MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION
Whooping
Cranes
FEBRUARY 2022
TEXAS WILDLIFE
PRESIDENT'S REMARKS SARAH BIEDENHARN
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.
I
recently had the opportunity to spend an afternoon on a youth hunt hosted by our own Texas Wildlife Association Vice President Jonathan Letz. While I have been involved in TWA most of my life, this was my first hands-on experience with the Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) and from what I could see, it truly is all it’s cracked up to be. When we arrived, the six young hunters, including some first timers and their dads, were debriefing from the morning hunt before having a late lunch. It was one of the first cool weekends of the year and the views from the front porch at camp could not be beat. The excitement was palpable from all involved. While we were just there for part of the weekend, there were several things that really stood out to me. First, TYHP Huntmasters and volunteers are truly incredible people. Their passion and attention to detail made taking first-time hunters on four hunts in 48 hours (or less) look easy. I appreciated the consistent messages of gun safety and respect for the animal, land, and landowner. These seemed the center of most of the lessons between Huntmaster and hunters. The lessons learned on a weekend like this go far beyond those that are planned. I know from my own experience that time outside with a close family member is special no matter the outcome or size of the animal hunted. I am grateful to have had those opportunities growing up and know that they are an integral part in understanding the importance of conservation and private land stewardship. I’ve written before about my concerns around the urbanization in Texas and truly believe that without generous landowners like Jonathan and passionate volunteers like Marshall Smith and Rodney and Lisa Koenig, we would be in a much scarier place. Thanks to all of you who have given your time and resources to the Texas Youth Hunting Program and for making it what it is today. It’s truly something to be proud of! If you’d like to find out how to get involved with TYHP, please reach out to Program Director Chris Mitchell at cmitchell@texas-wildlife.org.
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 2022 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
FEBRUARY 2022
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
FEBRUARY VOLUME 37
H
8 Whooping Cranes
NUMBER 10
H
2022
34 TAMU News
Solving Texas’ Natural Resources Challenges With TxMAP
Big Birds Making A Comeback in Texas by WHITNEY KLENZENDORF
by BRITTANY WEGNER
16 Hunting Heritage
36 Ashe Juniper
Texas Spring Turkey Outlook 2022
The Blessing and the Curse
by LORIE A. WOODWARD
by RAMONA NYE
18 Conservation Legacy
40 Grazing Matters for Plant and
It’s a Match!
Soil Health
by AMANDA GOBELI
by LORIE A. WOODWARD
24 Caesar Kleberg News
42 Mountain Biking for Fun and Profit
A Culture of Collaboration
by LORIE A. WOODWARD
by CLAYTON HILTON and CHRISTINA LOFTIN
46 Wild Focus
28 Plant Profile
Award-Winning Texas Photographer Earl Nottingham's New Book
Skeleton-Leaf Goldeneye by CARLOS “LALO” GONZALEZ
by KATY BALDOCK
30 TTU Wildlife Research News
48 A Quail Odyssey
Update on Intermountain West Sandhill Crane Research
Part 2 of a 2-part series
by M. CATHY NOWAK, HALEY N. DITZENBERGER,
WARREN C. CONWAY, DANIEL P. COLLINS, and BLAKE A. GRISHAM
by DALE ROLLINS, PH.D.
54 Outdoor Traditions A Patchwork of Seasons by SALLIE LEWIS Photo by Larry Ditto
Magazine Staff
MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION
On the Cover A mile marker of tremendous significance occurred in the realm of Texas wildlife when a pair of Whooping Cranes nested and hatched a chick, something that hasn’t happened in more than a hundred years. The event is one more indication that the iconic bird, once almost extinct, is on the road to recovery. Whitney Klenzendorf looks back at the Whoopers near disastrous past and forward to a much brighter future for the majestic birds, beginning on Page 8.
MAGAZINE CORPS Justin Dreibelbis, Executive Editor Burt Rutherford, Consulting Publications Coordinator/Editor Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor David Brimager, Advertising Director
FEBRUARY 2022
Photo by Larry Ditto Whooping
Cranes
Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO
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TEXAS WILDLIFE
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2021-2022 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at tpwd.state.tx.us.
FEBRUARY
JUNE
JULY
FEBRUARY 10-28 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. For more information, visit www. sarodeo.com.
JUNE 4 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman’s Celebration, Thompson Student Center, Tarleton State University, Stephenville. For more information,visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.
JULY 15 Statewide Texas Big Game Awards Banquet, during TWA’s Annual Convention, WildLife 2022, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, contact David Brimager at (800) 839-9453 or dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 20 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. For more information, visit rodeohouston.com.
MAY MAY 21 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman's Celebration, Brazos Expo Center, College Station. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.
JUNE 25 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman’s Celebration, Fiddler’s on the Gruene, New Braunfels. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.
JULY JULY 14-17 WildLife 2022, TWA’s 37th Annual Convention, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, contact David Brimager at (800) 839-9453 or dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.
TEXAS WILDLIFE
C O N S E R VAT I O N L E G A C Y Y O U T H P R O G R A M M I N G VISIT THE PROGRAM PAGES ONLINE AT www.texas-wildlife.org/program-areas/category/youth for specifics and registration information.
YOUTH DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: • Youth Videoconferences are live interactive presentations featuring Texas wildlife species. Offered throughout the semester, classes connect via videoconference equipment or Zoom. • On-demand Webinars are recorded interactive presentations about natural resources and wildlife conservation topics and are available anytime on the TWA website.
WILDLIFE BY DESIGN ACROSS TEXAS CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS: • (Virtual) Wildlife by Design Across Texas is for schools outside of the areas served by TWA educators (DFW area, Greater Houston area, South Texas and West Texas). Programs are offered on a set schedule and registration is required in advance.
Critter Connections are now available in a readalong format. Recordings of past issues are available online and are created for each new issue.
6 TEXAS WILDLIFE
FEBRUARY 2022
Photo by Larry Ditto
WHOOPING CRANES
For bird watchers and wildlife photographers, seeing Whooping Cranes may well be the capstone of their outdoor endeavors. Texas has two populations of Whooping Cranes—a migratory population that winters on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding private land, and a resident population that came from Louisiana.
8 TEXAS WILDLIFE
FEBRUARY 2022
WHOOPING CRANES Big Birds Making a Comeback in Texas Article by WHITNEY KLENZENDORF
O
n a cold day in January years ago, I arose at an unworldly hour to head to the Texas coast to see the famous Whooping Cranes – endangered birds, once nearly extinct. It was a frigid morning, in the low 40s, pitch dark and drizzling. Like any normal person, I wanted to go back to bed. I arrived at the tour boat only to learn that the trip was cancelled. Not enough people had shown up to make a full boat. “You mean,” I thought, “a midweek trip in this weather wasn’t tempting?”
All was not lost, fortunately, because someone gave me directions to a nearby spot where I could see some Whoopers. The tip was delivered with the caveat that it wouldn’t be as good as the boat ride to the wildlife refuge. I followed the directions through a suburban neighborhood until I saw a most quintessential Texas scene: a private home, an RV, a pond, cattle grazing lazily, and—drumroll please—a huge Whooping Crane out for a morning stroll amidst it all. That scene said everything about Texas: right in the middle of our daily lives we have some of the most incredible wildlife
WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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WHOOPING CRANES
Photo by Larry Ditto
specimens. Yes, Texas has remote wilderness and hard-to-find rare wildlife, but frankly, so much of the “great outdoors” is truly in our backyard. The fact that Texas has seen many endangered species rebound in the last several decades alongside explosive population growth is worth appreciating.
The iconic Whooping Crane is making a comeback from its near extinction in the 1930s when only 18 birds wintered at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Now, more than 800 Whooping Cranes live in North America.
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FEBRUARY 2022
A BRIEF REVIEW OF WHOOPING CRANES IN TEXAS There are two distinct populations of Whooping Cranes in Texas: a migratory population that overwinters on the coast, concentrated in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, and a few birds from the relatively new nonmigratory population in Southeast Texas that is part of the White Lake population in Louisiana. The migratory population has come to Texas every fall for hundreds of years, at the very least, flying more than 4,800 miles round trip to enjoy Texas’ mild winters and gracious hospitality. This population makes up most of the Whooping Cranes in America. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as of February 2020, 506 of the 826 Whoopers in the United States were part of this migratory population. It hasn’t always been sunshine and roses for Whooping Cranes in the United States. Although this migratory population was estimated at around 1,400 in the mid-1800s, there were only 18 birds wintering at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge by the 1930s. In June 1967, they were one of the first species declared endangered. Today, thanks to a tremendous group effort by many landowners, agencies and nonprofits, the total national population is growing, including captive and reintroduced populations. For Whooping Cranes to be downlisted from endangered to threatened, one threshold is for the migratory population to reach 1,000. Alongside the progress being made restoring Texas’ migratory population on the coast, biologists are looking at other places in the United States where Whooping Cranes have historically lived. “If you go back in time, we think there were a number of small non-migratory
Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
WHOOPING CRANES
populations across the Gulf and even up the Atlantic coast,” said Wade Harrell, USFWS Whooping Crane coordinator. Records show the last remaining breeding population in the wild was in White Lake, La., with a population that had dwindled down to 13 in 1939. By 1950, the single surviving crane at White Lake was moved to Aransas, where he died six months later. Because this area was a historic breeding ground for Whoopers, it was eyed as having potential for reintroduction. Fast forward six decades to 2011. Thanks to captive breeding and the collaboration of a variety of partners including the Audubon Society, International Crane Foundation, USFWS, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, reintroduction on the White Lake Wetland Conservation Area became a reality. Ten captive-reared juvenile Whooping Cranes were released onto their historic range at White Lake in 2011. More have been released each year and the population stands at more than 80 cranes today.
Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Reestablishing a healthy Whooping Crane population has happened with a combination of wild nesting birds and juveniles raised in captivity, then released. All Whoopers released into their historic habitat wear leg bands and tracking devices.
The first nesting pair of Whooping Cranes in Texas in more than 100 years caused great excitement for the future of the big birds.
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WHOOPING CRANES
“We had good cooperation and landowners are very supportive of hosting the birds on their property,” Harrell said. WHAT LANDOWNERS CAN DO As numbers have grown, estimates are that only half of the migratory population winters on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge—the rest are on private lands. Landowners across the state can participate in Whooping Crane conservation even if they don’t live on the coast. First and foremost, Whooping Cranes need water sources and wetland habitat as they migrate through Texas, so any wetland conservation or stock pond is helpful—even if small. Their migration corridor goes from Wichita Falls, down the west side of Fort Worth to Waco, to Victoria and then to Aransas, so any land in that corridor is potentially a stopover point. For landowners in the Jefferson County and Chambers County area, keeping coastal agriculture in production is critical. “We’ve seen rice acres decrease on the Texas coast over 50 years, and we want rice farmers to do all they can to keep land in production since there’s such a benefit to wildlife,” Harrell said. For landowners in the corridor and especially along the ever-developing Texas coast, conservation easements are something to consider for a variety of reasons. To put Whooping
Photo by Larry Ditto
As the project has continued, the Whooping Cranes have spread out from White Lake and are utilizing private lands, primarily rice and crawfish farms. Southeast Texas has similar habitat and it was only a matter of time before Whoopers crossed the border. Three to four years ago, Whooping Cranes started to consistently use habitat in Texas. Then, this past spring, a mating pair set up a nesting site on the Jefferson-Chambers County line on private land. Because the majority of our state’s Whoopers have always returned to Canada to nest and rear their young, Texas hasn’t had a Whooping Crane nest in more than a hundred years, so the nesting this past summer was momentous. The chick didn’t make it, unfortunately, but according to biologists, that is normal. The parents were only three years old and it is very rare for a mating pair that young to have a successful nest. That they even nested in Texas is a major victory, showing an expanding range and promise for a successful chick next year. Biologists are very optimistic about the odds for their future. Each bird released into the wild has a radio transmitter, so biologists and agencies know where they are and when. When the pair of nesting cranes was observed on a private ranch, TPWD reached out to the landowners.
Whoppers that winter along the Texas coast prefer crabs and invertebrates as the main part of their diet.
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FEBRUARY 2022
Photo by Earl Nottingham, courtesy of TPWD
WHOOPING CRANES
Crane habitat needs in perspective, each mating pair in the migratory population requires at least 300 acres of coastal habitat to overwinter. The amount of marsh it takes to support a population of 560-plus birds is respectable. Healthy private lands along the coast are vital to the rebound and eventual delisting of the species. “We’ve had some really good success working with private landowners putting some additional habitat near Aransas into conservation easements, and that has been a real positive for the recovery of the species,” Harrell said. To see a map of Whooper sightings and report their own, people can go to the Texas Whooper Watch at https://www. inaturalist.org/projects/texas-whooper-watch. “Landowners have been great to work with; they’ve been our eyes and ears with regard to what the birds have been doing. Landowners have always been intrigued and interested. They’ve been very positive,” said Sean Oldenberger, a TPWD biologist who has worked on Whooping Crane conservation. Habitat conservation and captive breeding have been central to conservation of the species, thanks to collaboration across agencies, state lines, and even national boundaries. There is a relatively new captive breeding effort in Texas spearheaded by the Dallas Zoo. Several years ago, the Dallas Zoo started the Whooping Crane Center of Texas on land outside McKinney. Nine birds are there now and the Dallas Zoo
Photo Courtesy of TPWD
Whooping Cranes mate for life, which is an important aspect in protecting and preserving the species. They tend to have long life spans and often don’t raise a healthy colt, as young cranes are called, until the pair is four years old or older.
Wetland habitat is critical for Whooping Cranes, and not just along the coast. This map shows the Texas migration corridor for Whoopers as well as areas where they may stray. Wetlands and ponds in these areas are important stopover places as Whoopers migrate to and from Canada and the Texas coast.
WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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Photo by Larry Ditto
WHOOPING CRANES
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a critical wintering area for Whooping Cranes and a great place for bird watchers to fill their notebooks and cameras with sightings. These birds are part of a migratory population that has been making the round trip from Canada to Texas for hundreds of years.
has plans to construct breeding pens plus specially-designed incubation and hand-rearing areas. The goal is to have 10 pairs of breeding birds that produce chicks each year for release into the wild. Even though Whooping Cranes reproduce very slowly, they don’t experience huge swings year to year like other R-species (populations that are governed by their maximum reproductive capacity, r) such as Northern Bobwhite Quail. Whooping Cranes are relatively hardy when it comes to adverse weather, which has been helpful in their rebound. Take the extreme weather events in the last several years in Texas—namely Hurricane Harvey and the 2021 winter storm Uri. Whooping Cranes rode out both storms with relative ease. Harvey resulted in an increased crab population, which was good for the migratory Whooping Crane population in Texas. The non-migratory Louisiana/Texas population uses inland freshwater wetlands, unlike the migratory population that uses estuarine wetlands along the coast. Because they are farther inland, the impact of hurricanes isn’t as direct. The population
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FEBRUARY 2022
DID YOU KNOW? • It’s estimated that over half the Whooping Crane population in Texas is on private land. • Whooping Cranes have been spotted on almost three-fourths of the Texas coastline. • After the freeze in February 2021, Whooping Cranes that normally eat crabs and invertebrates were seen feeding on fish that froze along the coast. • Texas had its first pair of Whooping Cranes nest and hatch an egg in the wild in more than 100 years this past summer. • Texas has two separate populations of Whooping Cranes. • Whooping Cranes are the tallest birds on this continent. • Whooping Cranes mate for life.
Photo by Larry Ditto
WHOOPING CRANES
Is the sun setting or rising on Whooping Cranes? Thanks to the efforts of private landowners, state and federal wildlife agencies and others, the status of Whoopers is looking better as time goes on.
has not lost a bird in the series of hurricanes Louisiana has endured the last few years. The wintering population in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is not present during hurricane season. So they are only affected by habitat conditions when they arrive in Texas, and hurricanes can be good for their habitat by bringing new food sources. During the February freeze of 2021, the cranes were in Texas still but weathered the storm with ease. They face frigid temperatures in the springtime as they arrive in Canada, so they tolerate cold. “One interesting behavior we did see in Aransas this past February is that all of a sudden there were a lot of fresh dead fish available in the shallow bays," Harrell said. "The cranes were feeding on those dead fish, and we don’t usually see them as primarily a fish eater very often. They took advantage of that. It only lasted a week or two and then they went back to crabs and invertebrates.” WHERE TO SEE WHOOPING CRANES “It’s a special experience to see a Whooping Crane in the wild, I would encourage any Texan to take that opportunity,” Harrell said. “Realize that this is a really unique animal we get to see—
one of our best endangered species success stories where they’ve bounced back from (near) extinction.” The best bet for spotting Whoopers in their native habitat is to go to the coast and take a private boat tour of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding area. Whoopers are here from November to April but the best time to see them is February and March. There is a new visitors center at the refuge that will likely be open this spring. If you can’t make it to the coast, go to the San Antonio Zoo, Houston Zoo, or Abilene Zoo, all of which have Whooping Cranes. Once the Whooping Crane facility at the Dallas Zoo is built, people can see them there as well. For extra credit, visit the International Crane Foundation headquarters in Baraboo, Wis., where you can see a mating pair of every single species of crane on earth. You’ll come away with even more appreciation for how remarkable these birds are. I have been and attest it’s worth the trip to Wisconsin for this and a trip to Aldo Leopold’s farm. The Whooping Crane may be the most iconic symbol of conservation success in North America, with its graceful 5-foot form and dramatic history. Texas landowners have played an important role in its recovery and will continue to do so into the future.
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Texas Spring Turkey Outlook 2022 Photo by Don Flamion courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation
Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD
As with any species, a successful turkey outing depends on successful reproduction. And that depends on successful habitat.
T
he ample rain and relatively mild temperatures across much of the state last summer created better than average nesting conditions for turkey hens. “The cooler temperatures allowed turkey hens to stay on their nests longer,” said Jason Hardin, wild turkey program leader at TPWD. “When it’s extremely hot or dry, they tend to abandon their nests, which obviously impacts the hatch and next year’s population.” With adequate winter moisture and an early spring green-up over the past few winters, Hardin anticipates a plentiful supply of two- to three-year-old gobblers throughout much of Texas’ traditional turkey range. Of course, a robust population doesn’t always equate to a full bag.
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FEBRUARY 2022
“Depending on conditions, the gobblers may all get ‘henned up’ and not respond to a call,” Hardin said. “Just because birds are there doesn’t mean hunters will bag them—and just because hunters aren’t bagging a lot of birds doesn’t mean they’re not there.” In the summer of 2021, working with the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Technical Committee and the Southeast Wild Turkey Technical Committee, TPWD resumed its hen/ poult surveys. The survey, which has been on hiatus for the past 17 years, started again to help create a more complete picture of turkey numbers across the region. “Because we’re all using the same survey methods, we get to compare apples to apples,” Hardin said. “And we’re sharing
information across state lines and agencies to get more insight into the status of turkeys across the Southeast.” The initial survey found that the Hill Country and the South Texas Sand Sheet, long known for high turkey density, still enjoy an embarrassment of riches. On the other hand, the population in the eastern Rolling Plains including Childress, Cottle and Collinsworth counties appears to be declining. “Used to, farmers up there called to complain about turkeys eating their wheat and peanut crops, but now they’re calling and asking what has happened to the birds,” Hardin said. To explore the perceived decline, TPWD personnel sampled 120 birds collected from Hardeman, Cottle, Collingsworth, and Childress counties in 2021 to check for disease. While they found evidence of REV and low path AI, the presence was within the expected norm. “When you look for diseases in wild animals, you’ll find them,” Hardin said. With disease ruled out, the department is currently calling for research proposals that explore habitat changes in the Rolling Plains to see if it is something at the landscape level that is prompting the change. For instance, in some areas farmers have begun growing cotton instead of wheat. There are also questions about the health of the old cottonwood stands in the lingering aftermath of the long-term drought that peaked in 2011. Those trees have served as primary roosts throughout the area.
Photo by Tony Painalto courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federeation
RE-STOCKING IN EAST TEXAS Since 2014, TPWD has released 985 Eastern Wild Turkeys on 12 sites with a focus on the Neches River, Sulphur River, and Trinity River with priority areas located in Anderson, Angelina, Camp, Cherokee, Franklin, Henderson, Rusk, Titus and Trinity counties. The effort, known as superstocking, is designed to saturate areas in contiguous tracts of prime habitat. The hope is that eventually the reintroduced flocks will reproduce, grow and eventually find one another to enhance genetic variability and increase continuity of the population. At each site, TPWD reintroduces at least 80 birds at a ratio of three hens to one gobbler. The department hopes to stock Easterns at four additional sites this year.
Fooling a tom often depends on fooling the boss hen. If she thinks you’re the competition, she’ll come running and bring the tom with her.
Photo by Chase Fountain courtesy of TPWD
TEXAS SPRING TURKEY OUTLOOK 2022
A spring gobbler in full strut is a sight and sounds to see and hear.
“All we can do is put the birds on the ground,” Hardin said. “They have to survive, nest and successfully rear poults. We’ll know in about another 10 years if it’s working.” To help the birds succeed, TPWD also provides PittmanRobertson funds to private landowners to improve habitat in and around the stocking sites through a partnership with NWTF and the Northeast Texas Conservation Delivery Network. In addition to Eastern Wild Turkeys, the department is reintroducing Rio Grande Wild Turkeys at priority sites along the Trinity River. This area is thought to be the far eastern edge of the Rio Grandes's traditional range. NEW IN THE TURKEY WOODS Last fall, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission made three rule changes that affect spring turkey season. First, all counties with a one-bird bag limit and spring-only turkey season now require mandatory harvest reports. Second, Panola County’s spring Eastern Turkey season has been closed. Third, the same North and South Zone boundary along Highway 90 is in effect for both spring and fall wild turkey seasons. Previously, the line shifted slightly in spring and fall. This change went into effect in fall 2021. “Hunters can—and should–check the online version of the Outdoor Annual for complete and updated regulations,” Hardin said. Finally, turkey hunting is going high tech. Currently turkey hunters can use the Outdoor Annual app to hold proof of purchase of their hunting license on their phones. Beginning in the 2022-23 season, hunters will also be able to access a digital tagging system for species such as turkey that require tags. Physical tags will still be available. “Digital tagging will not only be more convenient, but it will provide TPWD with more complete harvest data,” Hardin said. “Better data equals better management and decision making.”
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It’s a Match!
New Website Promises to Simplify Sustainable Grazing Article by AMANDA GOBELI Photo courtesy of JUSTIN DREIBELBIS
Can wildlife and livestock coexist? Not only can they, but wildlife habitat can be enhanced with properly managed livestock grazing. Now a website is available to connect livestock producers and landowners with pastures to lease with the goal of benefiting lessee, lessor and the wild and domestic animals that share the landscape.
Y
ou’re looking for the perfect partner: someone who shares your interests and values, who respects your time and property— someone trustworthy. Geography is also a factor, of course. Things won’t work out if the distance is too great, and in a state as big as Texas it can easily be a deal breaker. Communication is key, too. Relationships like this require everyone to be on the same page regarding goals and expectations. When that doesn’t happen, people get burned. No, we’re not talking about dating. We’re referring to the tenuous, nerve-wracking and ultimately necessary process of setting up a grazing lease. On paper, the arrangement appears straightforward enough: livestock producers need rangeland to house and feed their animals, and landowners have said rangeland as well as a need or desire to generate income from it. Livestock
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on the land not only helps both parties financially, but it can improve the health of the range itself—and the wildlife it supports— by reintroducing grazing to a landscape that can benefit from it. However, that last point comes with a caveat: for grazing to improve the land, it must be done in a sustainable, conservation-minded way. The idea behind healthy grazing regimes is using cattle or other livestock to fill the niche left empty by the extirpation of the American bison, which played a crucial role in maintaining grassland habitats. By consuming vegetation and reshaping the soil with their hooves, bison “disturbed” the habitat just enough to reinvigorate the grasses while preventing trees and shrubs from taking over the landscape. There is one key difference between the bison herds of yesterday and the domestic livestock of today. While bison were free to roam and always on the move, cattle
FEBRUARY 2022
are confined. And when cattle spend too long in one spot it is not good for the land. The consequences can be catastrophic. Plant cover, which helps regulate temperature, prevents compaction, and reduces erosion, is integral to soil health. Once it’s gone, getting soil back is an uphill battle. Losing native vegetation also frees up space for invasive plants to take hold, adding another dimension to the struggle. Undergrazing is at the other end of the spectrum. Land that is never exposed to hoofed animals is insulated from the many benefits of grazing. Grasses that are properly grazed by livestock and then rested are stimulated to grow more shoots and develop deeper roots in a process known as tillering. Those root systems also produce food for microorganisms living within the soil. These same microorganisms return the favor by making soil nutrients more readily available to the plants. This is just one example of how grazing can improve soil health, and why the process is so important. Remember, the rangeland is dynamic, not static, and to maintain it you have to shake things up. Striking the right grazing balance requires additional knowledge and effort on the part of producers, as they must move and manage livestock to moderate grazing pressure on the landscape. Therein lies a common point of contention in landowner/producer relationships: the landowner is concerned primarily with the wellbeing of his property, while the producer is concerned primarily with the
IT'S A MATCH!
wellbeing of the livestock. Those goals may not always line up in a grazing lease. Despite these risks, the potential benefits of a healthy grazing relationship are enormous. Financially speaking, grazing leases are big business in Texas, with rates averaging around $6 to $7 per acre at last count across the state. The production side of the equation is also a huge factor in the state’s GDP, with beef cattle and calves contributing more than $8.5 billion each year alone. Our native fauna profits as well. Grazing activity and its associated soil health benefits can increase forb production, which are important sources of food and/or cover for quail, dove, deer, and other wildlife. These species also happen to be our state’s most popular game animals, and the money spent pursuing them directly supports rural economies. It’s clear that grazing can be a great thing for people, wildlife, and the wellbeing of our open spaces. Why, then, is it so difficult to find an amicable grazing lease partnership? One reason is a lack of transparency about how these relationships are formed. The conversations that eventually lead to a contract and a handshake often begin with chance coffee shop encounters or word-of-mouth referrals. These connections can lead to mutually beneficial and enduring partnerships, but a lack of formality may also produce legal issues farther down the line. It’s also worth considering that new landowners and producers who lack these connections may be left wondering where to start. What if it didn’t have to be that way? What if conservation-minded landowners and producers could find each other easily and start these conversations without having to rely on pre-existing connections? Those are the questions that TWA and partner organizations are hoping to answer with the launch of a new website intended to bring people together in the name of healthy grazing. We recognize the challenges that are associated with grazing leases, but we also see how wildlife can be protected and supported when livestock are used responsibly.
Become a Mentor for Land, Water, and Wildlife Expeditions Article by CHAD TIMMONS Photos by RUSSELL A. GRAVES
Kids ands fishing just go together. But there are many kids in Texas who may never get to experience the thrill of a tug at the end of a line. With a new TWA program, mentors can introduce kids to the outdoors via a fishing pole.
T
hink back to some of your earliest memories in the outdoors. Who were you with? Where did you go? What activities did you engage in and what did you learn? How did that experience impact your life? Some of us were fortunate to have a mentor who introduced us to the outdoors. We might describe those initial experiences as transformative and perhaps they laid the foundation for how we developed as adults. But what about the youth across the state who don’t have access to a mentor, to green space, and don’t know where to start?
Conservation Legacy aims to remove these barriers with our new public program: Land, Water, and Wildlife Expeditions. The aim is to offer a safe, fun, and educational experience to introduce youth to the outdoors. These expeditions will provide youth and their parent or guardian the opportunity to work alongside mentors and natural resource experts to learn about ornithology and birding, water ecology and angling, nature photography, and much more. However, to make this dream a reality, we’ll need a network of (Continued on page 20)
(Continued on page 20) WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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BECOME A MENTOR
(Continued from page 19) In looking to the future, we recognize that such a website would help meet increasing demands as land ownership in Texas trends toward smaller, more numerous holdings—more properties mean more potential lease agreements. The site we envision is called Grazing Matters and its development is well underway. When it’s done, it will enable users to create a profile on the site, search for nearby producers or landowners using an interactive map, and network with prospective partners. The site will have educational utility as well, offering a wealth of information on sustainable and restorative grazing practices, cost share options, stories from site members who are doing the work, and relevant program opportunities hosted by collaborating organizations. Think of it like a social network, designed with the express purpose of facilitating grazing relationships for land stewardship. Once the site’s essential features are in place, we will have a soft launch where a select number of individuals will be invited to create a profile, try it out, and provide feedback before it’s finalized and made available to the public. The usefulness of Grazing Matters as a networking tool depends on how many contacts it generates, so we need your help populating the database before it goes live. We’re looking at an estimated soft launch in April and hope to have the full site live by the end of May. If you’re a landowner or producer who is interested in being one of the trailblazers in this ambitious project, email Amanda Gobeli (agobeli@texas-wildlife.org), who can contact you with instructions for registering on the site when the time comes. You can also learn more about the project and stay up to date on its progress by visiting texas-wildlife.org/programareas/grazing-matters. Grazing matters. It matters to landowners, to livestock producers, and to wildlife. Our website will acknowledge that truth by making it easier than ever before to put healthy grazing into practice.
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Hunting can be done with a camera as well as in the traditional sense. And outdoor photography is a great way for people of all ages to learn more about the natural world around them.
(Continued from page 19) mentors who are willing to engage with youth and introduce them to all the incredible ecosystems that exist within Texas. Our ideal mentors don’t need a Ph.D. or an official title. All they need is a love for the outdoors, a passion for outdoor education, and a desire to share that experience with others. Could you see yourself teaching youth how to bird? Or maybe you know a thing or two about photography in nature. It could be that you love fishing—perhaps you taught your own kids how to fish—and would like to share that experience with others. Is your passion water ecology? Herpetology? Entomology? This is your opportunity to get involved with this new program and introduce youth to the outdoors.
FEBRUARY 2022
Likewise, we’ll need the generosity of private landowners across the state who are willing to open their gates and allow access to our mentors, volunteers, and participants. Wildlife, habitat conservation, and land stewardship are better understood when hearing directly from land stewards themselves. This is your opportunity to share your story with our future generations of conservationists. Conservation Legacy will host its inaugural mentor training in March 2022 on private land in Central Texas. By the end of this two-day training, participants will be prepared and empowered to plan, schedule, and deliver a Land, Water, and Wildlife Expedition. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, opening your gates, or have questions, feel free to contact me at ctimmons@texas-wildlife.org.
© D.K. Langford
TWA Engages in a Broad Range of
Land, Water, and Wildlife Issues AS MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION, we are asking our neighbors who are fellow conservationists, ranchers, and hunters to join our vital efforts. Your membership will help promote Texas’ hunting traditions and develop opportunities for new generations to know the pleasures of Texas outdoors. By joining, you will strengthen our work with legislators, educators and wildlife biologists to protect private lands and the many species of wildlife they support. The future of our wildlife populations depends on you.
Join your neighbors today! For more information on becoming a member of the Texas Wildlife Association, please visit www.texas-wildlife.org/membership
Photo by Russell Graves
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TEXAS WILDLIFE
CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-KINGSVILLE
A Culture of Collaboration
Transforming the Future of Veterinary Technology and Wildlife Science
Photo courtesy of Tiffany Pope
Article by CLAYTON HILTON and CHRISTINA LOFTIN
VETT faculty members Tiffany Pope (right) and Julia Rogers collect a blood sample from a black-bellied whistling duck. In addition to companion and large domestic animals, faculty at the VETT program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville are important in the work that scientists and graduate students at the university’s Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute perform.
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special combination of two programs exists at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK), and this combination benefits not only wildlife but Texan communities in myriad ways. Readers of Texas Wildlife know TAMUK is home to the prestigious Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) and its world-class scientists and graduate students.
What is not common knowledge is that TAMUK is also home to a unique veterinary technology (VETT) program. As the only accredited fouryear veterinary technology institution in Texas, TAMUK VETT is also the only program in the nation with a curricular emphasis dedicated to the care of large animals, wildlife/non-domestic species, lab animals, and companion animals.
Established on the threefold mission of teaching, research, and service, TAMUK VETT opened its classrooms the fall semester of 2014 with its first cohort graduating in 2016. This exemplary program is led by Dr. Clay Hilton, professor and Jo & Bruce Gunn Endowed Director of Veterinary Technology. As one of a handful of veterinarians in the country who are also wildlife biologists,
Sponsored by JOHN AND LAURIE SAUNDERS
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Photo courtesy of TAMUK
RENOWNED FACULTY AND STAFF The TAMUK VETT program not only provides collaborative services to partners such as the CKWRI but is also dedicated to developing well-rounded veterinary technologists with exceptional skills. Students have access to outstanding instructors with experiences in a variety of veterinary medical fields such as wildlife, production animal medicine, surgery and anesthesia, zoo and exotic animal medicine, and shelter medicine.
Dr. Clay Hilton and Tiffany Pope, faculty members with the Texas A&M University-Kingsville veterinary technology program, collect samples from an anesthetized bobcat.
Dr. Clay Hilton takes a blood sample from an anesthetized alligator.
Photo courtesy of TAMUK
Dr. Hilton also serves as the wildlife veterinarian for the CKWRI. The resulting partnership with CKWRI scientists leads to wildlife studies that employ the best practices for animal handling, anesthesia, and sample collection. Research performed through the CKWRI has the potential to improve multiple facets of wildlife management and having a relationship with the veterinary technology program contributes to this cause. For example, in an annual study evaluating whitetailed deer populations, valuable research data was collected by CKWRI and VETT staff. This information was then used to disseminate essential health data which not only benefits white-tailed deer populations, but wildlife scholars and academia. More importantly, this study provided a hands-on approach to restraint techniques and sample collection for visiting scholars, as well as TAMUK undergraduate and graduate students.
Photo by Brian Loflin
CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Tiffany Pope collects a blood sample from a cold-stunned sea turtle at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. In the background, Christine Hoskinson processes the samples.
WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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Photo by Randall W. DeYoung
CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
VETT student Kristina Esqueda collects blood samples from a white-tailed deer.
Dr. Hilton is joined by licensed veterinary technician (LVT) and wildlife biologist Christine Hoskinson, MS, LVT and Tiffany Pope, MS, LVT, RALAT. Hoskinson serves as the VETT assistant director and has been instrumental in developing the VETT program as well as executing CKWRI research initiatives. She annually performs blood sample and ectoparasite collection on Rio Grande Turkeys that are slated for translocation, which provides valuable information regarding health statuses. Similarly, Pope, who has research and teaching interests in animal behavior, parasitology, and small mammal handling and restraint, routinely takes VETT students on deer captures that are a part of a multi-year study. She teaches VETT students how to proficiently perform venipuncture and how to safely handle blood samples in the field. In return, TAMUK VETT students gain field experience with medical techniques they will employ throughout their careers, all while teaching undergraduate students from other universities the same skills. The program is also joined by Assistant Professor Cariann Galloway, a graduate of Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary
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Medicine. Dr. Galloway, who has special interests in animal nutrition, gastrointestinal diseases, pain management, and animal behavior, is a great asset to the VETT program as well as its associated partners. In one unique case, Dr. Galloway accompanied Dr. Hilton in performing fibropapilloma surgeries on green sea turtles that were to be released by the Texas State Aquarium. Dr. Galloway teaches students the practical implications of managing diseases and pain, and she works closely with Julia Rogers, LVT, and Christina Loftin, MS, LVT, CVT, two additional members of the VETT program faculty. Rogers, a Kingsville native, instructs courses related to diagnostic imaging, surgical nursing, and anesthesia. Her unique classroom skills and knowledge continue to be applied in the field. She is always willing to provide radiographic services for the CKWRI white-tailed deer population studies. However, some of her more important work has been applied to the anesthetic monitoring of green sea turtles—a unique skill set that requires precision and confidence because of their endangered species status.
CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Lastly, sociologist and Licensed Veterinary Technician Christina Loftin is the newest member of the TAMUK VETT team. While she has broad research and teaching interests in veterinary medical technology and human-animal interactions, she also is an adjunct lecturer for the Department of Sociology at Mississippi State University and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee member for the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America. In her spare time, her expertise has been essential in helping administer medications to CKWRI white-tailed deer. Texas A&M University-Kingsville VETT students are exposed to a variety of unique learning experiences through work performed by exemplary instructors and dedicated CKWRI scientists. It is safe to say the TAMUK VETT instructors and their collaborators are highly diversified and dedicated to giving their students a unique and academically inclusive experience.
biologists inspired Lindsey Howard, BS, LVT, to further her education and pursue an advanced degree after completing her BS in Veterinary Technology at TAMUK in May 2021. She was able to comfortably transition into the Master of Science program in Range and Wildlife Science where she works under the tutelage of Dr. Fidel Hernandez studying the influence of rainfall and vegetation color on reproduction in Northern Bobwhite Quail. By combining her knowledge in veterinary technology with her wildlife degrees, she plans on focusing on wildlife health on a broad scale. Ultimately, her veterinary technology training accompanied by her passion for wildlife has helped her secure not only temporary wildlife jobs post-VETT graduation but also provided essential skills that will benefit her current graduate studies.
from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities, and while it is a relatively new program, it continues to be a forerunner in the veterinary technology profession. Program faculty and staff continue to conduct essential research in the areas of wildlife, parasitology, companion animal health, and community engagement, and speak nationally at conferences. Additionally, the VETT team strives to advance and promote the utilization of veterinary technicians across the United States. Though the program only accepts 30 highly qualified VETT students per year, the program seeks to expand its teaching and funding. For information on the program, visit tamuk.edu/agriculture/institutes-andother-units/vett/index.html.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS The TAMUK VETT program was recently awarded full accreditation
A ONE-OF-A-KIND EXPERIENCE Because the TAMUK VETT program and the CKWRI are committed to student success and the collaborative exploration of science, VETT students are exposed to unique learning opportunities in addition to their traditional education in domestic species. CKWRI scientists provide opportunities for VETT students to perform venipuncture and collect blood samples in quail and alligators. Additionally, they take radiographs of white-tailed deer and implant radio transmitters in pocket gophers. TAMUK’s most current collaborative efforts include assisted reproduction and health assessments of bobcats and ocelots which are serving as post-graduate training opportunities for veterinarian Ashley Reeves, who is working toward a Ph.D. through the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Students accompany Dr. Reeves in the field where she trains them in anesthesia monitoring and handling techniques. Collaborative experiences like these also help inspire VETT students to further their training in wildlife sciences. For instance, working closely with CKWRI wildlife
WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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TEXAS WILDLIFE
PLANT PROFILE
Skeleton-Leaf Goldeneye Article and photos by CARLOS “LALO” GONZALEZ
As with all native plants, skeleton-leaf goldeneye is an important pollinator plant, as well as producing seeds for birds and browse for deer, pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep.
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ative plants such as skeleton-leaf goldeneye (Viguiera stenoloba) occur naturally in the region where they evolved, including Texas. As a result, they are the ecological basis upon which life depends, having co-evolved with local wildlife and insects. Unfortunately, many landscaping and restoration plants are exotic species. These exotic plants can become invasive, outcompeting native plants and degrading the landscape. In contrast, Texas natives such as skeleton-leaf goldeneye can be of great value to wildlife. Skeleton-leaf goldeneye is far more formidable than many exotic plants. This shrub does well in heat and full sun, but it can also take light shade, and it is very drought-tolerant once established. Despite being damaged in cold winters, it will emerge from the roots in the spring. In mild winters, it will be evergreen.
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Skeleton-leaf goldeneye is a member of the sunflower family. The shrub does well in heat and full sun and is drought-tolerant once established.
A native member of the sunflower family, it forms an attractive, deep-green mound with finely textured leaves. It will spread to about 4 feet wide and grow about as tall, and produces yellow, daisylike flowers from late spring/summer until frost. Skeleton-leaf goldeneye is considered second choice browse for deer, and it has been documented to be browsed by pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep. Most of all, it is a valuable plant for butterflies and other nectar-dependent insects, and seed-eating birds. Through small and large restoration efforts such as landscaping and rangeland restoration, selecting native plants has a meaningful effect on the populations of birds and the insects they need to survive. We can all benefit Texas native wildlife, birds, and insects by selecting native plants when making landscaping decisions.
department of natural resources management
texas tech university
TTU WILDLIFE R ESE A RCH NEWS
Update on Intermountain West Sandhill Crane Research Article by M. CATHY NOWAK, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University HALEY N. DITZENBERGER, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University WARREN C. CONWAY, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University DANIEL P. COLLINS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM BLAKE A. GRISHAM, Department of Natural Resources Management and Llano River Field Station, Texas Tech University Photos courtesy of TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Haley Ditzenberger and Cathy Nowak with a Greater Sandhill Crane colt captured at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon in 2021.
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andhill Cranes in the western United States are currently managed as three separate populations: the Rocky Mountain Population (RMP), the Lower Colorado River Valley Population (LCRVP), and the Central Valley Population (CVP). These comprise the Intermountain West crane populations, which are managed separately from the MidContinent population that winters in Texas. The Texas Tech Department of Natural Resources Management (NRM) began investigating Western Greater SPONSORED BY
Sandhill Cranes in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and initial captures started in 2014 on the LCRVP with Dr. Daniel Collins and Courtenay Conring. The lead author, Cathy Nowak, was also studying CVP cranes in 2014, but had a head start on the Texas Tech projects. Her work on cranes began in 2007 when she started capturing and color marking prefledging colts as an employee of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Researchers combined their strengths and began a large-scale collaboration in 2015 to capture and GPS tag cranes in Oregon as part of Nowak’s study. The collaboration expanded in 2021 when Nowak joined TTU as a doctoral student and Haley Ditzenberger began work toward a master’s degree using feathers collected from the crane captures. The combined projects explore numerous aspects of Sandhill Crane life history and ecology in the Intermountain West, but emphasize understanding the migratory ecology, nesting ecology, and genetic connectivity of the Intermountain West crane populations. Conring’s research focused on the migratory ecology and breeding distribution of LCRVP cranes. She captured cranes on the wintering grounds and in breeding areas and fitted them with GPS transmitters attached to leg bands. The GPS transmitters logged each crane’s location four times per day, which facilitated Conring’s graduate thesis that assessed migration timing, routes, migratory stopover sites and end termini (breeding area in spring; wintering area in fall) and the amount of time taken for each migration. At the time of Conring’s thesis, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not have complete knowledge of where the
The Rumsey Research and Development Fund and the Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University
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T TU WILDLIFE RESEARCH NEWS
LCRVP cranes nested and raised colts. By capturing cranes in winter, Conring and her collaborators learned more about where the population nested and raised their colts in the Intermountain West. Unlike Conring’s work, where she knew the wintering areas but did not have the full picture of breeding areas, Nowak knew where the cranes at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area (LMWA) in Oregon nested but lacked information on where the cranes were spending the winter. Although there was a small but growing group of cranes nesting at LMWA, no one seemed to know which of the western populations those cranes belonged to. Most biologists thought they were CVP birds. Given her geographic location, Nowak thought they could just as easily belong to the LCRVP. By 2015, none of Nowak’s color banded cranes were reported from a wintering area, so Grisham joined the effort and they began capturing cranes at LMWA and attaching GPS transmitters on as many birds as possible. As with Conring’s research, the telemetry tracked cranes from their northeast Oregon nesting area to their wintering grounds and recorded stopover sites and time elapsed during transit. Further, the GPS locations allowed Nowak to locate individual nest sites and document the characteristics of each nest including materials, size, water depth and other habitatspecific details. These details will help delineate habitat needs and assist with identifying similar areas that cranes may use for nesting in the large expanses of the Intermountain West. Additionally, the nesting data Nowak is collecting are important for cranes as climate change alters plant communities and development encroaches upon breeding areas. In 2020, researchers began collecting feather samples from captured birds to examine DNA and stable isotopes to aid in their ability to clearly define population affiliation(s) for the cranes in the Intermountain West. This led to Ditzenberger’s research. Following on Conring and Nowak’s research, Ditzenberger will assess population connectivity of cranes based on DNA and stable isotopes. Using isotopes isolated from feathers of captured colts, Ditzenberger will establish benchmarks for creation of an isoscape. An isoscape is a spatial representation of isotope signatures across the study area. Thus, following establishment of benchmarks, crane feathers collected from colts and adults within the study area can be assigned to a geographic region based on known crane molting patterns. This will help researchers understand the specific locations cranes stop to rest, feed, and conduct other daily activities as they migrate north and south. Further, DNA analysis of cranes from all three western populations will assess connectivity, or lack of it, among those populations. Conring’s research concluded with completion of her master’s thesis in March 2017. She analyzed the migration routes and stopover sites of 18 cranes marked with GPS transmitters, including 16 marked as adults and two marked as colts. She found that the cranes used the same general migration pathway, or major corridor, in both spring and fall except for two cranes
A Greater Sandhill Crane captured at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon in 2021 and fitted with plastic colored leg bands, a metal federal band, and a GPS transmitter.
Migration corridors used by GPS-marked Sandhill Cranes from the Lower Colorado River Valley population and identified by Courtenay Conring 2014-2017.
WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG
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T TU WILDLIFE RESEARCH NEWS
A typical Sandhill Crane nest at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon, with an addled or infertile egg left by the adults.
Wintering areas in the Central Valley of California of Sandhill Cranes captured and marked at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon.
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that used modified pathways, or minor corridors, which nevertheless led them to similar migration termini. Conring also identified 21 Areas of Migratory Use (AMU), defined as areas where GPS-marked cranes stayed for more than one programmed location point. The AMUs identified in this study included national wildlife refuges, state-owned wildlife management areas, and private land with a variety of vegetation types, food plots, commercial crops, and hydrology. All are important for security during night-roosting as well as securing food resources to fuel the journey. Knowing where these areas are and what resources they offer the cranes will be critical to ensuring this population’s safe passage between winter and summer areas into the future. While Nowak’s research is ongoing, she has recorded a substantial amount of data and documented some interesting findings. She has captured 66 cranes at the LMWA since 2007, including 38 adults and 28 pre-fledging colts. GPS transmitters were placed on 21 cranes: 19 adults and two colts. Most GPS-marked birds (19) migrated to California’s Central Valley although they winter in three different regions from Chico south to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Winter locations group the birds with the CVP, which researchers expected. However, two cranes captured at LMWA migrated to the Lower Colorado River Valley in Arizona and Southern California, showing their population affiliation to be with the LCRVP. The first of these, in 2016, was just the second documented case of cranes from a single breeding area migrating to different wintering areas. The second crane to go to the LCRV did so during its first fall migration after capture in 2019 but has subsequently spent winters in the Central Valley. This behavior, switching wintering areas between years, had also been documented only once before. Most cranes captured and marked with transmitters at LMWA nested in well-established territories in the area but a few moved off the area within a few weeks of capture and settled in territories in the surrounding Blue Mountains. At least one of those is known to have raised a colt in 2021 which survived to fall
Dr. Blake Grisham and Courtenay Conring with a Greater Sandhill Crane captured in New Mexico, 2014.
T TU WILDLIFE RESEARCH NEWS
migration. Habitat data for nesting sites at LMWA as well as the higher elevation areas will be important to understanding the nesting requirements for cranes as climate change alters hydrology and plant communities and development encroaches upon traditional breeding areas. An additional crane, captured in 2021, moved off LMWA after capture but rather than settle in northeast Oregon, continued into central British Columbia, Canada. With less than one year of data from that bird, researchers have much to learn of its habits, nesting area, and migration behavior. As research on cranes continues within the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University over the next few years, Nowak will continue to capture cranes, placing GPS transmitters on as many as possible. Later, she will wrap up her data collection and analyze tens to hundreds of thousands of GPS data points to develop a clearer picture of nesting, migration,
and wintering areas of northeast Oregon cranes and whether any other cranes from LMWA are affiliated with the LCRVP. She will also continue to locate and characterize nest sites, recording habitat features to assist in developing a model of habitat suitability for breeding cranes in the Intermountain West. Nowak has also made hundreds of observations of individual pair behavior and territorial interactions and dynamics at LMWA. These observations will add to the overall understanding of Intermountain West breeding cranes. Ditzenberger’s research is just getting started with extraction and early analysis of DNA and stable isotopes from cranes captured at LMWA in 2020-2021. She has expanded her study area through a request to biologists for samples from all three western populations. Data from GPS-marked cranes in Nowak’s study suggest some level of connectivity among those populations. Ditzenberger’s work is expected to show
the degree to which those populations are connected and whether they function as a single, interrelated population. By integrating research projects into different segments and different ecological aspects of Intermountain West cranes, Texas Tech NRM has created an environment for data sharing, exploration and innovation in investigating these iconic birds. Ongoing research will undoubtedly bring up new questions, as science always does, opening opportunities for future students to investigate reproductive success, effects of wildfire smoke on migration patterns, and changes in nest site selection based on elevation, among other things. Conring, Nowak, and Ditzenberger are contributing to a growing and necessary body of knowledge about this ancient species. We thank the numerous project collaborators for logistical and financial support. We thank the Rumsey Research Foundation for providing support to publish this article.
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Natural Resources Institute
texas a&m university
TAMU N E W S
Solving Texas’ Natural Resources Challenges With TxMAP Article by BRITTANY WEGNER Photos courtesy of TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY NATURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE
Among the data that TxMAP can provide is information on energy leases. Energy production has long been the heartbeat of the Texas economy and many landowners benefit from the income that energy leases provide.
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hen we collect data and information, we’re gifted a multidimensional story and it’s up to the scientist in each of us to navigate the information one hypothesis at a time. Fortunately, sometimes we end up finding relationships in data that solve complex natural resource issues. Like a trusty map from the glovebox with a pocket compass folded in the crease, data can reveal the best routes and the dead ends to avoid. But ultimately, it asks us to discover new spaces by continuing to ask questions. As the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) has explored and developed using Texas data in the last few decades,
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we discovered that while data and technology give us a way of doing things, data and mapping are ways of relating things. For example, we can compare threatened and endangered species data in one region with what’s currently being managed in another. Or we can overlap energy production information with military training activity to ensure development will not hinder military preparedness or conservation practices. We can even use mapping to see how human populations relate to variables like river basin management. In uncovering these infinite relationships using geospatial data, we sought to engage land managers, citizens, and
TA M U N A T U R A L R E S O U R C E S I N S T I T U T E N E W S
policymakers as we started to visualize natural resource conflicts and solutions. The public accessibility of the data we use is a cornerstone of our research program, especially where collaboration with these groups leads us to better advocacy and resources for land stewards. As the adage goes, we shape our tools and our tools shape us—and in this case, into more inquisitive conservationists. Over the last year, TAMU NRI’s geospatial analysis team ideated and developed a web-based desktop mapping application called TxMAP https://txmap.nri.tamu.edu/ that allows users to see how water, wildlife, military and demography data relates to the land around it. Readers can explore the data layers to answer questions and better visualize natural resources across Texas through boundaries and markups, and then publish and print a summary of their findings. Individualized map reports created in TxMAP can be used by policymakers, conservation organizations, state and federal agencies and private landowners and managers, giving a comprehensive review of desired geospatial information. Our vision is that TxMAP becomes the solution for identifying and exploring many relationships happening every day, and can be used by: • Conservation organizations and land trusts to identify critical habitat, target areas for conservation easements
HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO
in relation to development and to leverage for land valuation estimates. • Legislative staff to direct constituents looking for ways to learn how and where wildlife conservation and threatened and endangered species and water-related projects occur. • City planners and developers to discover where military training routes occur in relation to areas of interest as a part of standard practice. • Natural resource professionals, state and federal agencies and educators to gain insight on how resources are set up for those who own land. • Private landowners and managers, to serve as the mapping component of the website How to Find Natural Resource Professionals in Texas, https://spark.adobe.com/page/ j1Z6vNeTtZnuw/. With resources visualized, landowners become oriented with their property and can learn how each entity works with the adjacent areas, answering questions that will catalyze their management plans and ability to identify programs that ultimately support the property. Regardless of how this tool can serve you, TxMAP was created to continue to increase the public knowledge of trends occurring across the landscape, aiming to better inform and shape the future of our state’s most valuable resource—land.
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Photo courtesy of Elizabeth McGreevy Young, pioneering thicket of bushy cedars. This is not a cedar brake. In brake forests, older Ashe junipers have well-defined central trunks, looking more like trees instead of bushes.
ASHE JUNIPER The Blessing and the Curse Article by RAMONA NYE
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she junipers are mega soil-building machines and enhance water flow to aquifers and springs. These two pronouncements might be fighting words to some Texans, especially ranchers who have for decades believed the only good cedar (also called Ashe juniper) is a dead cedar. Elizabeth McGreevy makes these and other arguments promoting the tree’s ecological benefits in her book, Wanted! Mountain Cedars Dead and Alive. Released in May 2021, the book is a culmination of McGreevy’s 20-year examination of Ashe juniper’s impact in Texas’ central region. “The more I dug in, the more it became a story of the Hill Country,” she said. “It is much more than a book about learning the basics of one tree.”
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The Austin natural resources planner and ecologist began looking closer at Ashe juniper after changing her own initial view of the trees. When McGreevy first started working on landscape projects in Austin, she was told to remove Ashe junipers because they were not native. Instead, her employer had her replace the trees with an aggressive, non-native Ligustrum. It wasn’t until McGreevy started working as a trail guide at Austin’s Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve that she learned the trees are native. While seven juniper species are found throughout Texas, McGreevy’s book focuses on Ashe juniper growing over limestone bedrock. McGreevy said she uses “mountain
ASHE JUNIPER
ASHE JUNIPER: MEGA SOIL-BUILDING MACHINES? Good soil solves many rangeland, wildlife habitat and landscape problems, McGreevy said. Over time, Ashe junipers can rebuild soils degraded by repeated overgrazing and clearcutting. The formula is simple. Degraded soils cause water to run off instead of infiltrating the soil. Healthy soil equals more water entering the soil, resulting in greater groundwater volumes. Healthy soils contain a rich environment of bugs, bacteria and fungi working together to create and maintain porous soil, McGreevy said. Retired Natural Resources Conservation Service range and wildlife specialist Steve Nelle agreed. “…cedar does not poison the soil or produce chemicals that inhibit other plants. Cedar enriches soil by adding rich organic material that creates a deeper, darker, more productive soil. This is one reason grass growth is enhanced following cedar control.” Numerous native plants found growing under Ashe juniper are listed in five pages of McGreevy’s book appendix and include cedar sedge, silver bluestem and seedling oak. What can explain the lack of plant growth under the canopy in some cases? “Shade is the most important reason,” Nelle said. “Other reasons include degraded soils, matted leaf litter and past or present overgrazing by exotics, deer or livestock.”
Old growth cedar.
PIONEERING THICKET OF BUSHY-CEDARS
Illustration courtesy of Elizabeth McGreevy
33 GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY PER JUNIPER? A study that branded Ashe juniper as water hogs using an average of 33 gallons of water per day has been incorrectly referenced, McGreevy said. The 33-gallon figure came from Dr. Keith Owens, an associate professor at Uvalde’s Texas A&M Research and Extension Center. Owens measured water use or transpiration from a single 10-foot Ashe juniper. Transpiration occurs when plants release water from leaves’ microscopic openings. The Owens report became an oversimplification applied to every Ashe juniper, regardless of age, size, tree stand concentration, and whether the trees are growing in shallow or deeper soils, McGreevy said. In her book, McGreevy recounts that Owens explained at the start of his research paper that his model was too simple to account for various environmental and physiological differences where Ashe junipers grow.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth McGreevy
cedar” instead of Ashe juniper throughout her book because people didn’t use “Ashe juniper” to describe mountain cedars until the 1930s, and she likes the plant’s historical description. This article uses Ashe juniper because it’s more familiar and recognizable. Chapter by chapter, the book dismantles a long list of what McGreevy calls “Tall Tales” about Ashe junipers including: they are not native; are invasive; cause soil erosion; kill everything underneath their canopy; and dry up springs. Two of her most important arguments for landowners are Ashe junipers enrich soil and enhance water flow over time.
OLD-GROWTH CEDAR BRAKE FOREST
This illustration shows a cedar brake vs. a pioneering thicket. Brakes contain older trees.
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Photo courtesy of Elizabeth McGreevy
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth McGreevy
ASHE JUNIPER
This hilltop pioneering thicket with a carpet of grasses has evolved into a dense, dwarfed old-growth juniper-oak woodland.
McGreevy adds where Ashe juniper cover consists of growth that’s at least 150 to 200 years old, then plant growth under trees is abundant if it’s not being overgrazed or over browsed. ASHE JUNIPERS RECHARGE AQUIFERS AND SPRINGS Ashe junipers do not cause soil erosion or prohibit plant growth. Instead, the trees build better soil resulting in more water infiltration into aquifers and springs, McGreevy said. Vegetation acts as both a pump and sponge. Governmentfunded brush control programs have been based on the premise that these trees and other woody plants pump too much water out of soil, so it is believed clear-cutting the plants increase water resources. McGreevy argues that when brush is clear-cut and burned, soil erodes and looses its ability to absorb water. So, instead of acting like a sponge, rainfall infiltration decreases in degraded soil and thus into aquifers. By increasing soil infiltration, Ashe junipers help aquifers recharge, not the opposite as widespread brush removal promised, McGreevy said. A 2010 study led by Dr. Bradford Wilcox, a Texas A&M University ecohydrologist, confirms this. Wilcox found base flows into rivers since the 1950s in the eastern Edwards Plateau have doubled in areas where Ashe juniper replaced formerly degraded grasslands. The trees’ deep roots also fracture bedrock, increasing karst water porosity. Karsts are highly porous limestone bedrock containing sinkholes, fractured rock, caves, springs and aquifers. These limestone formations make up 25 percent of Texas, ranging from the Edwards Plateau to the Cross Timbers and extending north into Oklahoma’s Arbuckle Mountains. Decreased Hill Country water supplies are the result of overpumping and soil and karst degradations, not Ashe juniper, McGreevy said. Up to 30 percent of aquifer recharge comes from soil infiltration, not overland runoff from degraded soils.
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Dense Lindheimer muhly grass cover under older mountain cedars.
PLANTING JUNIPERS TO RESTORE HYDROLOGY AND SOIL In Austin, Matt Welch is putting to test the arguments that junipers may be beneficial to soil and water. Welch is a farmer and director of land conservation and restoration at Mirasol Springs, a 1,400-acre development in Travis and Hays counties. Welch said he studied conifers for many years, and slowly over millions of years these trees are trending toward extinction due to climate change and competition from other trees. So Welch was surprised when he moved to Texas to find juniper species not only surviving but thriving and considered an invasive. Texas Ashe junipers are like California and Nevada bristlecone pines forced up to timberlines by aspens and other broadleaf deciduous trees. Welch is basing his pilot project on his theory that Ashe junipers found on slopes are dependent upon fungal partners to eke out nutrition and moisture from poor, leached soils. Mycorrhizae, which enables plants to obtain additional moisture and nutrients, is the key, Welch said. Mycorrhizal fungi develop extensive underground networks. Like an intravenous drip, plant roots tap into this fungal network to enhance their ability to access water and nutrients. Welch is growing Ashe juniper seedlings in raised beds of native soil. He is also collecting fungal spores to mix with soil and broadcast over the seedlings’ nursery soil. The most common (possibly the only) fruiting body Welch is finding in area juniper forests is Astraeus morganii, an earthstar-type fungus with easily harvestable spores. He also will experiment with other fungi: Rhizopogon and Pisolithus. Welch’s project will use a crop of one-year-old juniper seedlings to be dug up in the fall of 2022. The trees’ bare roots will be dipped in a slurry of water, fungal spores and humic acid before planting. Plantings will be limited to slopes of 15
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CHANGING PERCEPTIONS Retired Extension Range Specialist Jake Landers has a lot of experience with ingrained thinking. Landers said he began advocating burning juniper to control it in the 1980s, dealing with “firmly opinionated ranchers, and nobody who wanted to set fires” in his efforts to change minds. “I knew it could work,” said Landers, who began his career teaching botany and plant pathology at Iowa State University. He retired in 1994 from a 15-year career at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in San Angelo. It didn’t happen overnight and without a lot of effort, Landers recalled. Counties formed prescribed burn groups and workshops were held to teach prescribed burning. The effort was not aided when occasionally some ranchers did things like accidentally setting neighbors’ property on fire, he said. In ranching country, Landers maintains that juniper must be controlled with prescribed burning every five to eight years. This has been a successful formula for his Menard County ranch since 1980. In contrast, McGreevy said she has worked on properties implementing no fire, mowing or grazing control for 20 years or longer. Even with no control, these properties have robust soils and established prairie grasses outcompeting woody plants, including mountain cedars, she said. Based on his many years of Menard County ranching and association with Ashe juniper, Landers said, “Cedar from my point of view is not a desirable plant. Nothing can grow under it, and it eliminates diversity as it becomes a stand. If you are a rancher and in ranching country, remove it if you want to stay in the ranching business.” Nelle agreed that Ashe juniper can make life very difficult for ranchers and habitat managers. “It encroaches into healthy grassland, decreases forage production for livestock and degrades wildlife habitat when it gets too thick,” he said. In general, Landers and McGreevy agree young juniper thickets are not desirable. But McGreevy points out that where
Photo by Matt Welch
degrees or more on Mirasol’s property to restore degraded soil. A native grassland and prairie mix will replace King Ranch and Australian bluestem on the development’s lower and flatter areas. “By clear-cutting juniper for 100 years or more, we have essentially denuded the uplands of soil accumulated by juniper for millennia,” Welch said. “It (juniper) is a very successfully demonized species, whose history will be difficult to rewrite.” Nelle notes that new theories by Welch and McGreevy are still not well understood or accepted by many. “It will take years to alter the ingrained thinking about juniper,” Nelle said. “The new findings are basically that juniper has important ecological values which warrant us to try to better understand its role in the landscape.” The most interesting thing is the way that cedar can reclaim old, eroded land and rebuild soil, Nelle said. “It takes a long time, but there is nothing else that can restore soil like old, dense juniper. Along with this comes restoration of watershed function.”
The most common and perhaps only fruiting body in Austin-area juniper forests is Astraeus morganii, an earthstar-type fungus with easily harvestable spores. Here is a partially opened Astraeus morganii mushroom with a partially opened star. “Ashe junipers are mega soilbuilding machines and enhance water flow to aquifers and springs.”
Ashe junipers grow as dense bushes, they restore soil biology and porosity. Removing these dense bushes before they restore soil will degrade soil again. To speed up soil restoration, she recommends mulching and spreading organic matter less than 2 inches deep. Keeping thickets growing on slopes with shallow soils also will help eventually return these areas to forests and woodlands. Soils under old-growth cedar brake forests are healthy, McGreevy said. In brake forests, older Ashe junipers have well-defined central trunks, looking more like trees instead of bushes. Ashe junipers with trunks 6 inches wide (an 18-inch girth) and about 4.5 feet tall will be at least 60 years old and should be retained when possible. Nelle said, ultimately, juniper control must be done on a case-by-case basis. “In some places, cedar needs to be left intact and some places it needs to be thinned. Every ranch and pasture is different, and every landowner is different with differing objectives.” McGreevy said it’s time to stop demonizing one plant. “Clear and burn has not been working. We need to step back, reassess and stop focusing on a tree species and instead focus on restoring soils.”
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GRAZING MATTERS FOR PLANT AND SOIL HEALTH Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photo by WYMAN MEINZER
No matter where you are in Texas, rainfall is a blessing when it comes. If it should fall on properly managed rangeland, it’s even more of a blessing because more of the precipitation soaks into the soil instead of running off.
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razing is a powerful tool for improving plant health and the soil supporting them, when it's managed correctly. “Well-managed grazing can maintain or even enhance soil health, while unmanaged or poorly managed grazing can degrade soil health,” said Steve Nelle, range and wildlife consultant who worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for 27 years before entering the private sector. “The range of effects is great.” Beneficial, well-managed grazing goes by many names including planned grazing, intensive rotational grazing and adaptive, multi-paddock grazing. Regardless of the name, beneficial grazing systems incorporate several principle practices. Dr. Richard Teague, emeritus professor of range ecology with Texas AgriLife Research, identifies these practices as: • Livestock are rotated through pastures and allowed to grazed for a set period of time; • The grazing period is based on amount and condition of available forage; • Plants are allowed to rest and recover before being grazed again; • Managers constantly monitor the forage and adapt the grazing strategies as conditions change. “There is no one-size-fits-all prescription for grazing because every ranch is different and every family has different goals,” Teague said. “The principles remain the same, but the application differs based on the location.” Why? “Plants in low rainfall areas or dry times need a longer recovery period than plants in higher rainfall areas or wet times,” said Teague, who uses the name adaptive, multi-paddock grazing to identify the grazing practices.
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Adaptive, multi-paddock grazing mimics the “graze, rest and recover” rhythm natural to the American plains. Rangeland plants evolved with periodic grazing pressure from vast herds of bison. Historically, the herds came in large numbers, grazed intensively for a short time and moved on, allowing the plants to rest and recover before the herds returned and consumed the fresh growth. As the plains were settled, livestock replaced bison and fences stopped free-ranging movement. Livestock like people have food preferences. When grazing animals are confined, they will continue to seek their preferred forages until those plants disappear. Then, they will seek out the next desirable plants, eating them out of existence and creating a less diverse buffet of less desirable plants. “There is direct relationship between what happens on the land and what happens in the soil, so less diverse vegetation translates into less diverse microbial life in the soil,” said Nathan Haile, NRCS conservation agronomist. “When we erected fences and held livestock, it disrupted the biochemical communication between the animals, the plants and the soil microbes.” GRAZING FOR HEALTHY SOIL Fortunately, Mother Nature is resilient and responds to grazing management that mimics the graze, rest and recover rhythms of the nomadic bison herds. Livestock, generally cattle, assume the role of native herd animals, with managers allowing them to graze intensively for a period of time based on the amount of forage that’s available. “When an animal rips into a plant, the plant releases chemicals that signal soil microbes that it’s been damaged and needs to be repaired,” Haile said. “That signal prompts the soil microbes to kick out acids that free up the essential nutrients the plant needs to repair and regrow.” For the system to function, the plant must be given time to recover and begin photosynthesizing again before it’s grazed. Photosynthesis captures the sun’s energy and produces the sugars that nourish the plant, the animals and the soil microbes. “Many times people focus on the grazing period, but from my perspective the recovery period is even more essential,” said Haile, noting recovered and reinvigorated grasses send their roots deeper into the soil. That creates more surface area for chemical interaction, deepening channels for water infiltration while increasing resistance to erosion and tolerance to drought. In addition to kicking off the biochemical reactions by grazing the plants, the cattle mechanically alter the soil. They trample standing dead vegetation, which unlocks trapped nutrients,
G R A Z I N G M AT T E R S F O R P L A N T A N D S O I L H E A LT H
creates protective surface litter and adds organic matter to the soil. Organic matter not only provides nutrients but improves the soil structure by creating pockets that hold water and air. “They [livestock] return about 25 percent of what they eat back into the soil as manure and urine, which are rich in nutrients and organic compounds which help feed the soil organisms,” said Nelle, noting that healthy soil supports large populations of dung beetles that bury the manure and speed up the process. Livestock’s hooves also break up the soil, allowing water to infiltrate more easily. Obtaining and retaining moisture is a key to improving soil health. “All chemical reactions occur in the presence of water,” Haile said. “Without moisture, the energy-rich carbon can’t be released and the soil microbes go dormant. None of the necessary chemical reactions that support plants can take place.” Understanding the role that water plays at the biochemical and cellular levels also explains the role that annual rainfall plays on the rate of positive changes across the landscape. “Regardless of where you are in the world, adaptive multipaddock grazing that is implemented properly begins to yield positive results that begin to accrue quickly as plants are reinvigorated,” said Teague, who conducts research and works with landowners throughout North and South America. “What varies, and it's dependent on the amount of rainfall, is how quickly the land responds on a large scale. Higher rainfall means carbon infiltrates more readily, which speeds up the ‘healing process.’” Significant changes that take five years in Mississippi might take 10 years in the Texas Panhandle and 25 years in the deserts of New Mexico, he said.
Regardless of the time period, as long as managers continue to measure and monitor forage availability and adapt to changing conditions, positive changes beget positive changes. “Vigorous, green growing plants capture the sun’s energy and send about 40 percent of that energy into the soil where it’s used by soil microbes and fungi,” Haile said. “The microbes and fungi, in turn, make soil nutrients more readily available to the plants, further improving their health. They support each other—and once plants improve, soil health and plant health move forward together.” When that happens, the results are obvious and far-reaching. Teague recalled a large-scale project in Patagonia, a dry region in Argentina, where many ranchers were trained to properly implement adaptive, multi-paddock grazing. Within a year of their collective efforts, the group had to go to the Argentinian government and the Nature Conservancy to get special permission to contend with the large number of wildlife and birds that had been attracted to their grazing lands because of their robustness. He’s seen and measured similar results obtained by landowners across Texas, in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, Canada and northern Mexico. “Grazing matters to plants and soil—and to every living thing that depends on them for life,” Haile said. Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Texas LAND as part of TWA's ongoing conservation communication partnership with the magazine. Reprinted with permission.
GETTING STARTED WITH ADAPTIVE, MULTI-PADDOCK GRAZING Adapted from remarks by DR. RICHARD TEAGUE, Emeritus Professor of Range Ecology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research 1. Get educated. Go to one of the schools that teaches the basic principles of adaptive, multi-paddock grazing. Good ones include: Holistic Resource Institute and Ranching for Profit. 2. Talk to successful practitioners, especially those in your region. Training is essential. Real life experience from those who have succeeded in your area will help new practitioners avoid costly financial and ecological mistakes. Local people with local experience can help newcomers gauge adequate periods of grazing, rest and recovery for their environment. For instance, the recovery period may be 3040 days in East Texas, twice that in the Panhandle and even longer in the arid Trans Pecos. 3. Invest in water. In order for herd consolidation to work, producers must provide adequate water in each paddock. 4. Consolidate your herd. Most ranches are divided into eight paddocks with a one herd in each. Don’t spend a lot of money changing fences, instead combine your small herds into a single large herd. Begin rotating them based on forage availability. 5. Monitor and adapt. Monitor the condition of the land, the plants, and the livestock. Adapt your grazing efforts to changing conditions.
6. Think differently. Identify your goals and consider how to achieve them by working with nature, even if the approach may seem unorthodox. The Gill family of San Antonio owned the Circle Ranch in the Trans Pecos for several decades until they sold the property and began ranching in Idaho. The Trans Pecos only gets rain in July. The family determined not to stock until after the summer rains came and they saw how much vegetation they would have. Then, they arranged with a lessee to rotate a herd through the ranch one time to graze standing vegetation, break the soil cap and increase organic matter, all of which resulted in improved wildlife habitat which was their primary goal. The solution was completely appropriate for the environment. By working through a lease agreement, the family minimized the economic risk that comes with owning livestock and gave them additional flexibility to change with the weather. They only embarked on a grazing regime if they had vegetation to support it.
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Mountain biking is an equal-opportunity sport. People of all ages enjoy the sport and women are as successful, if not more so, than men in mountain bike races.
MOUNTAIN BIKING FOR FUN AND PROFIT Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photos courtesy of TWA Member JIMMY DREISS
Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a six-part series on alternative income streams developed by landowners across Texas.
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ince 2000, mountain biking at Flat Rock Ranch near Comfort has been an uphill climb—by design. Jimmy Dreiss, great-grandson of English immigrant and noted architect Alfred Giles who amassed the 13,000-acre Hillingdon Ranch in the late 1800s, started riding a mountain bike in 1994. In the process of trying to lower his cholesterol, Dreiss became enthralled with the sport. He regularly rode with the South Texas Off Road Mountain Bikers in San Antonio and traveled the state competing in bike races. Over time, he saw Flat Rock Ranch, his grandmother’s inherited portion of Hillingdon Ranch, in a new light.
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“After riding for a while, I understood what mountain bikers wanted,” said Dreiss, who co-owns Flat Rock Ranch Mountain Biking with his mother and his sisters. “And it appeared that we had it right in our backyard.” The elevation change on Flat Rock Ranch, which is about 350 feet from bottom to top, provided challenging climbs to rockcapped hill tops. At 1,300 acres, there was plenty of room to accommodate hundreds of riders simultaneously. Located about 45 minutes from San Antonio, the ranch provided an easy destination for urban-dwelling mountain bike enthusiasts. And with careful planning, mountain biking and mountain bikers could coexist with the Angus cattle, Angora goats, fine wool sheep and seasonal lease hunters that called Flat Rock Ranch home.
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“It seemed like one more way that we might help the ranch pay for itself,” Dreiss said. In 1999, he carved out two miles of rough trails adjoining jeep roads. He invited his San Antonio bike club to come ride. It was love at first sight. In 2000, Dreiss built nine additional miles. The next year, he added nine more miles. Today, he has 31 miles of cross-country trails that people can ride “without doing anything twice,” and has recently started adding downhill trails to appeal to another class of mountain bikers. Trails are always subject to added jumps, technical sections that require skills other than just trail riding, and revisions. “I’ve still got a lot of plans, improvements and changes in my mind,” Dreiss said. “It’s part of my marketing plan, like those ‘new and improved’ products. I’ve got to keep things fresh to keep my riders interested.” Because of the nature of the sport, mountain biking is an accident waiting to happen. Generally, the accidents result in broken collar bones or other more substantial breaks. “Anytime we have a place on the trail that prompts two ambulance runs, I change it to slow them [the riders] down,” said Dreiss, noting he designs the challenges so that about 50 percent of the riders can accomplish them on the first try “to make it difficult and demanding but not impossible and disheartening.” Dreiss carries a standard liability policy with Farm Bureau and requires event promoters to carry the additional liability necessary for races. All bikers must wear helmets and have signed waivers on file. To date, he has never faced a lawsuit despite numerous accidents.
The web of mountain bike trails on the Flat Rock Ranch brings mountain bikers from around the world to Texas and enhances the ranch’s economic viability. Around 100 people ride the trails on average during a non-race week.
With around 350 feet in elevation change, the Flat Rock Ranch may not have the most accurate name. The terrain provides mountain bikers with plenty of aerobics.
Why race on skis in the snow and cold when you can compete in a biathlon when it’s warm? The competition is one of many different races that people can engage in on the Flat Rock Ranch.
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M O U N TA I N B I K I N G F O R F U N A N D P R O F I T
Even though mountain biking is a low-impact sport, trails get worn by weather, use and time. At Flat Rock Ranch, riders can earn annual passes by helping with trail maintenance and repair.
“My best advice is to know your liability laws, what your limits are and do everything to be protected under the law,” Dreiss said. “We’ve been fortunate. Mountain bikers, as a group, are not litigious because when we climb on our bikes, we know what we’re getting into.” The livestock and mountain bikers coexist peacefully for the most part. The biggest issue was remedied by installing hydraulic gates. Bikers can open them without dismounting from their bikes; the gates close behind them. Livestock stays where it belongs. Early on, Dreiss began offering overnight camping and hosting races. Today, Flat Rock Ranch is the site of five major mountain bike races and one trail running race. Bike races usually have several hundred entrants plus their friends and families; the most recent trail running event, Ragnar Trail Texas, had 1,700
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competitors for a 24-hour, eight-person team marathon run and a full-fledged outdoor trade show and competitor's village. “The races are a lot of work, but they really help get the word out about our operation,” Dreiss said. Other marketing options include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a website. He updates his social media daily with trail and weather reports to prevent people from coming out when the conditions are unfavorable for riding or running. Dreiss offers day passes, annual passes and family passes. Because the trails require substantial maintenance, Dreiss participates in a program sponsored by the Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association called Pay Dirt, where riders can earn points toward their association standing by working a set number of hours. Dreiss sweetens the pot by allowing riders to earn annual passes to Flat Rock through their efforts. They rake loose rocks, trim protruding limbs, help fix eroded patches and a myriad of other jobs. The trails are open from January 1 through October 31. Flat Rock Ranch is closed to mountain bikers from November 1 to December 31 for white-tailed deer season. Dreiss has eight lease hunters. “We don’t have an extended season and we don’t offer turkey hunting,” Dreiss said. “When my hunters complain, I offer to lease it to them for the same money mountain biking generates during that time. It’s never been that valuable to them.” Dreiss estimates that 100 people ride the trails on average during a non-race week. While it is a good baseline number, he would like to grow it exponentially in order to hire a full-time general manager. “I’m 68 years old and it would be great to have some help,” he said. “I’ll always be involved, but I would like to be able to come and go more freely.” After all these years, Dreiss still likes mountain bikes and mountain bikers. As it stands, Flat Rock Ranch nets a low sixfigure return that Dreiss reinvests in the land and equipment, and profit shares with his co-owners. “The return is definitely worth the work—and it helps everyone in the family to see the land as an asset to be kept intact,” Dreiss said. Looking back to the beginning, Dreiss regrets not taking a trail building class. He learned by doing, which in some cases meant redoing. He has brought in trail building consultants to help design trails, but generally does the installation himself. Turnkey trail building can cost up to $20,000 per mile. He still rides extensively in Colorado and other states, and like any good entrepreneur is always on the lookout for inspiration on how to improve his trails and his business. Currently, he is exploring a new app that will streamline purchasing passes, check-in and allow him to quickly search to ensure waivers are on file. His best advice for fellow eco-preneurs? “Get your insurance settled first, before you do anything else, but be willing to take a risk. Don’t be so risk averse that you’re afraid to pull the trigger on a good idea.”
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WILD FOCUS
Award-Winning Texas Photographer Earl Nottingham's New Book Article by KATY BALDOCK Photos courtesy WILD FOCUS
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arl Nottingham, renowned Texas photographer, has spent more than 40 years documenting the Texas landscape, wildlife, and people who are dedicated to conserving the state’s natural resources. Recently retired after 25 years as chief photographer for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD), he looks back at his career with gratitude, still in awe of all the beauty Texas has to offer. With his recent photography book, Wild Focus: Twenty-five Years of Texas Parks & Wildlife Photography, published by Texas A&M University Press, he hopes to showcase the many facets of TPWD and inspire readers to develop a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. While a lifelong photographer, Nottingham didn’t immediately realize his calling to photograph the Texas
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landscape. Upon graduating from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University-Commerce), he moved to the Pacific Northwest in search of inspiration. What he found, however, was a deeper appreciation for Texas. “As pretty as it was, I actually got homesick for Texas,” Nottingham said. “We’ve got forests, we’ve got the seashore, we’ve got the desert. I was trying to explain to people what all Texas had, and in the back of my mind I was thinking about these areas that I had basically taken for granted before and kind of seeing them through new eyes.” Nottingham describes his time in the Pacific Northwest as a transformative experience because he then felt that he had something valuable to return to. He moved back to Texas with a renewed excitement to photograph it.
WILD FOCUS
“I wanted to tell the stories of Texas with photography. So that's what I did,” Nottingham said. “When I moved back, I said, ‘I’ll never leave Texas again.’ You know, it's just part of you.” After working as a freelance photographer for 20 years, Nottingham accepted a staff position with TPWD as a fulltime photographer in 1996. Working with the agency and Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, he used a variety of photography skills to document the images behind the agency’s efforts— photojournalism, portrait, landscape, and wildlife. His goal was to use the full spectrum of his photographic experience to portray TPWD, and all the things the agency does, to the public in an engaging way. As Nottingham approached his 25-year mile mark with the agency, he looked back at not only the photographs he took over the years, but the changes in conservation efforts around the state—the way TPWD interacted with private landowners, maintained state parks, and the public face the agency had. He decided to publish Wild Focus to not only showcase the beauty of the Texas landscape and wildlife, but also to shed light on the agency’s efforts across the state. The book is divided into three sections—Wild Places, Wild Things, and Faces—of breathtaking photos from Nottingham’s 25 years of photographing for TPWD. Nottingham writes in his book, “Whether analog or digital, each image is like revisiting an old friend, and the exact moment
of its creation is recalled with crystal clarity. I am instantly transported back to desert sunrises, moonlit rivers, fragrances of wildflowers, and aromas of campfire breakfasts. Each image takes me on a ride back down the lonely highways, dusty roads, and trails followed in pursuit of the perfect photograph.” Nottingham hopes his book inspires a greater appreciation for the outdoors in those who read it and look through his images. “I hope it's a catalyst to get people to actually step outside,” Nottingham said. “If you see the pictures and you want to go somewhere, I hope it encourages them to get out and do something, because there's so much to do.” Andrew Sansom, executive director of The Meadows Center of Water and the Environment and former executive director of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, sings high praises for Wild Focus in the foreword he wrote for the book. “Here the reader is in for an amazing cornucopia of images depicting some of the most beautiful places in America by one of its most skilled photographers,” Sansom wrote. All profits made from the sales of Wild Focus will go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, the official non-profit partner of TPWD. Nottingham’s Wild Focus: Twenty-five Years of Texas Parks & Wildlife Photography is available for purchase now through Texas A&M University Press, Amazon, and other bookstores. Nottingham’s photography work can be found on his website, www.earlnottingham.com.
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A covey of “Better Bird Dogs,” a name and a dog equal to the man who bred them, go for a ride.
A QUAIL ODYSSEY Part 2 of a 2-part series
Article and photos by DALE ROLLINS, Ph.D.
A
s I related in the first part of this tale, I often equate my life’s odyssey to that of Forrest Gump’s—but in my case the white feather aloft on my life’s current was that of a bobwhite. What Gump questioned as destiny or chance, or as he concluded “I think maybe a little of both.” I concur. A “BOBWHITE-LINE” EPIPHANY In December 1992 I had just delivered my signature talk (“The Calls of the Wild”) to one of the Kiwanis Clubs in San Angelo. As I left there after lunch, I headed north with Childress as my destination to give a presentation to 4-H leaders about wildlife conservation projects. The trip entailed about 225 miles . . . a ribbon of remote rural highway running through a tapestry of West Texas' sprawling vistas. One of the perks of such a drive is
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the isolation and the creativity which sometimes bubbles up in the primordial solitude. As I headed north on US 83 at Aspermont, I experienced a “bobwhite-line” epiphany. I reasoned that most of the programs I delivered didn’t require a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology. Most, like the two I’d hosted that day, deal with awareness and consequences. A couple of miles north of Aspermont the phrase “Bobwhite Brigade” came to me. At the time, I didn’t know what it meant, but it gave me something to ruminate on as I completed my trip. As I headed back to San Angelo the next day, my epiphany refused to dissipate; instead, it gained momentum. Why not take a group of interested, motivated youth and equip them to become conservation leaders?
A QUAIL ODYSSEY
I called my boss, Dr. Don Steinbach, and broached the idea with him. We agreed it needed to be pursued, so I made a covey call to a half-dozen people who I hoped would share my passion and my dream. They did, and the Bobwhite Brigade hatched six months later at the Krooked River Ranch. That was 29 years ago and the dream lives on with the Texas Brigades (www.texasbrigades.org). It’s been a heckuva ride since then! That epiphany subsequently has served me well. THE SUZIE YEARS If I ever refer to you as a “good dog,” please don’t be offended— that’s my greatest compliment. I went bird dog-less from 1978 to 1991 when I saw the canine version of “Jenny” (again referencing Gump’s great love). In June 1991, my brother-in-law Keven convinced me to come see some setter pups. Now, I’d already made up my mind I didn’t have time for a bird dog pup, but feigned the interest and went with Keven to see them nonetheless. When he dangled a quail wing from a cane pole and one of the seven-week-old pups struck a pose, she stole my heart. Now remember, I hadn’t owned a bird dog for more than a decade and was literally on the verge of becoming “just another deer nut.” I’d let slow-pitch softball fill my recreational time, but Suzie changed my perspective and rekindled my addiction for quail hunting. It didn’t take long for her to make a reputation for herself, as did her offspring, all of which were “Betters,” a cross between a French brittany named “Gizmo” and my beloved Suzie. The “Better Bird Dogs” continue to hold the banner high among my quail hunting cronies. A group photo of them perched atop my Lannom Ranch Buggy at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch is always a fan favorite. Suzie provided plenty of indelible memories and counseled me on life lessons as well. “Suzie’s 12-Point Plan” became standard content for the last night’s vespers at Bobwhite Brigade camps.
Tracks tell the tale of the circle of life. Here’s a sight to delight any quail hunter.
If you want a successful quail hunt, you need successful quail habitat. Then, you and the dogs have to find them.
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A QUAIL ODYSSEY
The QuailMasters program, an offshoot of the highly successful Bobwhite Brigade, will reemerge after a short hiatus. The program is an intensive look at all things quail for adults.
HUNTING WITH GOOD DOGS Point No. 1 of Suzie’s plan exhorts us to “always hunt with good dogs.” Surround yourself with friends and colleagues who will challenge you on all fronts. Pick those who hunt hard and can run faster and farther than you—you’ll play up to their competition. I will always be grateful to have had Dr. Billy Higginbotham serve that role for me. We are lifelong friends but we were always poking and prodding the other in a professional sense. My personal kennel of good dogs includes folks like Drs. Fred Bryant and Don Steinbach and many other “Students of Quail” like Kent Mills, Ricky Linex, Rocky Vinson, Lloyd Lacoste, Becky Ruzicka, Brad Kubecka, Steve Sherrod, Dr. Bill Eikenhorst, Gary Joiner . . . and many others. I thank you all. PREACHER PAUL Many folks think some of my heroes are fictional, or at least pseudonyms. One I quote often is my preacher, Paul Shero of the Southgate Church of Christ in San Angelo. Paul sometimes precedes a sermon by saying, “I want y’all to know I’m not mad at any of you.” That’s his way of signaling fire and brimstone as a prelude to grace and salvation. I’ve stolen that line many times, along with my favorite, “You’re free to choose your actions but you’re not free to choose
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BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: QUAILMASTERS! The Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation and Texas Wildlife Association will breathe new life into the popular QuailMasters (QM) program this April. “Retired” in 2018, the instructor team of Amanda Gobeli, Becky Ruzicka, Iliana Pena, Ricky Linex, Kent Mills, Brad Kubecka and Dr. Dale Rollins is excited to circle the covey up once again. QuailMaster participants strive to become “Students of Quail” via classroom and online assignments reinforced with tours of the best quail properties in Texas. In the process, they develop a skill set and network to help them achieve their quail-related management goals. The class meets four times (typically April, June, August, and October), for 2.5 days each session, and requires extensive travel. The first class kicks off April 24-26 in Abilene. Tuition is $600 which includes teaching materials and most meals. Three hours of graduate-level credit are available for an extra charge. College students can attend for a reduced fee of $400. Additional registration information will be forthcoming—contact Amanda Gobeli at agobeli@ texas-wildlife.org for more information.
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the consequences.” Was there ever a better axiom to force us to examine our management actions on the Back 40? Clear as much brush as you wish and run as many cows as your banker can support, but then don’t question why your wildlife has suffered because of such excesses. Yes, Preacher Paul is real, as are his lessons. QUAILMASTERS Prior to 2005 I often had adults declare, usually as they picked up their teenager from a Bobwhite Brigade camp, “I surely wish such a program existed for adults.” So be it. That first QuailMaster (QM) class debuted in 2005 and marches on today (See the sidebar for the QM 2022 effort). One of the reasons I think QM is successful is because of the rigor with which we teach the class and the pace required therein. Our time here is short, and our challenges are many. As a result, our students sometimes grouse about “drinking from a fire hose.” As in Bobwhite Brigade, we don’t slow our pace but rather raise our bar to a level that competitive people will aspire to. Many of the lessons and activities we use to teach adults were spawned in Bobwhite Brigade. I sometimes tell adults we just slow them down a bit for adult audiences. The “Softball Habitat Evaluation Technique” (SHET), “Run for Your Life” and “Quail CSI” are good examples.
King Mellon Foundation in Pittsburgh. Three years and several successful quail hunts later, the discussion ensued on how to combat the “quail decline,” which had marched across the Southeast and was poised to impact the Rolling Plains. After those initial pow-wows, the Foundation agreed and purchased a 4,720-acre property in Fisher County. The Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR) was fledged. Its mission? “To sustain the future of wild quail hunting for this, and future, generations.” I proudly served as the Ranch’s executive
director from 2007-2021. See www. quailresearch.org for more information. EVERY QUAIL IS A TROPHY! As you can see, that bobwhite feather has indeed been a guiding force, and perhaps a Siren’s song, in my quail quest. And, as with most odysseys, the path has not always been clear nor direct. Sometimes a more tortuous path makes the trek more educational and enjoyable. I am forever an advocate for quail and exhort you to be as well. Serendipity or destiny? You decide.
THE APEX – A RESEARCH CENTER FOR QUAIL I’d carved out a split appointment (75 percent Extension, 25 percent research) with TAMU back in 1997. Why? My research colleagues in College Station just didn’t share my hunger for quail management. So I began hustling money and finding motivated graduate students to provide a mechanism for such research efforts. While the effort gained traction, it wasn’t until 2006 that a foundation was laid. While seeking funding for the Bobwhite Brigade, I had the opportunity to bend the ears of the folks at the Richard
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A Patchwork of Seasons Article and photo by SALLIE LEWIS
Mementos and memories, the small things collected over time, tell the tale of life. They are tactile reminders that can take the mind to another time and place and help relive the meaningful moments in a life well lived.
T
hose of you who read this column last year know a thing or two about my recent sabbatical in the Texas Hill Country. Spending a year immersed in nature made me a much more mindful, curious, and grateful human being. It also made me thankful for things I had previously taken for granted, like the beauty and wonder of life’s shifting seasons. Though less pronounced here in Texas than in other parts of the world, I think we can all agree there is something awe-inspiring about waking up to brisk
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temperatures after a searing summer and watching wildflowers bloom after long, cold months. That Mother Nature gives us four occasions every year to witness and participate in these subtle, seasonal changes is nothing short of miraculous. With winter waning, I will spend February slowing down and taking stock of all the gifts these last few months have offered. Most recently, I purchased a small condominium in San Antonio, and though it is a stark contrast to my life in the Hill Country, I am happy to share that it’s starting to feel like home.
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Today, my bookshelves are filled with assorted keepsakes collected from years past, such as smooth, polished cava shells from a family trip to Fiji and cups filled with parakeet plumes from a hunt in Argentina. On other shelves are cedar rose pine cones from a visit to West Texas, lightning whelks and sand dollars from a beach stroll in Port Aransas, and lucky beans gathered while on safari in Tanzania. Mixed amongst these personal collections are fallen feathers from the Guadalupe Delta and photographs of loved ones in wild places. Together, these touchable treasures tell the story of my life. Memory is a powerful thing. Every day, these mementos awaken my wanderlust, transporting me both mentally and spiritually to places near and far. Closing my eyes, it takes only seconds to travel back in time. With a lucky bean in hand, I can vividly remember the swell of the African sun rising over the Selous, wrapping the landscape in ribbons of gold. Picking up my prized Pedernales Point, I feel like a child again crossing paths with prehistoric stone. Even the most mundane objects like a pressed flower or fallen leaf found last year in Fredericksburg are special, reminding me of a time when I was finding my way. Recently, I’ve been keeping my grandmother’s old patchwork quilt at the foot of my bed. It serves as a warm reminder that all our lives are made of many parts, with each square of fabric and each chapter of life a part of a larger whole. Now, as one season ends and another one looms in the distance, I am leaning into gratitude for all the past has given me: both good times and hard times, successes and failures, rain and sun—and lessons at every step.
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