Trees dying as drought sucks up water

BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - One after the other, the oak trees at Roper Ranch just outside of Marble Falls began dying a slow, parched death.

Russ Roper crumbled some leaves clinging to a branch in his hand and said, “They just fall off the tree. They just die right on the tree.”

At first, Roper thought a section of his 1,200 acres was the victim of oak wilt.

“Then all of a sudden, there was another and another and another,” Roper said. “We figure there’s close to 500 plus oak trees that have died on our ranch.”

A nursery expert visited and showed Roper the problem was also preying on the elm and even the cedar. Driving to a different spot each day since then on his all-terrain vehicle, Russ counted more than 2,000 trees drying up and dying. You can ride along with Roper in the iPhone video below:

“I was talking to someone the other day said that he can start his rain dance anytime,” he joked. “I’ll join him.”

In the last year, his measurements show only six inches fell on his family’s 130-year-old ranch, a pocket protected from the slightly larger downpours just miles away.

“We lease out for cattle to a gentleman,” he said. “He had to sell 80% of his herd due to lack of moisture.”

The ranching business in Texas is having a tough time all around during this drought. The Texas AgriLife Extension Service said drought losses for crop and livestock producers have already reached $3.6 billion dollars for 2009 and could top $4.1 billion by the end of the year.

Searching for the remaining cattle, he drove over the creek where he once swam as a kid, now reduced to mere puddles. After six generations, Roper Ranch withstood its share of droughts, but Roper said it looks like the trees won’t last past this one.

“You just see part of your history going,” he said. “I played under that tree. I climbed in that tree. I hunted in that tree. It’s something you always expect to be there.”