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We're tasked by the state with responding to wildfires. We study weather patterns, drought cycles and the status of vegetation across the state to predict when and where dangerous fire conditions may occur. Should a wildfire ignite, we maintain a statewide network of strategically-placed teams of firefighters and equipment so that we're able to respond quickly when the call comes.
Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and almost entirely with volunteers. We help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment and help Texans learn how to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.
With roughly 94 percent of forestland in Texas privately owned, the trees, forests—and the benefits they provide - rests in the hands of thousands of Texans. While keeping the entire state's forested landscape in mind, we inform and educate landowners on sustainable land management practices.
We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees. We empower local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes with damage assessments, information, technical assistance and long-term recovery.
We analyze and monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information we have is more powerful when we give it to you.
We can help quench your thirst for learning. Explore links to identify trees using their leaves and branches, create your own tree trails and experience Texas history from the perspective of a witness tree. Share activities in the classroom to open up a world of conservation for new generations.
Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of the wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and a staff often made up almost entirely of volunteers. Sometimes they need a little help. Our programs help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment. We also help communities and property owners learn to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.
We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees where people live, work and play. We foster appreciation and stewardship of urban forests empowering local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes. From damage assessment, to information and technical assistance, to long-term recovery - we help property owners and communities thrive.
Our experts research, analyze and carefully monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information or knowledge we have is more powerful when we give it to you. As a state agency, our responsibility is share what we know.
If you have an unquenchable thirst for learning, we offer programs and information that you may either explore independently or share with a group. Learn about trees, forests, the benefits they provide and the challenges they face. Read stories about trees that are living witness to Texas history. Locate champion trees across the state. And bring activities into the classroom to open a world of conservation to a new generation.
-Forest Health
Forest Legacy
+Forest Restoration
+Forest Taxation
+Landowner Assistance
Manage Forests & Land
+Vegetation Management
+Water Resources & BMPs
+Wildlife Management
Windbreaks
Texas Forest Info
My Land Management Connector
+Prescribed Fires
Connect With a Forester
This list includes some common and less commonly found invasive species for this region, but is not all-compassing. Please visit texasinvasives.org to find additional species.
Japanese Privet: Ligustrum japonicum. Evergreen shrub to small tree. Leaves are dark green and opposite with smooth margins, lower leaf surface is lighter with prominent yellow vein. Fragrant white small flowers in dense clusters up to 8 inches in length, producing dark blue berries, that usually persist until winter. Similar in appearance to Glossy privet.
Glossy Privet: Ligustrum lucidum. Fast growing evergreen tree up to 40 feet in height. Dense canopy with glossy dark green leaves having narrow, translucent margins. Fragrant small cream-colored to white flowers in large clusters, producing purple to black berries. Similar in appearance to Japanese privet.
Chinese Privet: Ligustrum sinense. Native to China and Europe and brought to the U.S. by the mid-1800s as ornamentals. Mostly evergreen, thicket-forming shrub having opposite, elliptical leaves with smooth margins. Fragrant, white flowers form in spring and produce clusters of dark purple berries.
Nandina: Nandina domestica. Introduced from Asia and India in early 1800s. Widely planted as an ornamental, but now escaped and spreading from around old homes. Evergreen, erect shrub to 8 feet in height, with multiple bushy stems that resemble bamboo. Glossy, compound green or reddish leaves, white to pinkish flowers in terminal clusters and bright red berries in fall and winter.
Callery Pear: Pyrus calleryana. Callery pear is a small to medium-sized tree with a compact, symmetrical, pyramidal or columnar shape that spreads to become oval with age. Many cultivars exist with slightly different characteristics; all contribute to the species' invasiveness.
Chinaberry: Melia azedarach. Introduced from Asia in the mid-1800s as an ornamental tree. Dark green leaves are doubly compound, alternate, deciduous, and display bright yellow fall colors. Fruit is spherical, about ½" in diameter, yellow, persists on the tree in winter and is poisonous.
Tree-of-Heaven: Ailanthus altissima. Originally from China; rapid growing tree to 80 feet tall; alternate, compound leaves, 10-40 leaflets with smooth margins on 1- to 3-foot stalks. Large terminal clusters of small yellowish-green flowers yield wing-shaped fruit on female trees. Forms thickets and dense stands
Paper mulberry: Broussonetia papyrifera. Native to Asia. Paper mulberry was introduced for use as a fast-growing, ornamental shade tree. In its native lands, paper mulberry is used in paper making. In Hawaii and other parts of the South Pacific, its bark is used to make cloth. In the United States it is found from Illinois to Massachusetts, south to Florida and west to Texas. Paper mulberry is an invader of open habitats such as forest and field edges.
White mulberry: Morus alba. Also known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry,is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although there are some specimens known to be more than 250 years old.The species is native to China and India.
Chinese parasol: Chinese Parasoltree. Has a very unusual appearance for a deciduous tree, having green stems and bark and extremely large, three to five-lobed bright green leaves. Most people either love it or hate it due to its striking habit and coarse texture. Each leaf is up to 12 inches across and casts as much shade as an actual parasol. Chinese Parasoltree has a dense, upright, oval canopy and reaches 35 to 50 feet in height, spreading 15 to 20 feet.
Mimosa: Albizia julibrissin. Brought from Asia in 1745 as an ornamental. Deciduous tree with alternate, doubly compound leaves and showy, fragrant pink blossoms. Leguminous seedpods persist during winter. Leaves resemble those of honey locust.
Chinese Tallow: Triadica sebifera. Introduced from China in the 1700s as an ornamental and for its waxy seeds. Deciduous tree reaching 60 feet in height. Readily invades open land and has distinct heart-shaped, alternate leaves that display brilliant fall colors. Attractive white berries persist on the tree in the fall and winter.
Storms often leave trees looking bare and deflated—but these looks can be deceiving. Trees have an uncanny ability to recover from storm damage. Before assuming your trees are lost, give them a quick assessment.
Texas A&M Forest Service offers careers that can take you anywhere from a wildfire line defending lives and homes, to a forest protecting and conserving Texas natural resources to a computer working on a new application to create solutions for Texans across the state.
The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a destructive, invasive wood‐boring pest responsible for killing millions of ash trees across the country.
Sabine National Forest timber sales invested in Sabine and Shelby Counties Sabine and Shelby counties received $657,492 for county road improvement projects from timber sale profits through the Good Neighbor Authority partnership between USDA Forest Service and Texas A&M Forest Service.
Texas A&M Forest Service assesses hurricane impact, a state forest temporarily closes In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, Texas A&M Forest Service conducted an initial assessment of the storm's impact. As a result of tree damage and personnel resource allocation, the W.G. Jones State Forest has been temporarily closed.
Texas volunteer firefighter was arrested on felony arson charges A volunteer firefighter and emergency medical services (EMS) crew member in Alpine, Texas, was arrested July 5 on suspicion of setting multiple brush fires in the area.
A volunteer firefighter and emergency medical services (EMS) crew member in Alpine, Texas, was arrested July 5 on suspicion of setting multiple brush fires in the area.