Urban Deer Management: Living With Whitetail

White-tailed deer are a popular in Texas, but they are not necessarily popular with everyone. Although beautiful animals, deer should always be respected. Folks that live in the urban areas of Central Texas know this all too well. Many communities have faced the realities of urban deer management; attempts to control increasing deer populations in the face of a growing human population. Take the Georgetown area, for example:

“A white-tailed doe, grazing in a lush green yard, hears a noise. Her head pops up. She stares, turning into a momentary statue. Suddenly, she darts across the yard toward the nearest bunch of trees, leaping over the fence so graceful it seems she is flying, and disappears into oblivion. Much of the landscape in Central Texas, even urban areas, includes deer. They are fun to watch, especially for those residents moving in from places without wildlife. But Turk Jones, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, cautions residents to be careful when feeding and coming in contact with urban deer, and remember to follow state
laws regarding wildlife. Continue reading Urban Deer Management: Living With Whitetail

Habitat Management Techniques: Range Management University

In many parts of Texas habitat management is range management. Livestock forage, plant communities and wildlife habitat go hand-in-hand. New landowners can get a crash course on ranch management during the annual Texas AgriLife Extension Service Ranch Management University on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The class is a great introduction to the importance of enhancing and maintaining the plants found on your property.

The range management workshop is scheduled for April 9-13 at the G. Rollie White Visitor’s Center. The workshop is designed to help new landowners improve their understanding regarding management of the various resources they find on their Texas ranch properties, said Dr. Larry Redmon, AgriLife Extension state forage specialist. Continue reading Habitat Management Techniques: Range Management University

Wildlife Management, Habitat Management through Landowner Co-ops

Persons interested in wildlife management understand that habitat management is the key. Wildlife will not respond without suitable plant communities; if you build it they will come. A major challenge for landowners in many areas is the proper management of white-tailed deer populations. Proper management includes the challenges of controlling population density and deer overpopulation and letting young bucks mature so that the desired antler quality can be achieved.

In many areas, lowering deer numbers to appropriate levels will improve the health of both the plant and animal communities found in the area. Fewer deer will actually improve the quality of the habitat for deer, producing large-bodied deer, and other wildlife. Deer management is a numbers game, often accomplished through regulated deer hunting. A balanced harvest of bucks and does can also improve the age structure of whitetail bucks, resulting in larger-antlered bucks. Fewer deer will also translate into bigger does, which will recruit more fawns into the population each year. Continue reading Wildlife Management, Habitat Management through Landowner Co-ops

Burro Control in Texas for Habitat Management

The issue of burro control on state-owned lands for wildlife and habitat management has been a hot topic down in Texas over the past year. The state wildlife agency, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), was under fire for controlling feral burros, a non-native species, at state parks. TPWD contends that these exotic animals are destroying important plant communities and wildlife habitat on state lands. TPWD, however, is continuing to explore the feasibility of non-lethal alternatives to manage the feral burro problem at Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Since the mid-2000s, TPWD’s State Parks Division has explored non-lethal options such as live trapping to remove the burros. Live trapping of feral hogs has been successfully used in some parts of the country, but can wild burros be trapped? Well, the results are in. State parks staff met early on with veterinarians and other experts with the USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) based in Presidio, but APHIS was unsuccessful in trapping feral burros along the US-Mexico Border within the state park. Continue reading Burro Control in Texas for Habitat Management

Quail Hunting in Texas – Habitat Before Regulations

Ask anyone over the age of 30 years old that grew up on a farm or ranch in and they will tell you that the quail hunting in Texas was once fairly good. There were still suitable quail numbers, people heard quail, hunters saw quail. Farming and ranching practices were different then, too. Although research has found that quail hunting has little impact on quail populations, many hunters feel that hunting regulations may need to more conservative.

One of the rationales for shortening the season and/or reducing bag limits for quail in Texas is that many people think Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) needs to “send a message” out to people. One can only presume that the people who are calling for these additional limits think this message is: “Quail numbers are so low that you should stop hunting them or drastically reduce the extent to which you hunt them.” However, I suspect many quail managers and hunters already know and heed this message. Rarely are people more conservative than a landowner when it comes to the harvest of wildlife. Continue reading Quail Hunting in Texas – Habitat Before Regulations

Bald Eagles in Llano, Texas

Most folks don’t even know we have bald eagles in Texas, but they are found here. In fact, they even nest and raise their young here. If you have ever driven eight miles east of Llano, Texas, on State Highway 29, you might have noticed cars parked on the side of the road, pedestrians with binoculars and cameras, and everyone looking up. That just happens to be the best spot in Texas to see, up close, a pair of nesting bald eagles in Texas. The eagle nest is located right on the Llano River. The Llano provides good sources of water, food and suitable trees for nesting eagles.

Historically, a bald eagle pair has had four active nest sites along this one-half-mile stretch of the river real estate in eastern Llano County since the late 1980’s. Two of the nest sites have been destroyed by natural causes and the third was abandoned for unknown reasons. The current nest site, which was established in 2010, is located on private ranch about 100 yards from State Highway 29, and has been a major tourist attraction for Llano County. Continue reading Bald Eagles in Llano, Texas

Ban Lead Shot: Petition is for Wildlife Management, Safe Hunting

Lead Shot. There are many aspects of wildlife management. Most hunters think about game laws – seasons and bag limits. Although regulated hunting is a big part of the North American Model of Wildlife Management, the wise use of our resources is always the number one concern. This includes everything that impacts the wildlife that we chase, including the type of shot we use. The intake of lead shot by various waterfowl species has been well document. Additional studies have found high amounts of lead in processed hunter-killed game. It’s definitely out there.

Now, the Center for Biological Diversity and 99 other groups asked U.S. EPA today to regulate lead in hunting ammunition. The petition — the center’s second on the issue — says tighter controls would prevent “widespread poisoning” of eagles, California condors and other wildlife. It would also protect public health, the groups say, because lead from ammunition can contaminate the environment, as well as hunted animals that are eventually eaten. Continue reading Ban Lead Shot: Petition is for Wildlife Management, Safe Hunting