Furthermore, this process creates more structural diversity, which is more conducive to nesting, brood rearing, and hiding. Range improvement can be attained through proper grazing rates and by scheduled rest periods to allow pastures to be free of grazing by domestic livestock. Each requires different degrees of involvement and fencing. As mentioned above, bison tilled the soil as they grazed through areas, promoting more plant diversity. While used extensively in other parts of Texas, methods of soil disturbance generally are not recommended in the Hill Country, as the shallow, rocky soils are highly vulnerable to erosion.
Food plots are difficult to establish, especially during stressful years when they are most needed.
Fire Bison were not the only force shaping the system in which pronghorn antelope, black bear, wolf, white-tailed deer, turkey, quail, and prairie chicken thrived. Fires, natural and man-made, played an integral role in managing that system. Since the 1850s, man has suppressed fire, and the grasslands that were once dotted with an occasional live oak motte have been replaced by parklands and woodlands. Ashe juniper has spread from the steep draws and canyons and exploited the uplands. A prescribed burn program that is used properly with a grazing deferment program and deer harvest management, is an effective tool for managing wildlife habitat.