Nature & Science

Lyndon Johnson kneeling on the banks of the Pedernales River (1968)

LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto

The area around the LBJ Ranch, the Texas Hill Country, is an attractive and viable environment predominantly dedicated to ranching. Maintaining the rural agricultural setting of the ranch is key to an understanding of the isolation of the Hill Country during the president's youth, the work ethic of its inhabitants, an understanding of a Texas cattle operation, and the origin of many of the president's ideas, programs, and legislative concerns. The story of how this environment shaped the values (and eventually the programs and policies of Lyndon B. Johnson) form the basis of our mission as a national park.

The natural environment and cultural heritage of the Texas Hill Country is protected and maintained through a regional network of private and public stewardship. Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is a full partner in the research, resource preservation and technical assistance integral to sustaining public awareness of the connection between influence of place and the programs of the Johnson Administration. The park possesses a complete natural resource bibliography, a vascular plant inventory, and a vertebrate inventory. Precipitation and meteorological data collection is on-going, and the park sponsors a Remote Automated Weather Station at the LBJ Ranch for the Texas Forest Service.