| BRUSH CONTROL |
Brush Control is a method used to help increase the natural recharge of the Dockum Aquifer. The
Lone Wolf Groundwater Conservation District supports brush control as a management practice to
maintain and improve groundwater supplies in the District and region. The District, in fact, wrote a
grant for the Mitchell and Nolan Counties Soil and Water Conservation Districts in 2002 for a brush
control program along the 41,000 acre Champion Creek Watershed. The $1.3 million grant was
funded in the fall of 2002 and, to date, remains an ongoing program. The District will continue to work
with the local SWCD and NRCS offices to support new and ongoing brush control management
projects.
The Texas Water Resources Institute, according to the 2001 Region F Water Plan, estimates that one
acre-foot of water is lost annually for every 10 acres of brush. Much of the brush consists of
mesquite, salt cedar and juniper. As these plants were introduced into the area they spread from the
riverbanks to the plains replacing native grasslands. Some of the potential concerns associated with
brush are increased erosion, competition for water with grasses, and reduced runoff infiltration.
Estimates of the amount of water used by different species of plants in Region F are summarized
below.
Lone Wolf Groundwater Conservation District supports brush control as a management practice to
maintain and improve groundwater supplies in the District and region. The District, in fact, wrote a
grant for the Mitchell and Nolan Counties Soil and Water Conservation Districts in 2002 for a brush
control program along the 41,000 acre Champion Creek Watershed. The $1.3 million grant was
funded in the fall of 2002 and, to date, remains an ongoing program. The District will continue to work
with the local SWCD and NRCS offices to support new and ongoing brush control management
projects.
The Texas Water Resources Institute, according to the 2001 Region F Water Plan, estimates that one
acre-foot of water is lost annually for every 10 acres of brush. Much of the brush consists of
mesquite, salt cedar and juniper. As these plants were introduced into the area they spread from the
riverbanks to the plains replacing native grasslands. Some of the potential concerns associated with
brush are increased erosion, competition for water with grasses, and reduced runoff infiltration.
Estimates of the amount of water used by different species of plants in Region F are summarized
below.
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