Pastures for Upland Birds Grant Program (PUB)

The Pastures for Upland Birds Grant Program (PUB) supports private landowners in restoring native grass and forb vegetation on pastures dominated by exotic grasses. This initiative enhances grassland bird conservation, increases biodiversity, and provides crucial habitats for various bird populations. With funding from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, landowners receive technical guidance, herbicides, and native seed mixtures to implement effective management practices, ensuring sustainable livestock forage and ecological restoration in east-central Texas.

The Pastures for Upland Birds Program (PUB) provides cost-share incentives and technical guidance to private landowners to restore native grass and forb vegetation on pastures and hayfields dominated by exotic grasses such as Bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and Old World bluestems. Funding for this TPWD Program is made possible, in part through a cooperative agreement with the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. All projects approved for funding are thereby subject to the terms and conditions of that Agreement.
PUB promotes grassland bird conservation on private lands by restoring native prairie vegetation on exotic grass pastures and hayfields. Native prairie vegetation established through PUB will increase biological diversity and provide habitat for resident, breeding, migrating, and wintering bird populations. Under proper management, native grass-forb pastures and hayfields can also provide nutritious livestock forage.
PUB will service a focal area in east-central Texas coinciding with portions of Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah focus area map. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will provide herbicides, native grass and forb seed mixtures, technical guidance, and a no-till seeder (as available). The participating landowner will provide labor associated with any pretreatments (grazing, prescribed burning, etc.), herbiciding, native plant seeding, or any supplemental treatments identified by the project plan.
PUB management practices will typically include appropriate herbicide treatments to kill the exotic grasses followed by no-till drilling of native and forb seed mixtures. Supplemental treatments may include the ground tilling, specialized herbicide treatments, and planting of temporary row crops and/or cover crops.

Eligibility

How Landowners Participate:Contact your local local TPWD biologist or USFWS biologist to set up a site evaluation.Schedule and conduct a site visit of your property with the local TPWD biologist. Work with the biologist to prepare a project proposal. Submit the plan to TPWD for approval. Implement approved plan. Monitor progress of prairie vegetation restoration.PUB will service a focal area in east-central Texas coinciding with portions of Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah focus area map.