Texas Wildlife - Fired Up for Big Bucks - November 2021

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

Fired Up for

Big Bucks

NOVEMBER 2021

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

CEO COMMENTS JUSTIN DREIBELBIS

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.

N

ovember is one of my favorite months. Not only does it usually bring the year's first meaningful cold front to central Texas, but as every TWA member knows, it also marks the beginning of the general white-tailed deer season. This time-honored tradition brings important financial resources to our rural Texas economies, countless outdoor memories for Texas hunters and their families and millions of pounds of wild, sustainable food for the freezer.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a hunting family where my dad made a point of taking me and my brothers afield every chance he had. The lessons we learned and relationships we built on those trips continue to serve us well today.

My hunting story is not unique within our TWA family. Most of us had an early relationship with the land because someone made the effort to take us hunting as kids.

I strongly believe that is one of the main reasons we value wild things and wild places as deeply as we do.

As we start our season, it is important for us all to remember that most Texans did not—and do not—have the opportunity to grow up hunting. I challenge each TWA member to introduce someone, no matter their age, to hunting this season.

These introductions can take many forms. Host an adult mentored hunt on your ranch. Volunteer on a TYHP hunt. Take a friend from work to the lease for a weekend hog hunt or allow a friend of your grandchild to tag along on a family hunt and harvest a doe along the way. Whatever the approach, I assure you the effort will be appreciated by the new hunter, and the relationship they will build with the land will do nothing but help our Texas natural resources in the future.

On a personal and professional note, I'm excited to rejoin the team here at TWA. As many of you know, I started my career in the Conservation Legacy program and have continued to work closely with many members and staff since leaving the association in 2014. TWA has been a big part of my life over the past 20 years, and I’m honored to serve the organization in this new capacity.

Thanks for being a TWA member. Together, we will continue working hard for Texas wildlife and the landowners and hunters who love them.

Best wishes on a safe and successful hunting season.

OFFICERS Sarah Biedenharn, President, San Antonio Jonathan Letz, Vice President, Comfort Dr. Louis Harveson, Second Vice President for Programs, Alpine Nyle Maxwell, Treasurer, Georgetown For a complete list of TWA Directors, go to www.texas-wildlife.org

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

Outreach & Member Services David Brimager, Director of Public Relations Kristin Parma, Membership Coordinator Mimi Sams, Engagement Coordinator

Conservation Legacy and Hunting Heritage Programs Kassi Scheffer-Geeslin, Director of Formal Education Elanor Dean, Conservation Education Specialist Peggy Maxwell, Conservation Education Specialist Gwen Eishen, Conservation Educator Adrienne Paquette, Conservation Educator Elisa Velador, Conservation Educator Ali Kuehn, Conservation Educator Susannah Becken, Conservation Legacy Program Assistant Marla Wolf, Curriculum Specialist Iliana Peña, Director of Conservation Programs Amanda Gobeli, Conservation Education Specialist Chad Timmons, Conservation Education Specialist COL(R) Chris Mitchell, Texas Youth Hunting Program Director Bob Barnette, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Briana Nicklow, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Kim Hodges, TYHP Program Coordinator Sherry Herrington, TYHP Administrative Assistant 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, 6644 FM 1102, New Braunfels, TX 78132. E-mail address: twa@texas-wildlife.org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Wildlife Association, 6644 FM 1102, New Braunfels, TX 78132. 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 2021 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 2021

6644 FM 1102 New Braunfels, TX 78132 www.texas-wildlife.org (210) 826-2904 FAX (210) 826-4933 (800) 839-9453 (TEX-WILD)

Texas Wildlife

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

NOVEMBER VOLUME 37

H

8 Fired Up for Big Bucks

NUMBER 7

H

2021

26 Borderlands News

by STEVE NELLE

Seasonal Ranges of Female Aoudads and Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Trans-Pecos

14 Hunting Heritage

by JOSE L. ETCHART, CARLOS E. GONZALEZ, JUSTIN T. FRENCH, and LOUIS A. HARVESON

In Memory of Huntmaster Gene Roush

30 Law of the Land

16 Lessons From Leopold

Renewable Energy

Doing the Right Thing

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

by STEVE NELLE

34 Hunting Approval Hits All-Time High

18 Conservation Legacy

High Marks for Hunting Means New Opportunities

When Formal Education Meets Natural Resources Conservation

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

by MARLA WOLF

40 Salineño Wildlife Preserve

22 Guns & Shooting

Small Acreage, Big Impact

Taking Aim

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

by LUKE CLAYTON

46 Hybrid Vigor in Land and

23 Members In Action

Wildlife Management

In The Mix

by STEVE NELLE

by KRISTIN PARMA

54 Outdoor Traditions

24 Pond Management

Turkey Hunting Memories

Thank You, Texas Pond Owners

by SALLIE LEWIS

by BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, PH.D.

Photo by Wyman Meinzer

Magazine Staff

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

Justin Dreibelbis, Executive Editor Kim Rothe, Consulting Publications Coordinator/Editor

Photo by Hector Astorga

Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor

Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO

On the Cover Most hunters get fired up this time of year at the prospects of big bucks. When done correctly, prescribed burning can be an important part of the overall land stewardship plan, and it can help provide the nutrition needed to grow bigger bucks. To find out more about how fire can be used to enhance deer nutrition and grow bigger bucks, read more from Steve Nelle in his article “Fired Up for Big Bucks,” starting on page 8.

MAGAZINE CORPS

David Brimager, Advertising Director

NOVEMBER 2021

Fired Up for

Big Bucks

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

5

TEXAS WILDLIFE

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2021-2022 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at tpwd.state.tx.us.

NOVEMBER 2021

MAY 2022

JUNE 2022

NOVEMBER 15, 2021 TWA Member Mixer, Krause’s Cafe, New Braunfels, TX. For more information, contact Kristin Parma at kparma@texas-wildlife.org or (800) 839-9453.

MAY 21, 2022 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman's Celebration, Brazos Expo Center, College Station. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org

JUNE 25, 2022 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman’s Celebration, Fiddler’s on the Gruene, New Braunfels. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

DECEMBER 2021

JUNE 2022

JULY 2022

DECEMBER 13, 2021 TWA 5th Annual Houston Sporting Clays Shoot, Greater Houston Gun Club. For more information, visit www.texas-wildlife.org.

JUNE 4, 2022 Texas Big Game Awards Sportsman’s Celebration, Thompson Student Center, Tarleton State University, Stephenville. For more information,visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

JULY 14-17, 2022 WildLife 2022, TWA’s 37th Annual Convention, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, contact David Brimager at (800) 839-9453 or dbrimager@texas-wildlife.org.

DECEMBER 20, 2021 TWA Member Mixer, Krause’s Cafe, New Braunfels, TX. For more information, contact Kristin Parma at kparma@texas-wildlife.org or (800) 839-9453.

TEXAS WILDLIFE

C O N S E R VAT I O N L E G A C Y Y O U T H P R O G R A M M I N G VISIT THE PROGRAM PAGES ONLINE AT www.texas-wildlife.org/program-areas/category/youth for specifics and registration information.

YOUTH DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: • Youth Videoconferences are live interactive presentations featuring Texas wildlife species. Offered throughout the semester, classes connect via videoconference equipment or Zoom.

• On-demand Webinars are recorded interactive presentations about natural resources and wildlife conservation topics and are available anytime on the TWA website.

WILDLIFE BY DESIGN ACROSS TEXAS CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS: • (Virtual) Wildlife by Design Across Texas is for schools outside of the areas served by TWA educators (DFW area, Greater Houston area, South Texas and West Texas). Programs are offered on a set schedule and registration is required in advance.

Critter Connections are now available in a read-along format. Recordings of past issues are available online and are created for each new issue.

6 TEXAS WILDLIFE

NOVEMBER 2021

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7

Photo by Wyman Meinzer

FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS

8 TEXAS WILDLIFE

NOVEMBER 2021

FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS Article by STEVE NELLE

M

ost hunters get fired up this time of year at the prospects of big bucks. Hunters have been thinking and planning all year long how best to hunt their favorite areas. They have caught glimpses of large phantom bucks and have found some massive sheds. All they can think about is a possible encounter with their dream buck and hopefully a clear view and a clean shot.

But behind the thrill and uncertainty of the hunt is the dayto-day management of the land which sustains the herd. The way in which the land is managed determines whether the deer herd is likely to produce the kinds of bucks that hunters dream of. While any buck can be a trophy and any hunt can be a trophy hunt, every hunter knows that the size of the antlers matters.

Deer managers understand the importance of nutrition for healthy deer and good antler growth. Scientific study and

real-life experience have demonstrated that good nutrition is a primary factor for the development of large antlers, healthy deer and good fawn crops. It boils down to a simple and undeniable truth: the ranches that provide the best nutrition produce the biggest bucks. And it’s no secret that prescribed burning is one good way to help grow bigger bucks.

While many landowners and hunters utilize supplemental feed to provide added nutrition, a growing number of deer managers have learned that prescribed fire is an effective and natural way to boost nutrition and antler development. Deer nutrition is a combination of two things: a high yearlong supply of forage and high-quality forage that delivers protein, energy and minerals.

Fire operates in four different ways to enhance deer nutrition and grow bigger bucks:

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FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS

Photo by Wyman Meinzer

INCREASED FORBS The most nutritionally complete deer food are broadleaf flowering herbs known as forbs. Fire can be used to increase forb production.

In some cases, an excessive buildup of old grass inhibits forb growth. When grass is too thick, especially old dry grass, forbs will be smothered and shaded. Fire removes or reduces dense old grass which in turn allows more sunlight penetration which encourages the growth of many species of high nutrition forbs.

This forb boost includes annuals such as tallow weed, filaree, bladderpod and deer vetch as well as deep rooted perennial forbs such as bush sunflower, bundleflower, snoutbean and Engelmann daisy. Forbs typically provide excellent deer forage with protein content of 15 percent to 30 percent depending on their growth stage.

UPGRADED FORAGE VALUE Fire temporarily transforms low-value deer food plants into high-value plants.

Plants such as persimmon, whitebrush, algerita, catclaw, pricklyash, lotebush and Texas wintergrass are normally not heavily grazed by deer, but following fire, these plants are readily consumed and provide enhanced nutrition for several months. This consumption of low-value browse gives some temporary relief and added growth potential to the higher value browse plants.

INCREASED NUTRITIONAL QUALITY The new growth of shrubs following fire is considerably higher in protein, energy and mineral content compared to unburned shrubs. The faster a plant grows, the higher its nutritional value will be during the period of rapid growth. Burning normally produces rapid compensatory growth as shrubs try to regain their canopy as quickly as possible.

The increased quality is temporary but significant, lasting anywhere from two to eight months after the burn for most browse species. Studies show that crude protein often is increased by five to 10 percentage points.

When considered on a pasture basis, it amounts to a very substantial increase in nutrition. Hunters often notice a visible increase in antler size the first year after a burn due to enhanced nutrition.

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NOVEMBER 2021

Photo by Steve Nelle

INCREASED BROWSE AVAILABILITY Fire injures or kills the top growth of shrubs forcing them to re-sprout new growth from the base. Across much of Texas the majority of browse is beyond the reach of deer and therefore of no direct food benefit.

On many ranches, half or more of the browse is unavailable.

After shrubs are top-killed by fire, all of the new re-growth is available to deer thus greatly increasing the quantity of accessible forage. It is not uncommon to see a doubling or tripling of available browse as a result of burning.

INCREASED CARRYING CAPACITY Carrying capacity refers to the land's ability to safely support a given number of animals without causing damage to the vegetation. Carrying capacity varies from season to season and year to year based mostly on rainfall, so there is no way to assign a fixed number such as 15 acres per deer. However, no matter the number, an ongoing program of burning can materially increase carrying capacity due in large part to greater available browse production.

Consider this example: A 500-acre pasture has a moderate shrub canopy of several desirable browse species; however, most of it has grown beyond the deer's reach and only 30 percent of the browse is available. Total productivity is high but usable browse is low.

Too much grass smothers forbs.

FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS

Within the first year after burning, the amount of usable browse is substantially higher, and the average protein level is temporarily boosted from 10 percent to about 16 percent. By the end of the second year, usable browse is more than twice as much as before the burn.

If burning is staggered across the entire ranch and repeated as needed, the increase in deer carrying capacity is impressive.

More deer can safely be supported on the same acres.

BURNING FOR DEER HABITAT The ideal way to incorporate burning for improved deer habitat is to always have some freshly burned areas within about every 2,500-acre block of land while still retaining plenty of good brushy cover. A fresh burn is one that is up to two years old and most of the browse is still in the vigorous regrowth stage. The fresher the burn, the greater the nutritional benefit.

Photo by Steve Nelle

Photo by Steve Nelle

FORBS AFTER FIRE

Photo by Ricky Linex

Bundleflower

Photo by Steve Nelle

Bush sunflower

Sensitive briar

Tubetongue

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS

Photo by Steve Nelle

Photo by Wyman Meinzer

Depending on brush canopy, topography and other factors, burning of 10-20 percent of a ranch every one or two years is often a practical way to maintain freshly burned areas for deer.

In most cases, an entire pasture or a significant size block should be burned rather than smaller patches. Patch burning can be useful for managing quail habitat but is not usually recommended for deer due to the overbrowsing that is inevitable on small, burned areas.

If brushy cover is marginal, burns should be smaller, less frequent and under cooler conditions. If there is plenty of dense brush, fires can be larger. The more arid the region, the less frequently land should be burned.

Where there is a serious overpopulation of deer, burning is not recommended. First work to reduce the population, then think about burning. Where there are way too many deer, burning is likely to result in the loss of the best browse plants since they will be completely vulnerable to continuous overbrowsing.

Browse regrowth just three months after fire.

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DOWNSIDE OF BURNING The fire's merits are now widely known, and fire has been heavily promoted in Texas for the past 30 years. Prior to that, fire was discouraged or neglected as a management tool.

The pendulum has swung; now sometimes fire is overpromoted to the point that it is perceived as a panacea. While fire is a good and useful practice when properly carried out, there are some side effects to be considered, just as with all other practices.

Excessive burning or burning under too hot, too dry conditions can be detrimental and do more harm than good.

This was the case for a prescribed burn in Kimble County that unintentionally caused a lot of damage. The pasture had been rested from grazing for two years to build up a good grass cover.

Conditions were very dry in late winter, but we were optimistic that some spring rains would come. The burn was intense and killed nearly all of the small cedar and reduced much of the underbrush. In that respect, it was successful.

Unfortunately, the anticipated spring rains did not come, and the 800-acre pasture was as barren as the moon for three months. Most of the existing grass plants died. Finally, some good summer rain was received; but, without any grass or litter cover, soil erosion was extreme, and many tons of dark topsoil washed away.

The grasses eventually came back from seed, but it took three years to recover. The harsh fire and the dry conditions that followed also killed most of the mountain mahogany, which was an abundant and important browse plant. We did a lot of unintentional harm by burning under too dry and too harsh conditions that were followed by a dry period.

Hot fires remove the protective layer of residual grass and leaf litter which protects the soil surface. Think of the litter layer as a blanket which protects against erosion and temperature extremes while enhancing soil health.

When the litter is removed, the soil is left unprotected and vulnerable. It normally takes three years to re-establish the litter blanket since it is composed of current year, previous year and 2-year-old plant residue each in different decompositional stages.

Think of the litter layer like a covering of mulch across the pasture that is slowly becoming soil organic matter. Disrupting the litter blanket too frequently leads to increased erosion, decreased rainfall infiltration and diminished soil condition.

Next time you are in the pasture, study the litter layer that exists between grass plants and under woody plants. It is one of the most under-appreciated parts of healthy land.

SOIL MOISTURE One of the primary requisites for effective habitat burning is to burn only when there is existing soil moisture. Soil moisture at the time of the burn will virtually guarantee an initial recovery of grass and forbs. The soil surface does not need to be wet, but there should be enough moisture at six to twelve inches to sustain plant growth.

Photo by Steve Nelle

FIRED UP FOR BIG BUCKS

Burning can help provide the nutrition needed to grow bigger bucks.

A lack of moisture will retard the recovery and can result in the death of grasses if dry conditions persist. Do not take the risk of burning during drought or when soil moisture is lacking.

If the long-range forecast is for drought and if no soil moisture is present, postpone the burn until a more favorable rainfall pattern returns.

OTHER BENEFITS AND CONSIDERATIONS In addition to deer habitat improvement, fire is also beneficial for killing small blueberry cedar, reduce pricklypear and tasajillo and for temporarily reducing low brush canopy, thus improving visibility for hunting and livestock management. Fire also stimulates the germination of some species, so over time, burned habitat may contain more plant diversity than unburned areas.

Fire is not the easiest tool to use, but it is well worth the time it takes to learn how to burn. Where the landowner lacks the skill or experience, assistance is available from local Prescribed Burn Associations, paid contractors or government agencies.

Fire is not an inexpensive practice to apply, but the benefits to be gained are usually worth the investment required.

As beneficial as fire can be, prescribed burning is not used as a stand-alone practice. It is effective when used in combination with sound grazing management, selective brush control and good deer herd management. Like any other habitat management technique, fire must be used carefully and skillfully for good results.

Most landowners who have used burning are pleased with the results and are anxious to use it again. When done correctly, it can be an important part of the overall land stewardship plan, and it can help provide the nutrition needed to grow bigger bucks.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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In Memory of Huntmaster Gene Roush

T

he Texas Wildlife Association and the Texas Youth Hunting Program honor the life and contributions of Gene Roush, a long-serving TYHP Huntmaster, who died on May 13, 2021.

Roush, a veteran who was very proud of his service as a paratrooper in the famed 82nd Airborne Division, was instrumental in building the North Texas TYHP volunteer base and, in coordinating with Cabelas®, in sponsoring the blaze orange TYHP hats for more than 15 years. He was also a prolific recruiter of hunting properties for TYHP. Some of the properties he enlisted over a decade ago still host hunts to this day.

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Roush served as TYHP Area Coordinator for more than eight years and as Lead Huntmaster for 18 years. His impact on Texas youths and his fellow volunteers was tremendous—and his example is one we should all emulate. Thank you to Roush’s wife Billie for loaning us Gene for so many weekend hunts.

As his friend and fellow TYHP volunteer Mike Ciaccio, said, “Gene is gone but not forgotten.”

Rest well good and faithful servant. ~COL(R) Chris Mitchell, Texas Youth Hunting Program Director

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Photo Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives

Doing the Right Thing

BY STEVE NELLE

Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching—even when doing the wrong thing is legal. ~Aldo Leopold

T

here are at least two kinds of wrong when it comes to personal ethics—those things which are always wrong because they are illegal and those things which are not legally wrong but which may be ethically wrong or at least questionable. These are life's gray areas, and there are plenty of gray areas when it comes to hunting, fishing and land management.

For people who are properly trained in right and wrong, illegal things are always unethical. No debate required. Killing over the limit of dove or quail is unethical no matter what. Baiting waterfowl is illegal and therefore wrong and unethical whether you agree or not.

But some things can be completely legal and still be unethical and that is what Leopold is talking about here. It is the internal law of personal ethics and boundaries that are being discussed, not what the regulations dictate.

These gray area ethics can be complicated. What is acceptable for one person might be wrong for another. What is okay as a youth might be off limits as an adult. What is ethically taboo in one place can be customary in another.

For some seasoned deer hunters, hunting with scoped rifle from a fancy blind and automatic corn feeder has become for them no longer ethical. They may prefer less sophisticated weapons

and/or hunting methods which require greater woodsmanship and patience.

For some fishermen, fly fishing has become the more challenging, ethical and satisfying method of angling.

Within any group there will be varying degrees of ethical standards and we should respect the ethics of others in these gray areas even if we personally have different standards.

Killing a 250-inch buck that was bred, born and raised in a pen, then released into the wild would be unethical to many but is considered fair hunting by others. Leopold spoke of “chicken wire slums” to show his personal disdain for the shooting of game birds that had been artificially reared and released for hunting. Yet the practice persists today with many enthusiastic participants who have no ethical qualms about it.

It is not illegal to set up your deer blind and feeder near your neighbor’s boundary, but it is considered to be unethical and un-neighborly. It is not illegal to power your 200-horsepower bass boat full speed in front of bank fishermen, but it is unethical and creates ill will between people who share an equal love of fishing.

Our ethical standards often change with age, experience and maturity.

Taking young children to a catfish farm to experience the thrill of catching lots

of fish is just fine ethically for most, but as adults, some find it too easy and too artificial and prefer the challenge of fishing a river pursuing wild catfish.

It is legal to plant a monoculture of an exotic invasive grass (and the government will even help pay for it). But should it be considered ethical if these grasses are likely to spill over to your neighbor’s land and encroach into his native grass? Some will rationalize that it provides good forage and good soil protection. (We often go to great lengths to justify our ethics).

Likewise, it is perfectly legal to kill every broadleaf weed and every stick of brush on your land. But for many, this would not be ethical since it deprives birds and game of the food and cover they need.

One of the criteria for establishing ethical standards is how our behavior is perceived by outsiders. If my actions offend others, should I consider modifying my ethics for the good of hunting and fishing? It often boils down to restricting your freedoms and rights in order to accomplish a higher good.

As we head to the woods and rivers, let us not only hone our hunting and fishing skills and our knowledge and understanding of nature, but let us also hone and refine the ethics that guide our actions.

WRITER’S NOTE: Aldo Leopold (1887—1948) is considered the father of modern wildlife management. More importantly, he developed and described many of the concepts of conservation, ecology and stewardship of natural resources. Leopold was an amazingly astute observer of the land and man’s relationship to the land. His writings have endured the test of time and have proven to be remarkably prophetic and relevant to today’s issues. This bimonthly column will feature thought-provoking philosophies of Aldo Leopold, as well as commentary.

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When Formal Education Meets Natural Resources Conservation Article by TWA Curriculum Specialist MARLA WOLF Photos courtesy of MARLA WOLF, TWA Curriculum Specialist and CONSERVATION LEGACY

Marla Wolf, TWA Curriculum Specialist

L

ooking back at my long teaching career, I witnessed many changes in education. The distinctive "ahha" moments I experienced throughout my journey from formal educator to a curriculum writer who specializes in science lessons emphasizing natural resources and land stewardship are even more striking.

During the early 1990s, my first ah-ha impactful moment occurred. A student named Danny remains at the forefront of my mind.

He was a troubled sixth grade boy with a wiry frame, dark blue eyes and cropped brown hair. Even though Danny had significant emotional issues and presented daily challenges, he managed to change the teaching style of this science teacher, forever.

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Until Danny, I believed I had the ability to form rewarding relationships with all of my students. State standards did not exist and science curriculum was limited, so I taught using the state-adopted science book. Filled with anger, Danny rarely completed assignments, and it was not unusual for him to drift off to sleep during class.

One day, as the class read about Newton’s Third Law of Motion aloud, Danny threw his book on the floor and blurted out, “This is crap and it means nothing to me.”

Staring intently into his defiant eyes, something inside of TWA’s future curriculum writer ignited. Knowing I had to reach Danny by making the lesson relevant to his life, I lunged for my desk to grab a ball and quickly bounced it.

He smiled, so I bounced the ball several more times. During that moment, I felt nothing but triumph. I had discovered hands-on learning would be the answer to what I had hoped for.

In time, all of my students, including Danny, benefited from multi-sensory learning. As the year continued, Danny was eager to see what was planned for the day and would often come before school to help me prepare.

Danny was proud when he won first place for design and construction of the boat he created, as our class explored buoyancy and density. His floated for the longest time, while supporting the most mass.

Danny became my teacher that year. He taught me that I was in control of the effect I had on my students and that I had to make meaningful teaching choices. With determination, I continued to create science lessons with hands-on experiences.

A few years after teaching Danny, the state mandated that students be taught from a curriculum focused on specific state standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). These standards truly provided teachers with a clearer understanding of what science content to teach in every grade level. I strived to tweak and incorporate many of the hands-on activities I created during and after teaching Danny.

Additionally, I incorporated a sense of respect for others and responsibility into every lesson. It helped students understand the importance of clean up and preparation for the next

WHEN FORMAL EDUCATION MEETS NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION

class. I insisted they return their lab set-up tray cleaner than when they got it. Perhaps this was a precursor to teaching stewardship?

Years later, Danny’s former teacher changed school districts. Little did I know I would become a better, more effective teacher.

The new district had adopted an initiative that specifically focused on the nouns and verbs within the TEKS. At the end of each reporting period, teachers were to give students a district provided Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA), which was created to test specific Student Expectations within the TEKS that had previously been taught.

Unpredictably, this would become another ah-ha moment for me.

Embracing this initiative, I spent hours upon hours studying the TEKS so that

my lessons would focus on the language of the student expectations within the state standards and make student learning relevant to their lives. This practice proved to have a huge impact on student learning. If students missed a particular CBA question, I strived to find a better way to re-teach the concept to the depth and complexity used in the language of the TEKS. After 20 years of teaching middle school, I left the classroom to become an elementary science specialist with a larger district. One of my assigned duties was to writing elementary science curriculum. After creating and teaching lessons that were TEKS-focused I was comfortable with that task—and I had not forgotten to think about meeting the needs of challenging students, much like Danny.

Another aspect of my job was motivating elementary teachers, throughout multiple elementary schools, to teach science. The next ah-ha moment surfaced as I discovered how difficult the task would be.

At that time, many lower elementary teachers were self-contained. Knowing science would not be tested until fifth grade, they tended to push it aside. Many believed they did not have time to teach it and that necessary preparation for handson instruction was far too time consuming.

Gradually, with district-provided curriculum that I and other specialists had written, I helped teachers discover how to manage hands-on learning experiences that were not difficult to prepare and that would help students master specific standards. Although, I was not successful with every teacher, I touched many.

Marla Wolf and students in the early 1990s.

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19

WHEN FORMAL EDUCATION MEETS NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION

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• Quarterly youth magazine of the Texas Wildlife Association o Issues in February, April, September, November • Available in hardcopy and digital formats o Classroom sets and individual subscriptions • Each issue features puzzles, activities, a featured article about native Texas wildlife and so much more!

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Four years later, I, wanting to spend more time with grandchildren, chose to retire. Somehow, I knew I was not finished with education. After several months, I applied for a part-time educator position with TWA. During my interview, as I taught a quick vocabulary strategy, another ah-ha moment emerged. How could I have assumed that my interviewers would have the knowledge and experience with the TEKS as I had acquired? It became apparent as I saw them realize there was much to be learned about curriculum.

To my surprise, I was not hired for the educator position. Instead, I would become TWA's Curriculum Specialist and was soon given a Conservation Legacy notebook containing current lessons. I noticed gaps within the lessons.

Some of the lessons lacked necessary content for children to grasp concepts.

For example, many lessons made reference to the term “habitat.” Knowing that children make connections when content becomes relevant to their lives, the simple mention of the word “habitat” was not enough. Therefore, by making sure to include “basic needs” of

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Sampling Soil Wildlife by Design Presentation

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

NOVEMBER 2021

food, water, shelter and space to make a complete habitat, I knew that children would best relate to their own basic needs to grasp the concept.

Additionally, I knew that many of the lessons primarily focused on natural resources and varied widely in format. This presented another challenge because natural resources were not emphasized within the state standards. Just as I expected, it took a lot of work to create rigorous TEKS-based hands-on lessons that attract teachers, adding strength to the dedicated work of Conservation Legacy.

With Danny forever in my mind, new lessons emerged centering around meaningful science content, including natural resources from a TEKS standpoint. Promoting the protection of land, water and wildlife was difficult.

I had to provide students, as well as teachers, with a desire to protect natural resources by making them relevant to their lives. By doing so, students and teachers alike would become aware of how their own choices impact the environment in both positive and negative ways.

WHEN FORMAL EDUCATION MEETS NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION

I am proud to have influenced the vast array of Conservation Legacy lessons. From Discovery Trunks, On-Demand Webinars and Youth Videoconferences with live animals to Read-along Critter Connections, I often asked myself “How could any teacher not love what TWA offers?”

As time passed, TWA partnered with the East Foundation, to create life and earth science lessons with content-related stewardship messages, known as Stewarding Texas: A Scientific Exploration. It took over two years working with Kassi Scheffer-Geeslin and Elanor Dean to accomplish this task, which boasts over 40 lessons of which they are extremely proud.

In addition, I also worked with TWA Conservation Educators throughout the state. The Conservation Educators do an outstanding job of going into classrooms to teach a variety of recently updated handson lessons known as the Wildlife by Design program.

I was especially excited to create a variety of grade level appropriate presentations to be used for Wildlife by Design from lessons I had originally written as part of Stewarding Texas, known as Sampling Soil.

From my former specialist position, I understood the importance of teaching soil properties to support the TEKS, and I had experienced difficulties in persuading teachers to “get dirty” with their students.

Many resisted the preparation and some lacked content knowledge, so I was quite confident that teachers would gladly welcome TWA Conservation Educators into their classrooms to teach standards relating to soil for them. Without reluctance, I worked to to make each presentation just right for Conservation Educators to prepare, organize for travel, present and clean-up, using quality hands-on instruction that would satisfy state standards.

In addition, I’ve assisted with preparation for highly successful, well-attended summer teacher

workshops, presented by Conservation Educators, both in-person and virtually.

Together, the Conservation Legacy team has accomplished multiple goals that would likely have never happened without the paradigm change presented by our worldwide pandemic.

Through my experiences with TWA, I now realize how necessary it is to teach the importance of natural resources, which I like many Texans once took for granted. I hope the ongoing re-write of science TEKS will include greater student expectations

on natural resources science which will impact core curriculum throughout the state.

Although I am unsure of where my path will lead, this former educator turned natural resource curriculum writer knows that my past formal educational experiences helped prepare me for my current role. I am grateful for every ah-ha moment along the way, including the first one that comes to mind often and makes me want to say, "Thanks, Danny!"

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

GUNS & SHOOTING

Taking Aim Article and photo by LUKE CLAYTON

Jeff Rice takes aim from his hunting blind.

C

hoosing the proper rifle scope to suit your hunting style is every bit as important as the rifle or handgun you are hunting with. In fact, it may be more important.

Most any rifle will shoot a 2-inch or better group at 100 yards “out of the box.”

But a scope that won’t adjust properly or remain in adjustment after sight-in is as worthless as… Well, it’s worse than worthless. A scope that won’t hold its zero causes much frustration and, worse yet, wounded game.

I’ve tried many scopes. Once you decide whether you need a first or second focal plane scope, I'd advise you to do some research to determine a tried and proven brand and get recommendations from long-time hunters and shooters.

The term “first and second focal plane” simply refers to the type of

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

reticle, markings such as dots, crosses or patterns inside the rifle scope used to take aim, installed in the scope.

A FIRST FOCAL PLANE scope has a reticle that enlarges and diminishes the size of the crosshairs as magnification is adjusted.

This is the type of reticle preferred by most shooters/hunters who keep their shots inside 250 yards. It’s very user friendly in most hunting situations, and I’ve found it best for hunters with diminishing eyesight like myself.

These reticles are especially useful with scopes equipped with mil-dots or hash marks used for estimating range.

Many long-range shooters prefer first focal plane but so do hunters; having the crosshairs and target balanced in size at various magnifications is a huge plus for many shooters.

NOVEMBER 2021

With SECOND FOCAL PLANE scopes, the reticle remains the same while targets enlarge and diminish in size as magnification is adjusted. Second focal plane is best suited for scopes that don’t utilize hash marks or mil-dots for range estimation.

There are many excellent optics companies today that make scopes suited for all shooting needs, so many in fact that purchasing a new scope can be a real challenge for an uninformed shooter.

With rifle scopes, as with most things, you get what you pay for. When I was a young shooter with a very limited budget, I used some inexpensive scopes.

Some served me well, but others almost never held their zero; they were so poorly made that the adjustments were not “quarter minute of angle” but simply guesswork as to how many “clicks” it took to move the point of impact one inch.

Some hunters still swear by fixed power scopes, but many seek the advantage of a variable power. I personally like a scope that will crank down to low power for those low-light hunting situations but also crank up to about 10-power for identifying the target at longer ranges.

Rifle scopes, like automobiles or trucks, come with all sorts of bells and whistles.

Do you want or need a day or night digital scope with onboard camera or simply a solid scope to mount on your rifle for daylight shooting out to say 300 yards?

You can get a very serviceable scope for $300 to $400.

For those of you who aren’t “scope savvy,” I recommend you get advice from experienced hunting buddies. Even better, spend a bit of time at the range with them actually shooting with the scope you intend to purchase.

T WA M E M B E R S I N A C T I O N

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

In the Mix

TWA Membership Happy Hour Article and photos by KRISTIN PARMA

T

his summer, Krause’s Café in New Braunfels was the host of a Texas Wildlife Association membership mixer. It was TWA’s first membership event since relocating to the area during heightened COVID restrictions last spring.

TWA members, volunteer leadership and staff came together outside in the lively pavilion and beer garden to reconnect over Shiner Beer and Bavarian pretzels provided by our event sponsors Crockett National Bank and Shiner Beer. Newly appointed TWA

President Sarah Biedenharn welcomed members and spoke of TWA’s continuing work in advocacy, education and hunting heritage. We look forward to sharing TWA’s mission, programs and opportunities with the New Braunfels community and hope to host frequent TWA member events at Krause’s Cafe and all across Texas.

Would you like to host a TWA membership happy hour in your area? We can help! Contact our membership and outreach team at membership@texas-wildlife.org.

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

POND MANAGEMENT

Thank You, Texas Pond Owners Article by DR. BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, Professor Emeritus, The Texas A&M University System

I

Many private bass lakes would benefit from a substantial reduction of small bass, those less than 12 inches long.

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n 1963, a little kid living in the country near Tyler was about to go fishing with his grandfather.

Rain was forecast for that day, so that little boy stayed up almost all night long anxiously checking for signs of rain at the raised bedroom window. Fortunately, the rain did not come as forecast, and he was able to go fishing down the road at Mr. McCameron’s 2-acre pond the next morning.

He caught a 5-pound channel catfish that morning and kept it alive in a bathtub filled with water, so he could show his catch to his dad that night. To say the least, his mother was very understanding.

Fast forward two years later and that same little boy, now 10 years old, literally ate, slept and lived all things fish and fishing. He even had a 20-gallon aquarium in his room stocked with largemouth bass, supplemented weekly with minnows.

That same mother did not seem to mind when bass, minnows or occasionally both jumped out of the tank, landing on the bedroom floor carpet.

One summer day that same year he was able to gain permission to fish a 2-acre pond located on the outskirts of Tyler on property that also housed the Crème Lure Company. Some of you “gray hairs” may recognize the name Nick Crème, who revolutionized bass fishing in the 1950s and 1960s with his invention, the plastic worm.

In those days, the Crème Scoundrel, Shimmy Babe and Shimmy Gal were the go-to hot baits for largemouth bass fishing.

Worm fishing was just catching on, and with Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn just coming online, bass fishing would soon be changed forever.

At every opportunity, that 10-yearold skinny little kid would climb on his stingray bike, tackle box in one hand and

POND MANAGEMENT

fishing rod balanced in the other and pedal as fast as he could to cover the one mile to the Crème Lure Pond.

Now, a little context might be helpful. In the mid-1960s, we were still several years away from the introduction of Florida bass in Texas. It was a very different time, and a 5-pound bass would get your picture in the local newspaper. Catching an eight pounder meant the successful angler instantly became a legend.

It was on one of those summer trips to the Crème Pond that the kid hooked and landed a 5 ½-pound bass on a purple Crème Shimmy Babe. He lit out for the house with his catch, when none other than Nick Crème himself caught sight of the kid and stepped out the front door of the Crème plant, grinning from ear to ear.

He waved the kid over and his grin became even bigger when he learned that the bass had succumbed to one of his company’s signature plastic worms. It was near closing time, so he invited him to return the next day and tour the plant.

Pedaling home as fast as he could with a bass gripped in tandem with a handlebar on one side and a rod and tackle box holding on with the other; cars honked, and a couple even skidded to stops at the sight of the kid with the bass on the stingray bike.

The next day was life changing. Mr. Crème personally took the kid on a tour of the plant and then presented him with all kinds of worm samples, some of which were still being field tested and not yet available on the market.

The Crème logo was “Crème-King of Baits” and featured a worm sitting on a hook and wearing a crown. A foot-tall decal adorned the kid’s bedroom door for years thereafter.

But there were also many others in addition to Mr. Creme. Mr. Carpenter allowed that kid to come fish his pond whenever he wanted. Mr. Holden owned an RV park that featured a crystal clear 1-acre pond that allowed sight-fishing for every fish present.

I am sure by now that you have surmised that the kid was me. Those life events led me to pursue a fisheries ecology degree at Texas A&M University followed by a master’s degree in Tennessee. A 37-year

career as an Extension Fisheries Specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service (now Texas A&M AgriLife Extension) followed.

And, as recently as this spring, a Mr. Wilson allowed this same angler to fish his 15-acre lake. The permission was granted to achieve a very specific goal, that of thinning down the over-abundant but small (less than 12 inches) largemouth bass that are often common in underfished private lakes.

This condition is often pervasive in many private bass lakes. Even those with an appropriate forage base of bluegill, with no over-abundant vegetation and good water quality including visibility of 18-24 inches into the water column are immune.

You see, not every bass is destined to become a trophy. With more than a million private impoundments in the state, there’s plenty of opportunity to reduce the competition between small bass for the available forage, allowing the remainder to grow larger and access forage items that

were unavailable to them at their previous smaller size.

If the goal is to develop a quality fishery and vegetation, water quality and forage are not limiting factors; some of your small bass need to be introduced to a frying pan.

The exact number of bass to remove will vary from impoundment to impoundment.

However, my experience has been that on a per acre basis, somewhere between 10 and 20 bass (less than 12 inches long) harvested annually will be sufficient to achieve the stated goal.

I will be forever grateful to the pond owners who allowed me to fish their waters. Texas landowners, why not consider giving local kids permission to fish your private water as an opportunity to achieve your fishery management goals?

Who knows, perhaps one day a skinny little kid on a stingray bike will show up at your front door, fishing rod in hand, asking for permission to fish your pond.

Thank you, Texas pond owners and as always, Good Fishing!

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

B ORDERL ANDS NEWS BORDERLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT SUL ROSS STATE UNIVERSITY

Seasonal Ranges of Female Aoudads and Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Trans-Pecos Article by JOSE L. ETCHART, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; CARLOS E. GONZALEZ, JUSTIN T. FRENCH, and LOUIS A. HARVESON, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross State University

Photo by Ben Masters

S

Desert bighorn sheep are an iconic part of the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem. The species’ historical range covered sky islands throughout West Texas and northern Mexico.

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ky island mountains make the arid Trans-Pecos region of Texas unique. Mountain ranges form isolated patches of habitat for many species, playing a significant role in wildlife population dynamics and distribution. However, the diversity of the mountain ranges and naturally isolated ecosystems make it difficult to develop effective management strategies for conserving native wildlife species.

As a result, metapopulation theory can be an effective tool in native species conservation across this landscape.

A metapopulation is a set of distinct populations of the same species in the same geographic area in which individuals interact through migration, dispersal or human-mediated movement. Such is the case with desert bighorn sheep, which occupy these isolated mountain habitats and disperse between them.

In Texas, desert bighorn sheep populations were extirpated by the early 1960s due to a combination of unregulated hunting, the introduction of domestic sheep and goats, disease outbreaks,

reduced connectivity among habitats, and habitat degradation. Restoration efforts began in the mid-1950s and have continued over the past several decades.

Translocations are the primary management tool used in desert bighorn sheep restoration and are why populations persist in the state today. However, translocation efforts are expensive, time-consuming and logistically and politically challenging. Nonetheless, it is essential to establish local populations of desert bighorn sheep in historically occupied mountain ranges to increase the abundance and persistence of the species.

Unfortunately, the presence of aoudads (Ammotragus lervia) may threaten the establishment of translocated desert bighorn sheep. Exotic species have become a severe issue in conservation ecology and pose a threat to biodiversity.

In the Trans-Pecos, the introduction and release of aoudads for the past seven decades has provided an economic stimulus to local landowners through hunting, leading to a large, wellestablished population. Aoudads have shown remarkable ability to establish, spread and extend their distribution.

The total Texas aoudad populations is unknown. However, a recent survey in 2018 estimated approximately 5,000 aoudads in one potential desert bighorn sheep restoration range alone. As aoudad populations continue to increase, it is even more important to understand the scale of their movement across the landscape because wider-ranging species exhibit higher connectivity among populations and more resilient metapopulations.

Previous studies suggest that desert bighorn sheep do not utilize one general home range but shift their ranges seasonally.

Understanding species’ seasonal range sizes could indicate possible colonization advantages from one species to another.

Additionally, there is no information regarding differences in desert bighorn sheep and aoudad seasonal range sizes.

Understanding how wildlife species use space as they expand their range can help prioritize land management practices, aid in identifying suitable habitats for future population expansions

Photo by Dana Karelus

BORDERL ANDS NEWS

Aoudads, pictured here in a helicopter sling, are transported to a processing station where vets, biologists and researchers assess the animals' health and attach GPS collars to track their movements.

and identify seasonal changes in connectivity between populations.

In September 2015, the Borderlands Research Institute captured and collared female aoudads in the Sierra Vieja Mountains as a companion study to a translocation of desert bighorn sheep in the mountain range. At the time of these efforts, collared desert bighorn sheep were also monitored, providing the opportunity to evaluate seasonal ranges of desert bighorn sheep and aoudads in a coexisting area.

Global Positioning System locations from the collars were used to estimate desert bighorn sheep and aoudad ranges.

We anticipated seasonal ranges for aoudads would be more extensive compared to desert bighorn sheep, considering the aoudad’s generalist diet and behavior. We defined three seasonal ranges based on environmental factors: warm-wet (June

16 - Oct. 15), cool (Oct. 16 - Feb. 15) and warm-dry (Feb. 16 - June 15), with a total of 36,030 locations available for analysis, representing both desert bighorn sheep (n = 19,093) and aoudads (n = 16,937).

The seasonal ranges for desert bighorn sheep averaged 6,869 acres, 7,413 acres and 9,834 acres for cool, warm-dry and warm-wet seasons, respectively, while aoudad range averaged 3,138 acres, 4,225 acres and 6,152 acres, respectively. Thus, seasonal ranges for desert bighorn sheep were considerably larger than for aoudads in all three seasons. These findings refute our hypothesis that aoudad ranges would be more extensive.

Previous work in the Trans-Pecos showed that desert bighorn ranges are small in higher quality habitats, such as the Sierra Vieja Mountains, but increase when they must move between multiple habitat

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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BORDERL ANDS NEWS

patches to find resources. Despite the high quality of the Sierra Vieja Mountains, we observed desert bighorns moving between patches of habitat more than we initially expected (see maps above). It is possible

the presence of aoudads may have forced desert bighorn sheep into larger range sizes in the Sierra Vieja Mountains due to competition for space and resources, though it is equally possible desert bighorn

DBA

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sheep frequently move between these areas for other reasons.

Additional work is needed to determine whether aoudads competitively displace desert bighorn sheep. However, in the absence of such information managers must make conservative decisions to ensure desert bighorn sheep persistence, particularly given the similarities they share with aoudads. Our work suggests connectivity among habitat patches is important for bighorn persistence in the face of potential competition with aoudads.

For this reason, desert bighorn sheep conservation efforts aim to increase the size and persistence of local populations to benefit the overall metapopulation.

These efforts at local levels include habitat protection or improvement, regulation of target species harvest (specifically mature rams) and removal of potential exotic competitors.

Moving forward, these measures should be evaluated in a metapopulation context. Efforts to increase habitat connectivity, including both translocation and improvement of conditions between habitat patches to facilitate movement, will help ensure population persistence.

The likelihood of habitat colonization by a reintroduced species is also determined by other aspects of metapopulation dynamics, such as configuration, size, habitat patch numbers, population growth rates within them and carrying capacities.

Depending on the population densities of both exotic and native species, competition and species exclusion could lead to higher rates of dispersal between habitat patches.

Differences in seasonal range sizes could suggest aoudads experience less competition than desert bighorn or are superior competitors to them.

While there is much to learn, our work provides a first look at the movements of both aoudads and desert bighorn sheep in a patchy landscape. Aoudad seasonal ranges were consistently onethird to one-half that of desert bighorn, suggesting the latter needed larger ranges to find the resources they required.

Thus, metapopulation dynamics are an important consideration for ongoing restoration efforts, particularly in the face of a potential competitor.

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Renewable Energy

BY LORIE A. WOODWARD

This is the sixth installment in a six-part series on key laws that Texas landowners need to know. The series is prepared in partnership with Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, who authored Owning Your Piece of Texas: Key Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know. The handbook is available as a free, downloadable PDF file at (https:// a g r i l i f e c d n .t a mu . e d u /t e x a s a g l aw/ files/2019/05/Owning-Your-Piece-of-Texas. pdf). Hard copies may be purchased by contacting the author.

L

andowners, who approach leasing renewable energy resources as they would oil and gas, are in for a surprise.

“Landowners will be considering leases to harvest resources from their properties in exchange for some type of payment, but many of the similarities between oil and gas and renewable energy stop there,” said Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, an attorney with expertise in agricultural law who serves as an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. “Wind and solar are much more similar to one another than they are to oil and gas.”

DOMINANT ESTATES AND IMPLIED RIGHTS Although the Texas Supreme Court has never expressly addressed the issue of whether wind and solar power are part of the surface or mineral estate, most legal scholars maintain both wind and solar are part of the surface estate. The industry has leased land based on this understanding as well.

One of the reasons for the differences between oil and gas and renewables is the relative age of the industries. Texas has been producing oil and gas for about 120 years, while wind and solar energy are just emerging. As a result, oil and gas has a large body of law, both related to terms expressly included and those rights that

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

may be implied. Solar and wind energy do not.

For instance, over time, the courts considering oil and gas issues ruled a severed mineral estate is dominant to the surface estate. (The courts have not yet decided whether severed wind and solar estates are dominant to the surface estate.)

This creates an implied right allowing the mineral owner to use as much of the surface as is reasonably necessary to produce the minerals beneath the land.

Solar energy leaves a dense footprint on the land. Although solar companies may lease fewer acres than wind energy, they tend to occupy a higher percentage of the land they lease. It is likely that solar projects will occupy 40-50 percent of the leased acreage.

“Solar energy’s dense industrial footprint, which could conceivably limit oil and gas production, creates a potential conflict in situations where the mineral estate has been severed,” Lashmet said.

“Many solar companies refuse to enter into lease agreements on land where the surface owner does not own or control the minerals and groundwater or is able to obtain surface waivers.”

A recent Texas court case failed to strike a balance between solar and mineral development but heightened the issues that could arise including the applicability of the “accommodation doctrine.”

“Because there is not a lot of existing law, both solar and wind leases tend to be a lot longer and more detailed than oil and gas leases,” Lashmet said. “If an issue isn’t specifically addressed in the lease document, then there are significant questions that could arise at any time during the energy production process.”

The renewable energy leases’ complicated nature is just one reason to work with an experienced attorney during negotiations. Both solar and wind energy require significant infrastructure. At the project’s conclusion, the infrastructure must be dismantled and removed, and the land has to be restored. The process, which

NOVEMBER 2021

takes places at the project’s conclusion, is known as decommissioning.

Recently, Texas law changed to require the terms of decommissioning in wind leases, but there is no such requirement for solar leases. Despite this being the case, including similar terms in a solar lease is vital for landowners.

WIND ENERGY AGREEMENTS Surface owners considering entering into a wind lease agreement should work with an attorney as they sort through the numerous, complex legal and economic issues associated with a lease agreement. Some key issues, and this list is not comprehensive, include identifying project phases, lease length, landowner compensation, impact on current surface uses and project conclusion requirements.

Identifying Project Phases Oftentimes, wind leases will be divided into three separate phases: development, construction and operations.

Most wind leases begin with the development phase, also referred to as an “option.” During this time, which is generally 5–7 years, the wind company collects data and determines whether the property is suitable for wind farm construction.

Because the compensation rate is generally less for development than for other phases, landowners should very clearly define the scope of the development phase and the initiation of the construction phase. Compensation during development is generally delivered as a one-time, lump sum payment.

The construction phase begins once the option is executed and continues until the facilities are constructed. Landowners should carefully review the compensation offered during the construction term.

Generally, the construction phase is not included in the term of length, but this should be confirmed in each lease agreement. Depending on the project’s size, construction takes on average 9 – 18 months.

L AW O F T H E L A N D

The operations phase begins once a project begins generating and selling power. The exact commencement of the operation phase should be expressly stated in the lease.

Lease Length Because of a wind lease’s long-term impact for the land and future generations of owners, it is not a land use decision to be taken lightly. Currently, wind lease terms usually range from 30 years to 50 years.

Landowners should clearly identify the event that triggers the start of the lease, whether it’s the completion of development, the first sale of electricity or any number of other options. And it is important to be aware of any automatic extensions that could greatly extend the lease’s terms. It’s not uncommon for a 30-year lease to include two automatic 10year extensions if the developer chooses to exercise them.

Some landowners seek an automatic escalation of compensation if the options are exercised, while others prefer to have the opportunity to renegotiate compensation if the options are exercised.

Impact on Current Surface Uses While a wind energy company may lease many acres for a project, the actual footprint of the project is far smaller.

Oklahoma State University research indicates for every megawatt of capacity, a wind project occupies less than one acre of land. With that said, wind leases also come with numerous easements for roads, surface facilities and other supporting infrastructure.

It is possible to continue to farm and ranch in the midst of a wind farm, but landowners should ensure the lease agreement expressly allows them to make desired use of the property.

Project Conclusion Requirements As mentioned earlier, many landowners negotiate decommissioning requirements in the lease that can include removing all equipment and restoring land to its original condition. To that end, landowners may seek to get the developer to post a bond to cover those costs. It is always important to ensure the developer release any easements or liens on the property as these are likely filed in the deed records.

SOLAR LEASE AGREEMENTS While solar leases are similar to wind leases in many respects, there are some significant differences including how payments are structured and, as mentioned previously, the impact on other surface uses. Surface use impacts also carry property tax implications.

Ownership of Severed Estates Many solar companies, as noted earlier, may be concerned if the surface owner does not own at least the executive rights for, or some portion of, a severed mineral and/or groundwater estate. Some companies refuse to consider a solar lease agreement if the surface owner does not own, control or can obtain waivers from the parties who own the severed mineral and groundwater estates.

Length of Lease Generally, solar leases last 20 – 30 years tying up the land (and its potential surface use) for a significant time. Leases should not be entered into lightly.

Frequently, leases are structured in two phases: development/construction, which can last 5–7 years and includes analysis and actual construction and operations, which commences when the project begins producing and selling energy. For landowners, it is important to expressly define the beginning and ending points of each phase.

Landowner Compensation Unlike most wind and mineral leases, compensation for solar leases generally is calculated on price-per-acre basis instead of royalties and paid annually.

The price-per-acre paid depends on several factors including proximity to transmission lines and the market value of land. Theoretically, all topography and generation being the same, property located near the Metroplex will likely command a higher per-acre-price than a secluded property west of Alpine. Anecdotally, Lashmet reported solar lease rates range from $150/acre – $850/acre in Texas.

Some landowners may seek a royalty clause. In leases accommodating royalty payments, 3.5 – 4.0 percent is fairly common. When seeking royalties, landowners may want to ensure a minimum royalty payment as well, perhaps paid on a per-acre basis.

Impact on Current Surface Uses As discussed earlier, solar farms’ dense infrastructure often precludes other surface uses such as grazing, farming and hunting. When determining whether to enter into a solar lease, landowners should calculate and evaluate the amount of income lost from potentially excluded uses.

Compensation for Tax Implications Because a solar project can preclude existing activities such as grazing, farming and wildlife management, its presence can disqualify the affected acreage from agriculture and/or wildlife tax valuation. If the solar project changes the valuation, it could trigger a rollback period of higher taxes based on the property’s market value. The landowner will be responsible for the difference between the market-based valuation and the production-based valuation.

In addition, the land could be taxed at the higher market rate for the project’s duration. Once the project is decommissioned, it will take at least five years before the restored property can once again qualify for a special ag or wildlife valuation.

Before signing a solar lease, landowners should discuss the implications with their local appraisal district. And landowners would be wise to include terms in the lease agreement requiring the solar company to cover any additional real property tax owed because of the solar project, including any rollback penalties, increased taxes owed after the decommissioning and before the property can re-qualify for special valuation, and any personal property taxes on the solar equipment.

Project Conclusion Requirements As with wind projects, it is common for landowners to request a removal bond to be posted to ensure all equipment will be removed and the land restored at the project’s completion.

DISCLAIMER This column is for educational purposes only, does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not a substitute for competent legal advice by an attorney licensed in Texas or any other state. The information provided is merely provided for informational purposes.

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Photo by Russell A. Graves

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HUNTING APPROVAL HITS ALL-TIME HIGH

High Marks for Hunting Means New Opportunities Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD

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he vast majority of Americans approve of hunting, according to the most recent survey on the topic conducted by Responsive Management, an internationally recognized survey research firm specializing in natural resources and outdoor recreation issues. Measured at 80 percent, the approval rating of Americans aged 18 and over, is the highest recorded for hunting since the firm began its surveys in 1995. At that time, the approval rating was only 73 percent.

“The overall approval rating indicates a lot of positive support from the general public,” said Bryan Jones, Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) Field Operations Coordinator. “From a recruitment standpoint, it also indicates there is a huge number of people who are likely interested in hunting, which means there is a vast pool of potential hunters across a wide range of demographics that we haven't tapped into yet.”

While the overall approval rating is encouraging, it is a not a carte blanche invitation for the hunting community to behave with impunity. The general public doesn't view all hunting equally.

For instance, hunting for wildlife management, for the meat, for locally sourced food and to protect humans from harm, have the highest approval ratings at 82 percent to 85 percent.

Conversely, hunting for sport is only approved by 50 percent of Americans, and approval for trophy hunting drops to a mere 29 percent.

Opinions also differ with the species being hunted, the region where the respondent lived, as well as the respondent's gender, ethnicity and education level.

Josh Crumpton, who owns and operates Spoke Hollow Outfitters near Wimberley, said, “The high approval rating creates an opportunity to bring new people to the table. Once we get them there, we can engage in meaningful, challenging conversations about why we hunt, hunting as a conservation imperative, and even hunting ethics.”

R3 Despite rising approval ratings, the number of hunters nationally, based on license sales, continues to decline.

In response to that national decline, the R3 (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) Initiative was born.

“R3, in simplest terms is recruitment, retention and reactivation,” said new TWA CEO Justin Dreibelbis, who is the immediate past Private Lands and Public Hunting Program Director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“In application, R3 is an organized and analytical approach to recruiting the next generation of hunters and anglers and keeping them engaged once they enter the outdoors participation pipeline.”

Although Texas, with TPWD acting as the “center pivot” for the statewide efforts, is actively participating in the effort, the Lone Star State's situation is different than many other states. In Texas, hunting license sales have been increasing about 1 percent per year consistently for the past 25 years.

“While we're not losing ground in sales volume like many states, the gap between the number of Texans and the number of Texans who hunt continues to grow,” Dreibelbis said.

At the most elemental level, the effort is being driven by a concerted push to

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Photo courtesy of Texas Youth Hunting Program

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increase hunting license sales nationwide. (R3 also encourages all initiative partners to objectively evaluate their individual programs and refine them for maximum effect.) Since the early 1900s, hunting license sales and excise tax on firearms, ammunition and other outdoor equipment have funded the lion's share of conservation in the United States.

“Obviously, from a conservation standpoint, we have to have financial resources down the road to keep the natural resources, including wildlife and habitat, in good shape,” Dreibelbis said.

Perhaps, though, R3 should be R4 with the fourth R standing for relevancy.

“Wildlife, natural resources, private land stewardship have to be relevant to our fellow Texans and at the forefront of the public's mind if we're going to successfully conserve and manage our wild things and wild places in the future,” Dreibelbis said. “And that relevancy begins with a positive experience in the outdoors.”

ADULT MENTORED HUNTING Through extensive research, R3 leaders have identified young adults as the ideal target population for recruitment, retention and even reactivation efforts. Why? Unlike children and teenagers, young adults control their time, their money and their transportation. Once young adults are “trained,” they are poised to immediately enter the outdoor community and become longterm participants and license purchasers.

Plus, making a connection with people during their mid-20s to mid-30s aligns with the “participation sweet spot” in the life cycle of an average hunter. According to Dreibelbis, license sales data demonstrates a predictable pattern in hunting participation.

Children raised with the opportunity to hunt generally pursue the activity through high school. During college, their participation declines and for many ceases completely.

Their hunting participation continues to lag in the immediate aftermath of college as they establish careers, financial stability and often families. Those who are going to rejoin the outdoor community generally do so in their late 20s to mid-30s and their participation continues to escalate until they enter their late 50s, when it begins to fall off. For some, their participation spikes

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again briefly around 65 when they qualify for reduced cost licenses. This is generally a short-term reengagement that marks the end of their hunting careers.

“While young adults have time, money and interest, they need mentorship because they lack knowledge and the opportunity to hunt and learn,” TYHP Director Chris Mitchell said.

“Passionate, well-trained volunteers leading other passionate, committed volunteers is a proven method for ushering new participants into the hunting community.”

Once young adults were identified as a prime recruitment demographic, Texas, just as it had in the youth hunting effort, sprang into action. And this time, the conservation partners including TPWD, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF), TWA and private landowners such as Crumpton, had a successful mentored hunting program model to build on.

Since its inception in 1995, TYHP has been the nation's gold standard for safe, educational, volunteer-driven mentored hunting. Over the course of its 25-year history, program volunteers have led 3,158 hunts, introducing more than 27,500 youth hunters and their accompanying adult to the outdoors through hunting.

“Based on TYHP's success, there wasn't any reason to reinvent the wheel,” said Jones, who leads TWA's adult mentored program.

“We just re-shaped it a bit, putting even more emphasis on postharvest processing, wild game as food and conservation.”

MEETING THEM WHERE THEY ARE By focusing on the most appealing touch points for this emerging group of hunters, the adult mentored hunting programs, in the vernacular of evangelism, are “meeting the converts where they are.” Generally, the “converts” are 25-40, predominantly male and predominantly Anglo. Depending on the program, females represent about 25 to 40 percent of the participants, which is higher than the national average of women hunters.

The participants represent both blue- and white-collar professions and wide-ranging income levels. Some come as lapsed hunters or outdoors enthusiasts who have enjoyed nonconsumptive activities such as hiking and camping, while others' only outdoor experience is enjoying farm-to-table food on an open-air patio.

In 2019, the TPWF started offering adult mentored hunting through a partnership between its Stewards of the Wild (SOTW) program and TWA. “Our biggest challenge has been re-educating people, from all walks of life, about the hunting experience,” said Matt Hughes, Engagement Manager for TPWF. “We try to reframe the experience from killing an animal to a conservation imperative that puts high-quality, sustainable food on the table.”

The shift, while seemingly unnecessary for those reared in the hunting community, is essential for young professionals, such as those who populate the 10 statewide chapters of SOTW. Their worldviews and social interactions are shaped by social media.

Unlike previous generations, peer pressure knows no physical boundaries. Because of the internet, this generation likely doesn't know the critics who savage their personal choices.

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natural drive to hunt and how it completes our connection to the natural world.”

As anecdotal evidence Crumpton offers up his friend Sam, who is a liberal-leaning young adult in his 20s. Raised in Washington D.C., Sam believed that guns and hunting were associated with a political philosophy that he did not embrace.

On a visit to Texas, Crumpton invited Sam to take the field. Sam was timid at first, but agreed and became eager to hunt.

“Hunting was not on his map because he thought it was sole purview of ‘NRA, Republican gun toters’ until he came hunting with me,” Crumpton said. “We talked about misperceptions, conservation, food and so much more. Now, he's an avid hunter.”

HUNGRY FOR HUNTING Regardless of the program, demand for mentored hunting experiences outstrips supply. Often the number of applicants for any given season for any given program is double the number of available slots. Some programs have capped the number of applicants to avoid disappointing too many people. Others have formalized selection criteria to get maximum “bang for the buck” from every mentee.

In all cases, deliberate, planned growth designed to maintain the quality of the experience is the goal. For instance, SOTW offered 8 mentored hunts in 2020-21, reaching 45 new hunters, and this season that number will be 9 hunts impacting 50 hunters. The group offers deer hunting as well as waterfowl and upland game bird hunting.

The TPWD program, run through the public hunting office, offered 7 workshops and 72 positions in the 2018-19 season; this season TPWD will host 13 workshops/145 positions. TWA's Mentored Adult Hunting Program is expanding from 7 hunts in 2020-21 to 15 this upcoming season; each hunt includes 5 hunters, 5 mentors and 2 support staff.

Adult mentored hunt participants' appetite for knowledge is as insatiable as their appetite for hunting opportunities.

“The adults, who come to these hunts, want to be there,” Mitchell said. “They soak up knowledge even faster and

Photo by Russell A. Graves

“These young professionals have seen the backlash on social media when someone posts about hunting a lion or an elephant,” Hughes said. “They come here worried about how they will be perceived as hunters. For many people, hunting can be an ethical dilemma with social ramifications.”

According to Hughes, some in this age group also wrestle with questions about confinement livestock production, so even a trip to the supermarket to buy meat can be a moral morass.

When presented correctly, the opportunity to ethically hunt an abundant wildlife resource addresses that carnivorous concern.

Firearms are another hot button topic. Obviously, safe handling is the first priority. Helping new participants understand that firearms, in the hands of responsible individuals, are tools to help achieve conservation objectives and harvest foodstuffs is a close second.

“When hunting is presented as a conservation imperative or tool, it addresses people's moral and ethical concerns and allows them to feel like a contributor not a taker,” Hughes said.

“We're tackling the barriers head on and that is one of the most gratifying and satisfying aspects of this effort.”

According to Crumpton, hunting, like many other lifestyle choices in modern America, can mistakenly be perceived as a political choice. In the era of Red America and Blue America, hunting, by default, falls into red territory. For those whose friends and families gravitate toward the blue shades of the spectrum, hunting is often not even considered as a pastime.

“Unfortunately, these days hunting can sometimes be falsely perceived as a political choice,” Crumpton said. “Hunting, though, predates modern American politics. It is an innate drive in humans that some modern cultures and groups have tried to remove, perhaps, because they associate prey drive with base, unevolved instincts.”

He continued, “But, in my experience, staying connected to our food through hunting is essential to maintaining our humanity and our relationship to the environment. I believe that the reason people explore hunting when they can't identify any particular reason for their interest often is because of our

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Photo by Hector Astorga

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more eagerly than the kids who come to the youth hunts. The education component is critical.”

Others concur. For most novice adult hunters, a lack of knowledge is the biggest barrier to participation, even if they don't recognize it.

“In Texas, a novice hunter can go anywhere at any time, but they have to pay for it,” Hughes said. “If they've never done it before the entire process can be intimidating. Who is going to invest in an experience that, without guidance, can turn out badly in a variety of ways?”

While SOTW's adult mentored hunting program organizers anticipated that their hunts would be recruiting events for firsttime hunters, they've discovered that an almost equal number of their participants are “reactivations,” Hughes said. Some hunted as children and teens, but lapsed upon entering college. Others grew up in hunting families, but were never included, so they come with heightened understanding but limited experience.

“They are looking for a reputable place to plug into the hunting community,” Hughes said.

In the process of plugging in, the young adult hunters are recruiting other newcomers including members of their own young families.

“We didn't anticipate reaching an additional generation,” Hughes said. “But many of our participants are now experiencing hunting as a family-wide activity.”

Staff and volunteers at TYHP are not surprised by the cross-pollination between generations in part because the adult companions on TYHP hunts have been requesting adult opportunities for years. TYHP's Adult Mentored Hunting program was created in response to demand as well as R3 findings.

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“The adults have seen what fun their kids have had—and want to get in on the action,” Mitchell said. “They get hooked at a youth hunt and want to learn more so they can continue alongside their child.” This past season, six of the adults who participated in the TYHP Adult Mentored Hunting came as a result of accompanying their children on a TYHP hunt.

Because affordable access is often cited as another barrier to participation, the programs deliberately keep their respective participation costs low. On the low end, TPWD offers its opportunities for $25/person, but does not consistently provide food or lodging as part of the experience; other programs generally range from $100 to $150/person.

The respective programs also provide equipment, including firearms, for any participant who does not have it. All participants must complete Hunter Education and buy hunting licenses. In the cases of SOTW and TWA, the organizations also require participants to become members.

Crumpton, who relies on the income from Spoke Hollow Outfitters to implement conservation on his family's ranch, sets a higher fee structure and creates intimate, personalized angling and hunting experiences. His waiting lists are long too.

“I found a hungry market,” said Crumpton, who will move his business to the next level in 2022 when the ranch's lodge is completed. “Maybe it's timing. Maybe it's demographics, but I'm inclined to believe that part of our success comes from the fact that I didn't have an agenda. My invitation to come be part of the outdoors is authentic.”

AN AUTHENTIC INVITATION Crumpton, who is a bi-racial, self-taught, adult-onset hunter (a person whose initial interest in hunting began in adulthood),

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credits authenticity and open arms with his company's diverse clientele. Initially, the outreach to non-traditional hunters was unintentional.

“When we developed the Spoke Hollow website, the images we chose reflected how I see the world,” said Crumpton, noting that outfitting is viable business option for him because he is an avid hunter and angler. “My world is inclusive—people of all colors, races and genders.”

The diversity showcased in the photographs as well as his story as an adult-onset hunter struck a chord. The business took off much more quickly than he anticipated.

“We have a more intentional approach to increasing diversity today,” Crumpton said. “We're offering a wide array of opportunities, knowledge and inspiration to people who never considered hunting as something they might do.”

He and his team have witnessed how important authenticity is in reaching non-traditional hunters. For instance, a group of male hunters developing a hunting program for women will have good intentions but likely fail because they aren't women and don't understand what their female clients want and need. By the same token, a group of lifelong women hunters developing a hunting program for adult-onset female hunters will struggle because their experiences don't necessarily align with those of their target audience.

“People sniff out inauthenticity immediately—and it drives them away,” Crumpton said.

For Crumpton, diversity extends beyond race, gender and culture to socio-economic status and geo-political orientation.

“The more diverse the hunting community, including politically and geographically, the more secure the future of hunting is—the more secure the future of our wild things and wild places are,” Crumpton said.

From Jones' perspective, an authentic invitation also includes an open door into the hunting community. People are reluctant to try a new activity or attempt to join a group if it appears to be a closed clique.

“We can have programs all day long, but if it looks like a club, the program won't grow,” Jones said. “Nobody wants to risk knocking on the door of a clubhouse where everyone else knows the secret handshake and they don't.”

NEXT STEPS Fully fledging new adult hunters into independent, engaged participants requires some committed follow-up including additional, (possibly mentored) hunting opportunities, affordable access and multiple points of engagement in the broader outdoor community.

TYHP's Adult Mentored Hunting Program invites its participants to become volunteers, creates point of contact with other hunting and conservation partners, and hosts events such as Hunt to Table dinners to keep people connected. As newly minted TWA members, the participants are also encouraged to become active in any facet of the organization that appeals to them.

At SOTW, first-time participants are allowed to apply for another hunt pursuing a different species. In addition, as SOTW

members, they are invited to participate in a host of happenings ranging from educational social events to hikes, camping and fishing trips.

As a next step, Hughes envisions a time where Managed Lands Deer Program participants partner with adult mentored hunting programs such as SOTW. The landowners would allow one or two SOTW-trained mentors to bring a group of four or five SOTW past participants on a day hunt. In his plan, the hunters would provide their own food and would not access any of the ranch's infrastructure other than blinds and feeders.

Each participant would be allowed to harvest a doe or two and would pay a reasonable access fee and harvest fee to the landowner for the opportunity to hunt. As part of the SOTW Program, the hunt and the landowner would be covered by the insurance offered through the TWA/SOTW partnership's liability insurance.

“Young professionals hold the key to answering the call of the wild,” Hughes said. “And it's not just them, but the families they're raising. Whether it's hunting, fishing, camping, hiking or paddling, it's essential that we reach this generation—or the next generations won't have the opportunities.”

While recruiting and reactivating hunters is exciting, the thought of retaining them is more challenging. In Texas, public lands are bursting at the seams.

“If we successfully recruit and reactivate hunters, we have to have a place to put them,” Dreibelbis said. “They have to have a place to participate.”

Jones views the growing outdoor appetite as an opportunity for landowners to develop additional income streams from their abundant, wildlife resources. Hunters motivated by sourcing food or outdoor experiences generally are content to harvest animals that previously have held little value in the hunting marketplace. In many cases, the new hunters relish the chance to “rough it” instead of demanding luxe lodging.

“The question is whether landowners want to enter the hospitality business or perhaps expand their offerings,” Jones said. “People are hungry to get outdoors.”

While the high approval rating creates opportunities today, the American public is notoriously fickle. The hunting community can't wrap itself in a blanket of false security and be lulled to sleep by a chorus of complacency.

“We have to capitalize on the support while we have it,” Jones said. “If we don't create opportunities and engage people now, they won't necessarily stay interested.”

And disengagement's cost can be huge. Consider states like Oregon and California where voter initiatives are systematically dismantling the state's hunting tradition one species or one practice at a time, he said.

“Opponents there are slowly cutting branches off the hunting tree,” Jones said. “Eventually, they will get to the trunk and kill the whole tree. In Texas, we have to maintain a large base of support to ensure the tree keeps standing strong, proud and tall.”

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SALINEÑO WILDLIFE PRESERVE

A birder on the lookout for rare birds at Salineño, Texas, on the Rio Grande River at sunset.

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SALINEÑO WILDLIFE PRESERVE Small Acreage, Big Impact Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photos by LARRY DITTO

E

ncompassing about 2.6 acres, the Salineño Wildlife Preserve near Roma is a tiny dot on the map, but a major destination for birders from around the globe.

“We don't do anything magical—we provide food, water and shelter—but Salineño is magical,” said Debralee GarciaRodriguez, executive director of the Valley Land Fund. “From the time you arrive until you leave, the birds put on a show.”

Counterintuitively, Salineño's small size is one of its biggest advantages. All portions of the preserve are readily accessible, even for those who can't manage a strenuous hike.

“Visitors are surrounded by habitat that allows the birds to retreat, but they're still in close proximity,” Garcia-Rodriguez said.

And the experience is intimate. While binoculars are helpful for spotting birds who live in the habitat along the river, they are not necessary to enjoy Salineño's feathered visitors. Because the birds are intent on feeding and know they are safe, birders can often sit and watch the birds and their behavior from as close as five feet from their chairs.

“Sitting at Salineño's feeders is like watching a nature documentary, but it's live,” said Ryan Rodriguez, a 14-yearold youth birder from McAllen. “In December 2018, I came to Salineño for the first time and it immediately became my favorite birding destination in the Rio Grande Valley—and the Valley is known world-wide for its birding.”

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SALINEÑO WILDLIFE PRESERVE

One of the best places to see Audubon’s Oriole is at Salineño, on the Rio Grande River below Falcon Dam.

A pair of Great Kiskadees perched near a feeder at Salineño.

Birders canoe the Rio Grande River at Salineño.

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AN EXCLUSIVE ENCLAVE Salineño is prime real estate for birds—and birders. Situated at the northernmost range for many sub-tropical species, some of which are seen nowhere else in the U.S., the preserve and its rare native habitat create an exclusive enclave. To qualify as an entry on an American Birding Association's Life List, the bird must be sighted and documented in the U.S., so the draw of specialty birds north of the border is powerful.

When the Rio Grande's riparian area was intact, it was a long, narrow strip of unique habitat that was a mixture of trees such as Texas ebony, Rio Grande ash, tepeguaje (lead tree) and retama as well as thorn scrub, which included lote bush, Spanish dagger, snake eyes, tasajillo and more. Today, agriculture and development sit right alongside the river and only small pockets of native riparian habitat remain.

Salineño is one such pocket. Located just a short paddle down the river, five Montezuma Cypress, a high-value, hardwood species that was almost logged out of existence, stand sentry.

Purportedly, it is the largest grove of the once-abundant tree outside the park system in Brownsville. An ancient oyster bed rises from the river nearby.

“When the birds are here in force, it looks like a forest of Christmas trees out there,” said Lois Hughes, a native Iowan and Winter Texan, who along with her partner Merle Ihne has been a resident co-host at Salineño since 2010. “Dashes of green from the Jays, splashes of orange from the Orioles, yellow from the Kiskadees, red from the Cardinals.”

She continued, “Once you see it you can't wait to get back.”

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take the feeders down every night, refill them and re-hang them each morning.

“Salineño's landscape is naturally rich,” Hughes said.

THE BEGINNING Salineño got its start when Gale and Pat DeWind, snowbirds from Whitehall, Michigan, migrated to a rustic RV camp just outside the village of Salineño in 1984.

“As the story goes, Pat was intrigued by the birds she encountered in the river bottom, so she hung up a feeder,” Garcia-Rodriguez said.

One feeder led to another. Birds began flocking to the site.

The couple diversified their offering, added citrus, cracked corn, other seeds and grains as well as perfecting a peanut butter-lard “suet” that appealed to the insect eaters.

“It was a classic case of ‘build it and they will come,’” GarciaRodriguez said. “And a classic case of ‘one person can make a difference and change the world.’”

Eventually, the DeWinds and a group of friends purchased adjoining lightly developed lots that now form the Salineño Wildlife Preserve.

Photo courtesy of Valley Land Fund

Of the 500 species of birds that can be seen in the Rio Grande Valley between 60-70 species are documented at Salineño each season. Specialty birds that are big attractions include: the Redbilled Pigeon, Morelet's Seedeaters and the opportunity to see Audubon's, Altamira and Hooded Orioles in a single location.

Most of Salineño's bird species are different than those found at the larger and better-known Falcon State Park, located just seven miles northwest of Salineño. The state park's environment is more arid than Salineño's river bottom, so the plants and therefore the birds and animals are different.

“Such diversity so close together makes it much more interesting for people to make the trip to see us here,” said Hughes, a retiree who has been a birder since she was in her 20s.

Obviously, more than birds are drawn to the native habitat.

Salineño is also home to a pair of indigo snakes, a reproducing pair of Texas tortoises, and a plethora of smaller critters such as the spiny blue lizards that soak up the sun on tree branches throughout the preserve much to the delight of the birders.

Other critters include Hispid cotton rats, armadillos, the occasional bobcat and ever-present raccoons. The raccoons like the bird feed as much as the birds do; therefore, the co-hosts

Merle Ihne and his partner Lois Hughes have been resident co-hosts at Salineño since 2010, managing the area for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the winter months.

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property during the winter birding season serving as co-hosts on behalf of the agency.

“Salineño is not a state park or federal refuge, it's a privatelyfunded wildlife preserve,” Garcia-Rodriguez said.

Instead of charging an admission fee, volunteers place an empty peanut butter jar by the guest book and collect donations from visitors. The donations, along with proceeds from sales of a Salineño memoir written by Pat DeWind, provide all of the preserve's operating funds.

“No guests? No donations. No supplies. No birds. No Salineño,” Garcia-Rodriguez said. “No volunteers? No guests.

No Salineño.”

Dozens of Gold-fronted Woodpeckers visit the Salineño habitat each day.

The birds came back in larger and larger numbers year after year. As the birds became winter regulars, so did birders. While the DeWinds never advertised, word about “DeWinds’ Yard” spread from birder to birder.

Quiet conversations turned into a cacophonous chatter when the DeWinds formed a relationship with a family of Brown Jays.

The 16-inch tall, dark-colored birds are common in Mexico, but extremely rare north of the Rio Grande.

Gale got the parents' attention when he began offering crispy chicken skins on a cookie sheet. They swooped down, grabbed the skin, clamored for more and returned for several seasons.

They brought avid birders with them.

Since 2012, preserve volunteers have hosted people from all 50 states, every Canadian province and 39 countries. During a typical 5 1/2-month season, anywhere from 2,500 – 4,000 birders visit Salineño. (During the Brown Jay's brief residency, visitor numbers climbed upwards of 5,500.) The preserve's visitors are part of a larger contingent of birders who, by the most recent estimate generated in 2011, contribute $463 million to the Valley's economy each season.

In 2007, the DeWinds decided they could no longer manage an annual southern migration, but didn't want the unique property to be lost to development. As a result, the Valley Land Fund, a regional land trust dedicated to conserving ecologically significant land in the Rio Grande Valley, acquired the property.

The complicated transaction involved a donation, a purchase and a life estate. VLF took ownership in 2008. Five years later, VLF struck a unique partnership with USFWS. The USFWS provides technical guidance, management and volunteers such as Hodges and Ihne, who live in their own RVs and maintain the

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THE END? For several years, the proposed Border Wall and its riverine route cast a shadow over landowners up and down the Rio Grande. VLF was no exception.

“As a non-profit organization, we took no position on the wall,” Garcia-Rodriguez said. “We work with private landowners and knew there were strong, but mixed feelings on the issue. We wanted to be respectful of both sides.”

Instead of advocating, VLF closely monitored the situation.

Garcia-Rodriguez kept in regular contact with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and USFWS. Through the years, no one indicated Salineño could be in harm's way.

VLF's board took no news as good news. And then, out of the seeming blue, a federal condemnation notice arrived.

The board scrambled and enlisted the assistance of an attorney, who laid out the pros and cons of a protracted battle against the federal government. Essentially, it was going to be a David versus Goliath fight with the potential to drain all of the VLF's financial resources—and the odds of David winning were smaller than Salineño's footprint “It became clear that with our limited resources, there was no good way to stand up against the federal government,” GarciaRodriguez said. “At that point, we changed tactics.”

Instead of going toe-to-toe in the courtroom over the property itself, the board opted to fight for a fair market price for Salineño. The board's goal was to receive enough money to

Birders and photographers wait to see the many species of birds in the bird habitat at Salineño.

SALINEÑO WILDLIFE PRESERVE

purchase another property with native habitat that could be developed for and dedicated to birding.

Their price wrangling succeeded. VLF and the government were close to signing off on a deal, when news of the potential sale got out.

“VLF made national headlines,” Garcia-Rodriguez said.

And all hell broke loose.

Public reaction to the pending sale was swift, vitriolic and ugly. Some directed their ire at the organization, while others made it very personal. An anonymous person posted GarciaRodriguez's home address and phone number on the Internet.

She began receiving death threats.

“No one understood our rationale or our plan—and we weren't given an opportunity to explain,” Garcia-Rodriguez said. “It was cancel culture at its finest.”

The board convened an emergency meeting and decided to stop the deal. A local attorney volunteered to represent the organization's interests during the condemnation suit pro bono.

Then America spoke. The administration changed as did its commitment to building the wall. VLF heaved a sigh of relief and expected a notice in the mail returning Salineño's title, which transferred to the federal government as part of the condemnation action, to the organization. Instead, the board got a notice informing them the government was proceeding with condemnation.

“Now that the government has claimed title, agencies are planning to build a communications station on the site or clear a patrol road for surveillance—something other than protecting rare native habitat for birds,” Garcia-Rodriguez said.

At the time of this writing, hearings are pending. With Gov. Abott's announcement that he will lead an effort to construct the border wall if the federal government doesn't, the ongoing situation is muddier than a river after a hard rain.

“I wish I could predict what is going to happen, but we'll just have to wait and see—and hope that Salineño is spared,” GarciaRodriguez said.

From Rodriguez's youthful perspective saving the rare habitat just makes sense in the short- and long-term.

A volunteer feeds the the birds at Salineño.

Altamira Oriole at a Hummingbird feeder on Salineño Wildlife Preserve.

“In the Rio Grande Valley, only 5 percent of the native habitat remains intact, which means 95 percent of it has already been lost,” Rodriguez said. “No habitat means no animals, no birds, and no insects except maybe mosquitos—and we don't want that.”

To his way of thinking, new construction, regardless of the project, should be limited to land that has already been cleared.

“Instead of knocking down forests and plowing under habitat, we should be planting more,” Rodriguez said. “We can't keep destroying different areas as if there are no consequences for the destruction.”

While the future of the Salineño Wildlife Preserve isn't clear, the loss for Texans—and the world—is crystalline.

As Hughes, whose conservation ethic was formed in college by reading the essays of Aldo Leopold and a 122-page book by John Storer, said, “Storer's The Web of Life impressed on me just how interconnected everything is…just like a spider's web. When we touch one strand, we have no idea where in the ecosystem the vibrations will be felt.”

For instance, she said, the Dodo Bird, which was hunted to extinction in its home range within 100 years of its discovery, turned out to be crucial to the survival of the Calvaria, or tambalacoque tree, native only to the island of Mauritius.

The long-lived hardwood began to decline and 250 years later almost became extinct itself because it was discovered—almost too late— its seeds had to be scarified by passing through the Dodo Bird's digestive system in order to germinate. (Scientists discovered that turkeys could serve as a substitute in the mutualistic relationship and the trees began a slow recovery.)

She continued, “The world is full of those types of interconnections. We don't know what is ultimately connected to what…and we don't even know what we don't know.

“Salineño needs to remain because we are one of those tiny threads—and we need to save as many of those threads as possible to preserve life as we know it.”

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Photo courtesy of Meredith Ellis, G Bar C Ranch Old and new grazing expertise is hybridized together on the G Bar C ranch to provide superior results.

HYBRID VIGOR IN LAND AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT Article by STEVE NELLE

E

very livestock producer knows the value of hybrid vigor in a cross-breeding program whereby desirable traits are enhanced in the offspring when new blood is added by either the sire or the dam. The same principle that helps livestock producers obtain better gains, better efficiency and better traits in general also works in the field of land and wildlife management. However, this article is not about genetics but about adding good new ideas or outside blood to the existing methods which can produce improved results.

Albert Einstein is credited with saying “the definition of absurdity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.” It is like using the same bull on the same cows year after year expecting the calves to look different. The premise is also true in land management: if you want better results, make some changes. That is the essence of hybrid vigor.

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NOVEMBER 2021

At its core the best land management is a hybrid endeavor.

The most successful farmers, ranchers, timber producers or wildlife managers incorporate their knowledge of soil, water, plants, animals, economics and people with appropriate new information, ideas, equipment and technology. The pairing of the old and the new, when done wisely, can produce superior results.

INTERGENERATIONAL HYBRIDISM There is perhaps no better example of hybrid synergism than the collaboration between the older generation of land managers and the next. On the G Bar C Ranch in North Texas, owner GC Ellis collaborates with his daughter Meredith to make decisions on the ranch.

Meredith explained, “Dad brings to the table invaluable knowledge from 40 years of ranching experience; I bring to the

Good hybrid management can be equally good for wildlife and livestock.

and browsing by livestock and wildlife. I think the concept of hybrid management is best conceived by less experienced managers being willing to learn from those with on the ground experience.”

He has noted that some of the young people coming out of academia come with a belief that there is “one best answer” to resource management. In reality, Mills

Photo courtesy of NRCS

table new ideas surrounding climate solutions and the tech-ready mindset of the millennial generation. Through this collaboration, a much richer dialogue surrounding decision making is taking place combining the time-honored wisdom of the older generation with the big new ideas of the younger generation.”

Both father and daughter agree that what is occurring on the ranch is an impressive re-balancing of the natural ecosystem that is causing the land to be more productive than ever before. With the intermeshing of old and new the ranch is producing sustainable beef, restoring biodiversity, providing wildlife habitat, sequestering carbon and filtering water.

Another relevant observation comes from Kent Mills, Nutritionist with Hi Pro and former TWA Director. Mills has worked with ranchers for nearly 50 years and has seen a lot of changes.

He has noted that with a younger generation of resource managers who do not yet have the experience of actually observing animals using the range there is a tendency to move toward media tools, such as drones, cameras and computer simulators.

Mills said, “While these are helpful, they are weak tools if one does not have the experience of witnessing the grazing

Photo by Steve Nelle

HYBRID VIGOR IN LAND AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Patch burn grazing is a useful hybrid technique to manage quail habitat.

said, “There are many answers to resource problems, all depending on the goals, capital and physical resources available.”

With time, he said, these less experienced managers will learn the flexibility required to adjust programs to the situations that arise. With the more experienced manager’s input, the management knowledge can advance more quickly and with fewer setbacks.

Mills also acknowledged that the older more experienced managers can and should accept and learn to use the newer tools that are becoming available.

TRADITION AND RUTS There are several impediments which discourage hybrid thinking in land management. In the world of agriculture, tradition is a strong driving force that makes change difficult. It has been said that new ideas in agriculture take 20 years to be adopted, but that may be an overly optimistic time frame.

Many operations still do things nearly the same way as Dad or Granddad did them. That’s not all bad, and many old concepts are still good and should not be discarded. Tradition has its place, especially when it is open to the value of new ideas, but blind stubborn tradition is often a dead end.

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Photo ourtesy of Meredith Ellis, G Bar C Ranch

HYBRID VIGOR IN LAND AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Photo by Steve Nelle

Meredith Ellis brings new ideas to the family ranch in North Texas.

The right combination of management can produce good habitat for quail, deer and livestock.

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NOVEMBER 2021

It is easy to get in a rut and stay there both literally and figuratively. When driving on a deeply rutted road, the wheels automatically follow the same tracks time after time—until you high center or get stuck. Steering out of the ruts takes some effort, and once out it is easy to get sucked back into the same ruts again.

We also get into ruts with our thinking and our management: what seemed to work in the past we continue to do even when there are better ways.

Another impediment is expressed in the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Common sense tells us not to needlessly tinker with something that is working fine.

The problem is that in the world of land management we often do not recognize when something begins to wobble. Land degradation is usually so slow that it is difficult to notice change.

Because things usually decline gradually rather than break, managers tend to think everything is good. This makes it harder to see the need to fix something that is not perceived as broken.

But despite these impediments, many landowners, young and old, are seeing the value of fresh hybrid attitudes.

CEDAR AND MESQUITE Hybrid thinking can help us better understand brush problems and how to manage them. Cedar, mesquite and other species have a well-deserved reputation of causing major problems for landowners, especially their tendency to get too thick. The traditional approach has been to label them as noxious or invasive and apply aggressive control without much regard of their place in the landscape.

In the last 20 years, though, some newer thinking has emerged showing that cedar and mesquite have considerable practical benefit, not only for wildlife but for soil health, watershed function and overall land value. The merits of these species include both economic and ecological benefits.

A hybrid approach is to understand the problems these species can cause while also recognizing that they have

HYBRID VIGOR IN LAND AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Specialized forms of grazing can be used to sustain good riparian conditions.

Photo by Steve Nelle

GRAZING MANAGEMENT Previous generations grazed the land hard, so no grass would go to waste.

The unfortunate after-effects of this kind of management are still apparent on many ranches.

With the advent of range science starting in the 1950s, we learned the importance of leaving a residual stubble of grass for the health of the range and protection of the soil. Not everyone adopted the new ideas, but it was a step in the right direction and resulted in better range and habitat conditions.

Then with the new thinking introduced

by Alan Savory in the 1970s, grazing management once again gained from the infusion of hybrid ideas. The use of many pastures by a single herd followed by long recovery periods had its basis in the nomadic grazing of large herds of bison. Many mistakes were made in early years while the methods were being refined.

Today there are many variations of what Savory introduced, and many ranchers are convinced of the benefits.

But not everyone agrees, and there are still battles being fought over the new form of grazing. Many are making it work, while others say it does not work.

Such is the norm when hybrid ideas are introduced.

Robert Potts, President and CEO of Dixon Water Foundation sees the value of hybrid thinking in grazing sensitive riparian areas. Some experts insist that riparian areas should not be grazed at all to provide protection of creekside vegetation. Conversely some ranchers overgraze riparian areas which results in bank erosion and downstream water quality problems.

Potts has observed that careful short term flash grazing can protect riparian vegetation and provide high quality grazing. It does not have to be one or the

Photo by Steve Nelle

important functions and benefits to the land. Efforts to control and manage brush should have a two-prong goal of retaining a desirable density but applying enough control to keep them in balance.

Yes, it’s difficult, but no one ever said that the hybrid approach it is the easy way.

At Ranch Brigade high school students learn both old and new concepts of land stewardship and livestock production.

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Photo by Steve Nelle

HYBRID VIGOR IN LAND AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

One of the results of hybrid land management is an abundance of clean water.

other—it can be both. Potts said that by finding a balance, both economic and ecological benefits are substantial.

HYBRID HABITAT One of the clearest and best demonstrations of effective hybridization is seen in wildlife habitat and habitat management.

Nearly all managers understand that the best habitat is diverse not monotypic. Great habitat is not all brush, not all grass, not all weeds and forbs but rather a combination of these.

Likewise, managers do not employ only one tool to create or improve habitat. They merge many tools, techniques and methods, both old and new to produce the mix of habitat they desire. Fire, herbicides, mechanical manipulation, grazing, rest and re-seeding are some of the tools used by hybrid habitat managers and each has numerous variations in how they are applied. There is no step-by-step guide—every situation is different and unique.

HYBRID STEWARDSHIP TCU Ranch Management Professor Chris Farley uses hybrid thinking in his teaching and his own ranching operation.

He knows that sustainable ranching and land stewardship are complex endeavors with no simple solutions and that the methods of the past may not always provide the results needed in today’s world.

He teaches his students and the cadets at Ranch Brigades that with every action and every decision there is a cascade of consequences that could be positive or negative or both. Farley said, “Because everything affects everything else and because there are so many moving parts always interacting, today’s land

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manager must pay closer attention to detail and be making constant adjustments.”

One of these new land stewards is Anson Howard, the fourth generation of his family to manage the Head of the River Ranch and who is incorporating a suite of hybrid ideas into the ranching operation. The ranch had been traditionally managed for more than 100 years with all the familiar issues of other old ranches.

Upon taking the reins, it has required creativity, fortitude, risk and considerable investment to emerge from the ruts of the past, but a new direction is now being taken. Howard is a student of Aldo Leopold and is working to merge the old proven tools of axe, plow, cow, fire and gun with the new ways of applying these tools in a holistic manner.

Hybrid vigor exists in every living thing. When the pairings are done well, the offspring are better than their parents. In the world of land and wildlife management the pairing of new ideas with old proven principles and concepts creates a better outcome than either one alone can do.

Hybrid thinking is good thinking if it incorporates new tested concepts into the operation but without being gullible to every new idea. We must remember that not all new ideas are better and not all hybrids are good. You can actually go backwards with the wrong kind of new thinking so be careful when considering what kind of new blood to add and how aggressively it is being incorporated.

Let us strive to find the right balance of old and new, never discarding the proven ways of the past and never dismissing the value of new blood to create better results for the lands, waters and wildlife of Texas.

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

OUTDOOR TRADITIONS

Turkey Hunting Memories Article by SALLIE LEWIS Photo by BUTCH RAMIREZ

G

rowing up, my family spent Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ ranch near the West Texas town of Menard.

Their house was a simple two-story structure with forest green shutters and a white picket fence that wrapped around it like an embrace. Despite its modest size, we all piled inside—brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents—like sardines.

Together, we spent the holiday week feasting, telling stories and playing heated games of backgammon. After dinner, it became ritual to sit outside for night caps and conversation, with shooting stars above our heads and a campfire blazing between us.

These are the memories that painted my childhood. One memory I hold

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most dear is hunting wild turkeys with my dad.

I remember it like yesterday. It was still dark when my father’s whispers would wake me from my slumber. After a brief protest, I’d slip from my cocoon, dress for the day and head downstairs for a cup of hot cocoa. Outside, the freezing air roused my senses as we tip-toed to the blind with binoculars and blankets, shotgun and radio in tow.

Even as a young girl, I knew that turkeys had sharp ears and strong eyes, so the challenge, "OF COURSE," was staying quiet. I can still remember watching the white cloud of my breath turn to vapor in the cold, and fighting off laughter as flocks of hens squabbled over their breakfast. When a big gobbler strutted in from the brush, I swore

NOVEMBER 2021

my hammering heart could be heard for miles.

I didn’t always pull the trigger on those early childhood hunts, though it didn’t matter. Simply being in the blind with my dad by my side, in the presence of big, bearded turkeys, made me feel alive and awakened to Mother Nature's endless beauty.

Today, I have my dad to thank for instilling in me my love of hunting and the outdoors. Though it has been many years now since we’ve sat in a turkey blind together, my memories of those early years still flicker like a flame.

More than ever, I relish the quiet time we shared, watching the sunrise and the wildlife and partaking in a tradition that’s been passed down in our family for generations.

Since moving to the Hill Country, my encounters with wild turkeys have bordered on spiritual on some occasions.

I love hearing their gobbling off in the distance and enjoy watching them through my binoculars as they travel between field and tank.

In old journal entries, I’ve memorialized their beauty, noting a jake’s bright red wattle and another’s gilded fan of tail feathers. Recently, I learned that every adult turkey carries between 5,000 to 6,000 feathers. When the sunlight hits them, these shimmering plumes turn shades of turquoise and teal, marigold and sage, an iridescent rainbow colored by God's creation.

Finding a fallen feather is the ultimate gift, and one that takes me back to those chilly childhood mornings in Menard with my dad by my side and winter waiting in the wings. This Thanksgiving, I am deeply thankful for those memories and the many yet to come.