Restoring the Ponderosa Pines

Ponderosa Pines are a tree species that can be found in only two parts of Texas - the higher elevations of the Guadalupe Mountain, and "the island in the sky" - the Davis Mountains.

While these trees are a cherished feature of the West Texas landscape, their population has taken a devastating hit over the past few decades from extreme drought, severe cold snaps, massive wildfires and incessant infections by the Western bark beetle. Up to 75 percent of the Ponderosas in the Davis Mountains Preserve have been lost over the past decade, and it is predicted that losses will continue if nothing is done.

Partnering with The Nature Conservancy, Texas A&M Forest Service is helping manage these ponderosa forests by thinning out smaller trees that compete with the pines for water and nutrients, and that accelerate wildfires that might sweep through the area. Then, state foresters led an effort to reforest the area by collecting ponderosa pine cones in the Davis Mountains and growing those seeds into saplings to be planted where stressed Ponderosa pines have stopped pollinating.

Reforesting the Davis Mountains with Ponderosa Pines could take decades, or even generations, to complete, but with the help of the Nature Conservancy, Texas A&M Forest Service intends to see it through.

Learn more about forest stewardship at http://texasforestinfo.tamu.edu/stewa...