The MJV is thrilled to announce that Bamberger Ranch Preserve has joined the partner network!
Bamberger Ranch Preserve, a 5,500-acre ranch in Blanco County which has been in a continuous process of restoration since 1969, is dedicated to promoting ethical land stewardship and providing educational opportunities. The Preserve serves as a research lab for scientists and a hands-on classroom for students, welcoming over 2,000 children annually for science classes and nature camps. In addition to educational programs, they offer seminars for landowners and host public tours and workshops, drawing land stewards, birdwatchers, photographers, and naturalists. Their habitat work includes the daily management activities to maintain hill country habitat, including prescribed burning, native grass seeding, brush management and much more.
Bamberger Ranch Preserve has a long history of habitat restoration and research projects focused on a wide variety of wildlife, including reptiles, bats, birds, and insects. A recent initiative saw the restoration of an area previously overrun with woody vegetation, which they have now seeded with flowering plants and native grasses to attract wildlife, including monarch butterflies. They are committed to growing internal research activities, including performing regular pollinator surveys and using the Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) to guide their habitat management decisions. MJV staff have already been working with the Preserve on IMMP trainings and other collaborations.
Bamberger Ranch Preserve brings a deep understanding of habitat restoration and a strategic location along the monarch migratory path to the partner network. We are excited to welcome them into the network to amplify conservation efforts and reach in the Texas Hill Country, including expanded data collection, local landowner engagement, and on-the-ground monarch conservation activities.
For more information about Bamberger Ranch Preserve, please visit https://www.bambergerranch.org/.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and a national partner network of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Photo courtesy of Bamberger Ranch Preserve.