah – places that can serve this purpose can be patios with picnic tables, or perhaps primitive seating along a trail or at some viewshed. To go into People Ranching you must develop some “infrastructure” and you must like people as a rancher likes his cows.

There is much more infrastructure we built that followed Hes’ Country Store and I’ll talk more in future postings on this blog, but I do add this admonishment: “Never initiate an action you are unable to sustain.”

Please bear with me. You can see a glimpse of Hes’ Country Store in the picture, but what today’s blog is about is People Ranching. Notice the tree planted with the corral protecting it. One treasured memory I have as a small boy is being with my mom many times planting trees, mostly Apple. Later she called me ‘Johnny Appleseed.’ Photograph taken by J. David.

What I’m doing across from Hes’ Country Store is building a forest! Our goal is to have at least one tree or shrub in our “forest” of every species that grows naturally in Blanco County. We’re now at 42 with many more to go and to grow. Some of the early introductions are 15 feet tall. Photograph taken by J. David.

Here now is People Ranching – Our Tree and Shrub Workshop. This was held October 17, 2009. There are many useful tips we’ve learned from planting more than 3,500 trees these past 40 years. We start with selecting the tree in a nursery, to digging a square hole! There is much more, but one thing is certain: A tree planted in the Hill Country must be protected from wild animals and livestock or you will lose it. In this workshop, you will learn to use a “key” that will help you identify a tree you may never have seen before! Here in the “forest” you will take, at the end of the day, your final exam. I will not live to see our forest reach full maturity, but I have the joy and pleasure of building and planting it. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

It was such a treat for all our adult students to have Jim Rhoades, our “Tree Aggie,” and his son, “Little Tree,” with us this day. Jim has a degree in Urban Forestry from Texas A&M. For 25 years, he helped me and taught me and others so very much about trees. He added so much to this workshop. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

Our classroom for all of the workshops is the entire 5500 acres! We use the “Bluebonnet” to move you from one site to another. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

There is a high point on the ranch of about 100 acres where the soil is different than most, a Redlands site. It’s on this site where Black Jack Oak and Post Oak predominate. Steven Fulton, Ranch Biologist, teaches the course. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

The Lindheimer Trail is just the opposite of the Redlands site. Probably six miles of separation between them. It’s down in a valley where for hundreds of years soil has been eroded off the steep hillsides. This has created a climate for bigger trees to prosper. There are no Post Oak or Black Jack Oak here. It covers an area of 100 acres and is the only area where Lacey Oak and Cedar Elms predominate. There are numerous other species here, but not in large numbers (other than Ashe Juniper, Cedar). They are Spanish Oak, Eve’s Necklace, Red and Yellow Buckeye and Escarpment Cherry. Because of the deep soil we have been adding Bur Oak and along the creek some Chinkapin Oaks. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

Along the trails we have built, with basically no expense, outdoor classrooms. (This is part of the “infrastructure.”) We used recycled boards from the floor of our cattle trailer and the sawed off ends of fence posts. Here the workshop participants get to ask questions and with the help of Susan Sander, a volunteer, formerly with the Texas Forest Service discuss tree health, ball moss and oak wilt. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

I’m teaching all the wonderful young people that work here to have a respect for O.P.M. – “Other People’s Money.” They are taking this to heart. Here they are, managing 5500 acres, with all that entails then add people ranching with 3500 visits per year. I doubt that any nature center in the U.S.A. operates so efficiently with a staff of five and yet we run a deficit every year. Will you please help by sending us a contribution which is tax deductible to the extent of the law. We are a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation. You can send your contributions to: Bamberger Ranch Preserve, 2341 Blue Ridge Drive, Johnson City, TX 78636.

People Ranching – Education

In 2003 Margaret and I learned that the failure rate in Science on the mandated tests by students in Title One Schools was nearly 100%. A Title One School is one where families are so poor that the students received free breakfast and free lunch. . . . There has been a lot written and researched on the problem. One well written book is Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. He calls the problem Nature Deficit Disorder. We thought that we could help overcome this “Disorder” by inviting all fifth grade students, in selected schools in Austin and San Antonio, to come to the ranch for three days and two nights. Our goal was to awaken and nourish in these children a passion for learning about the natural world.

We all worked together to develop a curriculum that took place mostly out on the ranch, a 5500 acre classroom! The program was offered free to the schools. Their commitment was to measure results and to transport the students to us. It’s been a phenomenal success! Here are some of the activities taking place and the people bringing the programs to 5th grade kids from J. J. Pickle Elementary School in Austin.

Sallie Delahoussaye who has devoted many, many years of her life to rehabilitating raptors, shows the kids a Harris’ Hawk. The hawk is 22 years old and Sallie has had it for 21 years! Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

The hawk was robbed from the nest by the hands of some well meaning person who didn’t understand the needs of raptors. It was housed in a small wire cage, which is the worst thing you can do for any wild bird – it thrashed around in the cage breaking its feathers – its diet was probably hamburger whereas a raptor needs whole-animal prey such as mice – they need the calcium they get from the bones – without the calcium they develop metabolic bone diseases. When their diet is low in calcium, their body uses what calcium there is to carry on metabolism – This hawk has very limited flight ability as flight requires rotation of bones. All of this because of a poor diet. This bird can never be released. This sad case is all because of human ignorance, interfering in Mother Nature’s world.

Ed Sones, a rehabilitator and volunteer, holds another raptor species, a Mississippi Kite.

Imprint Doom

This bird had fallen out of a nest when only two days old. The nest was high up -100 feet in a tall pine tree in Houston. It was taken to a rehabilitator who fed him properly – crickets and mice. The rehabilitator worried about the bird imprinting on people as that was all he saw since falling from the nest. At four weeks he was brought to Ed Sones in Austin, but rehabilitators couldn’t find anyone around Austin who had any of this species. Ed took the bird to Lubbock. By this time, he was two months old. Even though with the six of his own species, he did not go on the migration with them. Instead he flew the neighborhood – landing with very sharp talons on people’s head and shoulders during outdoor barbeques, a danger to all. He was brought back to Ed who transferred him to Sallie, who now uses him for education programs such as this with J. J. Pickle Elementary School from Austin. Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

All guests are met at the “Historical Marker.” The burial site of man! Here Colleen Gardner, Executive Director of Bamberger Ranch Preserve, greets and orients the students as to what they will experience these next three days. Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

Scott Grote, Ranch Operations, demonstrates his horse and how helpful it is to him in rounding up cattle and goats. He explains just what a ranch does that contributes to their lives. The kids can touch and feel the horse. They are amazed as most only see a horse in a movie or television. Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

Here Justin Duke, Ranch Steward, has the young people in the water where they will sift out pond critters and later put them under a microscope to study life in the water. We supply all the boots and gear needed for all the programs. The extreme drought this year has hampered this program. Photograph taken by Steven Fulton.

Since J. J. Pickle has four fifth grade classes therefore it required all four weeks of October, one class each week, to do the program. We would be hard pressed to do this without the help of volunteers. Here Bob Boydston, a long time friend and volunteer, leads the “Pond Critters” program. Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

Steven Fulton, Ranch Biologist, leads every class on a night hike. You can imagine how the hearts of these young inner city kids were palpitating as they followed Steven down the dark trails! Each child is given a small flashlight, but asked not to use it during Steven’s program. At one of our outdoor classrooms Steven, sometime with his own lips, calls in a Screech Owl who lands within twenty feet of the kids. The night hike is a thrilling experience and much talked about from one class to the next. Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

I’m the last person the kids see prior to leaving the ranch. By now, the kids are so “into” everything in nature. In addition to that shown above they have witnessed a bat emergence from our chiroptorium, looked at the heavens through our observatory, seen dinosaur tracks, collected fossils, participated in bee keeping, learned about endangered species through our scimitar-horned oryx and more. So I have the most attentive and enthusiastic fifth graders in the world! My starting question is always the same, “How many of you would like to grow up and have a job like Big Steve (at 6’ 8” he’s called that by the kids) or Queen Colleen (she sometimes wears a tiara)?” All hands go up and I then say, “You can. Ask your teacher questions, read books and do your homework as your life will be so enriched by education.” Photograph taken by Justin Duke.

It’s here in Hes’ Country Store that I invite the kids to do a conservation project that their teacher can’t do. This interests them! The project is one of conserving family history, culture. I tell a brief story about my life when I was their age. I ask them to visit grandparents and find out about the clothes their Mom wore or the toys their Dad played with. Write it down, create a journal – a history. The best letter I ever got in my life went like this:

“Dear Mr. Bamberger,

I’m 92 years old - my granddaughter never gave a hoot about me until she came back from your place – and now thank you, sir, she comes to see me once a week with a clipboard and a pencil asking me all kinds of questions.”

We could use your financial help for this program. We’ve had some success in getting grants for it, but never enough to cover the raw costs. Your contributions will be tax deductible to the extent of the law. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit private operating foundation. You can send your contribution to: Bamberger Ranch Preserve, 2341 Blue Ridge Drive, Johnson City, TX 78636.

People Ranching

It was in the early 1990’s while a member of Governor Richards’ task force on nature tourism that someone first spoke the words “People Ranching.” So it’s really not original with me, but we are the ones who have popularized it. Think about this ~ in early history, ranching meant raising cattle, sheep or goats. After World War II hunting was added to what ranchers did to help support themselves and this was a departure from tradition as it involved strangers being on the ranch. The addition of exotic animals and high fences meant more income, but of course more people. This was hard to accept by some of the “old timers” but generational changes, the need for income and a new breed of landowners saw the changes coming. The reality was that the economics of traditional ranching no longer made sense. It is my contention that you cannot buy any ranchland anywhere in the state of Texas and pay for it with any form of agricultural production. Why? Because land prices are now dictated by high income people who want the quality of life offered by rural land or the price is dictated by the population growth to whom the developer caters.

Now a new ethic is developing – that being an interest in preservation, conservation and species survival. So here on Selah we invited people, young and old to come, to see and to learn from our experience. We built infrastructure and developed programs and because of this new ethic people came and thus “People Ranching” became a real thing. I understand that the term has now entered college textbooks.

Each Spring and Fall we hold a series of workshops for new landowners, agency people, teachers or anyone interested in the topic. On October 10 a one day workshop affair titled “Grasses” was attended by 22.



Our Grass trail didn’t do well this year because of the very severe drought and record high temperatures. So Steven Fulton, Ranch Biologist, propagated and nurtured 30 species in containers. Photograph taken by J. David.

The containerized grasses enable everyone to see the grasses up close and some in a mature state. Each container is labeled. Here Steven is explaining details, the nomenclature of the plants. Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

Colleen Gardner, Executive Director, with two of the “students.” Everyone on the staff participates in all of our workshops. Photograph taken by J. David.

Ann Baird, who deserves a Ph. D., as she has taken four of our workshops. Justin Duke, Ranch Steward, is describing Big Bluestem. Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.






This is were it all happens! Out on the ranch. We don’t spend any time looking at videos or virtual grasses. Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

Steven and Justin are with the “students” at all times. This is true in all our workshops. Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

There’s a coffee and restroom break at the Country Store at each workshop. Photograph taken by J. David.

By mid morning we find high spirits and bonding by the “students.” Photograph taken by J. David.





Check this blog next week for more on People Ranching.

A "People Ranching" Week on the Ranch

The highlight of the week was when 155 people gathered at the Center as witnesses to the marriage of Justin Duke and Stephanie Tidmore. The relatives and guests came from parts of Texas and as far away as Omaha, Nebraska. Rain clouds threatened all around, but the sun did shine on this young couple throughout the event. Justin, a graduate of Texas State University, has been with Selah 1 ½ years assisting with education programs and in habitat management. Stephanie is an LVN working at the Live Oak Medical Center in Blanco. She also volunteers here at the ranch on her days off.

Justin and Stephanie exchanging their vows.
Photograph taken by Shelley Duke, Justin’s sister.

Here’s Justin and Stephanie’s first dance.
Photograph taken by Shelley Duke.

Justin and Stephanie will live in this house under construction here on the ranch.
Photograph taken by J. David Bamberger.

Not politics – just a good citizen. I’ve always fostered the ethic of volunteerism and encouraged those who work here to give back to our community with their time and experience. Our Executive Director, Colleen Gardner, has been good about that with membership in the Johnson City Women’s Club- whose principle mission is funding the library, a Directorship on The Hill Country Alliance and by giving many programs on bees and land stewardship to schools and civic organizations. This week she was sworn in as Precinct 2 Director of the Blanco Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District.

Judge Carter swears in Colleen Gardner, Tom Morrow and Jimmy Klepac.
Photograph taken by Linda Vincent.

Interns are important to us for a number of reasons and it’s not just that they participate as willing workers. No, we feel it’s important that young people contemplating a career in conservation or environment or any form of agriculture for that matter spend some quality time in the natural world – such as a ranch, tropical rainforest or with a conservation organization. Here at Selah we enjoy and welcome the opportunity to take young people and awaken and nourish a passion for learning in them, especially regarding the natural world.

Here is Emma Hine, one of our summer interns, on her first day of “work” during our family picnic. Emma has just graduated from St. Andrew’s High School in Austin and will be attending Washington University in St. Louis. She plans to major in English.
Photograph taken by Kathy Wilson.

Samuel Marsh began his internship on May 29th. He is welcomed by Colleen Gardner, Executive Director, and J. David. Sam is attending Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and will be with us until mid July.
Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

Our Texas Parks and Wildlife Department organized a “media tour” here on the ranch on Tuesday, May 26th. What is a media tour? To us, it’s another form of “people ranching”; although it’s more “show and tell” than education. Representatives from all forms of media came to be enlightened by the many accomplishments and conservation practices we have instituted here over the past 40 years. It was a good day for us as representatives were here filming, interviewing and photographing the ranch from CBS KEYE-TV 42 in Austin, Express News from San Antonio, KSAT-TV 12 from San Antonio, The Austin American Statesman newspaper, National Public Radio, Texas Co-Op Power Magazine, Texas Wildlife Association, Sand County Foundation from Wisconsin and, of course, our many friends from our own Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. We did our best to show them all a good time and ended their day with a lunch at the Center. Look for their articles, pictures, and stories. Some links can be found on our website: www.bambergerranch.org.

J. David welcomes everyone at the Historical Marker, our traditional meeting and greeting place for visitors to the ranch. The burial spot with the tombstone contains the following epitath: “In Memory of Man . . 2,000,000 BC – 20? AD . . . He who once dominated the earth destroyed it . . . with his wastes, his poisons, his own numbers.” Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.

Steven Fulton, Ranch Biologist, demonstrates our Rain Machine for the media. The Rain Machine simulates a one inch rainfall on two different types of rangeland, one being a cedar infested forest and the other a grassland. It gives a dramatic visual illustration of what we did here at Selah and how it produced “Water from Stone.”
Photograph taken by Colleen Gardner.