SOUTH TEXAS: A Major Habitat Shift from Prairie to Woodland occurred sometime between 1750 and 1910
2
3
“Long ago when herds were sparse, when the turf of curly mesquite grass was dense, and when Indian fires periodically swept the ranges, the brush was kept in check. But since the coming of the ranchero the brush has been winning possession of the soil for a thousand miles up and down the Rio Bravo and the more fertile the soil the more rapid has been its spread. A quote by J. Frank Dobie
4
It knows how to make war according to the Napoleonic code; i.e., to make offense. It knows too how to make a war of defense. During the past fifty years terrible drouths have decimated noble live oaks, a tree that thrives west of the Nueces but does not reach the Rio Grande except towards its mouth; no drouth has ever killed out a chaparral thicket. The drier the spring, the heavier the mesquite bean crop will be in late summer. A quote by J. Frank Dobie
5
July 1, 1996
Region of Hemispheric Importance
7
The Last Great Habitat
8
Large Ranches Dedicated Stewards of the Land
• Less fragmentation • Relatively undisturbed 9
Game Species
10
Hunting = Habitat
11
Hunting helps to preserve habitat for all species, including those that are not hunted‌
12
They are protecting and conserving the public’s wildlife‌
13
A Unique Landscape
14
Area Lower RGVNWR Everglades
Plant Species 1,100
Animal Species 700
1,033
633
15
Western South Texas Plains
17 inches
Gulf Coast Prairie and Marshes
35 inches
16
17
18
Diversity of Vegetation • 1,558 species of vascular • 281 species of woody plants • Perching, nesting, roost sites • Wildlife food (insects, fruits, and berries) • Protection cover for wildlife • Numerous Flowering Plants • Nectar for hummingbirds, bees and butterflies • Aesthetics
19
20
Primary Funnel for Migratory Birds
21
Migrants • 80% of 332 migratory species pass through the Coastal Bend • 39 species are found in oak mottes • 18 warblers • 300,000 broad-winged hawks 22
Waterbirds
• 80% of redhead ducks winter in the Laguna Madre • 55% of piping plovers 23
Birds of Prey
24
Reptiles and Amphibians
Snakes, Alligators, Lizards, Turtles, Tortoises, Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, Newts, and Sirens 25
Top 10 States of the U.S. with the Greatest Number of Butterfly Species Number of Species
State or
Region 717 423
North America (north of Mexico) Texas 326 Arizona 318 New Mexico 293 Lower Rio Grande Valley 266 Colorado 250 California 215 Utah 210 Wyoming 207 Nevada 197 Nebraska 187 Montana 26
Data compiled from Stanford and Opler's 1993 "Atlas of Western USA Butterflies, Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico."
Native Terrestrial Biodiversity Ecosystem s Herps
Plants
Birds Mammal
Sonoran Desert >3,500500 130120 South Texas >2,000 450 80136 Everglades >1,000 347 >40 Sky Island (SE Arizona)>2,00026590 75 Yellowstone >1,265311 58 9 Smokey Mtn. Nat. Park2,500 20060 90 Hawaii >90070 20
66
27
New Attitudes… • New stocking rates • Water developments • Managing habitat • Remodeling ranch buildings
28
29
30
Land Values Increase
31
The Threats‌.
Empty Land Syndrome 32
• Space port • Bombing ranges • Highway expansion • Land condemnation
33
Policy and Taxes
• Endangered Species Act can be a negative incentive • Estate taxes cause break-up of family ranches • Land is often sold and developed into ranchettes 34
The Ranchette Tragedy‌
35
Conversion of native habitat to monoculture
36
December 6, 2012
What has changed?
Article by Forrest Smith, Director, South Texas Natives and Texas Native Seeds
1. Early Development • •
Bare soil from 1950’s drought and prevent soil erosion Forage for cattle
2. Recent Expansion 3. The Deadly List • • • • •
Old world bluestems Guinea Grass Lehmann Lovegrass Tanglehead Buffelgrass
40
41
42
43
44
4. Probable causes and unintended consequences • Disturbance Regimes - - - -
More fire (aggressive managers) More wildfire More mechanical disturbance (aggressive managers) Fewer cattle
• Disturbance Vectors - -
Pipelines, roads, pads Windfarms
5. Remedy • Greater knowledge of applying fire to the landscape • Cattle managed correctly • Astute and educated landowners about fire, restoration, mechanical disturbance vectors • Native seed sources to meet a landscape of impacts • Environmentally friendly state agencies and energy companies
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
Impact on Prairies and Prairie Wetlands
• > 300 species of migratory birds • Corpus Christi Hawk watch • Laguna Madre Redheads • Corpus Christi - birdiest city in US
1,095
807
734
1,738
1,570
356 582
880
789
476
67
68
• Drought x Disturbance Interaction (San Pedro Ranch example)
• Drought at the Wrong Time
Weather King Ranch March-June Rainfall Patterns… Currently in a 18 year spring rain drought cycle 1962 through 1982 wettest cycle (1991-1995 wettest 4 years) Average deficit in the 1950’s was 3.3” while the current droughts’ deficit is 5.1” In the last 18 years, there have been 0 consecutive years of above average spring rainfall 1905-1939 60% 40%
3.8” 4.2
“Normal”
1940-1964 83%
3.3”
50’s Drought
1965-1982 68%
1983-1995
75%
5.5”
Heyday
1996-2012
Bust & Boom
5.1”
Current Drought
Inches Above and Below Average (9”) 72
“In town and cities, the endless succession of sunny days is convenient, even pleasant, but out on the land it’s a creeping malaise, dragging at the wild residents of South Texas, sucking their vitality away by degrees so imperceptible that the victims are hard to recognize when alive and when they die, they are cleaned up by caracaras, vultures and coyotes. This slow motion disaster has defined most of the last decade and a half. Drought offers a lesson in limits. The size of our wild coveys depends on the quantity and timing of rain which the land turns into forbs, insects and seeds. How many quail we have depends on how much moisture we get, and in spite of our vast knowledge of natural systems and the undeniable power of our technology, there’s not much we can do to affect that equation except wait…..and pray for rain.” -Fred Bryant
- Anonymous