Spicewood Ranch owner Chris Harte has dedicated the past three decades to restoring the ecosystem on his property west of Austin and creating an unofficial wildlife reserve. Through an agreement called an ecolab, St. Edward’s University researchers like Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Amy Concilio and Assistant Professor of Biology Teresa Bilinski, will be able to study the impacts of Harte’s conservation practices. Professor Bilinski spearheaded the agreement to create a research program with student involvement. Students like Karolyn Newton ’19 have conducted ecological field work including plant identification, diversity measurements, and biomass sampling at Spicewood Ranch.