Research Stations

The Martin Ranch was deeded to the Texas A&M AgriLife San AngeloResearch and Extension Center in 2006 by Carl and Bina Sue Martin. The ranch is approximately 4,700 acres and is located seven miles south-southwest of Menard, Texas.

There are many woody plant types at this site. Oak, mesquite, and a variety of other (smaller) shrubs and browse, as well as significant densities of prickly pear cactus. As part of The PrairieProject, large scale patch burning will be conducted on a yearly basis, along with remote sensing surveys to compare trends in woody plant encroachment. Livestock species on this ranch include cattle, sheep, and goats.

The Read Ranch is a satellite research station for Texas A&M AgriLifeResearch Service. The station encompasses close to 5,000-acres of rangeland in CrockettCounty, Texas.

Research for The Prairie Project is being conducted at this site by Texas A&M University faculty and graduate students. The brush composition at this site includes dense canopies of Redberry juniper (J. pinchotii). Ranch scale patch burning and pyric herbivory studies will be carried out at this location. Livestock species present at the Read Ranch include cattle, sheep, and goats.

For more information on the Read Ranch, please visit https://sanangelo.tamu.edu/hunting/read-ranch.

The Sonora Experimental Station is located in the Edwards Plateau ofTexas and spans 3,462-acres of native rangeland. This station was established in 1916 and is part of the Texas A&M AgriLife’s San Angelo Research and Extension Center.

The Sonora Experimental Station (SES) has a rich history of rangeland ecosystem restoration and management. A primary focus of the research conducted at this station is dedicated to the management of Ashe juniper (J. Ashei). The practices of prescribed fire and multi-species grazing (cattle and goats) are instrumental in the ongoing research at the site. The PrairieProject will perform pasture scale studies at the SES with four different treatments; Control, FireOnly, Browsing Only, and Fire & Browsing on the pastures included in the project.

For more information on the Sonora Experimental Station, please visit https://sonora.tamu.edu/.

Located in the Rolling Red Plains ecoregion, the Marvin Klemme Range Research Station is around 1,500 acres and provides a unique opportunity for patch burn related research in a mixed grass prairie with a more arid climate. Patch burn research started here in the early 2000s, and it has continued through a current research project. Researchers are currently gauging cattle’s preference for burned patches (burned during the dormant and growing seasons) versus unburned areas and using patch burning to address grazing distribution issues.

For more information about the Marvin Klemme Range Research Station, please visit:

https://agresearch.okstate.edu/facilities/marvin-klemme-range-research-station/index.html

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​Located north of Pawhuska, Oklahoma and in the southern extent of theFlint Hills Ecoregion, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy. At nearly 40,000 acres, this preserve is the largest tract of protected tallgrass prairie in the world.

The entire property has been patch burned since the late 1990’s and is home to a free-range bison herd which occupies ~28,000 acres. ~11,000 is grazed by yearling stocker cattle in pastures ranging from 824 – 1,894 acres. This allows for large-scale and long-term research using two different herbivores.

Currently, Prairie Project researchers are monitoring cattle weight gain and botanical changes in pastures with various patch burn treatments in the cattle unit.

For more information about the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, you can go to:

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/tallgrass-prairie-preserve/

​Located just southwest of Stillwater, the OSU Range Research Station spans nearly 5,000 acres. The Range Research Station facilitates numerous research projects ranging from plant-soil interactions, pollinators, wildlife, and the fire-grazing interaction in patch burned cross timbers / tallgrass prairie. With pastures ranging from 120 – 2000+ acres, theRange Research Station gives researchers the opportunity to perform research at multiple scales, broadening the scope and applicability of the results.

Traditionally, the Range Research Station has been a single species (beef cattle) operation but recently goats and livestock guardian dogs have been added to facilitate the multi-species grazing research for The Prairie Project.

The Range Research Station is home to the original (1999) patch burn pastures (Fuhlendorfand Engle 2001), which are now part of our multi-species patch burn grazing research. Also, on the Range Research Station are the Season of Burn Research Plots (Weir and Scasta 2017)which began in 2003.

For more information about the Oklahoma State Range Research Station, you can go to:

https://agresearch.okstate.edu/facilities/range-research-station/index.html