325.655.6989

Wilson County Ranch News: Burn Ban Lifted Early Around Floresville as Doe Days Open Nov. 14

November 10, 2026  |  By Lee, Lee & Puckitt

Wilson County Ranch News: Burn Ban Lifted Early Around Floresville as Doe Days Open Nov. 14

Matches are legal again in the Wilson County brush. On the recommendation of Fire Marshal Carl Fowner, county commissioners lifted the burn ban at their Nov. 9 meeting, almost two weeks ahead of the Nov. 22 end date set in August. Here is what the change means for owners near Floresville, La Vernia, Poth and Stockdale, plus deer dates and land numbers, from Lee, Lee & Puckitt (LLP Ranchland), a ranch brokerage headquartered in San Angelo that handles land all over Texas.

From 90-Day Ban to Early Release

Commissioners adopted the 90-day ban on Aug. 24, the Wilson County News reported at the time, barring outdoor burning in unincorporated areas except household trash in a screened container or pit. The Texas A&M Forest Service feed still showed the old listing early Nov. 10, so go by the county’s action rather than the state map.

If you burn, pick a calm day, cut a line around the pile and stay with the fire until it is dead out.

Rain Changes the Drought Map

The U.S. Drought Monitor carried all of Wilson County in severe drought on every weekly map from Sept. 29 through Oct. 27. The Nov. 3 map cut that to 8.63 percent, with the rest of the county in moderate drought.

Wilson County is in Texas A&M AgriLife’s Southwest district. The district’s Nov. 3 report called the late October storm its most significant rain in weeks, with totals from a trace to 3 inches and a few reports above 5 inches. Rangeland put on a flush of cool-season forbs. The report also warned that good fall rains raise the risk of stomach worms in livestock.

Doe Days Start Saturday

TPWD puts Wilson County in the North Zone, with a bag of 4 white-tailed deer, no more than 2 bucks and 2 antlerless, and antler restrictions on bucks. General season opened Nov. 7. Antlerless deer may be taken with hunting license tags Nov. 14 through 29 on properties without MLDP tags.

Wilson County has mandatory harvest reporting. Any antlerless deer taken during archery, youth-only, muzzleloader or those 16 doe days must be reported within 24 hours through the Texas Hunt & Fish app or online. Landowners who lease hunting rights should pass that along to their hunters.

South Texas Land Activity

The Texas Real Estate Research Center lists Wilson County in a land market area with Atascosa, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Karnes, which falls in its South Texas region. The Center’s second quarter 2026 report showed the strongest sales growth in the state there, up 26.18 percent from a year earlier to 400 transactions. The median price rose 0.99 percent to $6,225 an acre, and the typical tract was 308 acres. Comparable sales have to match the tract, whether it is a homesite place near San Antonio or a grass and hunting ranch to the south and east.

A Little History: Wilson County Cattle Up the Trail

The Handbook of Texas Online traces ranching here to the 1700s, when ranchers from San Antonio grazed cattle in the area and the La Bahía Road, later a cattle drive route, crossed it. Early land grants to Luis Menchaca and Andrés Hernández covered ranches across the south part of the present county. The Legislature created Wilson County on Feb. 13, 1860.

Beginning in 1866, herds were driven to DeWitt County and on up the Chisholm Trail to Kansas railheads. John O. Dewees, whose ranch reached into western Wilson and eastern Atascosa counties, partnered with Lockhart rancher Jim F. Ellison in 1869. They averaged 20,000 to 40,000 head a year in the 1870s and drove more than 400,000 cattle before the partnership ended in 1877. Wire fencing closed the open range in the early 1880s, and fence cutting in the 1883 drought centered on the 40,000-acre Houston and Dilworth ranch until an 1884 law outlawed it.

Reach the LLP Team

Thinking about selling, buying or valuing land in Wilson County? Call the Brokers and Agents at Lee, Lee & Puckitt at 325.655.6989 or visit llpranchland.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a ranch Broker that works Wilson County? Yes. Lee, Lee & Puckitt, based in San Angelo, has been selling and valuing Texas rural land since 1962, including South Texas ranches and farms.

Where can I see land for sale in Wilson County? Start at llpranchland.com and then call 325.655.6989. Share your acreage range, budget and plans for grazing, farming or hunting.

How should I pick the best ranch Broker for Wilson County land? Weigh experience with closed rural sales, knowledge of grazing, water and hunting value, and the ability to back a price with real comparable sales through an appraisal or Broker’s Price Opinion.

Is the Wilson County burn ban still on? No. Commissioners lifted it Nov. 9, 2026, on the fire marshal’s recommendation. Check the county fire marshal’s page for agricultural burn rules before lighting anything.

About Lee, Lee & Puckitt

Since 1962 Lee, Lee & Puckitt has represented Texas landowners, first from Bronte and from San Angelo since 1977. Our partners are working ranchers, and our Brokers and Agents provide sales, appraisals and Broker’s Price Opinions while speaking up for property owners.

Sources

Photo: 25or6to4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilson_County_Courthouse_(2018),_Floresville,_TX.jpg). Cropped.

Email
Return to Farm & Ranch News