At the Rio Seco Ranch, we are dedicated to our goal of producing an exceptional hunting destination for ourselves and our guests. The key to success in achieving our goal is proper management.

Since the early twentieth century, ranching has controlled the economy of the Texas Hill Country, with most available land used for raising sheep and goats. The consequential overgrazing, combined with the expansion of ashe juniper, has had a tremendous impact on the habitat, causing a decrease in plant species diversity and an increase in soil erosion.

With the help of a wildlife biologist, we prepared a management program designed to restore the habitat and enhance the wildlife on the ranch. We have worked hard over the past four years to implement habitat improvement projects, a year-round supplemental feeding program, selective game harvest practices, as well as improve the genetics of our herd.

In 2004, we erected a game fence to facilitate our management program and allow better control over the wildlife populations. Native whitetail deer and exotic population densities in the region are above the carrying capacity of the habitat, making management difficult without the aid of a game fence. We conduct yearly population surveys to ensure that our wildlife populations remain below the ranch's carrying capacity, and apply selective game harvest practices to improve the age structure and gender ratio of our game species.

We introduced new genetics to the whitetail herd at the Rio Seco Ranch in 2004 through individually selected and genetically superior whitetails. Antler characteristics such as mass, spread, and total mainframe points were carefully considered during the selection process to complement and enhance the genetics of our native herd. Among the additions is Radar, a seventeen-point whitetail buck, estimated to score 175+ B&C.

Though the program is still in the early stages, our efforts have been rewarded with significant improvements in the health and quality of our whitetail deer, axis deer, and wild turkey populations. We are optimistic that our efforts will continue enhance the quality of wildlife on the ranch and produce first-class hunting opportunities.