Texas Wildlife - The Red Wolf Re-Discovered? - July 2021

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

JULY 2021

The Red Wolf

Re-Discovered?

For

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

CEO COMMENTS D AV I D Y E AT E S

I

am writing this in the final weeks of the 87th Texas Legislative Session in which your Texas Wildlife Association has been immersed since the Legislature convened in January of this year. The Session began under the surreal pall of pandemic protocols and heavy law enforcement presence stemming from protests and unrest following the United States Presidential election. Despite that backdrop, the Legislature was there to work on behalf of the state and its constituents and they set to the task at hand.

TWA maintained a daily presence at the Capitol during Session. Volunteer leaders met with Legislators and provided testimony at hearings. Our lobby team was there every single day to monitor bills and relay pertinent information.

We scheduled meetings with Legislators and Leadership in both Chambers to explain the priorities of our membership, and we continually coordinated with likeminded partners.

This was all done in an effort to effectively influence legislation, both good and bad.

As the old saying goes, “If you aren’t at the table, then you’re on the menu.”

This Session, we focused on two major priorities and dozens of peripheral issues.

The first was to help shepherd the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s “Sunset” bill through the legislative process. This is a system of regular audit and review of all state agencies for efficiency, efficacy, and compliance which occurs every 10-12 years. If the reauthorization bill does not pass, the agency is “sunsetted” and ceases to exist.

Of course, there was minimal threat of TPWD shutting its doors, but the process exposes enabling statute to be amended in all sorts of undesirable ways. Predictably, there were attempts to insert unwelcome amendments into the bill, but with preparation, hard work and close coordination with partners, we were successful in defeating those attempts and the bill passed both Chambers clean. It was the first Sunset bill of the Session to reach Governor Abbott’s desk for signature.

The second priority was to continue our long-running efforts to achieve eminent domain reform for landowners facing condemnation by private companies. Although faced with enormous opposition by those industries, our coalition of partners was finally successful in getting a bill passed through the House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade.

The bill passed by a vote of 144-1. At the time of this writing, we are working with our partners to see the bill move through the Senate and hopefully to the Governor’s desk for signature.

Through the five-month long crucible of Session, I was continually reminded of one thing. In the political discourse, integrity matters. Shortcuts and skullduggery don’t pay dividends.

By staying on the high road and at the table, no matter how frustrating and distasteful it may be, we ultimately prevail. That goes for all things in life.

Texas Wildlife Association Mission Statement Serving Texas wildlife and its habitat, while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife resources.

OFFICERS Tom Vandivier, President, Dripping Springs Sarah Biedenharn, Vice President, San Antonio Dr. Louis Harveson, Second Vice President for Programs, Alpine Jonathan Letz, Treasurer, Comfort For a complete list of TWA Directors, go to www.texas-wildlife.org

PROFESSIONAL STAFF/CONTRACT ASSOCIATES Administration & Operation David Yeates, Chief Executive Officer Quita Hill, Director of Finance and Operations Cynthia Moncrief, Office Administrator

Outreach & Member Services David Brimager, CWB®, Director of Public Relations Kristin Parma, Membership Coordinator Mimi Sams, Engagement Coordinator

Conservation Legacy and Hunting Heritage Programs Kassi Scheffer-Geeslin, Director of Youth Education Elanor Dean, Education Program Specialist Gwen Eishen, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Adrienne Paquette, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Elisa Velador, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Ali Kuehn, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Brittani Dafft, L.A.N.D.S. Educator & CL Program Assistant Marla Wolf, Curriculum Writer Iliana Peña, Director of Conservation Programs Courtney Brittain, Website Consultant COL(R) Chris Mitchell, Texas Youth Hunting Program Director Bryan Jones, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Bob Barnette, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Briana Nicklow, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Kim Hodges, TYHP Program Coordinator Sherry Herrington, TYHP Administrative Assistant Kara Starr, Texas Big Game Awards Program Coordinator

Advocacy Joey Park, Legislative Program Coordinator

Best,

Texas Wildlife Association

TEXAS WILDLIFE is published monthly by the Texas Wildlife Association, 6644 FM 1102, New Braunfels, TX 78132. E-mail address: twa@texas-wildlife.org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Wildlife Association, 6644 FM 1102, New Braunfels, TX 78132. The Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) was organized in 1985 for the purpose of serving as an advocate for the benefit of wildlife and for the rights of wildlife managers, landowners and hunters in educational, scientific, political, regulatory and legislative arenas. TEXAS WILDLIFE is the official TWA publication and has widespread circulation throughout Texas and the United States. All rights reserved. No parts of these magazines may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission from the publisher. Copyrighted 2021 Texas Wildlife Association. Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Texas Wildlife Association. Similarities between the name Texas Wildlife Association and those of advertisers or state agencies are coincidental, and do not indicate mutual affiliation, unless clearly noted. TWA reserves the right to refuse advertising.

4 TEXAS WILDLIFE

JULY 2021

6644 FM 1102 New Braunfels, TX 78132 www.texas-wildlife.org (210) 826-2904 FAX (210) 826-4933 (800) 839-9453 (TEX-WILD)

Texas Wildlife

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

JULY

VOLUME 37

H

8 The Red Wolf Re-Discovered?

NUMBER 3

H

2021

30 Borderlands News

by RUSSELL A. GRAVES

Cattle, Prairie Dogs, and Vegetation in the Marathon Basin of Texas

14 Hunting Heritage

by CULLOM SIMPSON, LOUIS A. HARVESON, BONNIE J. WARNOCK, and WHITNEY GANN

A Salute to TYHP Huntmasters

by CHRIS MITCHELL

32 Law of the Land

16 Lessons From Leopold

Water Law

Every Farm is a Textbook

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

by STEVE NELLE

34 Aldo Leopold

18 Conservation Legacy

1947 Trip to King Ranch

Get to Know the Conservation Educators of Conservation Legacy

by STEVE NELLE

36 Rocker b Ranch

20 Members In Action

Pronghorns and Balanced Diversity

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

Wild Game Cooking Class

by KRISTIN PARMA

48 Pedagogy for the Back Forty

26 Guns & Shooting

by DALE ROLLINS, PH.D.

Hunting Hogs

50 Plant Profile

by LUKE CLAYTON

Cardinal Feather

28 Pond Management

by BRAD KUBECKA

Pond Management Puzzler

54 Outdoor Traditions

by BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, PH.D.

The Joys of Journaling

by SALLIE LEWIS

Photo by Timothy Flanigan

Magazine Staff

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

JULY 2021

The American Red Wolf is an endangered species that once roamed the southeastern portion of the United States. As of now, only a single population of known red wolves still roam the wild in a five-county area on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. Today in Texas, red wolf DNA has been discovered in coyotes on Galveston Island. Read more about these “mystery” canines in Russell A. Graves’ “The Red Wolf Re-Discovered?” starting on page 8.

MAGAZINE CORPS David Yeates, Executive Editor Kim Rothe, Consulting Publications Coordinator/Editor David Brimager, CWB®, Advertising Director Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO

On the Cover

Photo by Russell A. Graves The Red Wolf

Re-Discovered?

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

5

TEXAS WILDLIFE

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2020-2021 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at tpwd.state.tx.us.

JULY

AUGUST

OCTOBER

JULY 15 8th Annual Private Lands Summit, Open Gates: Opportunities That Benefit All Texans. JW Marriot San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information and to register, visit www.wildlife2021.com.

AUGUST 28 Small Acreage Big Opportunity – Field Day Series, Alpine. Register at www.texas-wildlife.org.

OCTOBER 30 Small Acreage Big Opportunity – Field Day Series, Allen. Register at www.texas-wildlife.org

JULY 15-18 WildLife 2021, TWA’s 36th Annual Convention, San Antonio JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, visit www.wildlife2021.com.

SEPTEMBER 25 Small Acreage Big Opportunity – Field Day Series, Nacogdoches.

Register at www.texas-wildlife.org.

SEPTEMBER

TEXAS WILDLIFE

V I RT UA L M E E T I N G S A N D E V E N T S G U I D E VISIT THE PROGRAM PAGES ONLINE at www.texas-wildlife.org/program-areas/category/youth for specifics and registration information.

YOUTH DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS:

CONSERVATION LEGACY TEACHER WORKSHOPS:

• Youth Videoconferences are live interactive presentations featuring Texas wildlife species. Offered throughout the semester, classes connect via videoconference equipment or Zoom.

• (Virtual) Teacher Workshops are scheduled for the summer. Workshops are offered at no cost and participation in the 3-hour live Zoom meeting and completion of self-directed work earns participants 6 hours of CPE credit. Schedule and registration are found online at www.texas-wildlife.org/ program-areas/teacher-workshops.

• On-demand Webinars are recorded interactive presentations about natural resources and wildlife conservation topics and are available anytime on the TWA website.

Critter Connections are now available in a read-along format. Recordings of past issues are available online and live broadcasts accompany each new issue. All recordings and scheduled live readings can be found online.

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JULY 2021

THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED?

An adult and three juvenile wild canines, part of the group of hybrid canines, with coyote and red wolf genes, live on Jamaica Beach just adjacent to Galveston Island.

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JULY 2021

THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED? Article and photos by RUSSELL A. GRAVES

D

riving through the dark at 5:30 a.m. in August of 2019, I see the shape of an unknown canine dash in front of my headlights. I am winding my way through a neighborhood in Jamaica Beach, just adjacent to Galveston Island State Park looking for the house where Dr. Kristen Brzenski, a mammalogist from Michigan Tech is staying. Her graduate student Tanner Barnes and I will spend the morning on the lookout for a group of canines that, as of late, may be among the country's most famous.

Wedged between the Gulf of Mexico to my right and the expansive West Bay to the left, this little sliver of land is one

of several spots on the island where the mystery canines have been spotted. For years most who saw these animals dismissed them as coyotes. One local, however, suspected they may be something more.

“Good morning, guys,” Ron Wooten whispered jovially as he stepped onto the deck from the stairs that lead from below.

Like all the houses in this neighborhood, it sits on stilts about 10 feet off the ground to help mitigate the damage that an occasional hurricane-produced storm surge may bring.

For now, it's a fantastic perch from which we wait for the wild dogs.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED?

“There they are,” said Wooten just a few minutes after he arrived, pointing northeast as the sun starts to peek over the horizon.

Three hundred yards away, an adult and three juveniles run and play in the paspalum prairie that snakes intermittently between a smattering of brush.

“There are the wolves.”

A COMPLICATED HISTORY North America's settlement brought trouble for the nation's indigenous species. Habitat loss forced many species west while some disappeared altogether. So was the story of America's wolves.

While the gray wolf retreated to the mountains and plains, the red wolf headed to the coast and the big thickets of East Texas.

In between, the highly adaptable coyote filled in the gap.

Not quite as big as a grey wolf and not quite as small as a coyote, the shy red wolf occupied a low country niche and scavenged for rabbits, possums and carrion in the swamps and bottomlands nearest coastal areas. A strictly Southern wolf, the species are the laid-back cousins of both the coyote and the wolf. In all, they lack the coyote's adaptability and the wolf's aggressive pack mentality.

In the context of history, much of Texas settlement is relatively new. As such the original range of the red wolf in Texas is largely unknown due to their secretive nature and the thick underbrush and swamplands in which they inhabit. From the time the first

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Anglo settlers arrived in Texas, however, the mammal struck a chord in those who came in contact with them.

In her memoir, early Texas pioneer Dilue Harris recorded her thoughts in December of 1833 while on the trail between Harrisburg and Stafford Landing, now the present-day Houston area: “We were waiting for the wood men to return, when all of a sudden the wolves began howling. They surrounded the camp.

Mr. Lytle drove the oxen back and tied them to the cart. The wolves were after the venison. Father would have shot one but said if he killed it the others would eat it and then kill the oxen.

Our woodmen got back and made a big fire, which scared the wolves. They ran a short distance, sat down, faced the cart and barked and howled all night….”

While sentiments are changing, historically our contemporary culture has always deemed wolves as problematic: something to be banished. From the literature of antiquity up until the 20th century, the wolf's role as an antagonist in our collective cultural lore is well documented. We've been at war with the “big bad wolf” for centuries.

“THESE WERE DIFFERENT.” Of all the people on Galveston Island, Ron Wooten may be the most familiar with the wild canines. By day, he's a public affair specialist for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, but he's also an outdoor communicator with a keen interest in Texas wildlife.

When he joined us, he brought along a group of maps that he's kept over the years. On the maps, each dot corresponds

THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED?

with a date and canine sighting that he's crowdsourced from other islanders. From a glance, it appears that the animals use the island's undeveloped areas island and the seams of land that connects the open habitat.

“I first started seeing these animals in 2008,” he said as he looked across the field while Brzeski and her graduate assistant looked through binoculars to observe the animals. “I've seen plenty of coyotes before, and these didn't quite look like coyotes.”

Wooten said that right after Hurricane Ike, the whole island was seemingly dead; homes and ecosystems devastated by the Category 2 storm. Upon his return home, he noted that birds and all the animals were almost gone save for coyotes and some free-ranging donkeys.

While he was out walking his dog, a pack of canids killed his dog one evening.

He could hear the animals in the brush but since it was dark, he couldn't see them. Curiosity then set him on a 10year quest to learn all he could about the isolated pack of canines.

In 2013, he got a tip from a fellow islander who had seen the pack. Wooten was able to photograph them at long last.

Again, he didn't think they looked like “normal” coyotes or anything else he'd seen before.

“I started asking questions to biologists and started looking things up online to try to figure this out,” he said. “When I found a couple of dead ones on the side of the road, I took some tissue samples that I knew we'd need if tests were ever run.”

As serendipity would have it, Wooten watched a television documentary about wolves and reached out to David Mech, one of the wolf biologists featured. Mech thought Wooten was on to something and encouraged him to send the DNA samples off for testing.

In late 2018, he enlisted the cooperation of Brzenski and by the end of the year, the results were in: the canines Ron tested are genetically half red wolf and half coyote.

They are results that surprised many in the biological community.

“We don't know why the red wolf genes are so persistent in the group of individuals we've tested,” said Dr. Bridgett

A red wolf at Fossil Ridge Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED?

VonHoldt, Associate Professor at the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University and the director of the North American Canine Ancestry Project. “One would think the effects of the hybrid swarm would influence the canine's genetics over time.”

VonHoldt is referring to a concept called the hybrid swarm.

Hybrid swarm is a scientific term used to describe the point as which hybridized individuals began to breed indigenous species and, over time, slowly breed pure genetics out of the population.

It works like this: as wolves were depleted from their range, coyotes moved in and filled the ecological void. When red wolves and coyotes breed, a hybrid, which is half coyote and half red wolf, is created. Over time, the hybrids breed back to coyotes since the coyotes are the area's most common wild canine.

Eventually, the original wolf genetics become diluted generation after generation. With the discovery of coyote/wolf hybrids with a high percentage of wolf genetics, it seems as if the red wolf genetics weren't diluted as fast as suspected.

“In the last couple of years of our study, we've found lots of red wolf genetics in the wild—particularly in the areas of Texas and Louisiana where the red wolf was native. In fact, Texas has a higher density of red wolf genetics than anywhere else we've looked, especially in southeast Texas. As you travel northwest, we find a declining amount of red wolf genetics in coyotes.”

For example, in 2019, a coyote raised as a pet in the Panhandle town of Memphis, Texas was discovered to be carrying red wolf DNA. According to VonHoldt's latest research findings in her paper titled, Persistence and expansion of cryptic endangered red wolf genomic ancestry along the American Gulf Coast, her research shows that the highest densities and most occurrences of red wolf DNA in coyotes appear in regions in which the red wolf was native. How the DNA got all the way up to the Panhandle is a mystery.

“It is a complex reproductive situation going on and we're trying to figure out how all of this is happening,” she said.

VonHoldt said that they are working to try to understand the ultimate origins of the red wolf and the coyote. There is some disagreement in the scientific community as to the origin of coyotes and red wolves and where the two species may have diverged.

In most genetic and phenotypic analyses, she said, the coyote and red wolf are closely related albeit two distinct species. She

thinks that the close relationship between the two species may have caused some confusion early on.

“I think what we're seeing now in the coyote population is this complex result of having this idea that in the 1970s, all of the red wolves were captured from the wild. In assuming that all of them were captured for the well-intended notion to establish a captive pack to try and save the species, you'd assume there is no other red wolf genetics on the landscape,” she said. “Realistically, I'm sure that there was suspicion that either hybrids or wolves were still out there. So over time, I think that those lingering genetics proliferated and is something that we're just now discovering.”

SEEING IS BELIEVING? While I am not a classically trained mammalogist, like Ron I've spent countless hours in the field and have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of coyotes. These seven canines in the field before us, after long and measured observations, do vary from the various physical characteristics that I've seen in coyotes.

They are lankier and a bit bigger than most coyotes; slickhaired; and most notably, they have large ears and white fur lines around their muzzle. They also congregate in bigger packs than how I've seen coyotes congregate. Having seen big packs of gray wolves in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park, the unknown canine's social interactions do resemble the denizens of the North Country.

Ron points out each of these traits as we intently watch the group. His initial reactions to seeing these animals were correct—they are indeed different than a typical coyote.

Not as large and imposing as the big gray wolf, the red wolf is just a bit larger than its coyote cousins but still looks a lot like a coyote to the casual observer. When fully grown the red wolf males reach about 50 pounds (compared to about 33 pounds for an adult coyote). In length, the red wolf is about 30 percent larger than the coyote.

“But phenotypes can be deceiving,” Brzenski said. “Just because these animals we're witnessing look different from typical coyotes doesn't mean they aren't coyotes.”

“There is a lot of variation in the way coyotes look,” she says.

“That's why we're here working on this project. We want to find out what's going on genetically with these animals and try to find the extent of where these wolf/coyote hybrids exist.”

YOU CAN HELP Bridgett VonHoldt wants your DNA samples to continue her work. Anyone wanting to receive sampling kits and instructions should email VonHoldt your name, mailing address and how many coyotes they anticipate they would like to sample. The sample kit includes a tube with desiccant beads.

Just follow the instructions on the kit and mail it back to VonHoldt's lab. The

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collection protocol is easy: 1. Cut a piece of tissue (1cm x 2cm in size or the size of pencil lead) from the tongue, end of the ear or muscle with sterile scissors or razor, and then deposit the sample in the test kit's tube.

VonHoldt said she is happy to send a report to anyone that indicates they would like to know results, but they may take up to six months to

receive. She said she is happy to have people email her for updates and she can send a progress report on her project.

To request sampling kits, contact: Dr. Bridgett VonHoldt 197 Spring Beauty Drive Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Email: vonholdt@princeton.edu

THE RED WOLF RE-DISCOVERED?

On this visit, they plan to collect scat, hair and tissue samples as well as deploy game cameras to document the canines as much as they can. Brzenski's work is part of a larger canine ancestry project that she's been working on for some time now.

In the published scientific paper Rediscovery of Red Wolf Ghost Alleles in a Canid Population Along the American Gulf Coast, Brzenski and her coauthors, including Wooten, were surprised to find the red wolf genetics which was thought to be long since extinct in the wild. A discovery, they believe, shows a ray of hope in conserving one of the nation's most endangered mammals.

“Through interbreeding with coyotes,” they explain, “…this endangered genetic variation has persisted and could represent a reservoir of previously lost red wolf ancestry. This unprecedented discovery opens new avenues for innovative conservation efforts, including the reintroduction of red wolf ghost alleles to the current captive and experimental populations.”

Before Brzenski's paper was published, it was conventionally accepted that the red wolf had long been extirpated from Texas and the rest of the southern woods and swamps it called home.

By the early 1980s, the secretive species was thought to be completely gone from its range.

Therein lies the conundrum: It seems that the red wolf was so secretive and seemingly rare, it's been hard to understand how many red wolves once existed and where they roamed.

Some in the scientific community used to believe that the red wolf is a hybrid of the gray wolf and coyote, but additional evidence produced in the 1970s proved otherwise. Essentially, the red wolf disappeared before anyone paid any attention to them.

Until the 1980s wildlife biologists would roam formerly inhabited wolf country in East Texas and use a siren to elicit a howl from local wolf packs. By 1984, the howls went silent. The book, The Mammals of Texas, states that, after the mid-1960s, “…all of the recent, so-called red wolves we have examined from eastern Texas have proven to be large coyotes. It appears that in Texas, red wolves are now extinct.”

During that same time, Austin College professor Howard McCarley hypothesized that many of the animals that people thought were red wolves were wolf-coyote hybrids. He, too, believed that the red wolf was slowly being nudged out by an ever-changing landscape and the breeding aggressiveness and adaptability of the coyote.

In the 1970s, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began an all-out campaign to save the red wolf. In four years from 1974 to 1978, more than 400 red wolves were trapped in Texas. Once these individuals were genetically tested for purity, 17 wild specimens remained. These individuals make up the base population from which breeding programs were initiated and are the ancestors of all red wolves alive today.

As of now, only a single population of known red wolves still roam the wild in a five-county area on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. Even those wolves are in trouble. Once numbering just over 100 individuals, now there are only about 30. The decline is thought to be an unintended consequence of the legalization of night hunting for coyotes.

While it's been nearly 40 years since a genetically pure red wolf was confirmed in Texas, the re-discovering of such a high percentage of red wolf genetics offers a glimmer of hope to some that somehow the red wolf has hung on against the odds. In the world of red wolves, there seem to be more questions than answers. Brzenski said that's the fun part of science: trying to solve ecological mysteries like the one Wooten discovered in the unlikeliest of places.

The whole affair brings up some complicated legal questions as to whether or not the mysterious animals are eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act and what that would look like in an area as populous as Southeast Texas where the red wolf genetics appear to run the deepest?

“What does all this mean for conservation,” she rhetorically asked. “Will it call for the restoration of this unique animal on the landscape? Or maybe there is no next step for conservation.

I don't know…”

“Those are the questions we'll have to ask.”

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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A Salute to TYHP Huntmasters Article by CHRIS MITCHELL

T

he 2020-2021 hunting season was a challenging one with lots of changes and uncertainty.

Despite the difficulties, TYHP volunteers did what they always do—they took more youth hunting than any other such program in the country.

At press time, the statistics for the 2020-2021 season are as follows: • TYHP completed 164 Hunts • 805 youth attended these hunts • 1644 total participants Seventy-six Huntmasters ran those 164 hunts. Even among the mathematically

Shirley and Harry Odell run many hunts and promote TYHP.

Walter Dixon has come on strong, leading half of this season’s TYHP duck hunts.

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challenged, you can surmise that some Huntmasters are running multiple hunts.

Running one hunt is a big commitment.

On average, a volunteer donates 40 hours of their time over a Friday to Sunday hunt. The three-day hunt model is the most often-used hunt model. A Lead

Don Coxsey, Front Right, Leads More Turkey Hunts than any Huntmaster

Doug DuBois has led more Super Hunts than any other Huntmaster.

Roy Hudson leads hunts on the Parrie Haynes Ranch, one TYHP’s first ranches.

A SALUTE TO TYHP HUNTMASTERS

Huntmaster or cook donates about 65 hours of their time on a three-day hunt. The difference is in planning and preparation time, shopping, visiting the ranch, calling parents and landowners and all the other behind the scenes activities cooks and Lead Huntmasters perform.

Twenty-two Huntmasters ran two to three hunts. That is almost a month of weekends given to the hunting heritage cause. There was a group of Lead Huntmasters and their cadre of cooks and guides who really distinguished themselves. Their stories are below.

Rick Laden ran 13 hunts on 10 different ranches. That kind of commitment is hard to believe and not much else needs to be said other than those impressive numbers. However, the parents on those hunts regularly write some of the best reviews of TYHP hunts you will find.

Rick, we know those 68 youths and their parents had a great time, THANKS to you and your team!

Shirley Odell ran eight hunts on eight different ranches. Shirley and her husband Harry are no strangers to putting in extra effort. Shirley and Harry also serve as volunteer Area Coordinators for Area 7. Shirley puts in many extra hours recruiting new youth and has brought in new volunteers and ranches.

Don Coxsey ran seven hunts on five different ranches. Don is best known among the TYHP staff for his commitment of ensuring that all his hunts have new hunters. Every now and then, a hunter will get to go on a second Don Coxsey hunt but usually because there was not a harvest the first time.

Walter Dixon ran six hunts on five ranches and is a relatively new Huntmaster compared to his closest fellow multiple hunt runners. Walter ran half of the duck hunts this season in TYHP. Roy Hudson ran five hunts on the Parrie Haynes Ranch. Three of those hunts had 10 hunters. If you have ever run a hunt you know, a hunt with more than eight hunters has a complexity all its own.

Forty-six hunters benefitted from Roy and his team’s efforts.

Arthur Mancinas, Maria Mier, Rodney Koenig and Martin Zaragoza all ran four hunts last season. Arthur is a longtime Lead Huntmaster and supports TYHP with fund raising. Rodney Koenig is also one of our eight volunteer Area Coordinators, always ready to step in. Martin Zaragoza is one of the famed South Texas cooks. When not running hunts, he makes delicious, memorable meals.

In a category, all by themselves are those that run hunts of 15 or more hunters. We call these “Super Hunts.”

Doug DuBois is a veteran Super Hunt Lead Huntmaster. Doug ran three hunts this year, but also led the 18th annual Cave Creek Wildlife Management Association’s hunt. This hunt honors TWA’s own Dr. Wallace Klussmann and hosted 49 youths on 16 different ranches.

Many of the Huntmasters who assist are Austin Woods and Waters Club members. William Krebs, his family and the Harper community have run

the Jacob Krebs Memorial hunt now for eight seasons. Twenty-five Hunters get to hunt on nine different ranches. When they are not hunting, they are treated to some of the best education any hunt offers. The hunt honors Jacob Krebs, a TYHP hunter and volunteer. Jacob lost his life training to become a sailor in 2012.

We have highlighted Lead Huntmasters, but an army of guides and cooks are the work force in the background of every hunt. We could mention about 1,000 names.

Among the people, we have mentioned they also fill these roles on other hunts in addition to the impressive commitment already listed. Thank you to you all!

Whether you lead or volunteered on one hunt or 13, we want you to know we appreciate it; the youth of Texas certainly do appreciate it; and, your tremendous efforts make TYHP the largest mentored hunting program in the country. Take a bow!

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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BY STEVE NELLE

Photo Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives

Every Farm is a Textbook Every farm is a textbook; woodsmanship is the translation of the book. ~Aldo Leopold, 1943

T

his is a classic bit of ecological wisdom. The best wisdom is expressed in crisp, succinct phrases, not paragraphs or pages. Leopold was a master at this and was often able to boil down basic truths into a few concise words.

Here, Leopold states that farms are like a textbook full of raw information. Think of an advanced college level textbook on a complex subject.

Just owning the book or opening the book does not mean that one understands the material. It takes reading, re-reading, digging in, studying, chewing, ruminating, digesting and assimilating the knowledge it contains. Even after all this there will still be only partial understanding until the information is put to practical use.

Like a textbook, farms also contain a great storehouse of raw information available to the serious student, but learning to decipher and understand the information is not easy. It takes a lifetime, and even then, the learning is still incomplete and new chapters continue to be written year after year as conditions change.

The farms of Leopold’s day were different than our presentday concept of a farm. Those farms were often a mix of row crops, forage crops, fruit and nut trees, large gardens, poultry, pigs, livestock, woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and wildlife.

The farmer had to be skilled in many forms of agriculture and land management.

The farm textbook is more complex than even the most advanced scientific book ever written. The farm is a text on soils, hydrology, watersheds, botany, zoology, animal husbandry, range management, wildlife management, forestry, economics, marketing, social science, anthropology and many other subjects.

Leopold states that woodsmanship is how the textbook of the farm is translated. Woodsmanship starts with being observant, paying close attention to everything and trying to figure out how it is all connected.

Woodsmanship is often mentioned in the context of hunting where it includes the ability to stalk, track, interpret sign,

understanding animal habits and habitats, and knowing the hunting grounds inside out. But woodsmanship is more than just being a skilled hunter. In the context of the farm, it means the whole gamut of practical skills and abilities needed to see the big picture of the farm, how it all fits together and how it fits with the larger landscape outside the farm.

Woodsmanship means knowing the soil by observing the plant life. It means knowing what cows are grazing, what deer are browsing and what quail are eating. It means knowing the wild and domestic species that live there including game, rodents, birds, small mammals, predators, insects, crops, livestock, trees, brush, grasses and wildflowers. It means a basic knowledge of who eats who and the understanding that there must be death for there to be life.

Leopold was an admirer of the famous prairie ecologist J. E. Weaver who spoke of the ability to read the land. Weaver said, “Nature is an open book for those who care to read. Each grass covered hillside is a page on which is written the history of the past, the conditions of the present and the predictions of the future.” Learning to read the land is one important aspect of woodsmanship.

Woodsmanship is a close familiarity with the land learned by decades of curiosity, exploration and getting the hands dirty. It includes joys, disappointments, failures, successes, frustration and satisfaction all wrapped together.

Some landowners never seriously attempt to understand the land. They enjoy it superficially or aesthetically, and they may proclaim a love of the land. But the lessons of the land may remain shrouded and undiscovered, and some may miss out on the greatest joys of owning land. This year, let us make it our ambition to become a more serious student of the land.

No matter what our role—landowner, manager, cowboy, hunter, fisherman, birder or nature enthusiast, we can dig deeper than before and hone our woodsmanship skills and begin to learn new lessons from the land. Let us slow down, look around, ask questions, seek answers and approach the land with newfound hunger, thirst and appreciation.

WRITER’S NOTE: Aldo Leopold (1887—1948) is considered the father of modern wildlife management. More importantly, he developed and described many of the concepts of conservation, ecology and stewardship of natural resources. Leopold was an amazingly astute observer of the land and man’s relationship to the land. His writings have endured the test of time and have proven to be remarkably prophetic and relevant to today’s issues. This bimonthly column will feature thought-provoking philosophies of Aldo Leopold, as well as commentary.

16 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

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Get to Know the Conservation Educators of Conservation Legacy

T

he Conservation Educators bring wildlife, water, land, conservation and stewardship to the classroom, helping spark the excitement of students and teachers alike. Each has a passion for natural resource education, a distinct instructional style and continual desire to learn more so they can continue to engage with those they teach.

Several days a week, the educators are in the classroom incorporating Texas wildlife into science classrooms via the Wildlife by Design Program. During the summer, classroom

teachers become the students and take part in daylong workshops hosted by the educators, leaving with lessons and resources for the upcoming school year.

Learn about your local TWA Educator—put a face to the name—let them know about a local school they should visit!

This month, meet the educators from the Greater Houston Area, and look in next month’s magazine to meet those from West Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth and the Rio Grande Valley.

ALI KUEHN Conservation Educator akuehn@texas-wildlife.org Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Liberty and Eastern Harris County ISDs BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: April 2019

A CHILDHOOD MEMORY WITH NATURE: Bringing my first snake home to my parents (we lived in an area without venomous snakes). My parents weren't thrilled, but they did let me keep her until she got loose in the house. Her name was Rose.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES: Harris’s Hawk. I love that they are a social raptor and that they have varied hunting strategies to work together to catch larger prey. So smart!

And all of the ones I worked with in captivity have the biggest attitudes, and I love anything with an attitude to match mine.

IF I WASN'T A TWA CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE… A professional travel blogger.

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CONSERVATION EDUCATORS OF CONSERVATION LEGACY

ADRIENNE PAQUETTE Conservation Educator apaquette@texas-wildlife.org Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller and Western Harris County ISDs BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: March 2015

FAVORITE CL TEACHING MOMENT: I love watching kids make connections between what we're teaching about Texas wildlife and what they see every day in their neighborhoods. Even if all I do is help one person make a decision to conserve water at home or inspect an insect more closely instead of stepping on it, I have made an impact that will hopefully ripple into a future filled with kids who respect the wildlife around them.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES: It's hard to pick a favorite Texas animal, but I'm a sucker for loving the hard-tolove animals. One of my favorites is the opossum. They may not be the cutest animals, but I love the job they do at eating insects like ticks and cockroaches.

They're also nearly immune to rabies!

I am grateful for our only native North American marsupial.

IF I WASN'T A TWA CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE… A horse trainer.

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19

T WA M E M B E R S I N A C T I O N

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Wild Game Cooking Class Sustainable Food from the Wild to Your Plate Article and photos by KRISTIN PARMA

T

he Texas Wildlife Association proudly hosted its first of a series of wild game cooking demonstrations at our Headquarters in New Braunfels in April.

Emphasizing the connection between conservation, hunting, sustainable eating and our precious natural resources, a handful of our Adult Mentored Hunting participants and their guests spent the afternoon learning how to successfully break down game as well as utilize simple techniques to create elevated dishes at home.

Topics included processing game meat, tamale making and assembly, plating techniques and food photography. A handson experience, participants were able to make their own venison tamales as well as connect and enjoy meaningful conversation while sharing a meal.

TWA is working hard to expand our Hunt to Table outreach by offering these cooking classes. Simultaneously, we're growing our Adult Mentored Hunting Program and our coveted Hunt to Table dinners.

Stay tuned for more events in the near future.

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JULY 2021

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

GUNS & SHOOTING

Hunting Hogs What’s the Best Caliber?

Article and photo by LUKE CLAYTON

I

’m often asked what caliber I prefer for hog hunting.

Although this sounds like a pretty straightforward question, it really is a bit complex and one for which there is no perfect answer.

My reply used to be: “Grab the largest caliber you own, load it with the heaviest bullet and you are ready to go.” While this answer certainly still suffices, it doesn’t do justice to all the different ways hogs are hunted today nor the many actions of rifles used.

For instance, if hog control is one’s singular goal, the heavier the caliber the better, right? Well, maybe not. The heavier calibers are not normally used in the AR-style rifles that are so popular today with hog hunters; they are especially ill-suited for those who hunt wild porkers after dark with thermal or digital optics.

Shooting multiple wild hogs running across a wheat field at night requires a semi-auto rifle and a night scope that facilitates quick target acquisition and the ability to recover from recoil

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quickly. Although very heavy calibers such as the 500 Auto Max or .450 Bushmaster are available, they haven’t become popular with the majority of hog hunters using the AR platform.

If night hunting and shooting multiple hogs is your thing, it would be hard to go wrong with a rifle chambered in .308 or possibly the 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC. Granted, the .223, 5.56 is also a popular caliber that many AR-style rifles are chambered in, but without the ability to always make precise bullet placement on moving hogs, the .308 or 6.5 or 6.8 is a far better round for shooting running hogs. Quick recovery from heavy recoil is one of the biggest challenges of shooting the heavier calibers, especially at moving hogs.

I hunt hogs mostly for meat and harvest 15-20 per year. Night hunters with ARs topped with thermal scopes will sometimes take that many in a single night. I do the majority of my hog hunting over a corn feeder and shoot standing hogs at ranges of 100 yards or less.

It doesn’t require a sharpshooter to put pork in the cooler using my method…just a good trail camera to inform me when the hogs are coming, good optics and an accurate rifle to make the precise head/neck shot to ensure the hogs go down instantly and to avoid meat loss.

When I’m not hunting with my 45 caliber “Texan” big bore air rifle, I use a little lightweight bolt action .223 topped with a Wraith digital scope by Sightmark. I don’t mean this in a bragging way, but the past 23 hogs I’ve harvested with these weapons have either dropped in their tracks or went down within sight. Keep in mind that ranges were always close and the hogs motionless when I made the shot, far different than shooting a sounder of hogs a couple hundred yards out at night.

I actually consider the benefit of the Wraith digital scope as important as the caliber I choose for this close-in hunting. The scope works great during daylight hours with a color display.

After dark, if there is the least, bit of moon, the ambient light is all that needed to make these relatively close shots. When it’s pitch dark, a night vision scope paired with an infrared light or an IR Illuminator allows perfect target acquisition.

Stalking or still-hunting hogs during daylight hours is a great way to harvest them during periods of the day when they are often inactive and not out in the open or around feeders. I have a lever-action, chambered-in 30/30 topped with a peep sight that I consider perfect for this exciting style of hunting.

GUNS & SHOOTING

The good ole 30/30 round has plenty of oomph to drop the biggest boar in the woods with a shot to the vitals.

I wouldn’t consider using my little .223 for this style hunting for obvious reasons.

In heavy cover, precise shot placement is not always possible, and it’s often necessary to aim “at the front of the hog” with a goal of hitting it in the neck or front shoulders.

Other good “hog” calibers for this fast-action type of hunting include, but certainly are not limited to, the 47-70 Government, .348 Winchester and .405 Winchester. Teddy Roosevelt used the .405 for big game on his well-documented east African safari and modern-day hunters have used it effectively for Cape Buffalo and other big, heavy-boned species. Hornady produces a 300 grain InterLock cartridge for the .405 that produces 3,200 ft. pounds of energy at the muzzle, more than enough to anchor the biggest boar in the woods, even when shot through the tough shoulder shield.

You might be new to hunting wild hogs and wonder just which action/caliber is best for the style of hunting you wish to do. I would suggest before you invest in an AR and expensive thermal scope, you use the deer rifle that you already own and hunt during daylight hours. Anything from a .22/.250 to the big magnums will cleanly anchor hogs, so there really is no need to spend a lot of money on a “hog gun,” at least not at first.

After a few hog hunts are under your belt, you might wish to purchase specialized equipment for night hunting.

Hogs often become very active during the late afternoon, especially the last 30 minutes of daylight. With a quality scope cranked down to the lowest power, it’s often possible to shoot hogs well after twilight.

Many hunters set up lights around their feeders where their day scopes work quite well. For several years, I have used a motion detection device called the Game Alert by Hogman Outdoors to let me know when hogs are approaching.

A red light is triggered when hogs come in which eliminates the need to be constantly scanning the area around a feeder for incoming hogs.

If you plan to shoot hogs at relatively close range and own a shotgun, you need not invest in a rifle right away. That 12 gauge in your gun cabinet loaded with double-ought buckshot will do nice work putting wild pork in your freezer if you keep shots at less than 40 yards.

With the exception of a single shot, every other style shotgun is capable of firing at least two shots; with a pump or autoloader, even more. Make the first shot at a standing hog, but also be ready to fire on the one you’ve been watching out of the corner of your eye. That second shot

might be at a running hog but shooting moving game is exactly what a shotgun is designed for.

Granted, wild hogs are definitely an invasive species and do great harm to our farm and ranch land, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they can be very good eating and much fun to hunt.

The old saying about lemons and making lemonade aptly suits wild hog hunting.

Check out Luke’s book on hog hunting, “Kill to Grill” at his website www.catfishradio.org.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

POND MANAGEMENT

Pond Management Puzzler Article by BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, Professor Emeritus, The Texas A&M University System

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POND MANAGEMENT

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Species of fish that controls some but not all submerged

plant species (moss) 5. This avian predator is not a threat to your fish population 8. When oxygen levels are at their daily lowest level 9. Mudcats 11. Catfish species with forked tail and straight margin along

anal fin 12. Soil component necessary for pond construction 15. Largest largemouth bass in Texas must have genetics from

this sub-species 16. Largemouth bass less than this length (inches) that should

be fried, not released 17. Ponds less than this size (in acres) are not recommended

for largemouth bass management 18. Loss of this accounts for most fish kills in Texas ponds

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Type of algae that can be toxic to fish Legal harvest method for catfish in private ponds Chemical approved for killing fish populations prior to re-stocking Number 1 problem pond owners have This water condition is not conducive for largemouth bass management Commonly stocked shad species to supplement the forage base for largemouth bass Compound commonly used to clear a muddy pond Compound added to East Texas ponds to increase pH This import from Germany may muddy the waters A pond that has a surface area of 87,000 square feet covers ___ surface acres

POND MANAGEMENT PUZZLER WORD LIST CLAY FLORIDA TWELVE ONE OXYGEN

GRASSCARP KINGFISHER DAWN BULLHEADS BLUE

THREADFIN ALUM LIME CARP TWO

GOLDEN SEINE ROTENONE WEEDS MUDDY

EclipseCrossword.com

G R A S O L 5 D K I E 6 N M 9 B U D D 12 13 C L A Y I M 16 T W E L V W O X Y G E

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S C A R P E 4 I W N G F I S H E E E 7 8 T D 10 L L H E A D S R L 11 E U B A M D 15 F L O R I E I O N E 17

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

B ORDERL ANDS NEWS BORDERLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT SUL ROSS STATE UNIVERSITY

Cattle, Prairie Dogs, and Vegetation in the Marathon Basin of Texas Article by CULLOM SIMPSON, LOUIS A. HARVESON, BONNIE J. WARNOCK, and WHITNEY GANN

A black-tailed prairie dog in prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida var. ciliate) during the warm-dry season (Apr-Jun) on The Nature Conservancy’s Marathon Grassland Preserve, 10 miles northeast of Marathon, Texas.

T

he black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) plays a vital role in preserving biological stability in western grasslands. Considered a keystone species responsible for grassland maintenance, prairie dogs provide ecosystem services such as brush control and nutrient cycling.

Black-tailed prairie dogs were once widespread and numerous throughout West Texas, but populations have been on the

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decline since the early 1900s. Recent surveys in Texas revealed that black-tailed prairie dogs occupy less than 5 percent of their historic range within the Trans-Pecos region.

Reasons for their decline include poisoning, bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis), habitat destruction and land fragmentation.

Public perception of prairie dogs is often polarized and controversial and often influences management decisions on public and privately owned land.

The consumption of plants by prairie dogs creates distinct vegetation communities within a grassland system. Long-term continuous grazing alters vegetation species composition from climax plants to early successional plants. Long-term changes to vegetation that have been observed include declines in biomass, plant production and plant cover.

The continuous grazing by prairie dogs on vegetation creates a positive feedback loop in which removal of plant biomass is offset by the improved forage quality. Removal of mature plant tissue promotes vegetative regrowth that has greater nitrogen content and is highly digestible.

Constant grazing by prairie dogs and the subsequent increase in vegetative nutritional quality is attractive to a variety of herbivores. Historically, bison (Bison bison) would have benefitted from this feedback loop, and today cattle (Bos taurus) and pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) will selectively utilize prairie dog colonies.

Cattle and prairie dogs often occupy the same rangelands and consume the same vegetation. Use overlap often leads to concern among ranchers about competition between cattle and prairie dogs that could result in a decline in cattle productivity.

BORDERL ANDS NEWS

Percent cattle use on prairie dog colonies and non-prairie dog colony areas, with available protein and biomass of all plant species collected each month on the Marathon Grassland Preserve.

Previous research has shown the dietary overlap between cattle and prairie dogs varies seasonally from 50-80 percent.

However, research has not shown a change in cattle weight on prairie dog colonies compared to non-prairie dog colonies.

To better understand how prairie dogs influence vegetation and cattle, we examined spatial and temporal variation and trade-offs between forage quantity and quality across landscapes with and without prairie dog colonies. We also evaluated cattle movements and grazing patterns across landscapes with and without prairie dog colonies.

The study area was in Brewster County on The Nature Conservancy’s 2,701-acre Marathon Grassland Preserve, north of Marathon, Texas. This property includes part of one of the largest black-tailed prairie dog colonies in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. Two prairie dog colonies exist on the Marathon Grassland Preserve; the main colony was approximately 700 acres and the smaller colony was approximately 50 acres, located 1 mile east.

We divided the property into three pastures that varied in size (pasture 1--518 acres; pasture 2--1,047 acres; pasture 3--1,183 acres). Ten to 32 percent of the acreage of each pasture consisted of prairie dog colonies.

Vegetation sampling occurred during three seasons: cool (November–March), warm-dry (April–June), and warmwet (July–October) from June 2017 to May 2018. Vegetation samples were dried to measure biomass and ground to estimate nutritional content.

Hereford and Red Angus heifers (n = 25) were rotated, using a three-pasture, one-herd system, on the Marathon Grassland Preserve. Ten cows were fitted with GPS collars that recorded fixes every 30 minutes for 24 hours per day. Cattle were rotated monthly in pastures 1 and 2, and every two weeks in pasture 3, to provide for consistent grazing intensity among pastures.

Study results indicated that plant species composition and biomass were similar on and off prairie dog colonies. However, we detected differences in protein content of forbs on the prairie dog colonies during the warm-dry and warm-wet seasons;

Hereford and Red Angus cattle grazing on one of the black-tailed prairie dog colonies on the Marathon Grassland Preserve. The cattle were tracked via GPS collars to evaluate their movement patterns relative to the prairie dog colonies.

similar to previous studies, we documented 10 percent higher crude protein levels on the colonies compared to off the colonies.

We found that cattle minimized use of the prairie dog colonies during the cool season and increased use during the warm-dry and warm-wet seasons. Increases in vegetation biomass and protein during the warm-dry and warm-wet seasons aligned with the monsoonal rainfall patterns that occur in the TransPecos region.

Movement data indicate that cattle graze within the prairie dog colonies during the growing seasons because of the highly nutritious and palatable forage regrowth promoted by prairie dogs during monsoonal rains. The increased crude protein observed within grasses and forbs in the prairie dog colonies suggests that vegetation responded positively to the continual grazing by prairie dogs during this study.

We also documented a 16 percent higher occurrence of Havard threeawn (Aristida havardii), a grazing adapted species, on prairie dog colonies compared to off the prairie dog colonies.

This provides additional evidence that prairie dog grazing may alter species composition, and ultimately, vegetation species available to other grazing herbivores.

This study indicates that while dietary overlap exists between black-tailed prairie dogs and cattle, landowners who seek to graze cattle on prairie dog colonies may see a mutually beneficial relationship in the form of positive vegetative feedback.

Appropriate stocking rates and rotational grazing can be used so that cattle take advantage of the shifts in vegetation nutrition caused by prairie dogs.

Specifically, landowners and managers can design rotation schedules where cattle graze in non-prairie dog colonies during the cool and warm-dry seasons when protein is lowest and where cattle are on the prairie dog colonies during the late warm-dry and warm-wet seasons when protein is at its highest.

Such rotation schedules allow cattle to have access to the prairie dog colonies when vegetation is at its highest nutritional value, while removing grazing pressure and competition between prairie dogs and cattle when nutritional value is lower.

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Water Law

BY LORIE A. WOODWARD

This is the fourth installment in a six-part series on key laws that Texas landowners need to know. The series is prepared in partnership with Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, who authored Owning Your Piece of Texas: Key Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know. The handbook is available as a free, downloadable PDF file at (https:// a g r i l i f e c d n . t a m u . e d u / t e x a s a g l a w/ files/2019/05/Owning-Your-Piece-of-Texas. pdf). Hard copies may be purchased by contacting the author.

M

ark Twain famously said, “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.” And, he made that statement long before Texas’ population boomed and its rainfall became seemingly more erratic.

“Water law is one of the most contentious and frequent legal issues Texas landowners face,” said Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, an attorney with expertise in agricultural law who serves as an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

Because of the likelihood for conflict, Texas landowners need to understand the basics of water law and the rights and limitations related to use of water on their property.

“In Texas, water is divided into two broad categories, which are governed by two different legal schemes,” Lashmet said. “As a result, Texas water law is more complex than other states that follow a single legal approach for all waters.”

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GROUNDWATER Groundwater, defined in the Texas Water Code as “water percolating beneath the surface of the earth,” is generally property of the surface owner unless there is an agreement stating otherwise.

Groundwater, like other estates, can be severed from the surface estate.

Landowners can convey the groundwater rights and retain the rest of the property. For instance, landowners can sell their groundwater rights to a company that is providing water to a city and still own the surface estate.

In the reverse, landowners can reserve the groundwater rights and sell the rest of the property. If property owners sell their land, but retain the groundwater rights, the buyer will own the surface estate, but not the groundwater. The sellers who reserved that right will own the groundwater.

“Any reservation of groundwater must be expressly stated in the sales contract and in the recorded documents to be effective,” Lashmet said.

If a seller has leased the groundwater rights for potential development that too should be noted in the sales contract and any documentation. Generally, the lease would transfer with the property. If, though, a buyer isn’t notified of the lease, the lease is not recorded, and it would not be obvious that a lease exists, it is questionable whether it could be enforced, Lashmet said.

When the groundwater estate has been severed, it, like oil and gas, is dominant to the surface estate. Unless stated otherwise in writing, this means

that the groundwater estate owner can use as much of the surface estate as reasonably necessary to produce the groundwater estate.

For example, Brett owns the surface estate and Amy owns the groundwater estate. If Amy chooses to lease the groundwater rights to Company H2O, the company has the implied right to come on Brett’s land and use as much of the surface as necessary to build roads, pipelines and other infrastructure necessary to develop, produce and transfer the groundwater.

“In cases where the groundwater is separated from the surface estate, it is imperative to properly define the surface rights that provide access to that groundwater,” Lashmet said.

RULE OF CAPTURE AND GCDS For more than 100 years, the Rule of Capture has governed Texas groundwater law. Under it, landowners have the right to pump water from beneath their property, even at the expense of their neighbor.

Under Rule of Capture there are a few common law limitations that apply statewide. These prohibitions include: maliciously taking groundwater for the sole purpose of injuring a neighbor; willfully or wantonly wasting groundwater; negligently drilling or pumping from a well in a manner that causes subsidence; pumping from a contaminated well; and trespassing to pump groundwater.

“Legal disputes involving the common law limitations are uncommon,” Lashmet said. “Conflicts arise in trying to balance everyone’s interests.”

L AW O F T H E L A N D

As an example, Amy owns a ranch in the Hill Country, and neighbor Brett sells his ranch to Company H2O. The company builds a pipeline and begins selling the water to a nearby city. Amy’s well, which taps into the same aquifer, goes dry.

“If Company H2O is following the law, the court will not intervene on Amy’s behalf,” Lashmet said. “The Rule of Capture doesn’t provide any protection for neighboring landowners.”

Through the Texas Constitution, the authority to manage the state’s natural resources rests with the Texas Legislature.

When it comes to groundwater, the Legislature determined that allowing local control through Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD) is the “preferred method of groundwater management in Texas.”

GCDs manage the groundwater within their boundaries by developing plans and implementing rules relating to groundwater production. While not every county is covered by a GCD, there currently are 98 GCDs. Each GCD has slightly different rules.

Generally, though, the GCDs include a permitting process for wells, some form of reporting requirement and production rules such as well spacing, pump size limitations or production limits. In addition to the district rules, a state statute that applies across Texas exempts specific wells including those for domestic and agricultural use that meet certain limiting criteria and those used in oil and gas drilling or exploration from GCD permitting.

“As a first step, all Texas landowners should determine whether their property falls under the jurisdiction of a Groundwater Conservation District, and if so, familiarize themselves with its rules to ensure compliance when drilling a well or producing groundwater,” Lashmet said.

SURFACE WATER Surface water is defined as “all water under ordinary flow, underflow, and tides of every flowing river, stream, lake, bay, arm of the Gulf of Mexico, and stormwater, floodwater or rainwater of every river, natural stream, canyon, ravine, depression and watershed in the state.”

A sub-category of surface water is diffused surface water, also known as a sheet flow or storm runoff of rain or snow.

“The distinction between surface water and diffused surface water is critical because the law regarding its use is opposite,” Lashmet said.

Surface water is owned and controlled by the state through the auspices of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), while diffused surface water is owned and controlled by the landowners for as long as it remains on their property. (Diffused surface water may be captured before it reaches a stateowned watercourse as long as the overflow does not cause damage to neighboring property owners.) The key difference between the two is the presence of a “defined watercourse.”

“A defined watercourse is obvious when we’re talking about the Red, Brazos or Colorado, but under the very liberal interpretation that has been used by the court, this likely also includes smaller creeks, streams, or even some gullies that can be considered a defined watercourse,” Lashmet said.

If the water exists within a defined watercourse and qualifies as surface water, landowners generally must get permission in the form of a permit from the TCEQ to use it. The permit designates a specific amount of water for a specific purpose.

Surface water use is governed by the legal doctrine of prior appropriation, which follows the principle: “first in time, first in right.”

“Essentially, prior appropriations means ‘first come, first served,’” Lashmet said.

TCEQ maintains a database of all water permits granted and their “priority date.”

In times of shortage, senior water users— those with the oldest priority dates— receive all of the water they are entitled to before junior users receive any. Senior users, who are concerned that supplies may run out before they get their full share, may contact the TCEQ and request a priority call, which is an order issued to junior water users to stop diverting water.

There are four types of diversions exempt from the TCEQ permitting process.

They include certain impoundments for domestic, livestock

and wildlife management use as well as petroleum production using water from the Gulf of Mexico and reservoirs used as part of surface mining for coal.

These exemptions apply only to a nonnavigable stream. All navigable streams are subject to TCEQ permitting, regardless of the intended use.

“Two legal tests determine navigability,” Lashmet said. “To be deemed navigable, a watercourse must meet only one.”

First, a watercourse can be “navigable in fact” and used as a “highway for commerce.” Courts have stated that waterways capable of floating logs and travel by any boat are navigable in fact, despite “occasional difficulties in navigation.”

Second, a watercourse can be “navigable in law,” which means it maintains an average width of 30 feet from the gradient boundary line to gradient boundary line.

In addition to water usage, navigable waterways carry import for landowners.

Generally, under Texas law, the streambed of a navigable stream is deemed owned by the state of Texas, and, as such, are open to the public.

“If a navigable stream flows across private property, people can travel down the state-owned streambed across the private land,” Lashmet said. “People may not cut across private property to access the stream and they may not get out of the streambed and come onto the private property, but they may use the streambed.”

Because the public can traverse the state-owned streambed, landowners are prohibited from building a fence across the stream or preventing travel down the streambed.

“Legal issues surrounding water and its laws aren’t going to go away anytime soon, so it’s in a landowner’s best interest to be informed and be aware,” Lashmet said.

DISCLAIMER This column is for educational purposes only, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and is not a substitute for competent legal advice by an attorney licensed in Texas or any other state. The information provided is merely provided for informational purposes.

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ALDO LEOPOLD 1947 Trip to King Ranch

Photo courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives)

Article by STEVE NELLE Photos courtesy of KING RANCH ARCHIVES, King Ranch, Inc., Kingsville, Texas

Aldo Leopold made his only professional trip to Texas in February of 1947 to visit the King Ranch. He later wrote Bob Kleberg Jr. that “it was the highlight of my year”. Leopold died in 1948. No photos exist of the trip.

I

n February, 1947 Aldo Leopold made his one and only professional visit to Texas, spending two days on King Ranch. The invitation to visit the ranch was delivered in a letter from Howard Dodgen, Executive Director of Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission at the request of Robert J. Kleberg, President of King Ranch.

The visit's stated purpose was to provide for a mutual exchange of information relative to wildlife conservation. No doubt, King Ranch Wildlife Biologist Val Lehmann played an important role in setting up the trip. Lehmann was very well regarded nationally and was already acquainted with Leopold. Leopold, his son Starker and about 10 other nationally prominent wildlife professionals accepted Kleberg’s invitation.

In his usual fashion, Leopold kept a written account of the trip, and it is from these notes and subsequent correspondence that

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King Ranch is renowned for its white-tail management and the production of trophy class bucks. Leopold was impressed by both the number and size of the bucks he observed on the ranch in 1947.

we learn about this historic trip. Leopold had already established himself as the country's preeminent wildlife ecologist and was serving as Professor of Wildlife Management at the University of Wisconsin. Likewise, King Ranch had established itself as one of the first large private ranches where wildlife management was being actively carried out.

Leopold and his group arrived at the Norias Ranch on the afternoon of Feb. 6 where they met Robert Kleberg. They began their tour traveling southeast across the “seacoast prairie” and then making a large loop of 25 miles. On this loop, Leopold reported that they saw “426 deer, three coyotes, a dozen blackbuck, four javelinas, 25 Long-billed Curlews, about 450 turkeys, one pigeon hawk (now called Merlin), a dozen Harris’s Hawks, one Horned Owl and several Caracaras.”

DEER Leopold noted on this part of the ranch the woody cover consisted of live oak on the ridges and mesquite in the flats. He said that although the live oak was heavily browsed, the deer were in good shape. He mentioned seeing “many mature 8-to10-point bucks but no spikes or fork horn bucks,” although some bucks had already shed their antlers.

Elsewhere on the ranch, Leopold expressed surprise to find deer living in the open prairie miles from any substantial woody cover. Kleberg and Lehmann informed him that deer “stay in

ALDO LEOPOLD

the prairie all year long” despite the near absence of traditional brushy cover.

The ranch supported an abundance, if not an over-abundance of deer, due to a combination of good habitat, limited hunting and a reduced predator population. Kleberg had the idea that excess deer could be trapped and moved to ranches that needed deer, but Leopold and the others insisted that this would only be “a drop in the bucket” and that “deer must be hunted in some orderly way.”

QUAIL Kleberg, Lehmann and Leopold all shared a deep love of bobwhite quail and took special interest in their management. It is still one of the centerpieces of King Ranch management. Much of the visit was devoted to observing and discussing Lehmann's quail management work on the Santa Gertrudis Ranch.

No matter where he went, Leopold recorded the habitat features of whatever species was being discussed. Here, he described the quail habitat as “prairie dotted with meager clumps of granjeno and mesquite.” He noted that hackberry trees which no longer provided low cover were cut down and the branches stacked to create temporary coverts while the stump re-sprouted.

In mesquite areas where loafing cover was insufficient, Lehmann and Kleberg showed the group how “the drooping branches of mesquite were partially severed and lowered to the ground.” The half-cut limbs would then send up new branches thus creating both horizontal and vertical cover.

Where woody cover was entirely lacking, ranch crews transplanted hackberry and/or granjeno which had been dug on the ranch and the roots balled. This illustrates how serious the ranch was about managing quail habitat.

The cover enhacements' effectiveness was clearly demonstrated. Leopold wrote, “While inspecting the quail covers, nearly half had coveys in them; about 15 coveys in an hour.” They were told that this was the normal flushing rate with dogs.

Another cover improvement practice was to plant pricklypear along fencelines. Once established, the pricklypear would help hold the fence up and prevent cattle from rubbing on the posts.

Lehmann also pointed out that it discouraged poachers.

Leopold, always the student, learned that one of the more valuable food plants for both quail and turkey was the small red fruit of tasajillo and that both species also consumed the “leaves of the wild clematis called old man’s beard.”

Disking of irregular lanes was used to stimulate quail food plant production, but Lehmann had a different reason for it than is normally understood. On King Ranch, goatweed (croton), the number one food for quail, was naturally abundant in many areas. Lehmann said that the disking was done to thin out the excessive density of goatweed so that the remaining plants had a better chance of surviving summer drought and making seed.

This part of the ranch was leased to a group of Kingsville businessmen who were allowed to harvest half of the quail crop. However, it was noted that they never attained the harvest

Caesar Kleberg is the one who convinced Bob Kleberg Jr. to hire Val Lehmann as one of the first wildlife biologists to work for a private ranch in South Texas. Caesar Kleberg left an indelible mark on the wildlife conservation effort in Texas.

Robert J. (Bob) Kleberg Jr. ran King Ranch from 1924 to 1974. He had a deep interest in wildlife as well as cattle and quarter horses. It was Kleberg who invited Leopold to visit the ranch in 1947.

Val Lehmann, King Ranch biologist examines a large mott of granjeno that was planted in open country to provide quail cover.

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ALDO LEOPOLD

Bob Kleberg Jr. is credited with developing the Santa Gertrudis, the first American breed of beef cattle. Leopold believed that wildlife management and grazing should be integrated and complimentary.

they were allowed. It is important to mention that nowadays the recommended harvest rate for quail is much lower than 50 percent. The revenue generated from quail hunting was used to enhance quail cover and for disking.

us to leave mountain lions unmolested until such time as they become very destructive to game or livestock.”

Leopold also noted that Kleberg shot at every hawk he saw; most were missed, but one Sennett white tailed hawk was killed during the trip. Leopold questioned the practice's value especially since the ranch was already “top heavy in quail and turkey.”

While it may seem odd to us now that the ranch would have engaged in shooting raptors, we must remember that it was a different time with different norms. Earlier in his life, Leopold himself shot duck hawks (peregrine falcons) which he considered a threat to waterfowl, and he was a strong advocate of wolf and mountain lion eradication, a position that he later reversed.

If we are tempted to criticize the predator control measures of that day, we should be reminded of this truth: 50 or 75 years from now people are going to look back at some of the things we do today and question why we did it; and they will criticize some of the practices that we think are beneficial.

In later correspondence, Lehmann mentioned that the only hawks that were especially targeted for control were Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks, but he added that relatively few of these were shot.

CATTLE According to Leopold’s notes, the ranch was producing 60 pounds of beef per acre. Much of this was attributed to the fertilization of rangeland with super phosphate in addition to supplementation of the cow herd with phosphorus and their progressive breeding program.

Before these practices, beef production was said to be 25 pounds per acre.

Among those on the trip, there was considerable interest in the phosphorus supplementation. After the trip some of the participants requested additional information from King Ranch about this practice.

PREDATORS Leopold mentioned that Kleberg shot one coyote during their tour and shot at several others. King Ranch like many other ranches carried out routine predator control, and it was considered a primary game management practice, often recommended by wildlife experts. According to Kleberg, deer and turkey had been scarce 25 years before and he attributed the recent increase in abundance to their predator control efforts.

During their visit, it was mentioned that at least three mountain lions were roaming the Norias. Leopold urged them to retain these to help build the population. Leopold had learned the hard way that without a strong predator population deer herds are likely to increase too far and damage both the food supply and the herd quality.

In later correspondence, Lehmann wrote Leopold: “I know you will be interested to learn that Mr. Bob Kleberg has instructed

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At the urging of Leopold, Kleberg agreed to protect the few remaining mountain lions on King Ranch even though aggressive predator control was the norm of the day.

ALDO LEOPOLD

Under the direction of Lehmann, pricklypear was sometimes planted along fences for extra cover.

OTHER WILDLIFE Leopold seemed fascinated by the abundance and diversity of wildlife they saw in South Texas. Over the two-day trip, he enumerated about 35 species and 1,600 head of wildlife not including some species that were too numerous to count or too far away. Most of what they counted was deer, turkey and quail, but also an impressive number of waterfowl, raptors and shorebirds.

Leopold mentioned they saw about a dozen blackbuck antelope, and he wrote that it seemed incongruous to release this species “in the best remaining prairie in Texas.” Apparently, he knew or suspected the risk of introducing exotic species and their propensity to increase to undesirable levels.

research. I hope and pray that the King Ranch will never be broken up; it is a gem, the value of which few can appreciate.”

Leopold was so impressed by what he saw that he planned to incorporate it into his wildlife management classes at the University of Wisconsin. He wrote to Lehmann: “I am hoping to put together a lecture on the ecology and management of King Ranch. I am interested in the livestock and range management as well as game.”

Leopold had long believed that livestock management and wildlife management must be considered together and not separately. This is still an important lesson for all of us—agriculture and wildlife management go hand in hand.

In a return letter to Leopold, Lehmann expressed his mutual appreciation of their trip. He said that he hoped the visit and the sharing of information would result in “the closest possible cementing of relations and cooperation.” Later, he wrote, “It was a great privilege for us to be with you in the field if only for two days,

but we hope that you will find it possible to visit us many more times and for longer periods in the future.”

We shall never know what might have become of the relationship between Leopold and King Ranch—Leopold died 14 months later at age 61 in the prime of his professional career. Under the capable leadership of Lehmann and others after him, King Ranch continued to move ahead as a leader in wildlife management and land stewardship.

One might conclude that the primary benefit of such a visit would be for the ranch to be the recipient of Leopold’s knowledge and experience. However, it is likely that King Ranch had just as much to impart to Leopold as they received from him.

Good wildlife conservation is always a two-way street—the expert teaching the landowner and the landowner teaching the expert. Both are better off when this happens in an atmosphere of mutual respect and appreciation. The same model works today.

HIGHLIGHT OF MY YEAR After his return to Wisconsin, Leopold wrote a letter to Robert Kleberg, expressing his appreciation. He said, “The trip over the King Ranch was the highlight of my year, and I want to thank you for your generous hospitality.

I shall never forget it.” That was high praise from a man not given to flattery or exaggeration.

In later correspondence, Leopold summarized his overall view of the ranch: “I was very strongly impressed, not only by the ranch itself but by your game management undertakings.”

He said, “The King Ranch is one of the best jobs of wildlife restoration on the continent and has almost unparalleled opportunities for both management and

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ROCKER b RANCH Pronghorns and Balanced Diversity Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photo courtesy of ROCKER b RANCH

T

he Rocker b Ranch is—and always has been—important to the ever-unfolding story of pronghorns in Texas.

“The ranch has long been involved in the history of the pronghorn,” said Cody Webb, Wildlife Coordinator for the Rocker b. “They were here long before us, and we feel it’s our responsibility—and our privilege—to ensure they remain long after us."

The 173,000-acre ranch was founded in 1871 by the Sawyer family who hailed from Wisconsin. The Sawyers named the sprawling ranch, located near Barnhart, the Bar S. In 1954, it was purchased by U.S. Sen. William Blakely of Dallas.

Ten years later, Blakely deeded it to the

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Scottish Rite Hospital, which began as a pediatric polio hospital and has grown into one of the nation’s leading pediatric orthopedic hospitals.

“Everyone at the Rocker b is proud to be part of the Scottish Rite Hospital and play a role in the exceptional care the medical staff provides for children,” Webb said. “The hospital is a leader in its field, which inspires us to be the same in the realm of livestock, wildlife and natural resource management.”

THE BIG PICTURE The ranch sits in the Concho River valley at the western edge of the Edwards Plateau, the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and the

southern edge of the Great Plains. Where ecoregions converge, diversity is the order of the day. From a wildlife standpoint, the ranch is home to not only pronghorns, but white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkeys, bobwhite and scaled quail, a host of predators, and even a few mule deer on the far western side, which aren’t hunted.

“It’s a really neat area because so much comes together right here,” Webb said.

Taking a cue from Mother Nature, the staff at Rocker b strives for balanced diversity in the operation as well.

Today, through careful stockmanship and stewardship, the ranch supports a commercial cow-calf herd, a small purebred Hereford herd that provides bulls for ranch use and some private treaty sales, and a Quarter Horse breeding program.

“Through its history, the ranch has never been managed with a mindset of either livestock or wildlife,” Webb said.

“It’s been managed to help every species, including pronghorns, thrive.”

According to Webb, range management is the foundation on which the ranch’s success is built.

“From a livestock perspective, we’re grass farmers,” said Webb, noting they still work cattle from horseback. “We grow grass and harvest it with cattle to produce high-quality protein.”

The rotational grazing system is dictated by forage availability which is dictated by rainfall; livestock isn’t left in any place too long.

“Because of the semi-arid region in which we operate, we let individual areas rest as much as possible,” Webb said.

When it comes to brush management, all wildlife species are considered during the planning process, but the needs of

ROCKER b RANCH

the pronghorn that thrive in wide, open spaces of grassland plains are tantamount.

“With the pronghorn in mind, we clear larger tracts instead of just clearing in strips like many people do in South Texas for deer,” Webb said. “If we do install strips, they’re at least 200 yards wide to encourage pronghorns to use them and we leave small mottes of trees about 20 yards across to give deer some cover as they cross.”

To manage brush especially mesquite, the staff uses a four-prong approach that begins with aerial spraying. The treated mesquite is allowed to stand dormant for three years to ensure it is dead and the overall kill is good. Then the standing structure is knocked down and chopped, which helps aerate the soil, increase water infiltration and prompt forbs production.

Next, they implement winter burns when and where appropriate, which in Webb’s experience are the most effective and safest in their environment. Finally, they use IPT during the summer to target seedling mesquite.

“We work to create a mosaic that benefits all species, including having edge habitat for deer and quail and leaving hardwoods standing for turkey roosts,” he said, noting they will also use an excavator to selectively clear areas if that’s a more suitable approach for a specific site.

The ranch is low-fenced, so wildlife comes and goes at will. No outside genetics have been introduced to the deer herd.

“White-tailed deer are a tremendous success story of adaptation, you can find them from Canada to the Florida Keys,” Webb said. “They have been on the ranch since the 1960s. The pronghorns have been here since the last Ice Age.” In late January 2020, pronghorns from the Panhandle, where they are now most abundant in Texas, were translocated onto the Rocker b.

“The translocation wasn’t prompted by a die-off or anything drastic,” Webb said. “It was just time to supplement the resident population.”

With the recent translocation, the circle comes full. In the 1970s and 80s, the Rocker b served as the source for

pronghorns for translocation into the Panhandle. Last year’s translocation brings the number of pronghorns on the Rocker b to between 350 and 360.

“The translocations speak volumes to the ecological interest and generosity of landowners in Texas,” Webb said.

“Historically, the Rocker b helped pronghorns survive in Texas, so it’s emotional feeling as if they are coming back home. We hope that our efforts will be fruitful enough to supply surplus animals in the future if translocations are needed.”

FOCUS ON PRONGHORNS At the habitat level, pronghorns, whitetailed deer and cattle are complementary not competitive.

“Pronghorns, whitetails and cattle provide a wonderful example of niche partitioning,” Webb said. “Grass makes up very little of the pronghorns’ diet, and they eat the things cattle don’t such as early to mid-succession forbs which include some range plants toxic to cattle.

Deer eat primarily browse with a few forbs and as a last resort, a little grass.”

The cattle, according to Webb’s observations, also open up the grass cover and allow the pronghorns to reach the forbs that grow lower to the ground.

“I’ve seen the pronghorns come into areas right behind the cattle,” Webb said.

To give pronghorns a leg up, the ranch conducts predator management. Efforts are most intensive during September when staff is flying wildlife surveys and in April right before the pronghorns fawn.

“Coyotes are part of the ecosystem, so we’re not trying to get rid of them,” Webb said. “We are trying to temporarily depress predator numbers, especially during the fawning season. The first two weeks after fawns are born is the most dangerous time in the pronghorns’ lives, and we’re trying to give them a leg up.”

Pronghorns are notoriously reluctant to jump fences preferring to crawl under.

To that end, the Rocker b staff has methodically modified the interior fences to include regularly spaced crossings that allow the pronghorns to move more freely. The effort, which began 10 years

ago when netwire fences throughout the ranch were replaced with five-strand barbed wire, continues today.

During summer of 2019, the staff adapted fences in more than 200 locations by raising the bottom wire at least 18 inches for a 30-yard stretch. They installed a crossing every half mile.

“Pronghorns evolved to range far and wide,” Webb said. “Our goal with fence modification is to make as much habitat available to them as possible by providing ready access.”

Installing crossings was just one way that the Rocker b staff prepared the land for the arrival of the translocated animals.

“We have good habitat in a good area,” Webb said. “Everything we did benefitted the resident herd as well as the translocated animals.”

As is their wont, the translocated pronghorns hit the ground running.

Well, actually walking. For the first two to three weeks after their arrival, the pronghorns moved throughout the ranch searching for habitat and family groups that appealed to them. According to Webb, one doe moved 12 miles past several resident herds before taking up with a group on the ranch’s far west side.

“They like to be together,” Webb said.

“The more eyes the better.”

The newcomers’ propensity to roam and explore actually offers long-term benefits to the resident herd.

“As counterintuitive as it seems, the newcomers are more likely to use the crossings than the long-time residents,” Webb said. “They explore, discover where to cross and show the residents.

Within two generations, the progeny produced from pairings of residents and transplants will have access to more range than before because they will have expanded use of crossings.”

And benefitting pronghorns in the long-term is the ultimate goal on the Rocker b.

“The pronghorns were here long before the Rocker b—and we’re doing everything in our power to ensure that they’re here forever,” Webb said.

“It feels good to know that we’ve played a role in their past, their present and their future.”

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39

FUN FOR EVERYONE!

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JULY 15-18, 2021 JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa 23808 Resort Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78261

Bring the family! Children 12 and under are admitted FREE! Visit WWW.WILDLIFE2021.COM or call (800) 839-9453 for more information

HOTEL BLOCK NOW CLOSED Please call the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa at (877) 622-3140 for regular room rates and information.

LATE REGISTRATION IS STILL AVAILABLE Call (800) 839-9453 or fax your form to (210) 826-4933

COME CELEBRATE TWA’S 36th ANNIVERSARY!

WildLife 2021 Schedule of Events JULY 15-18, 2021 (As of July 1, 2021)

THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

TWA Private Lands Summit

(Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 10)

10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

(Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 8-9)

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Membership Committee

(Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 1-5)

Conservation Legacy Advisory Committee

Convention Exhibitor Registration and Move-In (Grand Oaks Ballroom & Foyer)

TWA Wildlife Conservation Committee (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 11)

Noon – 1:30 p.m.

TWAF Luncheon

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Registration Open 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Exhibits and Auctions Open (Grand Oaks Ballroom & Foyer)

8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

TWA Committee Meetings **

(Grand Oaks Ballroom) Featuring Keynote Speaker Steven Rinella, MeatEater

2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

TWA Joint Membership & Directors Meeting (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 1-4)

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

TWA Ladies Reception

(Grand Oaks Ballroom A-F Foyer) (Note: Ladies only event and no charge for drinks)

** Anyone is welcome to attend the committee meetings to learn more about the programs associated within those committees.

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

(cash bar, includes 2 drink tickets) (Grand Oaks Ballroom)

Deer Management, Water Advisory, Legislative and PAC Committees (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 1-4)

9 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Break

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

TYHP Advisory Committee (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 8)

Cocktails with Exhibitors Entertainment with Zach Nytomt Sponsored by Silver Eagle Beverages

5 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Marriott Range Riders Kid’s Activities (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 10-11)

6 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

TWA Convention Kickoff Dinner (Grand Oaks Ballroom)

Conservation Legacy Advisory Committee

Sponsored by Nyle Maxwell Family of Dealerships

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Texas Big Game Awards Celebration

(Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 9)

Break

7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2021

5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

TWA Family Breakfast

TWA Life Members Reception & TWA-PAC Reception

Sponsored by San Pedro Ranch

Sponsored by Crockett National Bank.

8 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Cocktails with Exhibitors

(Level 2)

5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

(Grand Oaks Ballroom A-F Foyer)

Registration Open

(Grand Oaks Ballroom & Foyer, Level 2)

9 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Family Portraits Photo Booth Open

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Exhibits Open

(Level 2, Foyer Area)

Silent and Not-So-Silent Auctions Open

Marriott Range Riders Kid’s Activities

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

(Cibolo Canyon Ballroom 8-11)

9 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

TWA WildLife Education Concurrent Session Seminars

TWA Grand Auction and Banquet Dinner

Sponsored by Brady & Hamilton LLP.

Not-So-Silent Auction Final Closing

(Cibolo Canyon Ballroom Pre-Function Rooms 1-4) Wildlife Management and Research (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 1)

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

10 p.m.

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

Starts approximately 30 minutes following the Grand Auction

Landowner Awareness and Opportunities (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 2)

10:30 p.m.

Education/Outreach (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 3)

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

Habitat Management (Cibolo Canyons Ballroom 4)

Silent Auction Final Closing Tables close after the Not-So-Silent Auction in approximately 15-minute increments

Noon – 1:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2021

(Grand Oaks Ballroom)

Final Auction Check-Out

TWA General Session / Awards Luncheon

8 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Featuring Keynote Speaker, the Honorable Susan Combs

(TWA Registration Desk)

1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Noon

Open Time, Please Visit Our Exhibits (Grand Oaks Ballroom)

TWA Convention Closes

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SATURDAY, JULY 17

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PEDAGOGY FOR THE BACK FORTY Article and photo by DALE ROLLINS, Ph.D.

P

edagogy is a term you don’t hear very often on the back forty.

It’s defined as “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.”

Having just retired from AgriLife Extension after a 33-year career as a wildlife specialist, I had plenty of opportunities to see pedagogy up close and personal. While I never had any formal training on the subject, I was blessed to experience some great teachers in my nine years of college and even more through the years.

And let me include a “thank you” to various administrators for putting up with my unorthodox teaching styles. I thoroughly enjoyed my career and am confident that my love and passion for my subjects were obvious to my audiences.

Now as I dissect some of the essential elements of being a successful

48 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

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teacher, I offer the following as common denominators: 1. Show your passion. Does anyone in TWA question the passion of folks like Dr. Bill Eikenhorst, Greg Simons and many others in TWA leadership positions? When one’s passion shines like a diamond, how can you not be impressed? I’m known mostly as a “quail man,” not that I don’t like waterfowl or whitetails. At an awards ceremony one time in Austin, the person introducing me opined, “I’m pretty certain that no one has ever uttered the word ‘quail’ as much as Dale Rollins.”

2. Toastmasters. I always encourage my grad students and others to visit a meeting of Toastmasters International.

Toastmasters is a user-friendly setting to enhance one’s speaking, listening and communication skills—it surely helped mine. And to this day I still

remember Dr. Deke Johnson challenging us with: “Opportunity knocks…who will answer?” I can typically sniff out Toastmasters by the way they conduct themselves at the lectern.

3. Quote me. I’m a confessed quoteaholic. It’s been said that a quotation at the right time is like life bread to the famished. I can cite folks like Aldo Leopold, Will Rogers and Winston Churchill about as well as anyone. Their wisdom takes on a timeless character to so many of the issues we face today. When I conceived the Bobwhite Brigade back in 1993, I wanted to include inspirational quotations like those that adorned the walls of my FFA classroom back in Hollis, Oklahoma. I can still recite most of them 50 years later. Since then, “Silver Bullets” have taken a life of their own in Brigades-ese.

PEDAGOGY FOR THE BACK FORTY

4. The power of proverbs. One of those quotable quotes is the Chinese proverb: “Tell me, and I forget; show me, and I remember; involve me, and I understand.”

This sage sound bite serves as our motto in Texas Brigades as it underscores our teaching style.

5. Child’s play. Many of the exercises we use in the Bobwhite Brigade for teenagers also have a place in my teaching repertoire for adults. Accordingly, the QuailMasters class curriculum relies heavily upon teaching methods perfected on teenagers. Exercises like “Run for Your Life,” “The Mortality Mile,” and the “Softball Habitat Evaluation Technique” (SHET) may have roots on the playground, but they are easily adapted (and received) on the back forty. Using “Walk for Your Life” for adults shows them how excessive brush control can leave quail vulnerable to their predators. And when a ranch hand came up to me after the conclusion of a SHET demonstration he made my day when he said, “I never really understood what the boss (an absentee landowner interested in wildlife) wanted when it comes to brush control… but now I do.” I regale that quote as acknowledgment that SHET has the “cowboy seal of approval.”

6. Metaphors. I use metaphors a lot in my teachings and writings. Two that come to mind include “In Search of Purple Worms” and “Quail Melt.” In the former, I argue that one’s lease-hunting enterprise is somewhat like bass fishing with a purple plastic worm, arguably the most popular lure for bass fishing from the 1970s through the 1990s. If your neighbor is garnering more income than you, it could be because he knows how to rig and work the lure more effectively than you do. The latter (“Quail Melt”) involves the audience holding an ice cube in their hand and observing what happens; it melts! As managers we can’t keep it from melting, but we can slow the rate of melt, which is confirmed when we follow up with “The Mortality Mile.”

7. Appreciate this! I made a career out of “appreciating” things. Some were pariahs (Predator Appreciation Days) while others were easily comprehended

(Quail Appreciation Days). The list of “Appreciation Days” includes (in order of date) predators, quail, deer, doves, wild turkeys, brush, feral hogs and fire. I used a play on words, using the various contexts of the term “appreciate” to examine the good, bad and ugly of a particular species. Various contexts of “appreciate” included “to value or admire highly,” “to judge with heightened awareness” and “to be cautiously or sensitively aware of.” What a great blueprint for pedagogy and prickly pear.

8. Sound off! I’m not a veteran, but I’ve always liked cadences. They found their way into the curriculum of the Bobwhite Brigade in 1994 courtesy of “Mean Gene the Bobwhite Marine” Miller, a proud Marine. Since then, “conservation cadences” have become standard issue for Brigaders and QuailMasters. Some of my favorite memories will always be of Bobwhite Brigaders marching and calling cadences.

One could often observe a tear swelling in

an old veteran’s eyes.

9. A sales gimmick. Most salesmen seek a gimmick to hook their audience’s attention; I was no different. My gimmick was my bird calls. When I sounded off with the Mockingbird’s trill then followed with the “poor-bob-white!”

I gained instant credibility with my audience. It’s a skill that I honed over thousands of hours of practice and an unusual way that I learned to whistle (through my teeth rather than in the traditional method).

Destiny perhaps.

I acknowledge my boss of many years Dr. Don Steinbach for providing his flexibility in allowing me to stray from strict pedological principles with some unorthodox methodology and to my colleague Dr. Billy Higginbotham for always setting a stiff pace. And to the hundreds of you whose name is not followed by “Ph.D.” but whose teachings found a fertile seedbed with me.

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49

TEXAS WILDLIFE

PLANT PROFILE

Cardinal Feather (Acalypha radians)

Photo by Brad Kubecka

Photo by Brad Kubecka

Article by BRAD KUBECKA

Distribution of cardinal feather in Texas.

A

fter living and traveling across the southeastern states, I’ve come to find that conversation about weather isn’t just small talk in Texas especially in the wildlife community. Wildlife populations literally live and die by fluctuation in weather conditions.

Spring and summer temperature and rainfall are critically important for the growth of highly nutritious annual forbs which many species rely on in one way or another. Not surprisingly, studies have repeatedly shown that the composition of forbs in the summer diets of white-tailed deer is lower in years with dry, warm conditions leading to poor nutrition for does and fawns.

Cardinal feather (Acalypha radians) is a drought-tolerant perennial forb endemic to Texas. In other words, it’s only found here in the Lone Star State and can provide forage for wildlife in both good years and bad. In the summer of 1965, a relatively dry summer, biologists characterized the diet of deer on the Welder Wildlife Refuge and found cardinal feather in more than half of the deer on sandy soils.

50 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

JULY 2021

Male cardinal feather; note the sandy soil.

PLANT PROFILE

Photo by Brad Kubecka

In a study of quail diets in Maverick and Kinney counties, cardinal feather seeds were found in 17 percent of Scaled Quail and 11 percent of Bobwhite Quail diets. Common ground doves, wild turkeys and pocket gophers have also been documented eating the seeds or vegetation.

Given its distribution in the southern part of the state, the blooming period is long and occurs from April to November.

Male and female reproductive parts are found on different plants, a phenomenon called dioecy.

Male flowers are clustered and found at terminal ends of stems in a spike inflorescence. Dark red styles are prominent from the female flower and resemble the feathers of a northern cardinal.

Styles are structures that carry pollen from the stigma, which receives pollen, to the plant’s ovary.

Both male and female reproductive parts of cardinal feather lack petals. Cardinal feather’s colloquial name Yerba de la Rabia, translating to “plant of rage,” is ironic given its petite growth, delicate female flowers and much less intimidating English common name.

Cardinal feather is covered in soft hairs that look similar to those on Texas bullnettle, but the hairs on cardinal feather do not irritate skin. Both of these species are members of the family Euphorbiaceae which includes milkweeds. Another exception to a rule, cardinal feather does not have a milky latex as do many other Euphorbs.

Keep an eye out for this small forb, delicate and unique, on your next outdoors excursion.

Female cardinal feather plants have red styles that resemble bird feathers.

Photo from Texas Bobwhites, Larsen et al. 2010

Cardinal feather grows best in full sun on well-drained sandy or gravely soils in south-central Texas, rarely exceeding 16 inches in height. Accordingly, biologists considered it the fifth most preferred forb on sandy soils during their study, but it was much less prevalent in deer foraging on clay soils.

Seeds of cardinal feather.

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OUTDOOR TRADITIONS

The Joys of Journaling Article and photo by SALLIE LEWIS

G

rowing up, I spent countless weekends on the Texas gulf coast. My family’s house, located on the Fulton Beach Road in Rockport, was the backdrop of many of my fondest childhood memories.

In 1993, my Dad started a journal to chronicle our years together there. To this day, the weather-worn leather jackets safeguard priceless pages scrawled with the stories of our lives.

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Every time I return to our house in Rockport, I like to sit down with these journals and reflect on old memories.

With just one glance at my Dad’s distinctive penmanship, I can relive our adventures fighting redfish in the bay or trapping blue crabs off the pier by our home. With the turn of the page, I can taste the sea on my tongue as we peeled fresh-boiled shrimp and shucked oysters under the light of the winter moon.

Over the years, my Dad wrote his journals not out of chore or necessity.

Instead, he wrote them to capture life's adventure and fleeting beauty. Today, these volumes are heirlooms to be treasured and passed down, and they are the first thing we grab whenever the threat of a hurricane looms.

Last winter, after moving to Fredericksburg for a year-long reset, I followed in my father’s footsteps.

Wanting to remember every detail of my Hill Country stint, I started a journal and began recording my daily observations.

It has been well over a year now since I started writing. Often, I like to go back and re-read my entries, delighting once again at the things I saw, like the double rainbow that arced over my home last summer or the wild turkey whose pale head burned blue under the bright morning sun. Flipping through the pages, I can watch the harvest moon rise in late September and remember with vivid clarity the fat, fragrant onions I pulled from the garden last spring. Scattered amongst these spiritual snapshots are simple, daily reflections, like Saturday mornings spent cooking brisket with loved ones or watching deer come to feed from the rocker on my porch.

No matter how mundane, journaling helps keeps our eyes open. For me, the practice became a forced pause, an exercise of sitting still, reflecting and being grateful for the life that pulsed around me.

Often, it is easy to forget the minutiae of everyday. By putting pen to paper, I was able to memorialize the mini moments of wonder that made this last year one of the best of my life thus far.