WM Pro - Wildlife Management Pro

Texas Wildlife Agencies Follow Gulf Oil Disaster

Texas’ natural resources agencies have been following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but so far Texas has not seen any wildlife or fisheries impacts from the event. But an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day continues to spew from 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Due partially to rough seas and heavy weather, the oil slick has expanded to roughly 3,000 square miles—an area the size of Puerto Rico.

While the emergency is unfolding in waters off the Mississippi delta, ground zero for coping with the spill is a suite of offices on the third floor of well-owner BP’s Houston headquarters, where company officials and an assemblage of scientists and engineers from a variety of other companies have been pursuing several options to contain the spill while at the same time lessening its impact.

Will the oil spanning much of the Gulf of Mexico find it’s way to Texas’ shores, impacting critical coastal wetlands? Hard to say, but here’s the latest from Don Pitts, of their Environmental Assessment and Restoration Program: Continue reading Texas Wildlife Agencies Follow Gulf Oil Disaster

Texas Birding Classic Raises Much Needed Funds

The 14th annual Great Texas Birding Classic wrapped up Sunday in the Rio Grande Valley. This marked the sixth year that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory have worked together on the birding event, which is held every April to coincide with the annual spring bird migrations in the state. TPWD employees Cliff Shackelford and Shelly Plante represented the department this weekend.

The winning Energy Saver team has won now for three years in a row in this competition category to see the most species of birds per mile, with a 50-mile minimum. The winning Weeklong team has won for six years straight. Continue reading Texas Birding Classic Raises Much Needed Funds

Texas Master Naturalist Statewide Annual Meeting

The 11th Texas Master Naturalist Statewide Annual Meeting and Advanced Training will be held October 22-24, 2010 at T bar M Ranch in New Braunfels. Members may begin reserving accommodations now! The Lindheimer Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist program will be assisting as hosts of this years conference and together we have already planned many exciting trainings and features for the conference. This year, the overnight accommodations will be separate from the conference registration expense. While, the conference registration is not yet available, members may begin reserving their rooms at T bar M.

A block of rooms is available to reserve at the special rate of $85.00 per room per night (plus tax, where applicable). The rooms are extremely nice hotel-style rooms. There are also a limited number of 2 and 3 bedroom condos available at $85 per bedroom as well. The more people you care to have in your room, the less of a per person cost there will be to you. The majority of the rooms are double/doubles that may sleep up to 4 individuals. If you are planning to share a room with someone, only one person needs to make the reservation. However, once the conference registration becomes available each person attending the conference will need to register for that. Continue reading Texas Master Naturalist Statewide Annual Meeting

Bird House Dimensions and Other Bird House Tips

Bird houses are an easy way to create additional nesting sites and keep more birds around your home. In fact, bird houses have been in wildife management to help bring back certain cavity-using speices. In this fact article, we explain how to build houses for different kinds of bird species and even some tips for setting them up. As lands become more developed, bird houses become more important. In this article, you find a pattern for the “one-board” bird house in addition to a list of bird house dimensions (above) so you can adapt the pattern for different avian species. Tailoring the house you build to the needs of species you want to attract will increase your chances of success.

For bird houses for all species, here are 11 general guidelines to follow to help you help the birds on your property:

1. Provide a hinged side or roof so you can easily clean the house each spring; early March is a good time. Use rust-proof hinges to make the task easier. Keep in mind that raccoons can open a hook and eye!

2. Drill at least four 1/4-inch drain holes in the bottom of every house, and two 5/8-inch ventilation holes near the top of each side of the house. This keeps the nest well-drained and from over-heating. Continue reading Bird House Dimensions and Other Bird House Tips

CWD Found in Missouri Whitetail

It was just one white-tailed deer, but people in Missouri are spooked. That’s because in late February a single whitetail buck in central Missouri tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a contagious, fatal brain infection. It was the state’s first-ever case, found in one animal among the state’s estimated 1.4 million deer.

The discovery prompted a swift reaction from the wildlife department. In fact, Missouri’s state and federal officials, who had been preparing for this moment for years, quickly quarantined the high-fence shooting ranch in Linn County where the sick whitetail was found. They hoped to quell the outbreak before it spread unchecked in the wild. “We have to be aggressive,” state veterinarian Taylor Woods said. “This all boils down to credibility.” Continue reading CWD Found in Missouri Whitetail

Grassland Response to Climate Change

The proposed study will increase our understanding of ecosystem responses to future drought conditions in grassland ecosystems, particularly the maintenance of soil organic carbon pools critical to ecosystem productivity and the balance of soil carbon storage and loss important for ecosystem feedbacks to atmospheric CO2 pools. By targeting the microbial community responsible for soil carbon transformations, we will also be able to identify mechanisms underlying ecosystem responses and potentially begin to develop novel approaches to habitat management in the face of future climate change.

For example, we may find mycorrhizal fungi that can increase plant resistance to drought and could result in a novel management strategy – “seeding” areas with drought-tolerant mycorrhizas to maintain grasslands under future drought conditions. Continue reading Grassland Response to Climate Change

Palo Pinto Ocelot Not a Native Cat

Game warden Matthew Waggoner found a dead ocelot along a highway near Mineral Wells, more than 400 miles from the nearest documented wild population of the endangered cats. Strange. A phone call received by Texas game warden Matthew Waggoner took two weeks ago was like one game wardens and wildlife biologists get every year — somebody saw, found, or hit something and they are not sure what type of wild animal they have stumbled across.

People regularly contact Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) with reports they have seen, photographed or found some dead unusual animal — one that doesn’t exist, is extinct in Texas or is so rare and the report coming from so far from the animal’s range that it’s unlikely the caller saw what he thought he saw. Continue reading Palo Pinto Ocelot Not a Native Cat