Two friends transformed a 225-acre overgrazed Texas ranch, bringing back quail and wildlife

A 225-acre Texas ranch that once supported little beyond cattle has become a refuge for quail and other wildlife after two friends began restoring it.

Jim Willis and John Webb bought the overgrazed property in 2000. They restored native prairie, planted 3,000 sand plum trees, added a five-acre wetland and changed their grazing practices.

The work brought bobwhite quail, grassland birds, deer, ducks and other wildlife back to the ranch. It also encouraged nearby landowners to join a larger habitat corridor project.