December marks the end of the year, the heat of the summer is a memory and hunting season is in full swing. Christmas and New Year holidays are here, a time that I am blessed to spend with family and friends.
Fall is a busy time of year for TWA. Our Texas Youth Hunting Program hosts hunts for children and teenagers, many of whom are experiencing our valuable hunting traditions for the very first time. This season we will host over 180 hunts and take over 1,200 youth on these hunts. These numbers are truly impressive and are increasing each year.
Similarly, our Adult Learn to Hunt Program is creating opportunities for Texans who are hunting for the first time or perhaps have not been hunting since they were kids. Thirty hunts are scheduled, up from 24 last season. Introducing and reintroducing these adults to the outdoors is what makes this program so worthwhile.
These youth and adult hunts would not be possible without private landowners, including many TWA members, who generously open their gates to host these outdoor experiences. I also want to give a big thank you to the TWA staff and hundreds of volunteers that make these hunts happen.
Our Conservation Legacy staffers are expanding their role in classrooms across this state. This past fall, your support has helped fund two new conservation educators who now serve the San Angelo/Concho Valley and Midland/Permian Basin regions. In addition to classroom programming, our Land, Water and Wildlife Expeditions are being scheduled for hundreds of middle school students this spring.
I am looking forward to 2025 which will be a year of celebration for TWA. It marks our organization’s 40th anniversary, which began thanks to the foresight of a few conservationists who shared a love for Texas wildlife and the land and waters that support our rich resource. We are planning some special events at our annual convention July 10-12, so please mark these dates down on your calendar. Today our organization thrives thanks to your support as a member, volunteer and donor. Keep up the great work.
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Letz family to your family. Until next time, enjoy the outdoors!
Texas Wildlife Association MISSION STATEMENT
Serving Texas wildlife and its habitat, while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife resources.
OFFICERS
Jonathan Letz, President, Comfort
Nyle Maxwell, Vice President, Georgetown
Dr. Louis Harveson, Second Vice President for Programs, Alpine Parley Dixon, Treasurer, Austin
For a complete list of TWA Directors, go to www.texas-wildlife.org
PROFESSIONAL STAFF/CONTRACT ASSOCIATES
ADMINISTRATION & OPERATION
Justin Dreibelbis, Chief Executive Officer
TJ Goodpasture, Director of Development & Operations
TJ Goodpasture, Director of Development & Operations
Denell Jackson, Development Associate
ADVOCACY
Joey Park, Legislative Program Coordinator
MAGAZINE CORPS
Sean Hoffmann, Managing Editor
Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor
Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO
Texas Wildlife Association
6644 FM 1102
New Braunfels, TX 78132
(210) 826-2904
FAX (210) 826-4933
(800) 839-9453 (TEX-WILD) www.texas-wildlife.org
Texas Wildlife
David Langford
DECEMBER
December 16, 2024
8th Annual Houston Sporting Clays Tournament & Fundraiser, Greater Houston Sports Club. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/TWAClayTourney
MARCH 2025
March 1, 2025
Texas Big Game Awards Registration Deadline. Divisions include Youth, First Big Game Harvest, Scored Entries and Ranch Recognition. Registration is free. For information, visit https://www.texasbiggameawards.org/
MAY 2025
May 8, 2025
Texas Outdoorsman of the Year, Fort Worth Zoo. For information, contact djackson@texas-wildlife. org or www.twafoundation.org
JULY 2025
July 10-12, 2025
WildLife 2025, TWA’s 40th Annual Convention, J.W. Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa, San Antonio. Mark your calendar, more information to follow!
FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2024-2025 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at: tpwd.state.tx.us.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
My son was selected to participate in the Texas Youth Hunting Program youth doe hunt on the Chapman Ranch in early October. It was our first time to apply so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can tell you wholeheartedly these men and their families put on a show. They are great people that truly care about the kids and their experience. These men worked extremely hard to provide the best opportunity for the kiddos and my son was thoroughly impressed and excited. We have hunted all over Texas and Chapman Ranch ranks amongst the top of the experiences for my son. The people there are just as beautiful souls as the ranch is naturally beautiful. They did a great job and all their hard work paid off for the kids.
Please continue the great work that you are doing for the kiddos. It is greatly appreciated and I hope to take my son to a few more before he ages out.
Sincerely, Kevin
Webb
LETTER TO THE EDITOR POLICY: TWA members are encouraged to provide feedback about issues and topics. The CEO and editor will review letters (maximum 400 words) for possible publication. Email letters to shoffmann@texas-wildlife.org.
BY WILL LESCHPER
Shallow seagrass flats on the coast were impacted by Uri though the habitat has a way of healing itself quickly.
PHOTO
Winter Storm Uri
ARTICLE BY WILL LESCHPER
Winter Storm Uri was an unprecedented monster of a weather event we Texans may never see again.
At least that’s the hope.
The severe storm swooped into Texas in mid-February 2021 and lingered for days, its icy tentacles squeezing our native landscapes and wildlife to their breaking points, in addition to our state’s power infrastructure. The storm led to many human deaths and showed just how fragile life can be for all species when Mother Nature takes charge and exerts her will.
Almost four years later, the storm’s impacts continue to be researched and measured by biologists, land managers and others with a vested interest in ensuring that vital
conservation efforts continue for every type of fish, fowl and fauna that call the Lone Star State home.
Here’s a look at where we stand with Texas wildlife after Uri.
TEXAS COAST STILL RECOVERING
While other portions of the state saw detrimental conditions, in South Texas Uri was simply something we’re not used to dealing with. In Corpus Christi, the temperature didn’t get above 8 degrees for more than two days and wind chills remained below 0 for multiple days. Those conditions had a devastating effect on fish like speckled trout that simply aren’t designed to withstand that type of weather.
Dr. Greg Stunz, senior executive director of the Harte Research Institute and director of the Center for Sportfish Science in Conservation, noted the February 2021 freeze highlighted just how sensitive Texas’ saltwater resources are and the lasting impact of Mother Nature.
“There’s not much we can do about weather events, and we have to roll with those ebbs and flows, but we can do things about how we manage our fisheries,” Stunz said.
Stunz and others with HRI were advocates of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) move to push for a tighter slot limit and bag limit for speckled trout as a result of Uri’s fish kills that affected every saltwater species to some extent.
Stunz said demographic studies have shown the population of Texas is slated to double within the next 30 years and will likely only add to what has been an increase in fishing pressure up and down the entire coast for all species. Coupled with the fish kill, a conservative approach is the only outlook that makes sense moving forward with our saltwater fisheries.
“When you’re not really looking forward to future trends and angling effort and that sort of thing, it’s a lot harder to dig out of the hole that we might be in if we don’t practice wise conservation, Stunz said. “I’m certainly not preaching
to not keep trout by any means, but three trout, three redfish and throw in a few black drum and maybe a flounder … that’s a pretty good box for those who want to keep some fish. I think that that’s a nice, conservative approach if we want to maintain these robust, world-class trout fisheries we have had.”
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) in January 2022 adopted proposals reducing the speckled trout slot limit and daily bag from the Matagorda Bay system all the way down the coast to the Mexican border, a direct result of fish kills from Uri. Those regulations enacted a 17- to 23-inch slot limit with no retention of oversize fish and changed the daily bag to three in the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre, as well as Corpus Christi Bay, Aransas Bay and San Antonio Bay, in addition to Matagorda. The regulations also went into effect 500 yards off the beach into the Gulf of Mexico in those areas.
The previous trout regulations across the coast featured a 15- to 25-inch slot and the ability to keep one fish over 25 inches as part of a five-fish daily bag.
TPWD officials have noted the 2021 freeze wasn’t on par with major fish-killing events in 1983 and 1989 when parts of some bays actually froze and that, on average, it took two to three years for the catch rates of speckled trout to bounce back after those “benchmark events.”
As a result of public meetings conducted up and down the coast this past winter, and with heavy support for more stringent bag and size limits, the TPWC in March approved
Winter Storm Uri’s effects led to a major fish kill on the Texas coast that lingered well after the February 2021 weather event.
Coastal fishing remains good for redfish and other species that have bounced back from the February 2021 freeze.
PHOTO BY
PHOTO BY WILL LESCHPER
The February 2021 freeze heavily impacted the native landscape in the Panhandle and Rolling Plains, though those regions are more prone to freeze events than other quail hot beds such as South Texas.
major new changes to speckled trout frameworks. One notable change included approval of a tag system for harvesting oversized trout. The tag, which went into effect with new licenses beginning Sept. 1, 2024, allows anglers to harvest one oversized speckled trout longer than 28 inches with the purchase of a saltwater fishing license or endorsement. The new rule also implements a $3 “bonus spotted seatrout tag” and a $3 “exempt angler tag” for individuals who, by law, are exempt from license requirements, allowing the retention of one additional oversized trout per license year. It should be noted that the vast majority of guides and regular anglers simply don’t keep oversized trout, which was emphasized across the multiple public meetings that ultimately led to the changes on trout regulations.
The current speckled trout bag and length limits along the Texas coast enacted by the Commission are three fish daily per angler with a minimum size of 15 inches and a maximum size limit of 20 inches per fish. One oversized trout greater than 28 inches is allowed as part of the daily bag limit, in accordance with the tagging requirements above.
EXOTIC SPECIES HIT HARD
Exotic hunting in Texas is a huge driver to the state and local economy, something that goes without saying, with some species having higher populations here than in their native ranges. That being said, the overall outlook didn’t appear anything but grave after the storm laid siege to exotic hot beds across the state.
Unlike many exotic species across the state, Texas deer fared much better in the wake of Winter Storm Uri. Biologists note that whitetails are adapted to cold weather environments where winter temperatures are far colder.
PHOTO BY WILL LESCHPER
Charly Seale, longtime executive director of the Exotic Wildlife Association, noted it was a slow process to fully understand the scope of the cold kills initially.
“We sent out a mortality survey to members right after the weather and even early on it looked like it would be one of the worst die-offs I’ve ever been around,” Seale said. “We lost thousands of animals with the axis and blackbuck populations being hit the hardest, in addition to some nilgai and other species.
“Initially, we were estimating our losses to be around $2 million (in wildlife assets) but as more of the high-dollar exotics came in as part of the die-offs – species like sable and bongos, which are high-value animals – it went up higher to be more like tens of millions in multiple notable exotic areas including the Hill Country and South Texas. I personally lost about 75% of my herd. I had more than 100 axis and 40 blackbucks at the time. I’ve also had gemsbok and scimitar horns and at least on my place those species have tended to do well even in cold weather.”
Seale noted that much like fish kills on the coast that have been felt in the succeeding years, the overall impact on exotics will still be measured for years to come.
“What people in the business may not know is that because of the storm we lost the next couple of generations of some species,” Seale said. “Those axis does were either pregnant or had young ones on the ground, so not only did we lose does, we lost the babies as well.”
Of note, Seale said he worked with state officials to ensure exotic losses were counted the same way that livestock and crop losses are assessed for federal disaster declarations.
While non-native exotics certainly were negatively impacted en masse, our state’s most prized native big game animal seemed to fare better across the board.
Dr. Michael Cherry, Stuart W. Stedman Chair for Whitetailed Deer Research at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, noted that exotic populations of many varieties that typically thrive behind high fences face somewhat taller odds in extreme cold weather conditions.
“Exotics behind a high fence could have possibly been more prone to being included in die-offs from cold weather if they were restricted to their amounts of thermal habitat choices that could have been beneficial, Cherry said. “Again, when you have animals native to warmer locations (blackbuck, axis deer and nilgai) that have been introduced with those types of very cold conditions, there’s always a real danger of being distressed.”
Cherry and the team at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute continue to conduct groundbreaking studies into numerous deer-related endeavors in South Texas and elsewhere. If there’s one silver lining to the news coming out of the weather event multiple years later, Cherry noted that deer weren’t as negatively impacted as non-native species.
“We’ve got a lot of deer collared for tracking studies in South Texas and all signs point to them making it through without any significant mortality events, Cherry said. “You think about whitetails as being extremely adaptable and living in places that are much colder than Texas, so they likely had to adapt their behavior somewhat based on weather (during Uri and other succeeding storms and droughts).”
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has estimated that Winter Storm Uri’s effects on livestock including cattle, sheep and goats led to losses of at least $200 million, though the number could have been higher. State officials and biologists have noted the overall losses on exotics including axis, blackbucks and a host of other species not suited to
Ground-nesting species such as turkeys and quail were impacted by the storm though their populations remain strong in years with cooler temperatures and above-average rainfall.
PHOTO BY RITA FREY
PHOTO BY WYMAN MEINZER
extreme cold could have been on par with the overall livestock losses that were incurred.
GAME BIRDS ESCAPE MOSTLY UNSCATHED
Texas’ migratory and upland game bird hunting is second to none in the country, with outstanding opportunities for multiple species of quail, in addition to numerous species of doves, waterfowl and turkeys.
When discussing the effects of Uri multiple years later, the overall impact seemingly has waned in every succeeding year as the native landscape continues to heal itself. In terms of ground-nesting birds such as quail and turkeys, the annual outlook is always reliant on adequate moisture at the right stages of production to ensure a good hatch and ensuing moisture to help young birds make it through their first year. Biologists are quick to point out that any outlook favors an ongoing El Nino cycle, which typically brings average temperatures and above-average rainfall, both beneficial to a host of species.
Quail, in particular, are a historically important species for a variety of reasons and biologists continue to monitor both bobwhite and scaled quail closely.
John McLaughlin, Upland Game Bird Program leader for TPWD, noted the February 2021 freeze heavily impacted the native landscape in the Panhandle and Rolling Plains, though those regions are more prone to freeze events than other quail hot beds such as South Texas. Overall, the outlook for quail continues to be based on what could be termed cyclical boom and bust years that seem to alternate.
“The tough part on quail is when you have a couple of bad years, you have to start building the numbers back up,” McLaughlin said. “It takes two good quail years in a row to really start bouncing back from the lower levels we’ve seen (after the storm and in drought years). Consecutive years of
dry summer and winter conditions are especially problematic for quail because they rely on each year’s crop of young to replenish the population. By the same token, consecutive years of above-average rainfall and lower than average summer temperatures can produce quail ‘boom’ years.”
While upland species typically are more influenced by large-scale weather events, migratory species such as doves and ducks don’t see the same impacts and usually are prone to move based on changing weather conditions and escape lingering impacts.
Owen Fitzsimmons, Dove Program leader for TPWD, said Uri did have a somewhat negative impact on both mourning doves and whitewings immediately after the storm.
“Whitewings are a sub-tropical species and not very cold-hardy but they are pretty resilient,” Fitzsimmons said. “A large portion of our state population also occurs in metro areas and those birds seem to adapt to changing environments quickly and thrive. We did see some doves that had frostbite injuries to their feet and their bills but it’s not uncommon to see that phenomenon in other years as birds migrate in from colder locations to the north.”
Fitzsimmons said recent dove population estimates continue to be on par with other years when roughly 25 million mourning doves and 12 million whitewings are in Texas at some point either before or during the annual hunting frameworks, both the largest figures in the country.
Uri’s impact on Texas wildlife continue to be felt years after the storm creeped across our native landscape. If there’s a singular, overarching silver lining, it’s that despite the winter onslaught, the true nature of the diverse Lone Star State habitat will always be resilient. It may take time but our fish, fowl and fauna seemingly find a way to survive and even thrive in the face of the harshest conditions Mother Nature can cook up.
Texas resident bobwhite and scaled quail are adaptive and mostly resilient to temperature extremes, including the occasional snow storm.
It’s Not Just for
Livestock Branding
ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY GREG SIMONS
Rooted in a Scandinavian language, the word “brandr” means “to burn,” and such “burning” practices became integrated into signifying ownership of livestock back in the 1500s through a superheated piece of iron that was, and still is, used to burn a permanent mark onto the flesh of livestock. Back then, and today, branding is all about making your mark through communication, both literally and figuratively. And today, the business
world spends tons of money and creativity on trying to develop a brand that resonates well with their targeted audience. Is branding a form of marketing? Yes, but it’s more encompassing than marketing. Branding tells your story and has more to do with creating a perceived identity across an audience, whereas marketing involves the tactical process of taking that brand awareness and selling associated products or services to the marketplace.
While standing in line at a Minneapolis airport Starbucks some years ago, a lady who was also waiting to place her order asked, “Are you from Texas?” I answered, “Let me guess, my accent gave me away?” She then replied, “No, I saw the logo on your shirt. You own that company?” Not knowing where the conversation might be headed, I looked at her suspiciously and replied, “Why do you ask?” She went on to explain that her friend’s husband hunts with a company in Texas that is owned by a wildlife biologist and that the company offers hunting services as well as wildlife management services. I asked her how she made that connection to me, and she said that the logo on my shirt matched the logo on a hat that her friend’s husband sometimes wears. I asked her if she hunted and she responded, “I’m not a hunter but I love nature and I appreciate a hunting company that also places emphasis on wildlife conservation, and I understand that you guys do that. I also like that the name of your company, as it sounds like you’re not simply into killing wild animals.”
Regarding business branding, there are at least three features of the conversation that I just described which are noteworthy. One, a total stranger who lives on the other end of the country recognized our company logo. Two, our company name, Wildlife Systems, Inc., apparently provided a positive connotation to her. And, thirdly, she knew that our company offered wildlife management services in addition to offering outfitted hunting trips, and she seemed to appreciate who we are and what we do, even though she is not a hunter.
What I just described is a form of branding, or a result of branding. I’m a big believer in the power of branding and what branding means in terms of public perceptions and how that ties into market perceptions. Though I do not consider myself to be a business branding expert, I do think that some firms and experts who offer such services tend to over-complicate their philosophies and communications on this topic. So, I’m going to provide a few mile-high thoughts on this subject, condensed, 101.
NAMES, LOGOS, AND SLOGANS
Start-up companies are well advised to put a great deal of thought into creating the name of their new business. Company names do not have to tell a story or even be reflective of the type of product or service that is offered, but it’s important that the name is simple and easy to remember. Once a business name is established and has been in place for a while, it’s hard to go back to the drawing board if you feel like the business name is not a good fit. Simple things, such as whether the name will easily fit on a cap or perhaps a logo without looking too busy, should be considered. Smith Enterprises, LLC may not tell a story, but it’s simple and easy to remember, which can be important. Logos are a bit more pliable. Ideally, a business will have a “good” logo that remains in-place for many years and is relevant over the long haul. However, unlike company names, logos can be changed without as many collateral costs or consequences. Logos may tell a story or simply create some degree of eye- appeal for marketing and other business functions. As with business names, there is something to be said about the benefits of keeping things simple with logos. Designs with clean and simple lines
makes it easier to reproduce logos that are clearly legible, especially when it comes to embroidery. To create branding traction through logos, they should be used universally across various business tools including letterhead, signage, business cards, websites, labels, caps, shirts and other forms of visual tools. Ideally, over time, the market will associate or connect the company name with the logo without even seeing the name.
Slogans tell a story. Like logos, they can be more pliable than business names but require consistent use. Some companies use their mission statement as their slogan, but in that case, the mission statement must be concise. Shorter is generally better with slogans so that they can be neatly bundled with logos or conveniently built into various types of communications like media releases or at the bottom of stationery. Collectively, the combined use of the business name, logo and slogan should create a tie that the market connects with, while also telling a story.
OPERATING CULTURE
A business’s operating culture often defines the market’s perception of that business, which in turn, defines the
Logos are an important component of branding in social media posts.
business itself. A strong business platform will have best management practices (BMPs) in place that consistently yield quality products and services through sound mechanics and through friendly, positive behavioral attitudes. Fundamentally, the basis of an effective branding campaign begins and grows from satisfied clients who hopefully become loyal patrons and who serve as ambassadors for that business. Such successful business practices do not generally happen by accident, so it should be incumbent for the business proprietor to intelligently and deliberately create a path of developing BMPs that help build client loyalty and consequently set the business on a positive branding trajectory that is built up over time and reflects the operating culture.
COMMUNICATION AND MESSAGING
I’ve heard said, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” I beg to differ with this philosophy, especially when it comes to branding and my slant is, “It’s what you say AND how you say it.” These days, during the digital era, especially through social media, effective communication is part and parcel to business branding, plain and simple. Messaging content and messaging style, along with frequency and mediums of delivery, are the trump cards when it comes to using communication and messaging to build your brand. Say it right, say it often and speak to the right audience, again and again.
REPETITION AND LONGEVITY IS KEY
Effective branding does not happen overnight. For people or markets to connect with businesses in a meaningful way, this often requires continued exposure to those potential markets over long enough periods of time to help ensure that an identity is created within those markets. As a rule, industries and markets that are highly competitive with other vendors often require more time and exposure to create successful branding initiatives, principally due to the dilution effects of such highly competitive markets. Be consistent with your efforts, recognizing that effective branding is more of a marathon than a sprint.
Also, it’s important to remember that successful branding does not have to take place on a national or global level. Effective branding campaigns are often best tackled at the community level, whether that community be geographically defined by city or township, whether it be a community group that makes up a non-governmental organization, or whether it is simply a community of existing clients that are already part of your business portfolio. Thinking big, while starting small, is a good rule of thumb for successful business branding.
* The author, Greg Simons, co-owns multiple natural resource related businesses, including a company that specializes in the development of wildlife enterprises and wildlife management programs on private lands. For further information on that company, check out www.wildlifesystems.com
– 26,000 ac, will divide into 11,300 ac & 14,700 ac
ο Axis, Whitetail, Duck & Quail
ο Some Improvements
ο Live Water: Rio Grande River, Sycamore, San Felipe & Zorro Creeks
– 1,850 ac, SW Intersection 693 & 277, runs south along 277.
Wildlife Management Using Sources and Sinks
Lessons from the
Ocelot
ARTICLE BY MICHAEL TEWES
PHOTO
The ocelot is a small, endangered cat weighing about 20 pounds. Currently, fewer than than 120 individuals remain in the United States. I have been fortunate to spend the past 43 years studying this beautiful cat in my homeland of South Texas where the last of its home range has been greatly reduced. During this time I have applied a diverse range of wildlife concepts toward ocelot conservation. In this article I will describe a particular one called sourcesink management, which may prove helpful for a variety of land and wildlife management practices across the state.
Source-sink management is a powerful idea that can be applied to most wildlife populations, including game and nongame. However, to explain this concept it is important to know its key terms.
sink habitat have similar meanings as described above. Source habitat produces more offspring than deaths of all individuals. Sink habitat has high mortality levels while successful reproduction fails to compensate for the loss.
Texas ocelots serve as a prime model for the sourcesink ecology concept. Ocelots habitat includes the densest brush imaginable with 95 percent horizontal cover. They prefer mixed thornshrub communities composed of up to 30 plant species including granjeno, brasil, blackbrush, white brush, lotebush and catclaw. They avoid mesquite-huisache communities with little brush understory. This makes it difficult for biologists to measure which habitat tracts have enough prey, so the cover component is used to describe the quality of ocelot habitat.
The simple definition of a source population is one that produces more young than the death of all individuals. Favorable conditions for a particular source population result in several young for each female, high survival of those young to adults, and fewer deaths in the population from reduced predation, diseases or mortality agents.
In contrast, a sink population is one with more deaths of individuals in the population than young produced. The conditions are substandard, such as poor nutrition, diseases or a high predator load. Individuals die at a higher rate than they are replaced through reproduction.
A similar concept can be applied to habitat. Generally, a typical definition for habitat includes the basic survival elements--food, water and cover--that are needed for a particular species to thrive. Thus, source habitat and
In areas where there is an ocelot population, the likely source and sink habitats can sometimes be inferred on the landscape. A large patch of dense brush with the proper elements may tentatively be identified as a source habitat, thereby hosting a source ocelot population for colonizing other surrounding habitats tracts.
In contrast, if this same large tract of theoretical source habitat is adjacent to a busy highway, it may serve as a sink habitat if roadway-caused mortality is not offset by reproduction.
The size and distribution of habitat patches to consider will depend, in part, on the species of interest whether it be deer, quail, coyotes or tortoises. Also, the scale of a source habitat can vary in size. It may be an entire ranch, part of a ranch or pasture, or simply a habitat tract of any size.
PHOTO BY BEN MASTERS
Wildlife Management Using Sources and Sinks
Let’s look at white-tailed deer as an example. One ranch owner may spend considerable time, resources and funding to manage a few trophy bucks for personal hunting purposes. An adjoining lease property may have little interest in trophy bucks in favor of recreational hunting where hunters want to harvest several management bucks each season. The lease could potentially serve as a deer population sink if it is not managed properly. In this example, a fence line could represent the boundary between a source and sink deer population.
Keep in mind that any given year a population or habitat can be a source, whereas the following year may produce conditions that result in a sink. For example, consider a habitat source that benefits from abundant rainfall that produces ample foliage and food. For the next three years, drought conditions cause the same pasture to become a habitat sink due to greater mortality than replacement of young.
A rancher may manage certain pastures to create optimum combinations of grass-forb areas intermixed with small patches of woody cover to enhance bobwhite quail production. If this management plan is changed or neglected, extensive brush encroachment could rapidly return. Thus, a source habitat with its source quail population could experience sink conditions in a relatively short window.
Conversely, wildlife managers may intentionally create a habitat sink for coyotes to benefit certain production goals for other species. This example creates an intentional sink to remove some coyotes from management areas. Although I have always generally believed that unless coyote control is done intensively and extensively, meaning long-term control efforts over large areas, then coyotes will simply pour in from surrounding source populations because of their resilient traits and ability to travel long distances.
The sources and sinks concept is one of many wildlife management tools. It may help toward designing management plans for your favorite wildlife species. However, a worthy goal is to strive for rich complex ecosystems with diverse plants and wildlife populations. A healthy landscape can better absorb a variety of impacts, such as weather extremes and drought, than an unhealthy landscape. It also increases land values for future generations.
In addition to source-sink management, other concepts include metapopulation management, corridor ecology and landscape connectivity and diversity. It’s my hope that “out-of-the box” thinking can help land managers and wildlife enthusiasts apply various applications to achieve management goals.
COOPER DRAW RANCH
Rattling Tales
ARTICLE BY LARRY WEISHUHN
PHOTO COURTESY LARRY WEISHUHN OUTDOORS
“Traiste tus cuernos traqueteantes Senor Rojos?”
“Si guero, creo que es hora de traquetear en un gran ciervo de cola blanca!” I replied as I held high my rattling horns showing I had brought them. “Has visto algun dolar persiguiendo?”
“Principalmente en el lado norte del rancho cerca de la colina con el molino de viente!” replied the vaquero.
Good to hear the local whitetail rut had begun. I knew exactly where he had seen bucks chasing does, on the north side of the ranch near Windmill Hill. It was there, a couple of weeks earlier, after having crawled up the windmill tower I had spotted at a great distance two bucks that really interested me. One was a double drop-tine and the other a short-tined extremely wide antlered buck. I suspect the latter would come close to a 30-inch or greater outside spread. Looking back, I truly wish I had had my current “rig” back then; a Mossberg Patriot Predator 7mm PRC rifle enhanced with an Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel, topped with a Stealth Vision 3-18x44 SVT scope and shooting Hornady’s 175-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter ammo. Had that been the case I would have felt comfortable taking a longer range shot.
After stowing gear and groceries, I headed to the north part of the ranch.
The northerly breeze was perfect. I knew exactly where I wanted to set up to rattle, on the south side of Windmill Hill. There I would have a height advantage to see above the lowgrowing brush to the south and downwind.
After letting the sounds of nature return, I started rattling, confident I would soon see on of my two targeted bucks or possibly another even more interesting. Moments into my rattling sequence I spotted movement albeit a bit short for a deer. I grunted a couple of times, clashed the antlers one more time, then set them at my side and pointed my rifle and peered through my scope where I had last seen movement. It took a bit, but then I saw it. I could see eyes and short ears of a huge bobcat. He was sitting on his haunches staring at me.
Decision time. Shoot the bobcat and save future fawns, or, continue rattling in hopes of attracting a big buck?
I decided to shoot the bobcat. I had five more days to hunt deer. It was not until I walked to where he lay I realized how big the tom truly was. Later that evening I put him on the ranch’s feed scales, 42-pounds!
I knew predators occasionally responded to the sound of rattling horns. A year earlier hunting just below the Rio Bravo, a friend and I had rattled in a cougar. Unfortunately, both of us were so surprised, the lion escaped unscathed.
That hunt, just below the Texas border, I rattle in about fifty or so bucks and I did shoot an 8-point buck with a 24-inch outside spread with extremely short tines, not the kind of antlered buck I wanted to continue eating forage a buck with bigger and better antler potential might consume in the future. That one had charged in, eyes bugged, hair standing on end coming to take on any and every thing.
I rattled in numerous bucks during the next five days, but did not pull the trigger. A week later, hunting with my old friend, J. Wayne Fears from Alabama, I related my bobcat and cougar rattling experiences. He smiled as he listened. “You haven’t forgotten that skunk you rattled up on the Nail Ranch a couple of years ago have you?”
I hoped he had forgotten! Wayne and I were sitting on a rocky ridge overlooking a small creek that flowed into the Clear Fork of the Brazos. We had previously seen some impressive bucks there. I wanted to rattle in one of those for Wayne. I moved back off the edge a bit to rattle while Wayne sat down on a trail leading from the creek bottom to the ridge top.
I started rattling. Thirty seconds into my sequence, Wayne jumped up and started quickly backing up. I could not see the source of his concern. My first thought, there was a big wild boar coming up on the same trail Wayne had been sitting on. He kept backing up, looking down at his feet. “Move back!” he warned as he continued backing up. I got up from my knees, stood. Immediately, I too began backing up. Coming at a fast walk right toward us was a skunk, tail raised high ready to spray! Both Wayne and I turned and started running away from the skunk…
Over the years I have rattled in mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, cows, wild hogs, a few fellow hunters and one game warden, as well as quite a few whitetail bucks and occasionally a whitetail doe. Every rattling “session” has been exciting. Frankly, outside of that one experience, I have seldom been “skunked” while rattling!
I will take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you the Most Blessed and Merriest of Christmases! Hopefully part of your Christmas holidays will include several days in the field, hunting and/or fishing and spending time with family and special friends.
Eminent Domain and Your Land
ARTICLE BY BRAUN & GRESHAM
Texas landowners should brace for the possibility of pipelines and other infrastructure impacting their land.
When it comes to owning land in Texas, it is not uncommon to receive a letter in the mail or a landman pays you a visit, telling you somebody wants to build a pipeline, road, or transmission line on your property. The government, or sometimes a private company, can do this through eminent domain. Eminent domain is the power of these entities to take private property and put it to public use. What a landowner receives in return for this taking is “just” or “fair” compensation. The rapid growth of Texas’ population, along with increasing transportation demands and investments in energy infrastructure, has resulted in the condemnation of more and more Texas land.
Pipeline construction in Texas remains highly active, particularly due to ongoing demand for transporting oil and natural gas from the Permian Basin. To see this, look no further than the De La Express Pipeline. This large-scale project will span 645 miles, stretching from Reeves County in West Texas to Orange County on the eastern border, crossing 31 counties and affecting nearly 13,000 acres of land. The pipeline is still moving through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency that oversees interstate gas pipelines. Should FERC approve the project, the company could be granted authority to condemn the property of Texas landowners. While the De La Express pipeline, and
other projects including the Blackcomb Pipeline, promise economic growth for the oil and gas industry, it raises serious concerns for landowners, especially those managing properties with important wildlife habitats.
While being fairly compensated for the taking is a very important factor for landowners, for those focused on wildlife conservation, the taking could have significant consequences for their ability to maintain healthy habitats on their land.
Construction impacts and disruptions to habitat will invariably occur in the process. While Texas law provides the landowner with some rights and protections, many landowners do not fully understand the condemnation process and what options they have, including the right to have legal representation. An attorney with experience in eminent domain can explain the legal process, walk you through the potential impacts to your land, and advise the landowner about options for protecting your land and wildlife resources.
The documents presented to landowners are often drafted in the interest of the pipeline company or the government. With an attorney on their side, landowners can better negotiate terms.
Due to Texas’ growing infrastructure demands, there is always a possibility that your land and its wildlife may be affected. While these demands will prove challenging to some property owners, working with an experienced attorney can help minimize the impact on your property and maximize your compensation in return.
Recent Trends and Patterns Coastal Ducks
ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY NATE SKINNER
Iremember the first time I went duck hunting. It was cold and rainy, and the air temperature never really increased past sunrise. At the time I was in my late teens, and I didn’t have much of a wallet for exceptional gear. By the time we threw in the towel, I was drenched, seemingly to the bone, and felt as cold as I had ever felt in my entire life.
We harvested a mere three ducks that day in what was supposedly “ducky” weather conditions. However, during
the seconds leading up to our shots, with the group of gadwall floating in over the decoys with their wings cupped and their feet down, I no longer cared about the frigid and uncomfortable elements. It was that exact moment in the midcoast marsh some 20 years ago that has kept me enthralled with the sport ever since.
From then on, hunting waterfowl along the Texas coast became not only an obsession, but a way of life. In a sport rich with tradition, many others could share similar experiences.
Blue-winged teal have become the bread and butter for coastal duck hunters. In most years, they are the second or third most abundant duck in North America. Going into the 2024 breeding season, the adult breeding population of blue-winged teal was estimated at about 4.59 million birds.
Kevin Kraai, TPWD Waterfowl Program Leader
The Texas Gulf Coast has long been one of the most important wintering grounds for migrating waterfowl along the Central Flyway. Changes and improvements in agricultural practices and equipment, combined with the increase in urbanization and human disturbance across the landscape, has significantly altered the habitat that is available to wintering waterfowl in the region.
Gone are the heydays of old, at least in terms of the number of ducks that winter along the Texas Coast every year. With that being said, variables outside of our control within their breeding grounds have also affected the amount of ducks found along our coastal rice prairies, marshes and bays in recent years. The future of coastal ducks in Texas, however, is doom and gloom. Programs and collective efforts are being implemented to help restore the wintering population and distribution of waterfowl across the Texas coast to historical levels. There are currently ebbs and flows between different species of coastal ducks in regard to their population and distribution in the Lone Star State, and a variety of variables that are affecting these species in different ways.
from which early teal season regulations are derived from, and will trigger a reduction in days for teal season in 2025.”
Kraai said that the decrease in population for blue-wing teal has been a result of persistent drought conditions across their breeding grounds, primarily northern prairie potholes, throughout the last five years.
“Conditions were poor coming out of winter and into the breeding season this past spring. However, they did improve as spring wore into summer as a result of timely precipitation events, Kraai said. “As the birds were nesting and ducklings began to hatch, the habitat continued to improve. This promoted strong survival rates among ducklings, and overall good production for blue-wings.”
According to Kraai, this represents the perfect scenario for a rapidly rebounding population of blue-winged teal in the near future. He fully expects to see a significant increase in the blue-wing population next year that is well above the 4.7 million bird threshold, in regard to the species management plan. Regardless, waterfowl hunters will be restricted to a nine day early teal season in 2025 due to the decrease below the 4.7 million bird threshold that took place this year.
COASTAL DUCK SPECIES AND TRENDS
Blue-winged teal have arguably become the most important duck species along the Texas Gulf Coast. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) data from data from last season indicates that the blue-wing was the number one harvested duck in the state during the regular duck season.
According to TPWD Waterfowl Program Leader, Kevin Kraai, going into the 2024 breeding season, the adult breeding population of blue-winged teal was estimated at about 4.59 million birds.
“This is one of lowest population estimates for bluewings that we have seen in over a decade,” Kraai said. “The population is below the 4.7 million bird threshold
“There is an abundance of juvenile blue-wings within the population this season due to reproductive success. This bodes well for hunter success along the coast where in places where there is water available for the ducks,” he said.
Historically, blue-winged teal were only available to duck hunters early in the fall, which is how the early teal season came about. Their migrations have slowly evolved over time, and they are now found along our coastal prairies, marshes and bay systems throughout the entire hunting season.
“Blue-winged teal have become the bread and butter for coastal duck hunters,” Kraai said. “In most years, they are the second or third most abundant duck in North America.”
The green-winged teal is another iconic coastal duck species, and their abundance has remained stable in recent years. The adult breeding population of green-wings increased by 20 percent from 2023 to 2024, and is estimated at just over 3,000 birds. This estimate is 38 percent above the long-term average.
“Green-winged teal populations are steady and booming,” Kraai said. “They love wintering along our coastal prairies and marshes, and are very important to Texas coastal hunters. They can be abundant both early and late in the season.”
Kraai said that the stability of the green-winged teal population is a result of their ability to take advantage of boreal forest habitat when drought negatively affects the prairie pothole region of the breeding grounds.
“The boreal forest isn’t near as dynamic in regard to changing conditions, Kraai said. “This has caused greenwing populations to thrive in comparison to other species.”
The gadwall is another species that generally falls into the category as one of the top three species of ducks harvested by coastal Texan waterfowl hunters each year.
“From the 1990s to the early 2000s, the gadwall was considered the king of ducks. Like blue-winged teal, they are also very heavily dependent on the prairie habitat in their breeding grounds,” Kraai said.
Drought conditions in the breeding grounds caused the gadwall population to decrease by 11 percent from last year.
Kraai notes, “Improving conditions during their nesting season and the summer resulted in great production and reproductive success for gadwall. I fully expect them to rebound next year.”
There isn’t a seasoned coastal duck hunter out there that doesn’t highly regard the pintail as a prized species. Known for their weariness, as well as their impressive spins over the decoys when everything during a hunt falls into place, pintails are often prevalent across our coastal prairies, marshes and bays throughout duck season.
According to Kraai, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has adopted an Interim Northern Pintail Harvest
Management Strategy, which includes a new model that links hunting regulations to how harvest impacts the pintail population, based on harvest data and expected fall flight.
“The new strategy is based on the idea that more data from annual population monitoring and new, modern analyses show the potential for more harvest opportunities than previously thought, Kraai said. “Historically, there have been three bag limit options for northern pintail--a daily limit of two birds, one bird, or a closed season. The Interim Northern Pintail Harvest Management Strategy allows for a liberal bag limit of three birds in years in which the strategy model determines that the population estimate can sustain it.”
The USFWS and Flyway Councils will monitor the interim strategy annually and evaluate its performance after three years of a three-bird bag limit. There is no guarantee of a three pintail bag limit for the 2025-2026 season, or for any season for that matter, as it depends on the species population status and what the strategy’s model determines is an appropriate harvest value.
“Ultimately, the take home message is that pintail harvest management has been too conservative. Pintails have been doing better than we realized. They are a difficult bird to count during our surveys, and there is evidence that large numbers of them have been missed due to their migration patterns and other variables,” Kraai said.
He said that there are a lot more pintails across the landscape than what survey estimates have indicated, and that hunting has not significantly impacted their survival or populations.
“The fluctuation in the population of pintails is mostly influenced by environmental factors, rather than by hunting,” Kraai said.
Another coastal duck species that can’t be overlooked is the northern shoveler, often referred to as a “spoonie.” Shovelers follow similar migration habits and habitat preferences as blue-winged teal. Studies show that they are more closely related to blue-wings than green-winged teal are.
“Northern shovelers have been on a little more than 10 year decline, just like most of the prairie nesting species of ducks. With that being said, they are resilient and have maintained their population over the years,” he said.
The shoveler is regarded by waterfowl biologists as one of the most important species of ducks for coastal hunters in Texas, as well as for Texans as a whole in terms of harvest.
They rank among the top five species harvested during most seasons.
For many years, there was a negative stigma regarding shovelers among duck hunters. According to Kraai, those days are over.
“Many folks are more than happy to encounter shovelers on a hunt and include them on their straps, he said. “The reality is, the majority of coastal duck hunters in Texas are happy to harvest the ducks that give them opportunity, and the shoveler provides plenty of opportunities.”
Mottled ducks often round out straps for coastal hunters. However, their populations seem to be thriving outside of our coastal prairies, marshes and bay systems.
“We have been seeing populations of mottled ducks along the coast decline in recent years. We discovered that there are populations of mottled ducks taking advantage of habitat in the South Texas Brush Country,” he said.
Kraai said that much of the landscape in the South Texas area is used recreationally or for livestock, and that new manmade stock ponds, tanks and water features are popping up in the region, seemingly by the day.
“Everyone wants to have a pond or some sort of water feature on their property, and mottled ducks are taking advantage of it. With tons of small freshwater bodies of water littered across the landscape, the Brush Country resembles what our coastal prairies used to look like. The birds don’t get near the amount of pressure on these small ponds and tanks compared to the amount of human disturbance that they are subjected to on declining coastal habitats,” he said.
The American widgeon is another duck species that will take advantage of the boreal forest habitat within the
breeding grounds. Because of this, widgeon populations are thriving despite consistent drought in the prairie pothole region of North America. Their population is about 12 percent above the long-term average and they experienced a significant increase from 2023.
Widgeon are a highly sought-after species of coastal hunters, and at times, are quite prevalent along our coastal prairies, marshes and bay systems.
“We see a lot more widgeon on the middle and lower coast, compared to the upper coast, Kraai said. “We are also seeing widgeon take advantage of stock ponds and cattle tanks across inland portions of South Texas, especially during wet years. There they can avoid the crowds on the coast and have plenty of habitat when ponds and tanks are full.”
You can’t talk about coastal ducks without mentioning the redhead. These ducks have long been a staple for hunters across our bay systems. At one time, coastal hunters could almost bet on being able to harvest redheads, but that isn’t always the case anymore.
“The declining acreage of seagrasses within our estuaries has played a large factor in the distribution of wintering redheads along the Texas coast. The highest concentrations of seagrasses are located from Matagorda and further south, so that’s where most of the redheads tend to winter along our coastline,” he said.
Kraai said that pressure on redheads has likely been the largest determining factor as to where they are concentrated.
“There are just very few places nowadays where these birds can escape human disturbance, whether that be from hunters, or simply just from anglers or boaters. It seems that more and more concentrations of redheads are pushing
further south into Mexico for the winter to try to get away from human disturbances along the Texas coast,” he said.
Often found flying alongside redheads, scaup are also prevalent along our Texas coastal bays.
“The scaup is the second or third most abundant duck in North America, depending on the year. It’s also one of the most least harvested ducks in North America,” Kraai said.
The scaup estimated population increased 16 percent from 2023, and seems to be doing very well.
THE TEXAS COAST WATERFOWL SANCTUARY PROGRAM
The Texas Coast Waterfowl Sanctuary Program consisted of about 1,800 acres and five sites at the end of last season. The program is adding two more sites this year, which will combine for a total of over 2,000 acres of habitat across seven sites located on our coastal rice prairies. These sites are closed for hunting and include a no-hunting buffer around them. They serve strictly as a sanctuary or refuge for wintering waterfowl.
“These sanctuary sites are not properties that have been historically hunted or leased for hunting rights. We are not taking away hunting ground from hunters, but rather, creating refuges and roosting habitat for waterfowl in hopes that we can restore wintering populations on our coastal prairies back to historic numbers,” he said.
The property owners of these sites are subsidized to keep 75 acres of water or more, that is five to 10 inches deep, from Nov. 1 to March 31 each year.
“There is currently a research project being conducted across these sites using recording devices that incorporate AI technology to monitor what species are there, when they are there, and how many are there. We are very excited about what we will learn from this project,” Kraai said.
THE FUTURE OF COASTAL DUCKS
Managing wintering habitat for ducks across the Texas Gulf Coast proves to be an uphill challenge. Restoring the region’s population of wintering waterfowl to historic proportions as much as possible is the TPWD Waterfowl Program’s primary objective.
Time will tell what the true future of our coastal ducks will look like. As Texans, we cannot control what happens in the breeding grounds. However, we can collectively make an effort as good stewards of the land and water to provide ducks with premium habitat while they are here.
A good alternative to docks constructed from creosote or pressure-treated lumber are those made from composite materials and metal pylons as seen here.
Is It Okay to Build Structures in My Pond Using Creosote or Pressure-Treated Lumber?
ARTICLE BY TODD SINK, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND AQUACULTURE EXTENSION SPECIALIST,
TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE
BRITTANY CHESSER, AQUATIC VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM SPECIALIST,
TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE
Typically, our readers are used to articles pertaining to aquatic vegetation management, fisheries management, or water chemistry, but this month we are going to switch gears and address another issue that might be of curiosity to many pond owners around the state. Specifically, is it okay to build structures in a pond using creosote or pressure-treated lumber. This is not a common question, but one that does arise on occasion, and is likely pondered by many before going ahead and doing it anyway. If you ask someone and they answer, “I don’t know, but I see a lot of people do it so it must be okay,” without addressing any factual evidence or science-based research to support it, you should probably not take that advice and instead research the matter.
Many claim that it is okay because the chemicals leaching from the wood undergo a dilution effect due to the large volume of water in the pond. Well, if you have a pond under five acres that may contain less than 40-acre-feet of water, this is not necessarily true as most ponds in Texas are not known for their large volumes or frequent flushing of water to dilute any chemicals present. According to studies of satellite imagery conducted by the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Texas A&M University, there are currently over 1.3 million ponds in the state of Texas and more than 80% of them are less than 1 acre, so chances are dilution of toxic chemicals is not a luxury most pond owners have.
Let us first look at the products in question. What is coal tar creosote? Creosote is an amber to black, oily, tar-like mixture of over 100 chemicals that are used as a wood preservative, insecticide and fungicide. It contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, cresols and phenols. These chemicals are hazardous to humans and the environment, can be released into the soil and water (especially in a pond), contaminate the sediment that is ingested by microbes, aquatic insects, and other invertebrates where they can concen-
trate at hazardous levels, and then they can begin to move through the aquatic food chain into your fish and other wildlife, and can move into groundwater contaminating it.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states “Creosote poses cancer and non-cancer health risks of concern,” and “Creosote may pose risks to fish and invertebrates when creosote-treated wood is used in aquatic and railroad structures.” The EPA has classified creosote as a restricted-use pesticide.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2024 Toxicological Profile for Creosote states that treated wood pilings are a source of creosote contaminated waters. These pilings leach contaminants in variable amounts, for many years. A 2005 study by the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Forest Service found that in an aquatic environment, seven of the 16 studied polyaromatic hydrocarbons listed as hazardous pollutants leached from the wood and were detectable in surrounding waters.
Next, let’s look at pressure-treated lumber. While arguably less toxic than creosote, it still contains chemicals that can be extremely damaging to the aquatic environment. Most modern pressure-treated lumber is treated with a mixture of copper-based compounds including alkaline copper quaternary, copper azole, or micronized copper azole. These chemicals are often combined with quaternary ammonium compounds or azoles. Another component used in pressuretreated lumber is chromated copper arsenate. While this product has been partially phased out due to concerns of arsenic leaching and arsenic being a known carcinogen according to the EPA. This in addition to its known toxic effects on mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates have led many, but not all companies, to remove this chemical from their formulations.
Copper-based compounds in pressure-treated lumber act as insecticides and fungicides. Copper is a heavy metal that is required in small quantities for normal physiology
Docks such as this one, constructed with pressure treated wood and/or creosote treated pilings, can leach polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, cresols, phenols, alkaline copper quaternary, copper azole, ammonium compounds, or chromated copper arsenate into the water that can disrupt the pond’s nutrient cycling, plant life, and food chain, be toxic to aquatic organisms, and are simply bad for the ecosystem and organism living within it or consuming food or water from the pond.
in most organisms, but it is also a heavy metal that can be quite toxic at just small quantities above an organism’s physiological requirement. In fact, copper-based compounds are some of the most common algaecides and herbicides used in the aquatic environment. In addition, copper is toxic to sediment microbes responsible for nutrient cycling in ponds and normal ecological functioning. Copper is also highly toxic to benthic invertebrates such as aquatic insects, snails, mollusks and crayfish that fish and wildlife rely on as food sources.
Copper can be extremely toxic to fish larvae and becomes more toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates in low alkalinity water (<50 ppm alkalinity) typical of what is found in many east Texas ponds constructed in acidic soils. Ammonia from the quaternary ammonium compounds is highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Un-ionized ammonia can begin to kill fish at concentrations of only 0.5 ppm and disrupt growth and metabolism at even lower concentrations. The chemical compounds leached from pressure-treated lumber can disrupt the pond’s nutrient cycling, plant life, and food chain, be toxic to aquatic organisms, and are simply bad for the ecosystem.
So, if you need to build a dock or other structure, but creosote and pressure-treated lumber are not great for your pond ecosystem, what are the solutions? The first is to avoid using these materials and instead opt for concrete, metal, composite, bamboo or bamboo composite, silica tile, cedar or redwood (with natural pesticide and anti-rot attributes), or even standard lumber alternatives. If you must use creosote or pressure-treated lumber, there are things you can do to help protect the aquatic environment. Seal the treated lumber with a two-part epoxy paint or other longterm, non-water-permeable sealant before use. Only use pressure-treated lumber in areas with strong circulation and flow for constant dilution such as in surf zones or riverine environments. Avoid use of any pressure-treated lumber in areas used for drinking water, whether it be for human, livestock, or companion animal use.
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BY
What it Means for Texas Landowners Plant Succession
ARTICLE BY STEVE NELLE
Plant succession is an ecological concept with direct and practical relevance to every landowner. Plant succession describes the somewhat predictable change in plant life over time and is driven in large part by how the land is managed. A landowner can manage land to advance or retard the succession process according to their specific objectives.
A pure livestock producer on native rangeland desires to have high successional grassland composed of a diversity of taller grasses and palatable forbs for greater forage value. They would not want bare ground, shallow rooted grasses or an abundance of weedy forbs or brush. With good grazing management, the rancher could work toward this ideal mix of plants, but with poor management the rancher works against it.
For the wildlife manager, it is more complicated since many wildlife species thrive best in a mix of successional stages. Since many wildlife managers are also livestock producers, this makes their management of succession even more complex.
EARLY, MID, AND LATE SUCCESSION
Ecologists and land managers use the terms early, mid and late succession to describe different stages of plant life on a given tract of land. In an over-simplified explanation, succession starts with bare ground and then goes through natural stages of early pioneering weeds and grasses. Mid stage perennial species are eventually followed by late stage, deeper rooted perennials. The most advanced successional stage, sometimes called the climax plant community, is
PHOTO
STEVE NELLE
High succession grasslands are the result of many decades of good management. Such grasslands contain many species of deep-rooted perennial grasses and forbs which provide good wildlife habitat, grazing, rainfall absorption, aquifer recharge and carbon sequestration. Rotational grazing, selective brush control and fire are often used to manage and maintain these high value grasslands.
regarded as the most stable, balanced and productive that the site is capable of.
Early successional stages are typically comprised of annual grasses and forbs, usually of a “weedy” nature. Think of an old cropland field that is allowed to revert to natural plant cover. In the early stages it is likely to be dominated by sunflower, croton, spurges, pigweed, annual grasses, thistles and similar plants. As succession continues, mid successional plants begin to establish, slowly taking the place of the early successional weeds. This may include grasses such as sand dropseed, meadow dropseed, hooded windmill grass, silver bluestem, Texas wintergrass and some perennial forbs. The mid successional stage may persist for many years, but over time some late successional plants will usually start showing up. These may include little bluestem, Indiangrass, Texas cupgrass, Canada wildrye and many species of perennial forbs.
Each region of the state and each major soil type have their own unique successional patterns. The successional stages on a sandy soil in North Texas will be completely different than a clay loam soil in West or South Texas.
Landowners sometimes use disking or other forms of soil disturbance to set back succession and stimulate weeds for added habitat diversity. Here, the disking of strips the previous winter promoted an explosion of sunflower along with lesser amounts of spurge, croton and ragweed, all of which provide good seed for dove, quail and other grassland birds.
UNDERGROUND SUCCESSION
Just as a plant community changes in accord with succession, so does the underground community of soil microbes. This underground succession is much more complex and less well understood than above ground succession. Nearly all soils, no matter how degraded, have microbial life including bacteria, fungi and other organisms. The abundance and balance of these microorganism communities strongly governs plant growth.
Experts have discovered that the ratio of bacteria to fungi is one important indicator of soil health. Soils that have a large population of bacteria in relation to fungi are
Common Early, Mid and Late Succession Plants in Texas
PHOTO BY RICKY LINEX
Livestock grazing is the biggest driver of succession on Texas ranches. Grazing can be managed to advance or retard the succession process. Heavy continuous grazing causes retrogression and the proliferation of weedy species, while carefully managed rotational grazing followed by long rest periods promotes succession and range improvement.
in the early stages of succession while soils with a higher proportion of fungi are in the later stages of succession and are more productive and healthy. Soil testing to determine the bacterial to fungi ratio is now standard practice for landowners who are focused on soil health. It is important to remember that the above ground plant community is largely driven by what is happening underground.
RETROGRESSION AND RESILIENCY
Retrogression is the opposite of succession. It is the downward or backward direction, taking the plant community toward more annuals, weedy pioneer plants and shallow rooted plants. Nearly every ranch in Texas experienced extreme retrogression during the era of widespread overgrazing. The retrogression process took decades as the better original grasses were grazed short year after year and eventually grazed to death. The less palatable grasses and weeds increased in response to the loss of the better grasses. Over time, the ranges were degraded by the cumulative impacts of long-term overgrazing. Drought sometimes punctuated the overgrazing with a one-two punch of extreme retrogression. Many of today’s ranchers are now working to reverse the retrogression of past generations with different and better grazing methods.
No matter how well management is executed, there will always be natural setbacks. Succession may move forward in the desired direction until a drought or wildfire hits. What was gained through careful management can go backwards following one of these natural calamities. But the good news is that healthy land in later successional stages bounces back faster and better than degraded land. It is called resiliency and is the best form of ecological risk management.
BRUSH AND TREES
Brush and tree cover is a complex and confusing aspect of plant succession. Much of Texas naturally had a moderate or thick cover of trees and shrubs as part of the historic high successional climax plant community. However, in a true grassland system, such as the Fort Worth Prairie or the Coastal Prairie, the encroachment of woody plants is considered to be retrogression.
In other places, such as the Rolling Plains, mesquite and other brush is native and natural in modest amount but an excessive increase in brush density is generally viewed as retrogression. Therefore, the abundance of trees and brush does not equate to early, mid or late succession unless you know the historic vegetation type. Depending on location, the control of brush and trees can sometimes promote positive plant succession, but in other cases it results in retrogression.
ROLLINS’ MAXIM
Dr. Dale Rollins is famous for being able to explain complex things in simple language. He says that the essence of range and wildlife management boils down to this: Know your plants, and know how to manipulate them. This means having the skill and ability to orchestrate plant succession in the desired direction for your specific goals.
But, before you can effectively manipulate plants, you must first learn the plants. Not just their names, but their niches, their values and how they respond to management. Rollins has hosted over 100 Quall Appreciation Days and similar events all across Texas for over 25 years, with strong emphasis on plant recognition skills. He insists that knowing plants is a prerequisite to being able to sculpt the
Early succession plants, also called pioneer plants, are the first to appear following some form of disturbance and many of these have high value for wildlife. Clammyweed, pictured here, produces nectar-rich flowers that are used by butterflies and large amounts of seed eaten by birds such as dove and quail.
PHOTO BY STEVE NELLE
PHOTO BY STEVE NELLE
pasture toward whatever successional stage is desired and is a skill every landowner should cultivate.
MANAGING SUCCESSION
Aldo Leopold’s famous thesis of game management says that the tools which were previously used to destroy habitat are the very same tools which can be used to create and improve habitat. Leopold was describing plant succession and how the various land management practices are used to direct succession either forward or backward.
Consider again the old cropland field mentioned previously. If the owner wants to create bobwhite habitat, he will maintain part of the field in early successional weedy cover for seed, insects and brooding cover, and this will require periodic soil disturbance. But he will allow part of the field to grow into later successional perennial bunchgrasses for nest cover and he will adjust grazing based on the fluctuating abundance of bunchgrasses. He will allow low brush such as lotebush, sumac, catclaw or mesquite to establish for shade, loafing cover and protection from hawks; but he will not allow brush to dominate. Several different strategies will be employed simultaneously to a single field to sculpt the habitat for quail as the manager adjusts the ratio of weeds, grass and brush to create the preferred mix of successional stages.
In some situations, succession appears to be stalled, with the mix of plants neither improving nor declining. In these cases, the owner may be happy with the current condition and should keep doing what they have been doing. In other cases, they may choose to jump start the successional process, either forward or backward by using a different form of grazing, fire, brush control, mechanical disturbance, re-seeding or a combination of these.
GRAZING, FIRE AND BRUSH CONTROL
On Texas ranches, grazing is the greatest driver of succession and will advance or retard succession depending on how it is done. Grazing with conservative and flexible stocking rates, timely adjustments and a systematic plan of liberal pasture rest will tend to advance grassland succession toward a more productive mix of taller grasses and desirable forbs.
On land that has been overgrazed for decades, a complete rest from grazing for three to five years is often used to give an initial boost to plant succession. But after the initial response, grazing may need to be resumed to continue the improvement.
Grazing too heavily or without adequate rest will retard succession and favor shorter, less productive grasses and unpalatable forbs. A relatively new concept called patch burn grazing is used to intentionally graze small burned patches hard enough to promote weeds, yet maintain good grass cover in the adjacent unburned areas.
Fire can advance or retard plant succession depending on how it is applied. A fire under mild conditions with adequate soil moisture will often promote an increased growth of little bluestem and Indiangrass as well as desirable forbs. Conversely, a harsh fire, with poor soil moisture or when followed by drought, will often kill grasses and destroy the litter layer which results in pronounced retrogression. Like any other tool, fire can have positive or negative impacts and
must be done with the skill and experience to achieve the desired objective.
Brush control can either promote or demote plant succession. Mechanical methods will temporarily cause retrogression and an increase in weedy annuals. If rainfall and grazing management is favorable, succession will then proceed forward, but it may take a few years. Re-seeding with a diverse native mix following brush control will usually advance succession but with added risk and cost. Chemical brush control will generally advance grass succession but retard the growth of many important forbs and some desirable woody plants, so it can be a two-edged sword cutting both ways.
LAND LITERACY AND ART
Dr. J. E. Weaver, the famous prairie ecologist wrote, “Nature is an open book for those who care to read. Each grasscovered hillside is a page on which is written the history of the past, the conditions of the present, and the predictions of the future.” This ability to read the land is based largely on recognizing plants and understanding plant succession. The truly exceptional land stewards of today continually cultivate this ability.
Each landowner, regardless of formal training, is a practicing ecologist. Each landowner puts into motion a set of management which determines the trajectory of plant succession. The landowner with deep seated stewardship ethics will be thoughtful, skillful and careful to apply their management with the right intensity, timing and follow-up to achieve the desired effect.
In a sense, each tract of land, large or small, is a canvas on which the owner paints their landscape through applied management. Without knowledge of plants and plant succession the portrait is likely to resemble a child’s finger painting. But with a working knowledge of plant succession guided by underlying stewardship ethics, the manager will be deliberate in crafting a masterpiece landscape that is useful, beautiful and lasting.
White-tailed Bucks
PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVE RICHARDS
Texas whitetails! Just the words bring a rush of memories to our minds. Hours of dreaming and strategizing to get close enough to a mature buck with polished antlers! The Texas Hill Country and the Brush Country of South Texas both enjoy quality and quantity when it comes to our state’s most beautiful bucks. Each fall and winter, Texas hunters spend money, time and
talents pursuing this elusive treasure. They are constantly being entertained and mesmerized by North America’s greatest big game animal and hopefully learning from every experience they encounter with this fascinating mammal. Enjoy these images that showcase several magnificent white-tailed bucks and the beauty of our Texas habitat where they thrive.
TWA 8th Annual Houston Sporting Clays TOURNAMENT & FUNDRAISER
72 Sporting Clays Targets
Team Carts
Ammunition Swag
Catered Lunch & Beverages
December 16, 2024 9:00 am Registration Two-Person Flurry Raffle/Auction Opens
JOIN US for us for a day of shooting, fellowship, fundraising, food and more for TWA’s 8th Annual Houston Sporting Clays Tournament and Fundraiser. Experienced and novice shooters alike are encouraged to attend. Your participation helps sustain critical, direct support of the Texas Wildlife Association & TWA Foundation’s mission by providing a strong voice and education for Texas hunters, landowners, and conservationists.
Food and beverages will be provided to shooters and paid attendees.
Alcoholic beverages will be available to non-shooters and shooters once their shooting day has concluded.
WHAT TO BRING
Your Favorite Shotgun Ear & Eye Protection (Required)
ADDITIONAL GAMES
MULLIGANS:
6 Maximum Per Shooter @ $10/Mulligan Mulligans To Be Sold At Registration Two-Person Flurry Game: $40
Horses. We hunt from them, they carry our loads, and they take us places we couldn’t otherwise go. We compete from their backs in equine sports and show off their conformation and beauty. Most of all, we love them. Well, most of the time. According to AgriLife Today, Texas has approximately 748,000 horses, which is by far the most of any state. The horse is a ubiquitous presence in Texas history, and we should appreciate the important role horses have played in enabling the settling of Texas and the West. The horse’s arrival changed economies, societal structures, and the fortunes of nations.
Horses roamed North America as long as 55 million years ago. The earliest equines are believed to have been the size of dogs. Over time, various species evolved, and around 10
million years ago, there were up to a dozen different species of all shapes and sizes. The earliest scientific name for equines that most closely resemble modern horses is Equus Simplicidens, sometimes known as the Hagerman horse. This species spread worldwide but, for some reason, died out in North America around 10,000 years ago. The most likely cause was the last ice age, but other factors cannot be ruled out.
The horses we are familiar with today originated with the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century A.D. The Moors rode fast and resilient Arab horses. Larger breeds were already present on the Iberian Peninsula, and these were bred to the lighter and quicker Arab breeds to create what we today refer to as Spanish or Andalusian horses. The peninsula was in conflict for the next 800 years
PHOTO BY DAVID K. LANGFORD
until 1492, when the Reconquista was complete, and Spain turned its attention to the New World.
Spain brought its horses as it expanded its empire to the Caribbean, present-day Mexico, and North America. Though some modern scholars indicates that Viking explorers brought horses to Greenland as early as the 10th century A.D., there is no direct evidence of those Viking horses’ presence in mainland North America. It’s more commonly thought that the Spanish horses arrived with the explorers in the late fifteenth century A.D. For example, records indicate that Columbus brought 24 stallions and 10 mares to Hispaniola. It’s also commonly thought that the horse population began to expand in North America in the late 17th century. Most of this belief stems from the writings of European observers in
the 18th century. Of course, these observers did not and could not examine archaeological evidence of an earlier equine presence. More modern studies reveal that the expansion of the North American horse population occurred much earlier than previously thought. Examining both DNA analysis and Native American archaeology, there is strong evidence that horses began to expand their range over the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains in the early 17th century A.D. Of course, we can’t know the degree to which the horse population expanded, nor can we estimate the total number of horses or how extensively they were integrated into Native American society. For that, we must turn to the more recent history.
One of the most important transformational aspects of the horse’s arrival in North America was its impact on Native
Above: The Horse Wrangler, circa 1910.
Photo by Erwin E. Smith (1886-1947), Bonham, TX.
Right: Two cowboys negotiate a rocky trail at the LS Ranch in Texas circa 1908.
Photo by Erwin E. Smith (1886-1947), Bonham, TX.
American societies, especially in Texas. Here, the traditional narrative of the horse with the Spanish expeditions is helpful. Historical scholarship reveals that Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto crossed the Mississippi with horses in 1541. Around the same time, Coronado was on his remarkable journey through the southwest, including Texas. Other Spanish explorers, such as Moscoso and Oñate, used horses on their expeditions through Texas and the southwest. These expeditions included thousands of horses, cattle, and sheep. One explorer is even said to have left male and female horses and cattle at each water crossing.
The horses imported by these expeditions expanded across western North America and into the hands of the Native Americans. The fur traders of the northwest plains and Rocky Mountains describe various tribes using the horse in the 18th century. According to the 1740 journal of fur trader Peter Pond, the Dakota (Sioux) had horses in the vicinity of present-day South Dakota, which they used to hunt buffalo as well as carry camp baggage. Most of these accounts postdate the great Pueblo Revolt of 1682. This revolt in New Mexico resulted in the acquisition of thousands of horses by various Native American groups.
The horse would have a dramatic impact on Native American society. Trade became much easier with the horse. The Jumanos of the Texas plains and the Apaches further west and north developed some of the earliest plains horse cultures. The Jumanos were great traders, and the horse enabled them to develop their trade networks far to the East, all the way to the Caddo communities in East Texas. In fact, the chronicle of the great French explorer La Salle records the purchase of five horses from the Caddos a mere four years after the Pueblo Revolt.
“Amongst their feats of riding, there is one that has astonished me more than anything of the kind I have ever seen, or expect to see, in my life:---a stratagem of war, learned and practiced by every young man in the tribe; by which he is able to drop his body upon the side of his horse at the instant he is passing, effectually screened from his enemies’ weapons as he lays in a horizontal position behind the body of his horse, with his heel hanging over the horses’ back; by which he has the power of throwing himself up again, and changing to the other side of the horse if necessary. In this wonderful condition, he will hang whilst his horse is at fullest speed, carrying with him his bow and his shield, and also his long lance of fourteen feet in length, all or either of which he will wield upon his enemy as he passes; rising and throwing his arrows over the horse’s back, or with equal ease and equal success under the horse’s neck.” George Catlin sketched this scene in 1834, when he accompanied the United States Dragoons to Indian Territory. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 42, 1841; reprint 1973)
The plains were a difficult place to live. Life was dangerous and often short. The horse enabled mounted tribes to hunt over longer distances and with greater efficiency. The plains tribes relied heavily on the bison for food, clothing and tools. On horses, the hunters could kill large numbers of bison by herding them toward “buffalo jumps;” cliffs where the fleeing animals would jump to their deaths. The horse also enabled hunters to chase a single buffalo to ground, which is a task with which unmounted hunters wouldn’t have even bothered.
The horse also enabled the plains tribes to live a nomadic life more easily, which would fundamentally change the relative power of the plains tribes. An example is the ApacheComanche dynamic which was central to Texas history. The Spanish first encountered the Apaches when attempting to colonize Texas. In 1749, after years of conflict, the Apaches suddenly approached the authorities in San Antonio de Bexar
Comanches of West Texas in war regalia, circa 1830s. Painting by Lino Sánchez y Tapia.
Comanche Feats of Horsemanship painting by George Catlin, circa 18341835. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
The Coming of the Horse
to enter into a peace treaty. Unbeknownst to the Spanish, the real reason for this request was the growing domination of the Comanche tribe and the Apache’s need for protection.
The key was the difference between the Apache and Comanche horse culture. The Apache lived only a partially nomadic lifestyle. Their society had an agricultural component, growing crops and trading for food. They also relied partially on buffalo for subsistence. Apache hunters readily adopted the horse for buffalo hunting yet remained tied to their farms.
The Comanche developed a more extensive use of the horse. They essentially adopted the equestrian culture from their Ute neighbors in the Rocky Mountains. They took this nomadic existence to the great plains. After the aforementioned Pueblo Revolt, the Comanche horse herds increased, enabling them to establish trade networks to the East, including in Texas. The Comanche did everything on horseback. They raided to increase their herds. They traded horses for supplies and weapons. They also perfected the art of fighting from horseback, which confounded their enemies until Texas Ranger Jack Hays adopted the Comanche techniques and began engaging them on horseback. The Comanche dedication to the horse gave them total dominion over the plains until the late 18th century.
There were secondary effects to this new horse culture, however. The horses competed with bison for grass. The rapid expansion of the Comanche horse herds significantly depleted the bison population in Texas as early as the 1830s. As bison populations fell, the ability of the Comanches to sustain their own population fell with it, resulting in estimates of fewer than 5,000 Comanches in the 1860s.
The rest, as they say, is history. A breeder in Virginia would soon match Spanish horses he obtained from the Chickasaw tribe to a grandson of the Godolphin Arabian, a foundation of the Thoroughbred breed. The descendants would be bred to mustangs from the West, descendants of the Plains Indian horses, to create the Quarter Horse. Texan Robert Kleberg Jr. would further improve the breeding and create the first registered American Quarter Horse, Wimpy. The American Quarter Horse Association has since registered over 6 million quarter horses.
The American Indian Horse Registry works to preserve the remaining descendants of the original horses in North America. Breeds such as the Appaloosa, the Spanish Mustang and the Nez Pearce carry the blood of these early North American equines. But whatever the breed, the horse played the key role in forever changing the makeup of the entire Western Hemisphere.
Big and Full
BY STEVE NELLE
“I shall now confess to you that none of those three trout had to be beheaded, or folded double, to fit their casket. What was big was not the trout, but the chance. What was full was not my creel, but my memory.”
ALDO LEOPOLD, 1932
Every fisherman and hunter will acknowledge that the majority of fish caught and game harvested are not of trophy proportions. Here, Leopold described the culmination of a challenging and satisfying trip on Alder Fork Creek which required a deep knowledge of trout, great angling skill, and some luck. The trout may not have been large but the entire experience was noteworthy enough to merit an essay in his most famous work, A Sand County Almanac, which has become for many the guidebook of land stewardship ethics.
Leopold never made the size of the harvest the measure of a successful hunting or fishing trip. Certainly, he must have taken some extra pride in catching a large fish, shooting a mess of birds or killing a big buck, but he never mentioned these things in his writing. He wrote literal volumes about his hunting and fishing trips but the focus was on the whole experience, not the size or the count. The lesson for us is to relish each time in the field regardless of the size or number harvested.
It is good for each of us to contemplate why we hunt and fish. Most outdoorsmen do not hunt and fish for bragging rights of the biggest or the most. Yes, there is pride in harvesting a big wild native buck or a mature gobbler, but there are many other elements of the hunt. There can be just as much satisfaction in finding a nice pair of shed antlers or seeing a flock of geese flying low over your deer blind.
The fullness of hunting or fishing lies in the experience, etched into the memory. Every aged hunter or fisherman can easily and accurately recall trips to the woods, marsh or river from 50 or 60 years ago, whether or not they resulted in tub full of fish or a bag full of birds
I clearly remember watching the gigantic gar rolling in the turbid waters of the lower Trinity River while
catfishing with Grandpa and brother Doug in the 1960s but I don’t remember how many catfish we caught. I vividly remember sitting for hours in a duck blind on a cold morning watching a hundred white pelicans methodically herding a school of shad into a shallow inlet, but on that day I shot no ducks.
Last summer, I took my two youngest grandsons fishing in a small pond. None of us are especially skilled fishermen but we enjoy fishing together. I ended up catching three bass on fly rod, and just like Leopold’s trout, none of them were of bragging size. But I enjoyed the satisfaction of casting a homemade fly in such a way that the bass thought it was a real grasshopper.
But what I enjoyed most was watching my grandsons fish, observing the joy it brought them and simply spending time with them outdoors. Like all young fishermen, they learned important life lessons—how to untangle a backlash and retrieve lures caught in the brush and weeds.
As any outdoorsmen will tell you, it’s far more than just hooking fish or harvesting game. I derive just as much satisfaction watching eagles, osprey, herons and kingfishers catch fish as I do from fishing and I can still recall my first encounters with yellow breasted chat, vermillion flycatcher and painted bunting more vividly than in harvesting my first deer.
In Leopold’s eye, the fullness of a trip was not in how many fish were caught or their size but the opportunity to be in a natural setting and not knowing what unexpected marvels may be witnessed. You may catch the fish of a lifetime or you may see some event of nature that sticks forever in your memory. Let us revere every trip to the river or woods, remembering the small things as well as the big.
Photo Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives
Serving Wild Duck for the Holidays
ARTICLE AND PHOTO BY KRISTIN PARMA
As the holiday season approaches, I dive headfirst into cooking mode. Whether I’m whipping up a weeknight meal, preparing for gatherings with friends, or hosting an Adult Learn to Hunt Program weekend, food is always on my mind. The thrill of creating delicious, wild-inspired dishes fills my thoughts and fuels my passion for making others feel valued and cherished through food. While traditional roasts like turkey and ham often take center stage, why not add a wild touch of elegance to your holiday feast by serving those hard-earned ducks sitting in your freezer? Cooking wild duck can seem intimidating, but this game bird brings unique flavors to the table and offers a sustainable alternative to conventional poultry. Cooking time is much quicker, allowing you to savor the meal and enjoy the company of your guests without stress. Serve duck on a large platter surrounded by colorful roasted vegetables for a crowd, or individually plate it for your guests, complete with a swoosh of buttery mashed potatoes for a familiar yet elevated holiday meal.
WILD DUCK BREAST WITH POMEGRANATE AND CANDIED JALAPEÑO
1. Gather and prepare the ingredients.
2. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Cut small slits in the skin side of the duck breast. This helps the fat render and creates a crispy skin. Season the duck on both sides generously with sea salt and pepper.
4. On medium-high heat, sear the duck breasts, skin side down for around 3-4 minutes or until a golden crust forms.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and flip the duck breasts over, cooking them for an additional 1-2 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the duck. Turn the heat off and transfer them to a plate or cutting board to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Carve and serve immediately with a garnish drizzle of pomegranate syrup, pomegranate seeds, microgreens and candied jalapenos for a Texas kick if desired.
Don’t have pomegranate syrup? Combine three cups of pomegranate juice and a half cup of sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat and cook, stirring frequently, until glaze is thick and reduced. Use the leftovers for sauces or vinaigrettes.
