Local Groups Help to Improve Area Deer Quality

Promoting good stewardship of the land and natural resources while improving the quality of white-tailed deer is the mission of four wildlife management associations in Gillespie County.

The four wildlife management associations include Cave Creek, Cherry Spring, Doss and Harper.

The associations are under the umbrella of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Gillespie County.

Along with their efforts to help manage the deer population, all four groups have sponsored youth hunts to expose children to hunting and the outdoors.

However, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the groups are currently planning with modifications.

The Cave Creek WMA was the first in the state to offer such a program.

Following is information on the four groups:

Cave Creek WMA

With approximately 70 members, the Cave Creek Wildlife Management Association covers the eastern part of Gillespie County.

Officers include Kade Burrow, president; Keven Eckhardt, vice president; Carol Birmingham, secretary, and Larry Ahrens, treasurer.

The organization meets three to four times a year.

All meetings are open to the public and individuals wanting more information or to join are encouraged to contact any of the officers.

Members conduct three spotlight census surveys and collect data for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“By counting the number of females, males and fawns, we are able to get an idea of the buck-todoe ratio and fawn crop,” Burrow said.

Due to the abundance of acorns last year, hunting was hard and deer were not forced to move from the bedding grounds.

“We could possibly see a slight increase in population this year,” Burrow said.

The Cave Creek WMA will be hosting a meal, prize drawing and social on the Friday night before the opening weekend of hunting season.

Social distancing and wearing of masks will be in place.

During opening weekend, the Cave Creek WMA will have a big buck contest, cull buck contest, and a doe pot for members and hunters.

All entries will be weighed and aged. The winners will be determined on Sunday night at 8 p.m.

Cherry Spring WMA

Covering about 19,574 acres in the north-central part of Gillespie County is the Cherry Spring WMA.

The group has a membership of 55 people.

Wilfred Crenwelge is the president of the organization. Other officers include Ruben Sagebiel, vice president, and Alice Klein, secretary/treasurer.

Meetings, which are open to the public, are held in February, August and October.

Anyone in the north-central part of Gillespie County can join the Cherry Spring WMA by paying the yearly dues. Currently, dues are $25.

Most meetings include a potluck dinner and presentations by speakers, including representatives from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Members conduct three deer counts in August, September and the first two days of the whitetail hunting season.

The association also hosts a youth hunt in January with voluntary participation by landowners.

Members also participate in Kerr and Mason wildlife areas.

One of the goals of the group, according to Crenwelge, is to provide guidance in wildlife management and related resources.

Another goal is to help landowners produce high quality and healthy wildlife.

A reason to join the group, Crenwelge said, is to help landowners develop best management practices for improving wildlife and to help

landowners achieve the same goals and management practices as their neighbors.

Doss WMA

The Doss Wildlife Management Association (WMA) was started in the early 1980s by a group of local ranchers, wildlife biologists and extension agents, and includes northwest Gillespie County/South Central Mason County.

Currently, there are 95 members encompassing 85,136 acres.

Officers are Cory Brandon, president; Eddie Kramer, vice president, and Lance Feuge, secretary-treasurer.

The association holds an annual meeting in late October and a membership sign-up in late June or July. Meetings are open to the public.

Individuals interested in joining are invited to attend the membership sign-up meeting, the annual meeting in October or by contacting any of the officers.

Annual membership dues are $25, which includes a lease permit.

The Doss WMA includes seven census lines that perform three separate spotlight counts in September. The census line counts provide data which is used by wildlife biologists to determine harvest recommendations for the fall white-tailed hunting season.

Doss Wildlife Management Association strives to bring landowners together to ensure a healthy and stable deer population.

The organization’s goal is to share ideas, techniques, and experiences that will enable all members to have a successful hunting season for both themselves as well as their hunters; while maintaining a balanced doe to buck ratio.

“Hunting is both a great pastime as well as an economic boost for our community,” Brandon said.

The youth hunt is a possibility with some modifications.

Harper WMA

The Harper Wildlife Management Association (HWMA) is one of four wildlife management associations in Gillespie County committed to successful game management practices, including habitat management, providing population data through various census techniques, recommending harvest levels based on deer censuses, maintaining accurate harvest records and recommending supplemental or enhanced food supplies.

Membership is open to any landowner, land manager, hunter or any other interested individuals owning property, operating property, living in or hunting in the area defined by the boundaries of the Harper Independent School District.

Cooperation of members is on a voluntary basis in an area-wide effort to achieve the goals of balancing whitetail deer populations with the carrying capacity of the habitat, increasing body weight of white-tailed deer in the area, improving the overall antler characteristics, increasing fawn survival, promoting ongoing education among members and promoting community interest in wildlife management in general, explained Michelle Brangenberg, president of the Harper WMA.

The Harper WMA holds three meetings annually which are open to members and visitors. Meetings are held in July, October and January or February.

The Harper WMA will sponsor its Annual Youth Hunt in cooperation with the Texas Youth Hunting Program this season. The youth hunt is being held in memory of the late Jacob Krebs and is primarily for children or grandchildren of wounded warriors.

For more information or to apply for the youth hunt, visit www.tyhp. org.

In addition to Brangenberg, other officers of the Harper WMA include Will Krebs, vice president, and Pam Ransleben, secretary/treasurer.

Directors are Richard Cowie, Brian Haschke and Steve Holekamp.

Joyce Moore of TPWD serves in the capacity of Technical Guidance Biologist in the Western Edwards Plateau Region.

Contact Brangenberg by email at mlbrangenberg@aol.com with any questions or comments related to the Harper WMA.