Over half a million acres and hardly a drop of groundwater beneath.
VISITORS FAMILIAR with modern ranching in West Texas will be struck by an absence of windmills. Over half a million acres and hardly a drop of groundwater beneath. Even today, water has to be hauled to houses occupied by camp men and their families. Although the Wichita River snakes
northeast across the southern quarter of the ranch, on its way toward its confluence with the Red, and numerous dependable creeks cut the rougher pastures, the lack of groundwater must have posed a serious hardship and financial risk during the early days of the ranch. No groundwater means no springs.
Even the most dependable creeks can dry up over long stretches during severe drought. With few options, cattle and wildlife concentrate around the little remaining water, pummeling vulnerable riparian areas. Today on the Waggoner, thousands of manmade stock ponds or “tanks” provide reliable water for cattle and countless wildlife species. During spring and summer, egrets and great blue herons wade the shallows for fish, frogs, snakes, and other small reptiles and amphibians. In winter, tanks provide refuge and feeding habitat for migrating waterfowl, and, in late winter, mating pairs of bald eagles fish the tanks and nest nearby.
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