Texas thornscrub may be inhospitable to people, but wildlife sure like it. Its thorny shrubs provides dense cover for even the most secretive wildcats, the endangered ocelot and jaguarondi. Birds like green jays and altamira orioles also thrive in its thicket. Thornscrub is reappearing in south Texas thanks to wildlife-conscious farmers and CRP.

Michael and JoAnna Troppy, active wildlife conservationists, collaborated with FSA, Environmental Defense, and the Nature Conservancy of Texas to plant their sorghum field to thornscrub, grasses, and forbs. The Troppys' CRP contract and funds from Environmental Defense paid for the native cover, while the Nature Conservancy manually planted 2,000 thornscrub seedlings. The Troppys' diverse vegetation mixture is providing just the habitat needed for the ocelot and jaguarondi to make a comeback.

Thornscrub provides exceptional habitat for the endangered ocelot and other wildlife species.

Ocelot kitten.

Max Pons, Nature Conservancy of Texas, JoAnna Troppy, and Mike Troppy planting thornscrub seedlings in their CRP field. The grasses they are planting are natives established under the CRP.