Austin Chapter

Field Trip: Shield Ranch – April 29

Join us for a Field Trip to Shield Ranch in Dripping Springs.

At Shield Ranch, stewarding and protecting the Hill Country ecosystem is their solemn purpose. Located 18 miles southwest of downtown Austin, it’s a 6,400-acre historic district and protected wildland. It is home to a mosaic of habitats, a diverse community of native plants and animals, and over six breathtaking miles of Barton Creek.

Through an evolving program of land management, unique nature immersion experiences, and conservation easements with the Nature Conservancy and the City of Austin, Shield Ranch offers something exceptionally rare in our rapidly urbanizing community—a truly wild place. Join us in making sure it stays that way.

We’ll walk the trails of Shield Ranch with well-known botanist Bill Carr and see firsthand the native plants and associated ecosystems in this very rare view of this non-public ranch. We’ll experience what land stewardship can do for native species in this Edwards Plateau oasis.

Register for the Shield Ranch field trip here

Limited to 24 participants

Cost $17.85

Saturday, April 29 from 8:30am to about 12 noon  (3 hours plus lunch).

Address 10417 Crumley Ranch Rd, Dripping Springs, TX 78620

We will be hiking a 1.6 mi route

Bring water and bag lunch.  There are no trash cans so we must carry our trash out with us. Wear good hiking shoes and bring sun screen, hats, water bottle etc. They have water bottle filling stations where we can fill bottles before and after the hike.

We’ll email additional logistics information before the event.

If you have questions you can email us at Austin NPSOT

About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason