U Bar U Retreat & Conference CenterWildlife Management
Ten of the 144 acres of U Bar U are tax-exempt. The bulk of the land (134 acres) is taxed as agricultural land just as it was under the Quakers’ watch. This status is the result of the implementation of a Wildlife Management Plan approved by the Gillespie County Appraisal District.
The state of Texas requires such a plan to generate a sustaining breeding, migrating, and/or wintering population of indigenous wildlife through a choice of at least three action plans chosen from the following:
- habitat control
- erosion control
- predator control
- supplemental water supply
- supplemental food supply
- provision of shelters
- recurrent census counts
The current Wildlife Management Plan addresses all seven for the specific sustenance of the humming bird, the purple martin, and the painted bunting but more broadly nurtures a variety of songbirds and small mammals as well as native flora. Furthermore, it contains aggressive cedar removal and replacement measures.
An electronic copy of the current Wildlife Management Plan may be obtained by request via email from Bill Gibson.
