Contact Information:
- Email: info@shieldranch.com
- Phone: 512.476.4816
- Address: 3103 Bee Caves Road Suite 203 Austin, TX, 78746
- Website: http://www.shieldranch.com
- Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/shieldranch https://www.instagram.com/shield.ranch/ www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ranch
About the Partner:
At Shield Ranch, stewarding and protecting Texas ecosystems are our solemn purpose. We began in 1938 as a family ranch located along Barton Creek, just 18 miles from downtown Austin, Texas. Today, our three ranches encompass 37,000 acres of sustainably managed wildlands in Central and West Texas. We also provide a diverse array of Texans with transformative nature immersion experiences that foster a deeper love and appreciation for our natural world. As our state grows and our communities expand, truly wild places are becoming increasingly rare. But with our partners and community, we can ensure Shield Ranch will stay wild for good.
Today these distinct and complementary organizations comprise our impact model:
Shield Ranch Foundation: A nonprofit private operating foundation offering year-round programming through the artfully designed and sustainably built facilities of the Campsite at Shield Ranch—to share Shield Ranch Barton Creek in ways that educate, inspire, and transform. This entity operates Camp El Ranchito, a scholarship-based nature immersion youth summer camp, and offers programs and hosts community groups for nature immersion activities year-round. shieldranch.com/campsite
Shield Land Stewardship Group: A management company providing comprehensive land conservation and facilities management services for three ranches encompassing 37,000 acres of sustainably managed wild lands in Central (Shield Ranch Barton Creek and Shield Ranch Camp Wood) and West Texas (Shield Ranch Cherry Canyon). The ranches host scientific researchers in a variety of disciplines through a guest researcher program. shieldranch.com/story/land-stewardship
Services & Areas of Operation:
At The Campsite at Shield Ranch, we offer conservation and outdoors public programming on the land, Camp El Ranchito nature immersion camp for youth who couldn’t otherwise afford it, and group use of The Campsite or daytime or overnight meetings and retreats for teams seeking a reset and place to focus.
Our team is made up of experts in the following areas, and can be made available as partners and thought leaders:
Advocacy (responsible development, regional growth, wildlife, water resources)
Conservation (Land & Water)
Conservation Easements
Endangered Species Mitigation Banking
Cooking in Nature, Local Sourcing
Dark Skies
Eco Spirituality
Environmental Education & Science
Habitat Management (brush control, prescribed burning)
Legal issues in land use and conservation (eminent domain, groundwater and wastewater issues)
Land stewardship
Master Naturalist
Nature & Forest Therapy
Sustainable Design (Rainwater Harvest / Solar Power)
Texas Native Vegetation & Wildlife
Youth Camps & Nature Immersion Programming
Certifications & Affiliations:
Shield Ranch Barton Creek was certified with a “Quiet Conservation Area Award” presented by Quiet Parks International (QPI) on June 21, 2023.
On July 23, 2024, Shield Ranch was officially certified by DarkSky International as Texas’ first Urban Night Sky Place (UNSP), in recognition of our commitment to reducing light pollution and preserving the natural beauty of our night skies. Shield Ranch is now among more than 230 sites globally and 23 in Texas dedicated to protecting the night sky from the harmful effects of light pollution.
Shield Ranch Barton Creek is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Ranch is significant for its rare intact collection of 19th- and 20th-century vernacular resources that represent the evolution of agricultural land use along the eastern edge of the Hill Country including the ca. 1873 Haas Log Cabin.
Shield Ranch Camp Wood offers species conservation credits for the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler and for the black-capped vireo. The Camp Wood Conservation Bank is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-approved species conservation bank.