Answering a Call to the Land
Chuck Snakard and Stephen Ramirez during a site visit at Chalk Mountain.
Chuck and Dorothy Snakard have owned Chalk Mountain Ranch in Somervell County since 1994. The 341-acre property was permanently protected by Texas Land Conservancy with a conservation easement in 2002. Anyone fortunate enough to walk across the property will discover its lush uplands of native bunch grasses, a scenic forested canyon, and rolling hillsides that support a diversity of trees and shrubs.
What you won’t see is how the property looked when it was purchased. In 1994, the property had been considerably over grazed. “It had been grazed down to the dirt. There were some juniper and dirt, but generally it was just a mess,” said Chuck. From that point he began to restore the habitats to a semblance of their former glory. This may be a surprise to many, but this had actually been the plan all along.
After witnessing the overnight growth and development of Fort Worth, where Chuck grew up, he knew he wanted a place to escape to and something he could work on. Fortunately, Dorothy was supportive of Chuck from the start. Despite seeing the condition of the land, she encouraged him to answer the call. “I couldn’t see the vision for it like he did, but he has done wonders with the land. The property is unrecognizable from when we first saw it.”
Over the years Chuck and Dorothy have built a home on a hilltop surrounded by an oak motte and thrown all manner of management and restoration tools at the land. Removing livestock, fighting invasive species and disease, prescribed burns, and native plantings.
We as Texans are fortunate to have landowners and stewards like Chuck and Dorothy that answer the call to protect and restore the native habitats and scenic vistas we all know and love.
Chuck showing off his Yellow Indiangrass.
Celebrating 40 Years of Conservation
We have been collecting stories and photos from people that have made this organization what it is today, highlighting all the hard work, special moments, and conservation successes we have had over the last four decades. We have been sharing these throughout the year here: https://www.texaslandconservancy.org/40-years-of-conservation
As we move forward to the next 40 years, we hope you will continue to support this important work and help to create a future where being in nature won’t be a thing of the past.
Join or renew your TLC membership today—$40 for 40 years!
