Fire Comes to The Knobbs

This past summer was a hot and tragic time for Central Texas. With record breaking temperatures to record breaking wildfires to a drought that broke records across the nation. We have not, unfortunately, figured out how to turn down our furnace temps of summer time, nor have we come up with any ideas of how to add water to a drought. However, we have come up with a plan to help protect our beloved Yegua Knobbs Preserve (YKP) from such horrific devastation that dry and built-up underbrush can bring. Pines and Prairies Land Trust (PPLT) and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have surveyed the property for solutions to the underbrush problems and have developed a burn plan. Carefully eliminating sections of underbrush will aid in eliminating food for future wildfires. The first of these burns, planned for 6 February, 2012, will be the Lee County area of the YKP, with burns at later dates. These burns will provide fertilizer to the soil in the form of ashes, open ground for new growth of more food for our wild inhabitants, and aid in the propagation process of certain native species in the area. Due to the rain in the area the burn has been put off until the area has had time dry enough to provide a sufficient burn. In preparation of this upcoming burn, on 18 January 2012, volunteers of the Master Naturalists Organization from The Lost Pines and The Capitol Area chapters and PPLT Volunteers began to clear the County Line Trail as a fire break. Starting at 9 am they took on the task with chain saws, limb pruners, pole saws and good old fashioned elbow grease, preparing the way for the USFWS to conduct the burn. This group of volunteers has become known as the Bridge Maniacs from their bridge construction on the trail system at the Colorado River Refuge (CRR) another of the PPLT preserves. As a group they are a jovial crew, cutting up and getting the job done. First comes the rough cuts, clear the debris and pull the sides back making it ready for a dozer to clear the trail in a timely fashion.