Texas Wildlife - December 2018 - Fair Chase Part II Mule Deer

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

DECEMBER 2018

Fair Chase Part II

Mule Deer

CHOOSE YOUR RIDE

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

PRESIDENT'S REMARKS J . D AV I D A N D E R S O N

T

he hunting season is almost halfway over. Christmas is fast approaching.

It seems like just yesterday that we were all gathered around the dining room table for Thanksgiving dinner.

During my family’s hunts during Thanksgiving, we were wondering where all the bucks were. Now, that is about to change. In South Texas where we hunt, the rut will begin around Dec. 10, and the bucks will be out during the day looking for available does.

My favorite hunts are the morning hunts, and I enjoy the beauty of the early morning.

I hope that your hunts are going well, and remember to take a youth hunting this season.

It will warm your heart to do so.

As 2018 winds down, I thought I’d share some of the work done by TWA over the past year. In March we began meeting with stakeholders, agencies and legislators to work toward better controlling the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in whitetail deer.

After many meetings and phone conversations, we hope to have arrived at a meaningful improvement to disease control for consideration in the 2019 Legislative Session.

In April, TWA held its first joint meeting with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Farm Bureau to discuss ways to make eminent domain fairer, addressing inequities in the current statute, for all Texas landowners. Since that first meeting, we have met several times and continue to hold regular conference calls to keep things progressing.

We are helping draft language for an eminent domain reform bill and hope to see it introduced in January 2019 when the Legislative Session gavels in. While we recognize the value of industries that transport petroleum products and electricity, we also support the fair treatment of landowners.

We had a very successful convention in July with more people attending our Saturday evening dinner/auction than ever before. The Private Lands Summit held the day before the convention was a great success. The topic was the Border Wall and its implications for Texans who live along the border.

Over the course of 2018, we continued to expand TWA’s education programs in the schools and through adult seminars. By year’s end, we expect to have reached a record 700,000 Texans young and old through staff and volunteers spread across the state.

The Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) also set a new youth hunter participation record in 2018. And, it is ahead of schedule in booking youth hunts for 2019. If you have some property and need help in controlling your doe population, then call the TWA office to volunteer your property for a youth hunt. Give a young boy or girl the opportunity to experience the fun of being out in nature and hunting.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2019. Enjoy your family during the holidays—and may God Bless Texas.

Texas Wildlife Association Mission Statement Serving Texas wildlife and its habitat, while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife resources.

OFFICERS J. David Anderson, President, Houston Tom Vandivier, Vice President, Dripping Springs Dr. Louis Harveson, Second Vice President for Programs, Alpine Dr. Neal Wilkins, Secretary/Treasurer, San Antonio For a complete list of TWA Directors, go to www.texas-wildlife.org

PROFESSIONAL STAFF/CONTRACT ASSOCIATES Administration & Operation David Yeates, Chief Executive Officer Quita Hill, Director of Finance and Operations Shannon Hasan, Office Administrator

Outreach & Member Services David Brimager, CWB®, Director of Public Relations Luke Sammons, Communications Consultant Kristin Parma, Membership Coordinator Mimi Sams, Engagement Coordinator

Conservation Legacy and Hunting Heritage Programs Kassi Scheffer, Director of Education – L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Program Elanor Dean, Education Program Specialist Gwen Eishen, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Adrienne Paquette, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Jo Picken, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Phil Salonek, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Elisa Velador, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Marla Wolf, Curriculum Writer Leslie Wittenburg, Director of Education – L.A.N.D.S. Intensive Program Brian Robert, Education Program Specialist Iliana Peña, Director of Conservation Programs Laura Calhoun, Women of the Land Program Coordinator Courtney Brittain, Website Consultant COL(R) Chris Mitchell, Texas Youth Hunting Program Director Bryan Jones, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Bob Barnette, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Briana Miles, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Kim Hodges, TYHP Program Coordinator Kara Starr, Texas Big Game Awards Program Coordinator

Advocacy Joey Park, Legislative Program Coordinator

Texas Wildlife Association TEXAS WILDLIFE is published monthly by the Texas Wildlife Association, 3660 Thousand Oaks Dr., Suite 126, San Antonio, Texas 78247. E-mail address: twa@texas-wildlife.org.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Wildlife Association, 3660 Thousand Oaks Dr., Suite 126, San Antonio, Texas 78247. The Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) was organized in 1985 for the purpose of serving as an advocate for the benefit of wildlife and for the rights of wildlife managers, landowners and hunters in educational, scientific, political, regulatory and legislative arenas. TEXAS WILDLIFE is the official TWA publication and has widespread circulation throughout Texas and the United States. All rights reserved. No parts of these magazines may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission from the publisher. Copyrighted 2018 Texas Wildlife Association.

Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Texas Wildlife Association. Similarities between the name Texas Wildlife Association and those of advertisers or state agencies are coincidental, and do not indicate mutual affiliation, unless clearly noted. TWA reserves the right to refuse advertising.

4 TEXAS WILDLIFE

NOVEMBER 2018

3660 Thousand Oaks Dr., Suite 126 San Antonio, TX 78247 www.texas-wildlife.org (210) 826-2904 FAX (210) 826-4933 (800) 839-9453 (TEX-WILD)

Texas Wildlife

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

DECEMBER VOLUME 34

H

8 Fair Chase Part II: Mule Deer

NUMBER 8

H

2018

30 Plant Profile

by HENRY CHAPPELL

Partridge Pea

by BRADLEY KUBECKA

16 Hunting Heritage

32 Popcorn, Quail and the Movies

TYHP - Impact on Youth and Parents

by BOB BARNETTE

by DALE ROLLINS, PH.D.

20 Conservation Legacy

36 Shoot Like a Pro

Year in Review

Shoot for Gold

by ELANOR DEAN

by WADE GRASSEDONIO

22 TWA Remembers Mike Childress

38 Common Sense Spike Management

TBGA Artist

by STEVE NELLE

by DAVID BRIMAGER

46 Collateral Coyote

24 Caesar Kleberg News

by TERRY CLAPP

Social Dominance Increases Pelleted Feed Consumption by White-tailed Deer in South Texas

54 Back at the Ranch

Favorite Campfire Cooking Recipes

by EMILY H. BELSER, DAVID G. HEWITT, TIMOTHY E. FULBRIGHT, CHARLES A. DEYOUNG, THOMAS W. BOUTTON, DAVID B. WESTER and DON A. DRAEGER

by WHITNEY KLENZENDORF

28 TTU Wildlife Research News Winter's Gift

by KATHRYN J. BRAUTIGAM and BLAKE A.

GRISHAM, PH.D.

Magazine Staff

Photo by Wyman Meinzer MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

DECEMBER 2018

MAGAZINE CORPS David Yeates, Executive Editor Kim Rothe, Consulting Publications Coordinator/Editor

Photo by Russell Graves

David Brimager, CWB®, Advertising Director Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO

On the Cover Mule deer will never replace whitetails as Texas’s most popular big game species. But to discerning hunters who love big country, big deer and broad horizons, the muley will always be a favorite. Read more in Henry Chappell’s “Fair Chase Part II: Mule Deer” starting on page 8 of this issue.

Fair Chase Part II

Mule Deer

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2018-2019 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at tpwd.state.tx.us.

DECEMBER

JANUARY 2019

MAY 2019

DECEMBER 6-7

JANUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 9

MAY 4-6

Texas Children in Nature Annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

Summit and Champions Luncheon, For more information, visit Corpus Christi, TX. www.fwssr.com.

For more information, visit texaschildreninnature.org/tcin- FEBRUARY 2019 summit.

FEBRUARY 1-3

DECEMBER 8

TWA Sporting Clays Shoot, National Shooting Sports Complex, San Antonio. To register, please visit texas-wildlife.org/resources/events/ twa-sporting-clays-shoot-sanantonio or email David Brimager at dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.

DECEMBER 17

TWA Sporting Clays Shoot, Greater Houston Gun Club, Houston. To register, please visit www.texaswildlife.org/resources/events/ twa-sporting-clays-shoot-houston or email David Brimager at dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.

Women of the Land—Conservation Hunting Workshop, Eldorado. For more information, visit www.texaswildlife.org/program-areas/womenof-the-land.

FEBRUARY 16-18

Texas Soil Health Short Course, Palestine. To register, visit www. texas-wildlife.org/resources/events/ texas-soil-health-short-course.

FEBRUARY 7-24

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, featuring the Texas Wildlife Expo.

For more information, visit www.sarodeo.com.

JANUARY 2019

APRIL 2019

JANUARY 27

APRIL 23-24

Kids Gone WILD Event, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. For more information, visit www.fwssr.com.

Texas Soil Health Short Course, Victoria. For more information, visit www.texas-wildlife.org/programareas/texas-soil-health-shortcourse.

Women of the Land—South Texas Workshop, Sinton. For more information, visit www.texas-wildlife. org/program-areas/women-of-theland.

JULY 2019 JULY 11

TWA’s 6th Annual Private Lands Summit, J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, contact Iliana Pena at (210) 826-2904 or ipena@ texas-wildlife.org.

JULY 11-14

WildLife 2019, J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information contact David Brimager at (800) 839-9453 or dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.

JULY 12

Statewide Texas Big Game Awards Banquet, during TWA’s Annual Convention, WildLife 2019, J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, contact David Brimager at (800) 839-9453 or dbrimager@ texas-wildlife.org.

TWA PRESENTS

WOMEN OF THE LAND SAVE THE DATE

CONSERVATION HUNTING FEBRUARY 1-3 2019 EL DORADO, TX *LIMITED TO 15 ATTENDEES*

SOUTH TEXAS

TRANS-PECOS

MAY 3-5 2019 WELDER WILDLIFE REFUGE SINTON, TX

AUGUST 2019 FORT DAVIS, TX

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG/PROGRAMAREAS/WOMEN-OF-THE-LAND

6 TEXAS WILDLIFE

DECEMBER 2018

T WA M E M B E R S H I P INCENTIVE PROGRAM JOIN OR RENEW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A BLASER F16 SHOTGUN JOIN AT WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

Join or Renew between September 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 to be eligible to win.

FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

Just prior to the rut, mule deer bucks slow down to rest, eat, and store fat for the rigors ahead. This old boy looks sleek and ready. (Photo by Russell Graves)

8 TEXAS WILDLIFE

DECEMBER 2018

FAIR CHASE PART II: MULE DEER Article by HENRY CHAPPELL

I

’ve admired big mule deer in several western states, but the most impressive buck I’ve seen held tight as any bobwhite while being pointed by my buddy’s Brittany. On a bitter cold, gray afternoon, old Dee, one of the better bird dogs I’ve known, pulled up high and hard in the Pease River bottom in the southeastern corner of the Texas Panhandle. As Brad and I walked in anticipating the whir of flushing bobwhites, Dee softened and rolled his eyes up at us as if to say, “Boys, I’ve got something here, but I’m not sure what to do with it.”

About then, I noticed a huge set of antlers protruding from the knee-high little bluestem and sage. We stopped at a range of about 40 feet, and the buck jumped up and stotted away into the mesquite and cedar. Dee, looking a little guilty, remained steady, awaiting further orders.

That’s the way it goes, of course: Go quail hunting and see deer; go deer hunting and see ducks; go bass fishing and see turkeys.

But the lesson I drew from the encounter was that under some conditions, if not often, mule deer, a quintessential open country big game species, will hunker down like a whitetail and wait for danger to pass. Although we approached from downwind, we couldn’t have surprised him given our talking and whistling to the dogs.

Had I been glassing the bottom from the slope south of the river, I might have seen him slipping from his feeding cover to his afternoon bed. Likewise, just before dark, I would’ve seen him rise to begin his nightly business. At that point, depending on range, I would’ve chosen between a long shot or WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

Too close for comfort. A nice Trans-Pecos buck puts some distance between himself and photographer Wyman Meinzer. (Photo by Wyman Meinzer)

A mule deer hunter watches the slopes in Panhandle canyonlands. (Photo by Wyman Meinzer)

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DECEMBER 2018

spot-and-stalk to get within range. But if I were a bowhunter or doubted the flat, grassy river bottom provided cover for stalking, I might break with convention and try to pattern that buck and set up an ambush.

Although mule deer are in general less “spooky” than whitetails, relying on distance and keen eyesight more than scenting ability, heavy cover and extreme wariness, trophy mule deer— bucks at least five years old—will be harder to pattern and stalk than does and young bucks.

In Texas, “mule deer” means desert mule deer, a slightly smaller subspecies distinct from Rocky Mountain mule deer native to the Western Mountain States. Although mule deer probably inhabited much of Texas west of the 100th Meridian prior to the frontier era, they’re now limited to the Trans-Pecos and the adjacent western fringe of the Hill Country, and the rough hills and canyons of the Brazos, Canadian, Red and Pease rivers of the Panhandle.

Some hunters and biologists have speculated that mule deer in the northern Panhandle are the Rocky Mountain subspecies, but recent DNA studies show a remarkable uniformity over the entire range in Texas—perhaps due to the 1,500 or so desert mule deer translocated from the Trans-Pecos to the Panhandle from the 1950s through the 1990s.

While Rocky Mountain mule deer migrate from foothills and plains to higher country for summer and back for fall and winter, desert mule deer tend to live out their lives in home ranges of only a few square miles. Breeding season— rut—usually begins in November, peaks in mid-December, and may run into February. Fawns are born in July and August after a seven-month gestation period. Does usually breed for the first time at two years of age and have only one fawn. During years of good forage, older does often bear twins. Groups of 20 – 40 mule deer may gather January to March.

As their name suggests, desert mule deer make efficient use of moisture and can survive without daily access to water.

Still, a shortage of water causes severe stress and inhibits reproduction. During

FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

drought, water from windmills and guzzlers are a boon to mule deer survival.

Like whitetails, mule deer are primarily browsers. Woody plants, vines and forbs make up most of their diet. At times, they’ll eat succulent, green grass. Domestic browsers such as goats and exotic big game compete with mule deer for forage.

Late winter, when forage is scarcest, is the most stressful time of year.

Speaking of stress, the Trans-Pecos Region has yet to recover from an historic drought.

“In 2011 and 2012, we didn’t have a fawn crop to speak of,” said Shawn Gray, TPWD’s mule deer and pronghorn program leader. Currently, he’s guardedly optimistic. “Numbers should be pretty good this year, but antler development will be below average,” he said. “We’re starting to get more mature bucks in the five to six-year-old range.

Gray estimates the Trans-Pecos mule deer population at 153,000; the Panhandle population at 133,000. The average harvest over the past few seasons has about 9,000 deer with a 40 percent hunter success rate.

In the eastern Panhandle, whitetails have displaced mule deer as brush encroaches on formerly open grassland. The heavier cover renders the mule deer’s sharp eyesight less effective against predators, mostly coyotes.

“It is a trend, but we still have a lot of mule deer over there,” Gray said.

Big Panhandle bucks going at it. After the severe rut stress, some older bucks won’t survive late winter food scarcity. (Photo by Russell Graves)

Glassing the slopes. Experienced mule deer hunters often spend more on high-quality optics than on rifles. (Photo by Tosh Brown)

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FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

Extreme focus. Smaller bucks beware. (Photo by Russell Graves)

For the 2018 season, TPWD implemented antler restrictions in six southeastern Panhandle counties hoping to increase the percentage of mature bucks.

Gray and his colleagues are in year four of a five-year study to determine how mule deer use highly fragmented habitat in the Panhandle. The results should help biologists hone mule deer management techniques and better advise landowners.

Currently brush control and water development are the two most important mule deer management tools. TPWD’s partners in the study include Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas Tech, Borderlands Research Institute, Mule Deer Foundation, and the Boone and Crockett Club.

“The support we’ve received from landowners and hunters far exceeded my expectations,” Gray said.

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All or parts of nine counties in the Panhandle’s northwest corner and the three counties that make up the western third of the Trans-Pecos are designated Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Zones.

Hunters who harvest a mule deer or whitetail deer in a CWD Zone must bring the animal to a TPWD check station within 48 hours. See TPWD’s 2018 Outdoor Annual for details.

TWA Member Greg Simons, a wildlife biologist, founder and owner of San Angelo-based Wildlife Systems, Inc., manages mule deer hunts on some 400,000 acres in the Trans-Pecos. In his spare time, he hunts mule deer on a 43,000-acre lease north of Kent, where he has taken three bucks in the 190 – 200-inch class.

“Interest in mule deer has been steadily climbing the last 10 to15 years and especially over the last five years,” he said.

“Here at Wildlife Systems, we’re getting

DECEMBER 2018

far more inquiries on mule deer than on whitetails.”

Simons attributes the difference to a growing number of experienced hunters looking for truly wild country.

“These folks come out to big country and they’re not confined to a box blind looking over a feeding station, and they’re hooked,” he said.

Contrary to convention, which says that mule deer bucks can’t be patterned like whitetail bucks, Simons places game cameras at watering sites.

“It’s really the best way to pattern a particular buck and cuts way down on the amount of country I have to cover,” he said. “Not many people are using cameras out here, but I think they’re as effective on mule deer as on whitetails.”

Simons’ principal hunting method involves glassing and stalking. He’ll start the morning with the sun at his back and

FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

Pre-rut, does, fawns and yearling bucks tend to gather in the hills. (Photo by Ben Masters)

stay on a location from 30 minutes to an hour, covering as much country as possible. Patience is key.

“During that pre-rut period, mule deer bucks go through a slowdown, resting, eating and storing fat for the coming stress,” Simons said. “When they get up to feed, they won’t be up long.

Trying to cover too much, you can burn through a lot of country and miss some nice bucks. I’ve taken my biggest bucks during that November pre-rut period.”

Early in the season, mature bucks tend to hang out in the flats while the does, fawns and yearling bucks congregate in the hills. The most productive flats usually have plenty of Apache plume, little leaf sumac and hackberry. Although solitary bucks are the norm, they’ll occasionally loaf in bachelor groups.

Given adequate moisture, they’ll browse forbs amid creosote.

During dry periods, drainage areas hold the best forage and the biggest bucks.

Mule deer hunters accustomed to the vast state and federal lands in the Mountain West, where competition from other hunters and their effect on deer behavior are constant realities, often push too hard when they come to Texas.

“They’ve never had the luxury of being patient and hunting a particular deer,” Simons said. They’ll cover ground too aggressively, especially in November, driving up and down bedding areas, spooking deer and just ruining the pre-rut hunting.”

During the hard winter months, when forbs are scarce to nonresistant, sotol and lechuguilla are lifesavers.

During rut, bucks are constantly on the move. (Photo by Wyman Meinzer)

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FA I R C H A S E PA R T I I : M U L E D E E R

All eyes and ears. If you can see him through your spotting scope, he can see you. (Photo by Wyman Meinzer)

Simons added, “If I were picking one central browse plant that mule deer will be using on those flats, it’s little leaf sumac.”

Once the rut starts, and the big bucks are moving constantly, Simons picks up the pace too, covering large areas in his truck or on an ATV. He never leaves camp without 12x50 binoculars and a spotting scope mounted on a tripod. In his pickup, he relies on a second spotting scope equipped with a window clamp.

Some of the best mule deer country isn’t exactly easy on the eyes.

Simons said, “In the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle it’s awfully easy to drive right past the best deer country on the way to country that looks better. Maybe you like more pinyon or juniper or shin oak or mountains, but that pretty country may not be as productive as the spare, open country.”

Although Simons likes his .280, he also recommends .270 or .30-06 with 130 and 150 grain bullets respectively. Although popular with whitetail hunters, the .243 is too light for mule deer. The .25-06 is marginal, even in capable hands. Rapidly expanding ballistic tip bullets are best left for predator hunters. Responsible mule 14 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

deer hunters count on traditional soft point bullets to provide good penetration with effective expansion. Simons has horror stories.

Bucking conventional wisdom again, Simons recommends sighting rifles in dead on at 100 yards instead of the traditional 2-3 inches high to be on target at 250 yards.

“I’ve seen too many hunters forget to take that three inches into account at shorter ranges. They end up hitting the deer in the withers or nicking the spine,” he said. “If you’re dead on at 100 yards with any appropriate caliber, you can set your cross hair at the top of his back and be in the money at 300 yards.”

Mule deer will never replace whitetails as Texas’s most popular big game species.

But to discerning hunters who love big country, big deer and broad horizons, the muley will always be a favorite.

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TYHP - Impact on Youth and Parents Article by BOB BARNETTE Photos Courtesy of TYHP

T

he Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) is blessed with the support of many volunteers, landowners and property managers who understand the value of hunting, outdoor recreation and conservation. They understand the lessons, bonds and wonders that result from pursuing wild animals in wild places. TYHP exists because of the willingness of volunteers and landowners to pass on the heritage of our great outdoors to new folks who are the future of sustainable use and stewardship of our wildlife and natural resources.

Members of the Texas Wildlife Association should be familiar with our social media hashtag of recent years, #ImpactTexas.

Impact Texas is a great expression—it succinctly describes a goal, a strategy, a motto and everyday guidance in just two words.

One way that TYHP can assess its impact is through the expressions of thanks that its participating youths and accompanying adults write at the conclusion of each youth hunt.

It is actually one of the educational elements of TYHP hunts for thank you notes to be written, primarily for the purpose of showing appreciation to the landowners that allow TYHP to use their property.

A review of even a small sample reveals nuggets of gold affirming the relevance not only of TYHP but of hunting itself.

The following are excerpts from some of those thank you letters: “Thank you for a great family experience! The boys learned a lot and to be able to get the ‘hands on’ feel of the bows and guns, are lessons they will never forget…You have an incredible ranch, thanks for sharing it with us.”

“Thank you for the experience of being able to get a nice deer with my bow. It has totally changed my perspective on hunting and has gotten me hooked for life.”

“Thank you for the amazing, wonderful property that you allowed TYHP to hunt on. You allowed me to almost accomplish shooting my first white-tailed deer and allowed me to make new friends. I’m especially thankful to spend time with my dad.”

“I want to thank you on behalf of my son and I, and to let you know what you have done for us. I had almost no experience hunting, and I was desperate to have my son learn the proper way to hunt as I had not. When I found this program it was a Godsend. You have helped a father re-instill a sense of hunting pride to the family. This pride skipped over me; thanks to you, my son was not skipped.”

“I appreciate having the opportunity to spend more time outdoors and meet new people. Thank you for your time.”

“The experience has been memorable, the scenery has been beautiful and the camaraderie priceless. Most of all, thanks for

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DECEMBER 2018

TYHP hunters bond with both human and animal friends.

providing a venue where I could bond with my son! Blessings to you all.”

“TYHP serves a great purpose in teaching kids responsibility and respect while maintaining safety. It is a wonderful program and allows those who might otherwise not go hunting to have the proper guidance. Thank you!”

“Thank you so much for allowing us to hunt on your piece of heaven! My son shot his first deer with a bow—amazing! We were also able to grow our relationship as father and son…You are truly a blessing to the lives you touch.”

“Thank you so much for opening your ranch to all of us youth hunters. It has been an amazing experience that I have enjoyed immensely.”

“I would like to thank you for letting me make memories while carrying on the tradition of hunting as a family. We had a wonderful time seeing all the wildlife.”

“Thank you so much for inviting me to this hunt. I have really enjoyed this hunt. It is the best hunt I have ever been on. Thank you so much. The doe chase was the most interesting thing I have ever seen.”

TYHP - IMPACT ON YOUTH AND PARENTS

Smiles of a guide and youth hunter reveal the power of shared outdoor experiences.

At hunt’s end, TYHP hunters write thank you letters to the host landowner.

“This opportunity has definitely changed my daughter’s outlook on hunting, as she was able to share her emotions and experiences with girls of similar ages. They definitely had fun here.

We greatly appreciate your generosity and are thankful for the great memories.”

“I had a blast this weekend using my bow to hunt deer for the first time. I loved shaking like a leaf when I saw a beautiful eight-point step into range.”

“We very much appreciate your hospitality and willingness to open up your property to let the kids and parents enjoy your blessings. Thanks for sharing and making it our blessings as well.”

“We saw a lot of deer…I was very nervous and shaking. It was a very fun time. It was cold but worth it!”

“This hunt was such a blessing for my daughter and me. Lifetime memories, belly laughter and genuine appreciation and awe for God’s creation were just a few of the things shared this weekend.

Even though we did not harvest an animal, the time I was able to spend with my daughter was invaluable, without distraction from sports or technology.”

“Thank you so much for providing your wonderful ranch for our youth hunters. You have blessed them in so many ways that they will forever carry with them for life. They saw many different species of animals and were awed by their beauty. They have also bonded and made new best friends that share a common goal of love for the outdoors.”

Perhaps this short quotation says it best: “What a blessing it was to be here!”

Impact Texas? We do, and we will.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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DONATE Please consider making a tax-deductible investment to TWAF, and help us as we continue to change minds and lives, through natural resource education. Together, we can make sure that Texans understand the importance of wild things, wild places, and the stewards who care for them.

Thank you in advance for supporting your Foundation.

Texas Wildlife Association Foundation, Inc. is increasing natural resource literacy and promoting conservation and educational programs that connect Texans to the land. Together with those who donate, we are making a difference and ensuring a legacy of conservation and the heritage of hunting through education.

www.twafoundation.org 18 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

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20 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

YEAR IN REVIEW

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TWA Remembers Mike Childress TBGA Artist

Article by DAVID BRIMAGER

A

t TWA, we are deeply saddened by the death of Mike Childress who lost his battle with cancer in September. He was a longtime member and helped create one of the state’s most well-known big game art programs with the Texas Big Game Awards. He was generous and talented man, and we will miss him very much. Our prayers are with Annette and the family.

The partnership between the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and Mike Childress began in 1997 while he worked for Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, Texas. Eastman had a portion of their corporate headquarters set aside

22 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

for a nature and wildlife habitat program.

As part of Eastman’s outreach within this outdoor program, Mike was asked by TWA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to provide artwork depicting one or more of the trophies annually harvested in the Texas Big Game Awards (TBGA).

Since that first pen and ink of an awardee’s Texas Slam, Mike produced 23 other inkings from entries in the Texas Big Game Awards. While many individuals might enjoy and even own some of the artwork produced by Childress, few people know how much he enjoyed meeting the hunters and landowners

DECEMBER 2018

selected to be featured in the wildlife art as well as learning all about their wildlife management programs.

In a 2006 Texas Wildlife magazine article Childress said, “It takes about seven months to research and ultimately produce an original inking of the animal in a scene—lightly in pencil at first and then much more exact in black India ink.

I constantly check and recheck the inking as it progresses to assure the accuracy of the antler configuration and any particular markings on the trophy.”

Every year, the TBGA’s original inking would be completed in March. Childress would then take the printed copies to his

art studio and sign and number 500 of them. The first 25 prints (#1 through #25) were reserved for remarques. A remarque is a “little original” drawn in pencil at the bottom of the signed/numbered print.

No two remarques are alike and a remarqued print is more highly regarded by an art collector because it represents something “extra” created by the artist.

Eight of these remarqued prints were reserved for the TBGA regional awards banquets conducted across the state.

Notecards were also produced from the original inking. The cards are packaged in sets of 25 with matching envelopes. The cost of reproducing the limited-edition prints and note cards was underwritten by many sponsors over the years. Both the limited-edition prints and notecards are marketed by TWA. If you have attended a TWA convention over the past 25, you may recall that the original pen and ink was auctioned off each year in the live auction. All proceeds from the sale of the original, signed/numbered prints and notecards benefitted the Texas Big Game Awards and wildlife-oriented education activities for Texas youths.

Childress once said, “This artwork would not happen without the members of TWA working together to assure Texas continues to produce some of the most magnificent wildlife found anywhere in the world. Thanks to these individuals, each of us has more to look forward to when we take to the great outdoors of Texas.”

We will miss Childress, his wonderful

wit and support of TWA and our programs.

His artwork is featured in so many homes and ranches across Texas which will always remind us of his unique art skills and his love for all things Texas.

If you would be interested in purchasing some of Mike Childress’ TBGA art, please visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

23

TEXAS WILDLIFE

CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-KINGSVILLE

Social Dominance Increases Pelleted Feed Consumption by White-tailed Deer in South Texas Article by EMILY H. BELSER, DAVID G. HEWITT, TIMOTHY E. FULBRIGHT, CHARLES A. DEYOUNG, THOMAS W. BOUTTON, DAVID B. WESTER and DON A. DRAEGER

P

roviding supplemental feed for white-tailed deer is a common management practice in South Texas. There are many benefits from increasing the nutritional plane of deer, including greater within age-class body weights and antler growth. Parturition and lactation can be nutritionally demanding for does, and provision of supplemental feed may help alleviate some of this stress.

Increased fawn survival also has been linked to supplemental feed.

Despite these benefits, there are some concerns for deer hunters and managers.

First, crowding of deer at supplemental feed sites may spread pathogens and parasites that cause disease. Loss of feed to non-target animals such as raccoons and birds, as well as spillage from the feeder and wet feed from rain, may be costly.

Lastly, aggressive interactions at the feed site may prevent subordinate animals from having equal access to the feeder, which may limit some management goals.

Before we can understand these social interactions, let’s look at the social hierarchy of whitetails. Social hierarchy arises from interactions between animals and serves to prevent future aggressive interactions. We know that mature bucks are dominant over does and young bucks, with fawns at the bottom of the totem pole.

Two does rear in a fight for access to the supplemental feeder.

During most of the year, yearling bucks and does are equally likely to win an interaction. However, in the spring, as yearling bucks approach two years of age, they become more likely to win an interaction with a doe. Thus, our fawns, does and young bucks may have limited access to the feeder as compared to mature bucks. And as we know, mature bucks tend to dominate supplemental feed sites.

But does that change with changing deer densities? Common sense might suggest higher deer densities could magnify these dominance interactions.

Previous research at our study sites in the western Rio Grande Plains suggests that as deer density increases, there is higher feed consumption per individual deer, which is contrary to traditional thought. If competition limits access, each

Sponsored by JOHN AND LAURIE SAUNDERS

24 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Dominance rating affects proportion of supplemental feed in white-tailed deer diets on the Comanche and Faith Ranches, with varying deer densities and supplemental feeder sites as follows: 20 deer/1 feed site, 60 deer/1 feed site and 60 deer/3 feed sites.

deer would eat less feed as deer densities increases. The first thought is that at high deer density, the animals deplete natural vegetation and therefore rely more heavily on supplemental feed. However, numerous and intensive vegetation studies in our research area have failed to show that deer density has this degree of impact on natural food availability.

Alternatively, deer are social animals.

With larger groups of deer, there are more eyes and ears looking out for predators, so they may feel more comfortable spending more time at the feeder. This social facilitation may allow deer to consume more feed at higher deer densities. However, let’s investigate this a little further. How does the social hierarchy really affect feed consumption, and how does this change with changing deer densities?

Our research was conducted on the Comanche Ranch and the Faith Ranch, both located in Dimmit County, Texas.

We used three 200-acre white-tailed deer enclosures on each ranch, with varying deer densities and feeder densities, as follows: 20 deer/one feed site, 60 deer/ one feed site and 60 deer/three feed sites.

We conducted a camera survey in January 2015 to determine how many deer were living in each enclosure, and in March 2015 we used a helicopter and net gun to add or remove deer as necessary to maintain our desired densities.

When we handled deer, we marked them with uniquely colored and numbered ear tags. During this deer capture, we collected blood samples from individual deer to later analyze in the lab using stable isotope analysis. Ratios of stable isotopes in the deer’s blood allowed us to determine the proportion of a deer’s diet composed of supplemental feed. To analyze the social hierarchy, we used trail cameras that recorded 30-second videos. We analyzed each interaction between deer, marking which deer won, which deer lost and what the interaction was, whether it was a rear, strike, ear-drop-hard-look, etc.

We found intriguing results when we analyzed supplemental feed consumption in relation to the social hierarchy within each enclosure. As expected, as a deer’s dominance increased, its diet contained more supplemental feed (see graph). Dominant deer consumed more supplemental feed than subordinate deer,

but this relationship was strongest in the lower density enclosures.

In the higher density enclosures, the social hierarchy wasn’t as strong regardless of the number of feed sites. Put another way, subordinate animals in the higher density enclosures ate more supplemental feed than the subordinate animals in the lower density enclosures.

Although our original hypothesis of social facilitation still has merit, perhaps the strength of the social hierarchy is what changes with changing deer densities.

Social hierarchies serve to limit future aggressive interactions, and this may be most evident at low deer densities.

For example, a young buck may have difficulty accessing a feed site if a mature buck is present to guard the resource. As more deer come into the area, however, it becomes much more difficult for that mature buck to defend the feed site from multiple deer. The mature buck will have to weigh his benefits gained versus the cost of defending the feeder. Defending a resource requires valuable energy, takes time away from eating and may pose a risk of injury, as suggested by economic defendability. As deer densities increase, the costs of defense also increase and may ultimately outweigh the benefits.

Landowners and managers often use supplemental feeders in “sub-quality” habitat where nutrition is limiting.

Providing supplement can become expensive with high deer densities, but at low deer densities subordinate animals may have only limited access to the feeders.

These subordinate animals often are does and young deer that could benefit from increased nutrition. Therefore, managers may not achieve the results they expect because they are affecting dominant animals that may not need the increased nutrition as much. When using supplemental feed, managers should be aware of the limitations of feeding, while always keeping deer densities in mind.

We’d like to thank our major funding sources, Stuart Stedman with the Stedman West Foundation and Faith Ranch and Dan Friedkin with the Comanche Ranch.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

25

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department of natural resources management

texas tech university

TTU WILDLIFE R ESE A RCH NEWS

Winter's Gifts Sandhill Cranes of Texas

Article by KATHRYN J. BRAUTIGAM, Graduate Research Assistant and DR. BLAKE A. GRISHAM, Assistant Professor, Wildlife Management, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University

A

s the winds grow stronger and the air turns colder across much of North America, tens of thousands of migratory birds gather en masse in preparation for a long southern flight. Arctic and subarctic summer residents that have toiled over nests and chicks in attempts to carry on their legacies must seek out warmer climates to survive the upcoming winter season.

For millennia, Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) have taken this journey south through the Central-flyway over the Great Plains of North America, over grasslands that are dotted with ponds and lakes and crisscrossed by rivers and sloughs, to join us here in Texas for a long winter’s stay.

Sandhill Cranes are tall, gray-bodied wading birds with bright red head caps and white cheeks, standing 3−4 feet tall on long legs and webless feet. Despite the size and conspicuousness of Sandhills, it is common to only hear the presence of a crane without ever seeing it. With its supernaturally loud and unique bugling sound (also called a trumpet, rattle or croak), the call of Sandhill Cranes is unmistakable and unforgettable, and Texans have been hearing that call for centuries.

The crane lineage is among the oldest of the world’s birds.

One Sandhill Crane fossil discovered in Florida was dated to 2.5 million years ago, older by half than almost all other birds living today. In more recent history, early natives such as the Clovis culture and later European settlers used Sandhill Cranes for food and materials all along this annual round-trip route. Equally impressive as the species’ age, each Sandhill Crane can live in the wild for up to 30−40 years.

During winter, Texas is home to the largest population of Sandhill Cranes, the mid-continent population, which is estimated to be more than 500,000 individuals and may indeed be closer SPONSORED BY

28 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

Winter distribution of the midcontinental population of Sandhill Cranes.

The Rumsey Research and Development Fund and the Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University

DECEMBER 2018

T TU WILDLIFE RESEARCH NEWS

to a million. Recent and ongoing research suggests that over 80 percent of the entire population overwinters on the Southern High Plains, making this northwestern region of Texas critical to the existence of this treasured natural resource.

The Southern High Plains is an elevated, almost completely flat tableland making up the southernmost part of the once-expansive shortgrass prairie ecosystem. The region has largely been converted to row crops or altered by cattle grazing and fossil fuel and wind energy extraction, causing extensive landscape fragmentation. Row crops, shrublands and grasslands each comprise about a third of the landscape, but patches are small and fragmented.

The only disruptions to the otherwise flat topography are 20,000−30,000 shallow circular depressions that form playa wetlands and about 40 saline lake basins.

Sandhill Cranes roost and rest near these wetland types, and forage in the grain fields and grasslands.

From November through March, the cranes roost along the playa wetlands and saline lakes that are clustered across the Texas High Plains. At daybreak, flocks of thousands of cranes take flight toward agricultural fields to forage on leftover grains that remain on the ground after the fall harvest. These leftover grains, or residuals, are a critical component of the population’s winter ecology in the region.

This food resource (often sorghum/milo or corn) is easy to access, high in energy and nutrients, and is an easy flight away from roosting sites.

Residents and visitors appreciate and enjoy the species both for consumptive and non-consumptive use. Nicknamed

the “ribeye in the sky,” the Sandhill Crane has become a unique addition to the sportsperson’s table.

The midcontinent population was the first migratory population of Sandhill Cranes to recover to harvestable numbers; and, in the early 1960s, legal hunting was opened for this population of Sandhill Cranes after a half-century ban. A steady increase in popularity, harvest-success and available equipment has led to Sandhill Crane hunting becoming a West Texas tradition. In the 2016−2017 season, 31,905 Central-flyway hunters obtained Sandhill Crane hunting permits (including HIPcertifications), and over 70 percent of them were in Texas.

As increases in participation and harvest success continued, recent indices (numeric estimates of population size based on systematic counting and correcting techniques) suggest that harvest rates may have surpassed the population growth rate in recent years. Managers and wildlife biologists tasked with monitoring and managing the population seek a balance between harvest pressure and population dynamics. Several studies over the last two decades provided critical information about breeding affiliations, geographic range expansions and migratory behavior of the midcontinent population.

Research on survival, resource use and movement behavior during non-breeding seasons is ongoing through a collaboration between Texas Tech University’s Department of Natural Resources Management faculty and graduate students and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (in coordination with other regional agencies and trusts).

Flock of Sandhill Cranes loaf (rest) mid-day at a saline lake in western Texas.

(Photo by Kathryn Brautigam)

Former and current Texas Tech University graduate students Daniel Raleigh and Kathryn Brautigam process a Sandhill Crane after placing leg band with transmitter attached. (Photo by Tracy Witmer)

Our current research involves livetrapping individual Sandhill Cranes and equipping each with a satellite transmitter, or Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT), a device that safely rides along with the bird and records its location anywhere on earth. These locations are remotely collected five times daily and are revealing behaviors including migration timing/ pathways, habitat selection and seasonal distributions in real time.

We will also determine recent and current landscape cover, resource distribution and carrying capacity, a landscape’s maximum ability to support a population for a given period, of the region. Our results will provide insight into how the population is distributed and how the Sandhill Cranes are using the available resources on the Texas landscape.

Preliminary results have already confirmed or illuminated migration and within-winter movement behaviors hypothesized about the population from previous and current researcher teams. With that long-term, detailed information, we can assess the effects of numerous scenarios of land cover and water availability and predict with some certainty where the Sandhill Cranes will be distributed across the Texas Southern High Plains and how many Sandhill Cranes the region can support throughout winter.

These metrics will aid the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with developing longterm, sustainable harvest numbers for the future, allowing consumptive and nonconsumptive use to continue in Texas.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

PLANT PROFILE

Partridge Pea Article and Photos by BRADLEY KUBECKA

Partridge pea provides excellent food and cover for wildlife throughout the year.

P

artridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) is an annual forb commonly found across the eastern half of Texas and sporadically in western Texas. Standing 1–3 feet tall, partridge pea has a long blooming season, producing yellow flowers from June to October. The flowers have five petals, four of which have red spots at their base.

The leaves are comprised of 8–20 pairs of bi-pinnately compound leaflets.

Leaflets are open during the day and fold closed along the petiole (stalk of the leaf) at night. Leaflets may also fold when touched, but to a lesser extent than in plants such as catclaw sensitive briar.

These characteristics are responsible for the plant’s monikers—sensitive pea and sleeping plant.

With a name that implies a delectable fare for feathered game, it’s understandable

30 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

for one to initially write-off partridge pea as a “bird seed plant.” But, as we look closer at partridge pea’s structures, we’ll notice a disk-shaped gland on the petiole which gives rise to another one of the plant’s unique features. Unlike many plants that have nectar glands contained within their flowers, partridge pea produces nectar in these glands called extra floral nectaries.

The glands are thought to attract ants which combat herbivory from insects.

Moving down the plant, an aspiring botanist might note the root structure. As an annual, we know partridge pea has a fibrous root system. But as we look closer we’ll notice little bumps, called nodules, on the roots. These nodules are the site where Rhizobium bacteria live and form a symbiotic relationship with the plant.

The bacteria benefits by receiving sugars from the plant and in return, convert

DECEMBER 2018

Partridge pea blooms from June to October.

PLANT PROFILE

Root nodules are the site of nitrogen fixation in legumes like partridge pea.

nitrogen in its molecular form (N2) to ammonia (NH3)—a form of nitrogen accessible by plants. This process is called nitrogen fixation and is a characteristic shared among many legumes species.

Because of this characteristic, partridge pea is often planted in fields after crop production. If the field had not been under the plow for long, the seeds may already be in the soil and grow well with disturbance.

The seeds are held in pods that are about 1/4-inch wide and 2 ½ inches long.

Seeds are high in protein (27 percent) and phosphorus (0.88 percent) but low in fiber making them highly digestible and nutritious for any animal crossing their path.

Though the plants, seeds and hay are potentially toxic to livestock when consumed in large quantities, partridge pea is relished by many wildlife species.

Deer readily eat the plant during summer and fall when crude protein averages about 20 percent.

The seeds are a staple in bobwhite and wild turkey diets during the fall and winter, and a variety of small mammals eat and cache the seeds. Insects are attracted to the foliage during summer and provide an indirect food source for young game birds like quail and turkey.

The tall and relatively thick foliage also serves as cover for smaller-sized wildlife through most of the year. Multiple

An Asian lady beetle visits the extra floral nectary of partridge pea.

pollinators also frequent the plants as both a food source and structure to lay eggs.

Native Americans developed a medicine from the roots as an energy stimulant for ball players and fainting spells. Ironically,

the plants were also used to treat nausea in humans despite its purgative effects in cattle. Today, partridge pea is commonly included in wildlife, landscaping and soil restoration plans.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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QuailMasters 2018 students evaluate a site near Breckenridge, Texas. Plant species diversity, shrubs and interspersion are key components of the evaluation exercise.

POPCORN, QUAIL AND THE MOVIES Article and photos by DALE ROLLINS, PH.D.

W

hen you think of quail as much as I do, you begin to “see” quail in everything you say, do, see and hear.

When I watched Forrest Gump for the first time in 1995 (I’ve probably watched it 20 times since then) I dubbed Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” as the “National Anthem of Quail Management,” the key lyrics therein being “and this bird you cannot change.” An alternative lesson from Gump could include “quail season is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get.”

So when it came time for the 2018 QuailMasters class, I wanted to mix my quail messages with some from the big screen. I really enjoyed the QM ’18 class—they were an eclectic group, highly educated (including two doctors and a retired engineer), highly inquisitive and appreciative of their opportunity to become “Students of Quail.” They were a pleasure to serve and instruct.

I touted the QM ’18 class as the last one under my watch, and if turns out to be, I’m happy to have gone out on such a good note.

32 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

At our first meeting in March in Sweetwater, I shared my cinema-quail connections, specifically those from Forrest Gump.

Then I gave them a special homework assignment for sessions 3 and 4 in Pampa and Hebbronville respectively: seek quail parallels in three of my favorite movies—“Apollo 13,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “A Few Good Men.” THANKS TOM HANKS For Session 3, I tasked the class with discussing subliminal quail messages in two of my other favorite Hanks flicks “Apollo 13” and “Saving Private Ryan.”

You probably need to be at least 50 years old to appreciate the context of these two movies. If you’re my age or older, you can absolutely relate. And if you are, or were, a quail hunter I think you’ll pick up the scent of some similarities pretty quickly.

If you were a child of the 1960s, I’ll wager you tuned into

POPCORN, QUAIL AND THE MOVIES

Ricky Linex, Zone 5 Wildlife Biologist, USDA-NRCS, discusses habitat evaluation for bobwhites with the 2018 QuailMasters class on a ranch near Breckenridge, Texas.

the various space missions as I did. Space travel was indeed an odyssey and each lift-off and splashdown kept us glued to our black- and-white TV screens as Walter Cronkite and Jules Bergman provided the commentary. Quail populations and quail hunting (politically) tended to reach their apogee during this same time. Ditto for “Humpback” Brownings and accessible quail hunting opportunities. It was a great decade for this teenager.

But by the early 1970s, space travel was basically taken for granted, and we, as a nation, became rather complacent about the inherent dangers associated with space travel. I argue same could be said about quail and quail hunters in Texas. Then we heard that transmission from space “Houston, we have a problem.” (For quail hunters, perhaps that declaration could substitute Austin for Houston.)

Over the next five days our complacency was eroded into a game of high-stakes drama. Mission Control scrambled and America prayed for the return of the Apollo 13 crew. Many of us who’ve watched as quail and quail hunter numbers slipped into an unstable trajectory can certainly relate.

Perhaps my favorite line in the movie is when Mission Control director Gene Kranz who is played by Ed Harris hears his supervisors bemoaning in the background what a national disgrace this accident will be for NASA. Kranz retorts, “With all due

respect, I think this will be our finest moment.” My mind harkens to 2011-2013 when we didn’t know if we’d ever see bobwhites again—indeed there was much angst while they went through “reentry.” But then, oh how we celebrated their splashdown. Don’t you share the sense of pride and accomplishment among those at Mission Control?

What words do you think of when contemplating Apollo 13? Intrigue? Complacency? Anxiety? Urgency? Innovation?

Teamwork? I can find a place for each in my quail lexicon.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN What a powerful movie. Again, what terms do you think of as you recall the various scenes and story line? Sacrifice? Intrepidity?

Against all odds? And the recurring question, “All of this for one man?” Each rings true when I think of how quail face a Normandy beachhead each year. Compare the odds of survival for GI’s and bobwhites alike. And am I just battle weary, or have the politics of wildlife management shifted away from quail as if to say “all of this for just one bird?”

Can you think of other lessons? When Julia Mink from Sweetwater asked her son Dan, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, for parallels he said “Mom, it’s easy…without cover you're dead.”

Spoken like a true Student of Quail.

The most powerful moment for me is the “transition scene” where Private Ryan ages 60 years and is visiting the cemetery in WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

33

POPCORN, QUAIL AND THE MOVIES

Graduate student Brad Kubecka discusses habitat evaluation for bobwhites to the 2016 QuailMasters class on a ranch near Hebbronville.

Normandy. Imagine what a flood of memories raged as he stood at the headstone of Capt. Miller, the character played by Hanks.

He saluted the grave while asking his wife if he had been a good man…if he had led a good life…in response to memory of the dying officer exhorting him, “Earn this.”

As resource managers have we led a good life? Have we been cognizant of the sacrifices made on our behalf? Have we “earned this?” Indeed “one generation plants the tree and another enjoys the shade.” Quail need shade.

A FEW GOOD MEN Not Tom Hanks, but Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson pair off in this one like a Cooper’s Hawk and a Bobwhite Quail. When I quiz the class for lessons they immediately surmise, “you can’t handle the truth!” But that’s not my lesson here. Perhaps it’s the exchange of “Grave danger?” and the retort, “Is there another kind?”

34 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

Wrong again.

The question for quail managers lies in the closing scene when Corporal Dawson and PFC Downey receive their sentences: “not guilty of murder and not guilty for conspiracy to commit murder.”

As they begin to ease a sigh of relief they’re declared “guilty as charged” for the last charge, “conduct unbecoming a U.S. Marine.”

PFC Downey argues “what did we do wrong…we did nothing wrong,” but Dawson contains his emotions and resolutely states “Yeah, we did. We were supposed to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves…we were supposed to fight for Willie.”

When I asked the QuailMasters who Willie was, they got my gist…immediately and without prompting: we’re supposed to fight for quail.

And so, we do. Semper Fi!

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

SHOOT LIKE A PRO WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY MADE SIMPLE

Golden Light

Midday Light

Shoot for Gold

S

Article and photos by WADE GRASSEDONIO

ometimes it is the small things that separate the “wow!” shots from the “that’s nice” shots. One of those things is the quality of the light in which you shoot. Quality photographers choose to work in gold light as often as possible.

“Gold light” is the term describing the day’s best light. It is the time after sunrise and before sunset when the light is warm and brings out the colors and textures in nature. The hours vary depending on who you ask, but I consider gold light to be the first two hours after sunrise and the last two hours before sunset.

The images above are taken of the same flower several hours apart. The image on the left was taken during the harsh light of midday while the image on the right was taken during the golden light hours of morning. At first glance, the differences may not be noticeable, but remember, the little details are what separate good shots from great shots.

The image on the left has many problems: the whites have no detail; the colors are too pronounced; the contrast is too high, and the flower itself has changed the shape of its stem and angle of its petals in response to the sun. The image on the right is softer, has detail in the whites, the colors are warmer, the contrast is acceptable and the shape of the stem and petal angle are more

36 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

appealing. Notice the difference in the colors of the berries, too.

When shooting during midday, highlights in the image tend to get blown out and lose all detail. Shadows seem to get extra dark and lose detail, too. A great image has detail in the lights and darks even if it is very slight.

With regard to wildlife photography, shooting in gold light has benefits and draw backs. A great benefit is that animals tend to move more during these hours. Another benefit is the rich colors and textures of the subject will be pronounced. Some of the draw backs are that exposure times increase as the sun approaches the horizon and animals don’t always follow the schedule we have laid out for them.

If for some reason, you are having to shoot in harsh light, compensate for it by using filters and shooting in open shade.

Polarizer filters, colored filters and neutral density filters can really help when having to shoot in harsh light. A polarizer filter is, in my opinion, a must have for every photographer. One more tip, cloudy days are great for shooting flowers.

Try shooting in gold light, I think you will like the results. Enjoy nature and shoot it when you can.

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Photo by Alan Terrell

COMMON SENSE SPIKE MANAGEMENT Article by STEVE NELLE

S

hould you or should you not remove yearling spikes from your deer herd? That question is asked thousands of time each year by serious hunters and landowners seeking the best way to manage white-tailed deer. The spike issue continues to be a confusing and controversial subject in deer management and has been a topic of heated debate in Texas and many other states.

Even after 30 plus years, opinions vary on the benefits and detriments of

38 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

removing spikes. People on both sides can cite scientific studies and expert opinion to defend their positions. To say the least, the subject still stirs up curiosity and strong emotions on both sides.

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND In the 1920s, a law was passed making it illegal to kill spike antlered bucks in Texas.

The law was based on good intentions and had some beneficial results of protecting young bucks from over harvest, but the

DECEMBER 2018

law was based on poor understanding of deer biology and was later rescinded as the science of deer management began to develop. Then, in the 1980s, the pendulum moved to the opposite extreme of killing as many spikes as possible with the hope of improving antler quality and antler genetics.

Just as the universal protection of all spikes was an unbalanced approach, so too is the universal culling of spikes. As in most other areas of life, the extreme positions at

COMMON SENSE SPIKE MANAGEMENT

either ends of the spectrum are usually not the best strategy and can even be harmful.

Harvesting spikes is not an always or never proposition. There is no right or wrong answer that applies in all situations.

A balanced, common sense approach, based on good science and good management is advocated by a growing number of deer managers. There are certain situations and times when the harvest of spikes is beneficial and other times when it is harmful to the deer herd. There is no set answer that applies to all ranches, and the right answer varies from year to year depending on rainfall, nutrition and other factors. Like most other aspects of good wildlife management, simple canned answers are usually not the best answers.

herd on a nutritionally adequate diet, the percentage of spikes will be low.” Brothers and Ray repeatedly state that the percentage of spikes will be high on ranches where deer numbers exceed carrying capacity or where nutrition is poor due to drought.

The nutrition/rainfall factor was clearly demonstrated using combined data from the Sonora Experiment Station and the Kerr Wildlife Management Area. In a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department publication written by Fred Bryant and Horace Gore, the percentage of spike antlered yearlings in two consecutive years was inversely related to rainfall. In 1975, a wet year with high food availability, 90 percent of yearling bucks had forked antlers. One year later, in 1976, conditions were dry with poor food availability and 90 percent of yearlings had spike antlers.

Obviously, the difference was nutritional.

Another factor which can cause spikes is

Photo by Rita Mae Frey

THE SPIKE PROBLEM An abundance of spikes is usually regarded as a problem. If there were only

one cause for spikes, a solution might be easier to prescribe, but there are multiple reasons why bucks may have spike antlers their first year.

The most common and obvious reason for spike yearlings is poor nutrition. Poor nutrition can be caused by drought, poor habitat, overpopulation of deer, excess competition from livestock or exotics, or a combination of these factors.

“Producing Quality Whitetails” is considered by many the bible of whitetail management. The book, written by Al Brothers and Murphy Ray is published by the Texas Wildlife Association and was revised in 1998. Chapter 6 is devoted to spikes. The theme of the chapter is that habitat, nutrition and the population of deer in relation to carrying capacity, are the primary factors which determine the abundance of spikes. The authors state, “It is evident that within a healthy deer

Yearling spikes will usually turn into good solid bucks if allowed to grow to maturity.

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Photo by Wyman Meinzer Poor nutrition and drought are the most common reasons why a buck may be a spike or three point his first year. Most deer scientists do not believe that spikes are genetically inferior.

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Photo by Rita Mae Frey

COMMON SENSE SPIKE MANAGEMENT

In an unbalanced or overpopulated deer herd, spike harvest is usually not recommended.

the late birth and/or the mother’s age. Buck fawns that are the offspring of young does or late-bred does are more likely to have spikes as yearlings. Yearling does, bred as fawns do not give as much milk, which is a nutritional disadvantage to their offspring.

Some scientists believe that social overcrowding causes stress which affects hormones and leads to poor antler development. This possible cause is poorly understood but warrants additional study.

Based on studies at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area and other places, scientists agree that genetics plays an important role in antler development. It is clear that in highly controlled breeding operations, selective mating can have a tremendous impact on antler development and future antler genetics. However, in wild populations, most scientists, including those from Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute say that genetics is not influenced to a perceptible degree by selection or culling.

The consensus of top scientists is that genetic effects are usually masked by

SPIKE HARVEST DETRIMENTAL WHEN THESE CONDITIONS PREVAIL

SPIKE HARVEST BENEFICIAL WHEN THESE CONDITIONS PREVAIL • • • • • •

Surplus of yearling bucks Good buck age structure Good habitat / good nutrition Favorable rainfall Good fawn crops Good sex ratio

environmental factors. According to noted whitetail scientist John Ozoga, “Variations in climate, nutrition, social behavior, birth date, age of mother and other factors are more important than genetics in determining the quality of a buck’s first set of antlers.”

According to Bryant and Gore, “There are a number of well-intentioned but misinformed hunters practicing 30/06 deer management on spikes as a cure-all for antler improvement. By simply culling spikes, the hunter may be creating as many problems as he is likely to solve.”

• • • • • •

Shortage of bucks Poor buck age structure Poor nutrition Recent drought Poor fawn crops Poor sex ratio

A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE My own perspectives about spikes have evolved and changed over the years.

In the early days I believed that spikes were genetically inferior and should be aggressively removed to improve antler development in future generations. This was the prevailing thought in the 1980s, based on studies that seemed irrefutable involving selective breeding of pen-raised deer. During those years I personally harvested many spikes and recommended that others do likewise to improve the deer herd.

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Photo by Wyman Meinzer

COMMON SENSE SPIKE MANAGEMENT

The harvest of yearling spikes can be beneficial or detrimental to the deer herd depending on several factors.

Then in the late 1980s, I was asked to analyze 15 years of meticulous harvest records from a large ranch in central Texas.

They had done exactly as their biologist had instructed, killing every spike they saw as well as other recommended herd management practices. However, after 15 years, the number and size of mature bucks did not improve. After culling hundreds of so-called inferior spike bucks, the hunters and the ranch owner were dissatisfied with the results of their management and sought a second opinion.

After pouring over the records on over 1,000 bucks, it became apparent why they were not harvesting many large antlered bucks. The high harvest of spike bucks, year after year was materially reducing the number of bucks graduating into the older age classes. There simply were not many bucks making it to 4½ years or older.

Furthermore, on this ranch, nutrition was 42 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

compromised by a high population of goats.

Most years, there was an abundance of spikes, and most of these were being removed by well-meaning hunters. The weak links were nutrition and the age of bucks. No matter how many spikes were culled, it was never going to improve the deer herd. The ranch needed to address the habitat-nutrition problem and to stop killing so many yearling bucks. The ranch was guilty of following the popular onesize-fits-all form of management.

A few years later I became heavily involved in the Riley Mountain Wildlife Management Association in Llano County.

At the beginning, the deer herd was overpopulated, the sex ratio was skewed, the age structure of bucks was poor and fawn crops were low. Body weights were low, antlers were small and spikes were plentiful. Obviously, the population had to be reduced. The landowners and hunters

DECEMBER 2018

were anxious to get on board with a new management program.

Over the next several years, hunters harvested large numbers of does and the deer population was cut in half. The habitat began to respond with abundant new growth. Nutrition increased and the proportion of spikes decreased. Yearling spikes were not harvested in order to build the number of bucks graduating into the older age classes. Within several years, hunters were harvesting an impressive number of mature bucks and antler quality was surprisingly good without supplemental feeding.

No one would ever have thought those bucks came from low-fenced ranches in Llano County. The genetics for excellent antlers had always been present; the deer herd and habitat simply needed to be managed better.

COMMON SENSE SPIKE MANAGEMENT

TODAY I continue to be involved in successful deer management on numerous ranches in central and west Texas. I have learned to appreciate that each ranch is different and that each needs custom fitted deer management. Even ranches that are in close proximity often require different management including how spikes are managed. There is also year-to-year variation in management on a given ranch due to rainfall, drought, wildfire, disease and other factors. Spikes are best managed on a case-by-case and year-by-year basis.

During and after periods of drought, low fawn crops, or high predation rates, spikes are not harvested in order to build buck numbers. If age structure is poor, spikes are not harvested in order to build buck age. If the sex ratio is unbalanced the emphasis is on doe harvest; spikes are usually not removed. In cases where the managers wish to produce larger numbers of middle age bucks rather than fewer mature bucks, spike harvest is usually not recommended.

Harvesting spikes under these conditions will often be counterproductive.

However, if the habitat is good, the herd is well balanced (sex ratio, age structure, fawn crop) and there is a surplus of yearling bucks, then spikes are often included as part of the total buck harvest. In some cases, spike harvest becomes essential, not for genetic reasons but to keep the herd in balance. When there is an over-abundance of yearling bucks, it makes good sense to remove some of the surplus young bucks that may have reduced antler potential later in life. On these ranches, there are plenty of yearling bucks with four to eight points which will usually produce larger antlers at maturity compared to spikes. This is the perspective advocated by Brothers and Ray and by a growing number of progressive deer managers.

CONCLUSION The spike controversy has confounded Texas deer management for too long and now may be a good time for hunters and

landowners to consider a more common sense understanding about spikes. There can be both risks and rewards to spike harvest and it is important to know when it is detrimental and when it is beneficial.

Those who are honestly seeking to find a logical solution will be pleasantly surprised that there is a balanced approach that is being successfully used on many ranches.

Regardless of your position about spikes, the more important consideration is habitat management. Most “spike problems� are merely a symptom of nutritional and habitat troubles. By keeping deer populations in balance, with good grazing practices and habitat management, the number and percentage of spikes will be reduced. There will always be spikes in every wild deer herd. No amount of culling will ever change that, but in a well-balanced deer herd there is a legitimate place for spike harvest in some years.

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COLLATERAL COYOTE Article by TERRY CLAPP Photos by RUSSELL GRAVES

T

COYOTE OR DEER he weight of an uneventful morning of deer hunting was taking a toll on my eyelids. I was on my favorite deer stand 45 minutes before official sunrise. Now the predawn landscape was making its daily metamorphosis into tree lines and landmarks I was ever so familiar with, but still not a deer to be seen. Sunlight filtering through the eastern sky was quietly erasing the promise of monster bucks.

The adrenaline rush that comes with each new day of deer season coupled with this morning’s sighting of a doe and her fawn faded. The warmer than average weather and the comfort of the stand were a hunter’s lullaby begging me to sleep. As my heavy eyelids closed, my head nodded forward enough to catch 46 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

DECEMBER 2018

my attention and my eyes opened just enough to catch the vision of a running coyote.

What’s going on? It’s 11 a.m. and a coyote is passing by in the open field about 300 yards in front of my blind. Wow! What an unexpected sighting! The adrenaline jolt opened my mind along with my eyes to the collateral coyote.

THE DEER STAND Shooting coyotes from a deer stand had not been on my deer hunting radar until now. My thinking of those long uneventful hours in the stand as one ever lingering challenge had changed about as quick as a congressman changes his promises. And heaven forbid that I should shoot my rifle during those critical

C O L L AT E R A L C OYO T E

deer hunting hours at any other wildlife than deer. But somehow seeing that coyote was a game changer for me.

Had my age finally caught up with me and pushed me so far behind the shooting coyote learning curve that I wouldn’t shoot one during deer season? No! In a flash, my eyes had been opened in more ways than one. I determined right then and there the next coyote I saw was going to get shot.

The rest of the day was uneventful for deer and coyotes until right before dark.

At first, I heard almost simultaneously two coyote packs howling back and forth. Then low and behold a third pack howled in the distance. I had heard two packs in the area before but never had I heard three. At this point, the idea of taking a collateral coyote was making more and more sense.

THE DOLDRUMS In the next few days of an uneventful deer season, one coyote kept taunting me.

He was the lightest color coyote I had ever seen. His unique color left no doubt in my mind that this morning was the third time I had crossed paths with him this deer season. One of those three times he was traveling with a buddy.

Now in the absence of sighting any nice white-tailed bucks, he inadvertently pushed me over the edge of my shooting abyss. I was taking this shot no matter the impact on my deer season. My hope for this hunt was a nice buck but maybe a coyote was my destiny.

With minimal movement, I placed my folded hunting jacket over the deer stand’s metal window frame. The padding

enabled me to quietly ease my new .300 Blackout into a bench rest-like shooting position. The rifle handled 125 grain factory loads very well with tight groups at the 150 yard zero.

By now, the 128-yard target was moving making his way through a small hay field.

It was well within my shot comfort zone. I was usually eager to take a shot. The target needed only to pause or, better yet, stop for me to put the .300 Blackout in action.

Unfortunately for this coyote, our number two deer stand sits just feet away from a fence line intersection. Coyotes seem to like paths. Fence lines provide them with easy access funnels from thicket to field to woods. He had showed himself in the hay field just across the east west fence line.

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C O L L AT E R A L C OYO T E

He didn’t see me as I eased my binoculars up for a closer look.

It looked like he was hunting and sure enough his ears perked up as he did the classic spring high into the air pounce that coyotes do so well. Although the pounce was a perfect 10 for style, it was unsuccessful for prey. He continued to hunt as I witnessed one more pounce before he disappeared in the taller grass.

TRIGGER TIME Instinctively I repositioned myself in the stand to the side that I felt would offer me the best shot opportunity should he return to the thicket’s near side. I hadn’t seen any deer all morning but movement caught my eye at the point where I thought the coyote had entered the thicket. Although I was dreaming of deer, I saw the gray ghost of a coyote sitting at the edge of the cedars. If he covered the 60 yards of open field he would escape by moving into an area off limits for hunting.

48 T E X A S W I L D L I F E

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Having rehearsed this shot in my mind, I was ready. He sat just long enough for me to acquire him in the scope before he started across the field. He was in a casual coyote trot but broadside to me. I was in the scope on target, but I waited preferring a standing shot.

He covered the first 30 yards across the field quickly, so my 60yard shot window was closing. At the fence line where the field melted into another cedar-filled thicket, a costly pause provided the opportunity for a fatal shot. My new deer rifle dropped the coyote in his tracks.

No doubt about it being a certified codger at 73 helps you make decisions—right or wrong. I had burst out of the deer hunting doldrums of spending eight to 10hours a day in the stand afraid to make a sound. I had opened a new chapter in my hunting from a deer stand adventures. My question was simple. Why did this shooting epiphany take so long to come tome?

C O L L AT E R A L C OYO T E

Spontaneously taking a coyote under deer hunting field conditions is a memorable event. I can’t think of a better way to break out of the deer hunting doldrums. Added to that is the terrific benefit you get in taking a shot from the stand with your deer rifle in a real time hunting harvest mode.

How many seasons have passed you by without a deer shot opportunity? So now, not later, add a coyote during deer season to your shot menu. It’s a win-win for the hunter either with a deer or coyote or both in the mix.

THE PARADIGM SHIFT Adding a new dynamic that includes the possibility of additional trigger time to any hunt is noteworthy. Shooting a collateral coyote from a deer stand was surreal at first. Now after a second deer season, with a current total of three coyotes taken over two deer seasons, it is part of the fabric of the deer hunt.

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Favorite Campfire Cooking Recipes Article and photo by WHITNEY KLENZENDORF

M

erry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! I hope y’all are getting to spend time outside this season. One of our traditions around this time at the ranch is to have a campfire, and so I thought I’d share some of my favorite campfire recipes.

DUTCH OVEN BREAKFAST PIZZA WITH VENISON PAN SAUSAGE (This would be perfect to have right after coming in from a morning hunt.)

INGREDIENTS: • 1 lb. ground venison sausage • 1 green bell pepper, chopped • 1 white onion, chopped • 8 oz. sliced mushrooms • 24 oz. canned biscuits • 8 eggs • 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped • 8 oz. shredded mozzarella • 8 oz. other cheese For this recipe you will need 24 charcoal briquettes. Coat the Dutch oven in a thin layer of bacon grease. Once the coals are hot, move them to a clear space beside the fire, and place your Dutch oven directly on top of them. Allow the oven a minute or two to heat up, and then brown the onions, sausage and bell peppers. Use a slotted spoon to move these to a separate container and drain any remaining liquid in the Dutch oven. Lay the biscuits down across the bottom of the oven.

Spoon the sausage mixture on top. Beat the eggs and pour over the sausage and vegetables, and then top with tomatoes and cheese. Cover and place eight coals under the oven and 16 coals on top of the lid. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve with

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sriracha or salsa. (For Dutch oven cooking guidance, see my blog linked at the end of this article.)

HOBO DINNERS (AKAFOIL DINNERS) Foil dinners are one of my basic, go-to campfire recipes. They take me back to being a kid, sitting on a log at summer camp and eating them with a spork. They are made with Worcestershire sauce—and anything made with Worcestershire sauce is usually good enough for me. This meal is good for crowds because everyone can customize their own meal, and the cleanup is a cinch.

EQUIPMENT: • Heavy duty foil • Permanent marker • Large metal spatula or tongs (for getting in/out of fire) INGREDIENTS: • Ground beef or venison • Thinly sliced potatoes (frozen hash browns are delicious here) • Thinly sliced carrots • Diced onions • Kraft singles • Ketchup • Mustard • Worcestershire sauce • Salt & Pepper On a large square of foil, layer the ingredients above starting with the ground beef. The beef cooks best if it’s patted down thin or torn into small pieces. Wrap up the foil package in a way that’s secure and won’t leak juices into the campfire. Write your name on top in permanent marker.

DECEMBER 2018

Once the fire is hot and the coals are red, spread the coals out slightly to create a bed for the meals. Cook for 20 minutes or until beef is to your liking. One great thing about this meal is the variations that can be done — bell pepper and mushrooms are great additions, for instance.

DESSERT Cap off your campfire dinner with one of my favorite s’more recipes: homemade chocolate chip cookies with marshmallows that have been roasted over the fire. For ultimate s’more perfection, make sure the cookies are soft and thin. These are pretty hard to beat!

Whitney is a 6th generation Texan in Austin, Texas. She shares guidance for hiking, hunting and camping on her blog, www.WhitsWilderness.com. Follow her on social media @whitswilderness.

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