ACCOLADES

Rocksprings

Leopold Conservation Award Recipient

The Llano Springs Ranch, located in Edwards County, is a true, family-run business. The 5,100 acre ranch is owned and operated by Dr. Tom G. Vandivier, his children, Tom M. Vandivier, Ann Vandivier Brodnax, and their families.

“We have always taken pride in the fact that all of the work at the ranch has been accomplished exclusively by our family,” Tom M. Vandivier said.

The Vandivier family uses a holistic approach to improve their rangeland. They have removed over 2,700 acres of invasive ash juniper, which resulted in the return of several native grasses and improved water quality. Spring flow has increased significantly, including the headwaters spring of the South Llano River, located on the ranch. In addition, surface water, away from the South Llano, has been pumped and maintained behind small earthen dams to create two in-ground ponds and wildlife friendly overflows. The Vandiviers also use prescribed burning to encourage the growth of forbs and a diversity of woody browse.

The Vandivier's play an active role in promoting wildlife management by allowing access to government personnel, educational and civic groups. Natural history and environmental education classes from the University of Texas and Franklin College have utilized the ranch as an outdoor classroom.

Llano Springs Ranch was nominated by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Joyce Moore who praised the Vandiviers’ connection to their land.

“This unique family shares a bond with the land which makes them true land stewards and worthy candidates for the Leopold Conservation Award,” Moore wrote.

Llano Springs Ranch Shines As Conservation Beacon Amid Changing Texas

May 23, 2008

Tom Harvey,  512-389-4453,  tom.harvey@tpwd.texas.gov

AUSTIN, Texas — The famed wide-open spaces of Texas are under siege, threatened by ever-expanding suburban development and fragmenting into ever-smaller pieces as people in cities buy up land in the country. The good news is conservation-minded landowners stand as bastions against these trends, places like Llano Springs Ranch south of Junction, which on May 21 received the Leopold Conservation Award for Texas from Sand County Foundation and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, part of the department’s Lone Star Land Steward Awards program.

Every year, TPWD and Sand County Foundation recognize private land stewards in 10 ecological regions across the state, as well as the Leopold Conservation Award winner. For the fourth year, the Lone Star Land Steward Awards benefit from an association with Sand County Foundation, an international non-profit organization devoted to private landowner conservation. Ecoregion award recipients and the wildlife management association recipient receive $1,000 from the foundation, while the Leopold Conservation Award recipient receives $10,000 and the Leopold crystal. The purpose is to recognize outstanding examples of voluntary stewardship.

 "I’m proud that we’ve taken a ranch that had been neglected for many years and turned it into something to be proud of, and we’ve done it ourselves," said Tom M. Vandivier, part of the five-generation farm and ranch family which owns the 5,100-acre spread in Edwards County. He works the first part of the week as an attorney near Austin, then on Thursdays heads to the ranch and works all weekend.

Professional Memberships

“A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke of the ax he is writing his signature on the face of the land.”

— Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac