Category: Outdoor News

Gus Engling WMA Flooded

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reporting that the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is closed to public use until further notice after major localized flooding during recent rain storms in Anderson County resulted in major road damage. The WMA received 8 to 12 inches of rain and the main road that provides access to visitors and hunters is washed out in at least 7 places.

The department has also said that all side roads are also impassable to motor vehicles, but habitat should respond well. The Texas Department of Transportation is assessing damages and repair costs and WMA staff is trying to get a handle on side road damage. According to local accounts, the event marks the heaviest localized flooding since the early 1970s. Continue reading Gus Engling WMA Flooded

Edible Native Plants of Texas

Texas is a state diverse in both native plants and wildlife. Almost anyone that has spent time in the beautiful outdoors of the Lone Star State has probably thought more than once about the edible plants of Texas. Using native plants for human consumption is not only cool in my opinion, but there is something to be said of having natural foods in our diets.

First, let me say that before consuming any wild food, be absolutely certain of its proper identity. Many plants have look-a-likes that appear very similar. So when in doubt, do not eat it. So after doing a little research, here are some of the edible Texas plants you can enjoy: Continue reading Edible Native Plants of Texas

Wildlife Habitat Management Training

Interested in wildlife and habitat management in Texas? Well, here is your chance to meet up with land professionals from across the state on June 3-4, 2010 in Mason, Texas,  for a ground breaking, collaborative, and informative workshop dealing with current trends and applications of biological monitoring. This is an opportunity for professionals to hone their technical skills, build inter-agency connections, and learn about trends in biological monitoring and how you can make the most of it in your profession.

Dr. Richard Teague will explain how remote sensing technology is providing an opportunity for consistent and feasible biological monitoring at the landscape level. Dr. Teague believes that research and service must provide the linkage that enables managers to base decisions for sustainable land use on the principles of ecosystem function. When it comes to wildlife management, this is where the rubber meets the road! Continue reading Wildlife Habitat Management Training

USDA Tips Program Helps Farmers, Wildlife

Farming is an important component of our American heritage throughout the United States, and sustainable practices go hand-in-hand with habitat management and wildlife populations. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), a new program under the Conservation Title of the 2008 Farm Bill – to encourage retired or retiring owners or operators to transition their land to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.

“Ensuring that our nation’s land is returned to production using sustainable methods is critical not only for our future food supply, but also for the economic future of our rural communities. Access to land is one of the greatest challenges faced by new farmers. The Transition Incentives Program is one more tool in the USDA toolkit to protect family farms and support beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers.”

Continue reading USDA Tips Program Helps Farmers, Wildlife

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 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

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