This project is for delivering cost-assistance to individual private landowners (sub-RECIPIENTS) in the neches river and cypress basin watersheds for watershed enhancement in the west gulf coastal…

This Cooperative Agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (CFDA 15.631) provides $150,000 in funding to the Texas A&M Forest Service to deliver cost-assistance to individual private landowners in the Neches River and Cypress Basin watersheds of East Texas. The project aims to enhance habitat for federal trust and game species through brush management and prescribed fire on a minimum of 4,835 acres. Key activities include maintaining healthy fire-dependent ecosystems, improving water quality and quantity, controlling invasive species, and enhancing hunting opportunities. The award period runs from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2029.

This project is for delivering cost-assistance to individual private landowners (sub-RECIPIENTS) in the neches river and cypress basin watersheds for watershed enhancement in the west gulf coastal plain of east texas (see exhibit a). IT is anticipated this agreement will provide for the enhancement of habitat for federal trust and game species through brush management (i.e., prescribed fire) on a minimum of 4,835 acres. Historically, climate and fire were the primary disturbances that shaped the west gulf coastal plain ecosystems of east texas. When applied appropriately in fire-dependent ecosystems, prescribed fire maintains ecosystem health and function, provides habitat for wildlife populations, enhances soil and water conservation, and promotes public health and safety. In the absence of frequent fire, vegetative communities shift from a ground cover of grasses and herbaceous components to an increased abundance of fire-sensitive woody species, resulting in a loss of habitat for many imperiled species and making landscapes vulnerable to high-intensity fires. Those types of fires can cause catastrophic loss of human property and lives, and forested ecosystems can take decades to recover. This project will provide ecological improvements to the neches river and cypress basin watersheds through prescribed fire. These ecological improvements are intended to enhance habitat for endemic, migratory, and federal trust species. This project will benefit the public through the control of exotic invasive species, improvement of water quality and quantity, and improvement of fish and wildlife habitat thus enhancing hunting opportunities.