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Much of the southern Great Plains in the United States, including Texas, were once vast open grasslands that have become dominated by woody plants ("brush") such as mesquite (Prosopis) and juniper (Juniperus) in the last 100 years. These species have increased as a result of numerous factors including increased seed distribution via livestock consumption and fecal deposition of viable seeds, and overgrazing by livestock that has reduced frequency of natural fires and limited the competitive ability of grasses against emerging brush seedlings. This vegetation shift has become so pervasive that brush threatens grass-dependent livestock production and grassland-dependent plant and wildlife species. Concurrently, different wildlife species and different income sources such as recreational hunting for shrub-dependent wildlife have developed that further threaten the impetus for restoration of grassland function. This trajectory will continue without anthropogenic brush management intervention. The re-introduction of fire via prescribed fires may have a role but has severe limitations related to frequency and precision of application, and desired effect (e.g., resprouting shrubs like mesquite are only temporarily suppressed). Simply put, the frequency and intensity of fire required to mimic pre-settlement fire regimes that limited brush invasion may not be possible in many rangeland areas, especially as human population growth into rural areas increases. This paper will summarize the responses of brush, grass and soils to fire and point to possible management solutions with fire and other brush management treatments that offer the best chance to achieve agricultural production, recreation and ecological restoration goals.