Vegetation and Land Management Services

Raven provides turnkey services to our clients by both writing and implementing many different types of natural resource and land-use management plans. Effective implementation of these plans normally includes vegetation management – principally that of controlling overabundant or undesirable brush species. Prescribed fire is an important tool in restoring and maintaining natural systems, and is also utilized to reduce fuel loads to protect landowner assets from wildfire hazards. Mechanical midstory control can be employed to achieve the rapid restoration of critical wildlife habitat or simply to enhance property value and increase visual appeal. When these control methods are followed by the prudent and responsible application of a herbicide, long-lasting results can be achieved. Raven provides these and many other value-added land management services to help our clients achieve the goals and vision they have for their property.

Prescribed Burning
Since Raven’s founding, our company has conducted prescribed burns on more than 65,000 acres. Landowner goals for these burns have included fuel reduction, ecological restoration, wildlife habitat improvement, site preparation, and natural regeneration of forestlands - to name a few. Raven has all the equipment and supplies necessary to conduct ground-ignition prescribed burns safely, effectively, and efficiently. Our personnel have received extensive training and accredited certifications in prescribed fire management. Other related services include long-range prescribed burn plans, wildfire prevention plans, structure protection, defensible space design, and permanent fireline construction.

Rotary Drum Mulching
Mechanical control of understory vegetation is often the best choice for a landowner when rapid results are desired and/or prescribed fire is unfeasible. Raven owns and operates a front-end, rotary drum mulcher mounted on a 115 horsepower, rubber tired, Mustang Skid-Steer. This compact, lightweight but powerful machine, can maneuver in tight spaces and still leave a light footprint. It is capable of cutting down and shredding into mulched chips, woody trees and shrubs up to 6 inches in diameter at ground level. Raven has used this machine for the rapid rehabilitation of endangered species habitat, real estate improvement, boundary maintenance, and low-impact fireline construction in combination with our bulldozer.

Light Clearing
Raven owns and operates a Komatsu D31-A bulldozer that is utilized for prescribed burning, light land clearing, and light woods road construction and maintenance. The dozer can be used alone or in combination with our rotary drum mulcher to construct low-impact woods roads and firelanes and also for clearing in high-density understory conditions. Our operators have received training and certifications in Texas Forestry Best Management Practices to minimize environmental impacts and protect water quality.

Chemical Control
Raven can conduct a follow-up herbicide treatment to achieve greater long-term control of undesirable target-species. A foliar spray application of the most appropriate, safe, and unrestricted (over-the-counter) herbicide is normally made one growing-season after an area has been mulched and begun to resprout. Raven has developed an efficient and low-impact application system utilizing ATV’s that work effectively on tracts that are too large for hand applications and too small for commercial applicator equipment. Raven can provide turnkey vegetation management services to the small landowner and also provide project management and oversight for large-scale / large-acreage chemical control projects.