Ideally, rangelands should be managed not only to provide livestock forage, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities-but, primarily, to produce sufficient quantities of clean water throughout watersheds. This water maintains creek and river flows and recharges aquifers. This is the effect which should be of most concern to not only to the urban users and industry, but also to irrigators, ranchers, wildlife biologists, downstream water users and to the federal courts which are now protecting the Endangered Species in the Comal and San Marcos Springs. While many Texas researchers, agency personnel and ranchers have long been aware of the hydrologic benefits of cedar management upon watersheds of the Edwards Plateau, few definitive studies are available. Research and extension policy has long been slanted towards animal science goals.
Some concerns are more urban in nature, such as city zoning, planning and developmental regulations.
New studies have been funded with the USGS to both depict and investigate the surface geology of this critical zone. Another is designed to calculate and predict pollutant loadings of runoff water from selected types of development. Other SAWS studies monitor stormwater quantity and quality across the city and groundwater quality. Watershed, range and agricultural researchers have also made great advances in recent years. Several large rangeland watershed projects on Texas ranches have aptly shown the hydrologic benefits of planned brush control.