Habitat Management - Wildlife Management Pro

Texas Tree Nursery for Habitat Planting

Landowners interested in wildlife and habitat management are always looking to jump-start their practices by the direct planting of native species. Often times, high quality native plants can be difficult to find at a reasonable price. The Texas Forest Service West Texas Nursery (WTN) produces and sells quality tree and shrub seedlings at an affordable price allowing Texas landowners to plant large quantities of quality seedlings for natural resource conservation.

From windbreak construction to wildlife plantings, or whatever the need, the WTN can supply quality tree seedlings to fit the purpose of your habitat management project. As a matter of fact, WTN has been working since 1978 to grow seedlings from local seed, providing landowners with trees that are especially adapted to Texas climate and specifically suited for Texas landowners. Continue reading Texas Tree Nursery for Habitat Planting

Texas Wildlife Management and Habitat Issues

Texas is well known for it’s large size, diverse habitats and its abundance of wildlife. However, Texas is just like every other state when it comes to battling on-going wildlife and habitat issues. Without continual research and wildlife and habitat management, many plant and animal species could be lost. I was just sitting here thinking of a few issues that state and federal biologist should think about when looking for habitat enhancement projects and research ideas.

Deer overpopulation in suburban areas in Texas and across the U.S. is not the most important problem, but it can be quite controversial. The problem is that many home owners do not like high deer numbers because of ornamental plant damage, but residential areas do not want hunting either. It’s a weird deal. To complicate matters, deer overpopulation is not healthy for the deer population or the habitat. I can only assume that solutions would be ways to decrease numbers through regulated hunted, trapping, and fencing, but like I said earlier, this topic is controversial.

Being an avid hunter, I know that lead shot ingestion by game and non-game animals is still a problem. After all, lead shot is still legal for hunting many animals. However, it is not legal for waterfowl hunting, such as for duck hunting and goose hunting. However, waterfowl, other game animals and non-game animals still ingest lead shot when feeding and looking for grit. Study after study has found that lead causes big problems and the eventual death of just about every living thing.

Lead, even when consumed in small amounts, can also accumulate within animals and up the food chain. I think the easiest solution would be to make only non-toxic shot shells legal for hunting. Period. Many hunters argue that steel shot does not perform as well as lead shot. I tend to disagree, especially since I have duck hunter for years and have had outstanding success with lead shot ranging from #7 shot all the way to #2 shot. Besides, there are way more non-toxic alternatives that perform as well as lead. Lead is a killer, so we need to choose to stop putting it out across the landscape, especially over duck and goose habitat. Let’s do away with it where we can to protect our fish and wildlife. Continue reading Texas Wildlife Management and Habitat Issues

Habitat Management for Quail and Turkey

Wildlife management through habitat management has become increasingly popular in recent years for both hunters and non-hunters alike. Recreational use of natural resources are now at an all-time high thanks to education, understanding, and promotion of our valuable natural resources. Two birds that many landowners are interested in managing for are bobwhite quail and wild turkey. Both of these birds require diverse habitat, but each has very specific habitat requirements.

Native grasses are at the heart of quail and turkey management. Native grasses for better habitat can be promoted in several ways. More often than not, there is a seed bank within the soil that still contains viable seeds. Some light to moderate disking may encourage these native grass seeds to germinate. Of course, natural grass cover still will not happen over night. Immediately after disking, many low successional forbs (wild flowers and other) will flourish, then it will seem only noxious weeds, and then maybe two, three, or fours years later the manager will start to notice some new grass coming in. A big part of plant response depends on weather conditions. Continue reading Habitat Management for Quail and Turkey

Wildlife Management for Lunch Webinar Series

Every landowner interested in learning more about wildlife and habitat management should take advantage of these free classes. The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Wildlife Association are co?sponsoring lunch-based “Wildlife for Lunch” webinars every third Thursday of every month throughout 2011. It’s a fast and easy way to learn more about wildlife management and habitat management from anywhere. Wildlife for Lunch webinars provide sound, science-based wildlife management options delivered by experts to you in the comfort of your own home or office.

These webinars are an interactive way for you to participate while learning about the natural resources, whether it be waterfowl management or pond management! Each web-?based seminar is fully interactive and allows you to engage the experts, make comments, and ask questions during the course of the presentation. ForestryWebinars.net is made possible through partnership with Texas AgriLife Extension Service, North Carolina State University Extension Forestry, and Southern Regional Extension Forestry Office. Continue reading Wildlife Management for Lunch Webinar Series

Habitat Management on Crop Lands

Wintering waterfowl such as ducks and geese go hand-in-hand with agricultural fields. Crop fields such as corn, milo, and soybeans provide great wildlife habitat for waterfowl and landowners should implement habitat management to not only provide areas for winter-stressed birds to go, but also provide recreational activities and possibly even another form of income. Many wildlife professionals know that winter flooding of ag fields is beneficial for migrating wildlife, but the impacts to the farmer were unknown. That is why a four year research project was developed to study the impacts of ag field habitat management on crops. Here is what the study found:

Winter flooding did not affect crop production in the seasons following flooding even though the fields provided great duck habitat during the winter. Crop yields did not differ among flooded and nonflooded fields. In fact, yields from flooded fields were slightly greater than county-wide averages in the years during the study. Could this be because of natural fertilizers ducks and geese deposited while on site? Continue reading Habitat Management on Crop Lands

Wildlife Management on Farmlands

All wildlife species need food, cover water, and some amount of space to survive. Wildlife — or lack thereof — found on farms are no different. To manage any property for wildlife a landowner must provide what wildlife species need. Many farms do attract wildlife, but may not think much about wildlife management. If food is present then animals will frequent farms, but farm owners can not expect their neighbors to provide the rest IF farm owners are interested in wildlife.

The recreational value of rural land in is high, and in some cases higher than the yearly agricultural revenue on a per acre basis. This is especially true with hunting, where hunters are limited by the short-supply of lands available to hunt. The majority of the human population lives in urban areas, but many people look to pursue wildlife (deer hunting, hog hunting, dove hunting, etc.) on in rural areas, where animals are found. Continue reading Wildlife Management on Farmlands

Prairie Habitat Management: Prescribed Fire

Habitat management is the key to successful wildlife management. No wild animal can survive in the absence of its much-needed habitat. One tallgrass prairie study found that burning was much better for grasslands than simply long-term shredding. It had been reported in the past that shredding could maintain a native prairie, but fire seems to be even better and that there are important implications for prairie management and restoration.

The project involved using historical data, but that information reflected a degraded system brought on by decades of mowing. Mowing actually decreased species diversity. However, this latest research found that prescribed fires reversed this degradation and returned native grass. These findings are particularly relevant for habitat management as mowing is increasingly promoted as a fire substitute for prairie management. Continue reading Prairie Habitat Management: Prescribed Fire