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Pineywoods Ecoregion
Wildlife Management Plan for Harrison County, Texas
Harrison County spans the boundary between the East Central Texas Plains and South Central Plains, with 85 documented wildlife species.
Intelligence Snapshot
Regulatory Complexity
Harrison County's conservation obligations require careful attention to how management practices affect listed species habitat. Critical habitat has been designated for 3 species within county boundaries. Federal review may be triggered by land use changes in designated areas. A properly calibrated plan accounts for these constraints. A generic plan does not.
Harrison County Ecological Profile
Harrison County's 900 square miles contain 10,772 documented oil and gas wells alongside pine-hardwood forests and bottomland corridors, creating a landscape where industrial infrastructure and ecological management coexist at close range. This is timber country, but it is also one of the most biologically diverse regions in the state. Caddo Lake State Park provides a nucleus of protected habitat and a reference landscape for private land management in the surrounding area.
Effective wildlife management in the Pineywoods centers on restoring and maintaining an open, park-like pine savannah structure through prescribed fire and selective timber harvest. Decades of fire suppression have allowed yaupon holly, Chinese tallow, and dense hardwood midstory to crowd out native grasses and forbs critical to ground-nesting birds and browsing deer. A well-designed burn plan on a 2 to 3 year rotation, combined with mechanical midstory removal, reopens the understory, stimulates native warm-season grasses like little bluestem and Indiangrass, and creates the open, herbaceous ground cover that eastern wild turkey, bobwhite quail, and red-cockaded woodpecker require. Streamside management zones protecting riparian corridors along the region's blackwater creeks are essential for amphibian diversity and water quality.
Transitional Ecoregion
Harrison County spans the boundary between the East Central Texas Plains and South Central Plains. Species assemblages, soil types, and appropriate management intensities differ between these regions. A property in the East Central Texas Plains portion of the county will require different practices than one in the South Central Plains zone.
Soil Conditions
Soils are predominantly deep, acidic sandy loams and fine sands of the Darco, Tenaha, and Kirvin series, with clay subsoils that create perched water tables in bottomlands.
Fire Ecology
Fire is the defining ecological process. The Pineywoods evolved under frequent, low-intensity fire at 1 to 4 year intervals. Restoring fire through prescribed burning is the single most impactful management practice for native plant and wildlife communities.
Spans 2 ecoregions: East Central Texas Plains, South Central Plains
The Pineywoods supports a remarkable range of species of conservation concern. The red-cockaded woodpecker, federally listed as endangered, depends on mature longleaf and loblolly pine stands with open understories. Louisiana pine snake, another federally listed species, requires deep sandy soils with pocket gopher colonies. Bottomland hardwood corridors provide habitat for swallow-tailed kite, timber rattlesnake, and several rare salamander species including the southern dusky salamander. Managing for these species means managing the forest structure itself: keeping canopies open, maintaining snag trees for cavity nesters, and protecting the integrity of seepage bogs and spring-fed headwater streams.
Harrison County Species of Conservation Concern
TPWD records 85 species in Harrison County. Birds represent the most documented group at 22 species. The county carries significant conservation obligations: 0 federally endangered species, 4 federally threatened, and USFWS critical habitat designations for 3 species. Management activities on private land must be designed to avoid incidental take.
Primary Management Targets
white-tailed deer, red-cockaded woodpecker, wild turkey
Listed Species
Nests on bare sand and shell flats along the Gulf Coast. Coastal properties must avoid disturbance to nesting areas during breeding season (March through August). Vehicle traffic on beaches in occupied habitat is restricted.
Western distinct population segment is threatened. Requires large patches of mature riparian woodland (cottonwood, willow) with dense understory. Clearing riparian corridors wider than 300 feet may trigger consultation in designated critical habitat.
Found along riverbanks and in floodplain forests of East Texas. Flood control projects and bank stabilization that alter natural hydrology are threats.
Extremely rare plant known from very few Texas sites. Habitat disturbance and land conversion are threats.
Nests on bare sand and gravel bars along rivers and reservoirs. Disturbance during nesting season (May through August) must be avoided. Water level management at reservoirs affects nesting success.
Nests on bare sand and shell flats along the Gulf Coast. Coastal properties must avoid disturbance to nesting areas during breeding season (March through August). Vehicle traffic on beaches in occupied habitat is restricted.
Found in large river systems of East Texas. Dam operations and river flow management affect spawning habitat and migration corridors.
Found along riverbanks and in floodplain forests of East Texas. Flood control projects and bank stabilization that alter natural hydrology are threats.
Extremely rare plant known from very few Texas sites. Habitat disturbance and land conversion are threats.
Depends on harvester ant colonies for food. Fire ant suppression and native grassland restoration directly benefit this species. Listed as state threatened.
Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department RTEST Database; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Critical Habitat Designations
Pineywoods Wildlife Management Standards
In Harrison County, the management prescription begins with fire. Prescribed burning on a 2 to 3 year rotation restores the open pine savannah structure that the region's wildlife depends on. Under 34 TAC Section 9.2002, the Pineywoods ecoregion requires 10 to 15 minimum acres, 25% brush management coverage, and annual wildlife census documentation. Primary targets are white-tailed deer, red-cockaded woodpecker, and wild turkey. Practice recommendations should reflect each property's specific landscape position within the county.
These are the intensity thresholds your plan must meet for the Pineywoods ecoregion. Your county appraisal district will verify compliance against these minimums. A plan that does not address them risks denial of your wildlife management valuation. For a complete overview of the seven management pillars, see the management pillars guide.
In Harrison County, brush management means midstory hardwood removal to restore open pine savannah, combined with prescribed fire.
Food plots must provide nutritional supplementation for target species. The minimum size and density are set by ecoregion to reflect carrying capacity.
Feeder placement and protein content are auditable. The aflatoxin threshold (20 ppb) is a compliance requirement, not a suggestion.
Fire ant suppression directly supports native harvester ant populations, the primary food source for Texas horned lizard and other ground-foraging species.
Brown-headed cowbirds are brood parasites that reduce nesting success of songbirds. The minimum applies to properties where cowbird trapping is selected as a management activity.
The burn rotation percentage applies over the full plan period. Properties that cannot burn due to WUI constraints must document the limitation and substitute equivalent mechanical treatment.
Nest box density is based on territory size of target cavity-nesting species. Boxes must be monitored and maintained annually.
Source: TPWD 34 TAC Section 9.2002, Comprehensive Wildlife Management Planning Guidelines
Water Resources
2 Groundwater Conservation Districts regulate water resources in the county, with permitting requirements for new wells and production limits that affect agricultural and wildlife management water sources.
Conservation Infrastructure
Caddo Lake State Park provides protected Pineywoods habitat and serves as a reference landscape for private land management in the county. TPWD manages Caddo Lake WMA in the county, where land managers can observe demonstrated management practices applicable to their own properties.
Infrastructure
Harrison County has substantial oil and gas infrastructure: 10,772 documented wells across 27 categories and 8,215 pipeline segments recorded by the Railroad Commission. 54 orphan wells are on the Railroad Commission's plugging priority list.
10,772 wells and 0 endangered species. In Harrison County, industry and ecology share the same ground.
Build your Harrison County wildlife management plan.
2 ecoregions. 85 documented species. Harrison County's ecological complexity means the plan has to be specific to your property's landscape position. Calibrated to Pineywoods standards.
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