Tag: texas

Workshop to Explore Wind Power Development and Effects on Wildlife

Wind Power and wildlife

With the Panhandle targeted for increased wind power development, many landowners already have signed or are considering signing contracts with energy companies. But questions remain, especially about wildlife.

The Panhandle Wind and Wildlife Conference on Aug. 8-9 at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo is aimed at answering some of those questions. The event is being organized by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas Wildlife Association.

Ken Cearley, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, said Texas leads the nation in wind power development according to the American Wind Energy Association’s rankings report.

The Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Taylor and Nolan counties was the single largest wind farm in operation in the nation in 2007, Cearley said. With four of the five largest U.S. wind farms now located in Texas, it is necessary to study the impact on wildlife. Continue reading Workshop to Explore Wind Power Development and Effects on Wildlife

More Bears Means an Increase in Encounters

A Black Bear in Del Rio, Texas

With the number of black bears in Val Verde County, Texas, on the rise, expect more interactions between bears and people, one state biologist says. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Biologist Sylvestre Sorola earlier this week helped capture and relocate a young male black bear that wandered into a residential neighborhood in south Del Rio.

Sorola said encounters like the one earlier this week are possible now because black bears are re-colonizing traditional ranges in south and west Texas, areas from which black bears were extirpated in the mid-20th century.

The biologist said that sightings in Val Verde County began to rise in the 1980s and said those bears probably came to the area from thriving black bear populations in the Sierras del Carmen and the Sierras del Burro, the mountains in northern Coahuila that contain the distinctive “Sleeping Lady” formation west of Del Rio. Sorola said the bears from northern Mexico first established breeding populations in Big Bend National Park in far west Texas and have also returned to the Trans-Pecos, including Val Verde County. Continue reading More Bears Means an Increase in Encounters

Death of Endangered Turtle Signals the Need of Texas Beaches

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

As best anyone can tell, sometime during the middle of May a female Kemp’s ridley turtle crawled out of the surf on South Padre Island and was struck by a passing vehicle. The cautionary tale illustrates why biologists are asking beachgoers to keep an eye out for the endangered sea turtles and report sightings.

Injured and confused, the turtle returned to the warm Gulf waters for nearly a week. Then, on May 23, the turtle came ashore again. After the animal successfully deposited her clutch of eggs in the sand, volunteers noticed her injuries and took her to Sea Turtle, Inc. There, a veterinarian noted the severe infection and estimated the turtle had only about a week to live. She was euthanized the following day.

The Kemp’s ridley turtle’s extraordinary drive to reproduce bodes well for the world’s smallest marine turtle species. Weighing-in at about 100 pounds as adults, the turtles once came ashore on Gulf of Mexico beaches — in northern Mexico mostly, but also in South Texas — in the tens of thousands in a phenomenon known as an arribada (arrival). Continue reading Death of Endangered Turtle Signals the Need of Texas Beaches

Texas’ South Zone Dove Season May Change Dates

Dove season is big in Texas

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is proposing moving the South Zone second split of dove season deeper into January, but otherwise is recommending minimal changes to the 2008-09 Early Migratory Game Bird Proclamation. TPWD staff announced the proposed dove and teal season calendar during the Regulations Committee meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, Wednesday, May 21.

The proposed dove season in the North Zone would run Sept. 1-Oct. 30, with a 15-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves; the Central Zone would be Sept. 1-Oct. 30 and reopen Dec. 26-Jan. 4, with a 12-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves; and the South Zone would run Sept. 20-Nov. 2, reopening Dec. 26-Jan. 20 with a 12 bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves. Possession limit is twice the daily bag.

The Special South Texas Whitewing Zone, which now encompasses land west of I-35 and south of U. S. Highway 90, would open to white-winged dove afternoon-only (noon to sunset) hunting the first two Saturdays and Sundays in September and reopen Sept. 20-Nov. 2 and again from Dec. 26-Jan. 16. The daily bag limit is 12 birds, not more than four (4) mourning doves during the first two weekend splits and two (2) white-tipped doves. Continue reading Texas’ South Zone Dove Season May Change Dates

Anthrax Confirmed in Del Rio Goat

Anthrax found in a dead goat

The anthrax season near Del Rio started a little early this year, with a case confirmed March 31 in a five-year-old male goat. The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is advising owners in the area to vaccinate livestock to prevent additional death losses.

“Usually we see cases of anthrax occurring in summer when the temperatures rise, but this spring has been quite warm. Anthrax occurs worldwide, but in Texas, cases are typically found in a triangle bounded by Uvalde, Ozona and Eagle Pass, which takes in portions of Crockett, Val Verde, Sutton, Edwards, Kinney, Uvalde and Maverick counties,” said Dr. Hillman, Texas’ state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission, the state’s regulatory agency for livestock and poultry health.

Dr. Hillman explained that anthrax bacteria lies dormant in the ground, and germination is triggered by appropriate moisture and warmth. As the bacteria migrates to the surface, it contaminates grass and soil, where it is picked up by grazing animals. Because anthrax bacteria generall does not migrate in the ground, contamination in a large pasture may be limited to
only a small area. Continue reading Anthrax Confirmed in Del Rio Goat

Texas Adopts New Hunting and Fishing Regulations

Channel catfish

On March 26, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted changes to hunting and fishing regulations designed to create additional recreational opportunities while effectively managing the state’s natural resources.

As part of the annual regulations review process, public input and discussion among agency staff two proposals related to upland bird hunting were withdrawn. Staff recommended turning to the Commission’s newly appointed Game Bird Advisory Committee for further discussion on potential changes to quail and pheasant regulations.

One other proposal, which would have extended regulations allowing the take of catfish by means of bow and arrow, was also withdrawn. As of September 1, 2008, taking of catfish by means of bow and arrow will no longer be legal. Continue reading Texas Adopts New Hunting and Fishing Regulations

Texas Receives Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle Awards

Kemp Ridley

A myriad of organizations working to save the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle recognized Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employees for playing key roles in helping to recover the turtle, which nests only in Texas and Mexico.

“The Kemp’s Ridley still the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world, but we’re moving in the right direction,” said Patrick Burchfield, Ph.D., director of the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, and a lead coordinator for the bi-national turtle recovery effort involving Texas and Mexico.

“In 1985, only 702 Ridley turtles came to nest on beaches at Rancho Nuevo in Mexico. Last year, at our six bi-national turtle camps in Mexico we had about 6,000 nesting turtles return. And in our state, a record 128 Kemp’s Ridley nests were found on Texas beaches. This could not have happened without the hard work of many people, including four Texas Parks and Wildlife employees who have consistently championed funding and support for this cause for many years.”

At the TPW Commission meeting March 27, Burchfield and several partners took turns recognizing the four TPWD employees. Several awards were presented from commercial shrimping organizations. A little history explains why shrimpers are applauding the Ridley’s recovery. Continue reading Texas Receives Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle Awards