WILDLIFE
MORE THAN
BIG BUCKS At the Texas Big Game Awards, it’s great to harvest a huge trophy, but the real winner is wildlife conservation. STORY BY MEGAN RADKE PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION
“Y
eah, but nothing’s ever gonna top that crazy mule deer of David’s back in 2001,” one hunter tells the others gathered around the post-hunt campfire, vainly attempting to use his fingers and some broken twigs to describe the non typical antlers.
The young hunters in the flickering shadows marvel at such an accomplishment and try to imagine the crown on that fabled beast, while the old veterans of many seasons nod their heads and smile, remembering their own “one that got away.” Those dreams of old bucks aren’t just the stuff of antler scoring, big numbers and bigger trophies. Those dreams also sit with us in a hunting stand at dawn, as the first rays illuminate the day and nearby birds burst into song, untroubled by their silent human visitors. The setting of those dreams is a land that has been blessed by nature and guided by our better instincts to preserve that blessing. The hunt, it seems, is not just a story of hunter versus animal, not by a long shot. The rewards run deep for those who join in, and deeper yet for Texas conservation.
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| LEGENDARY LIVING
In 1991, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Wildlife Association partnered to create a new program to honor the season’s remarkable harvest. Much more than just a contest, the program would promote conservation education and celebrate the habitat management that helps foster quality wildlife. Thirty years later, the Texas Big Game Awards continue to spotlight the state’s thriving wildlife population and hunting heritage. Most of Texas—97 percent—is privately owned, so it’s vital that landowners actively work to manage the lands under their care, both for the general health of surrounding ecosystems and for the wildlife that inhabit them. Through proper habitat management, landowners can ensure that species will remain part of native Texas for generations to come. For three decades, the awards program has set itself apart from “big buck contests” by showcasing the essential relationship between hunting and habitat. As the name suggests, the Texas Big Game Awards focus on our
grandest species: white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorns and bighorn sheep. Texas’ landowners often include hunting as part of their habitat and wildlife management plans, focusing conservation efforts on how everything on the land works together. The more deer on a property, the more plants they need to browse (eat) on. With heavy browsing, plant populations begin to dwindle. As plants decline, not only do the deer populations suffer, but so do the other wildlife species that rely on them. The land itself declines, as lack of herbaceous ground cover allows increasing and detrimental runoff. Ultimately, “Hunting equals habitat” (the program motto) is the message we pass along to a younger generation to continue Texas’ hunting heritage. “TBGA is unique because it acknowledges that a quality big game animal is much more than what is hanging on a wall,” says David Brimager, public relations director at the Texas Wildlife Association. “It’s a complete process that begins with a landowner’s decision to do the right things for
