Overall management of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) system is guided by a Land Management Plan written by partners that requires updates every five years. It is organized in three parts beginning with generalized content in Tier I and ending with specific tract-level strategies in Tier III. Input into and review of the plan is provided by the Scientific Advisory Committee and Citizen's Advisory Committee. Conservation of the species protected under the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan (BCCP) is accomplished through management, enhancement, monitoring and protection of preserve habitats.

Day to day management of the City's wildlands requires expertise in assessing the state of the land and knowing when actions must be taken to maintain it according to the BCP mission. In the case of the BCP, biologists frequently visit their assigned properties to monitor for species, identify problems, develop and implement management strategies and communicate with adjacent landowners. At times, a component of a

property's management may be to allow the land to recover from previous use and from management activities so it can fulfill its ecosystem function. Some management activities require little changes and focus on monitoring both plant and animal species protected under the BCCP. Collecting data about where species are found and in what numbers, how they survive in the habitat, how productive they are and what challenges they face is essential for informing future decisions. Other management activities respond to problems, some of which come from inside the preserve and some from the other side of the fence that degrade the quality of the habitat.