Texas Wildlife - Wild Turkey Talk - March 2021

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

Wild Turkey Talk

MARCH 2021

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

CEO COMMENTS D AV I D Y E AT E S

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ll of my life I have been enchanted by birds of every feather. The Roadrunner stole my heart first with his theatric antics and rapacious appetite. Watching him trot down a sandy road arrow-like with head down and tail back or pose on a fencepost perch articulating his tail and fanning his crest still makes me grin. As I spent more time on the coast after college, the Reddish Egret quickly became a favorite distraction while prowling the back bays for the next redfish bite. His hectic hunting tactics while hazing baitfish with outspread wings and clever glare-cutting head tilt to better see underwater always capture my attention.

The real reasons I am eager to get to the Panhandle for deer season each year are the Burrowing Owls bouncing around prairie dog towns, the Mississippi Kites gliding across the seemingly endless grasslands, the otherworldly fluting flights of prehistoric Sandhill Cranes, and the sunset cacophony of Canada Geese flocks passing overhead.

Of course, I cannot ignore our myriad of other game birds that are each laden with memories, traditions, and far-flung homes. Desert scrubland blue quail, brush country bobwhites, creek bottom gobblers, row crop pheasants and marshland ducks all have special places on the mental bookshelves of what is important in my life.

The birdfeeders hanging outside of the kitchen and dining room windows are a constant focus for everyone in the house, including my daughters and especially their adopted cat. Birds are accessible to virtually anyone interested in looking and can satisfy the entire spectrum of wildlife enthusiasts from curious kiddos to distracted deer hunters to dyed-in-the-wool birders.

A few years ago, I was in Marfa for a meeting that coincided with the annual Davis Mountains Hummingbird Celebration. Every hotel and restaurant in the region was brimful of excited birders from all over the country. It was great fun to visit with them in cafes and around town. Their excitement and genuine interest in wildlife matched the vim and vigor of any deer hunter I know.

This year, we were fortunate enough to bring Sallie Lewis onto the team of contributing writers for Texas Wildlife. Sallie’s work appears in publications such as Garden & Gun, WSJ Magazine, Texas Highways and others. We hope you enjoy her column this year including this month’s installment on her own bird watching pursuits.

Birds are special in that they represent an opportunity for common ground with everyone in our state in regard to wildlife and why it matters. I encourage all our readers to dig deeper into the rich diversity of Texas birds and to share that knowledge with others, especially youngsters in your life.

Best,

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

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

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

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

Conservation Legacy and Hunting Heritage Programs Kassi Scheffer-Geeslin, Director of Youth Education Elanor Dean, Education Program Specialist Gwen Eishen, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Adrienne Paquette, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Elisa Velador, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Ali Kuehn, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Anna SoRelle, L.A.N.D.S. Educator Brittani Dafft, L.A.N.D.S. Educator & CL Program Assistant Marla Wolf, Curriculum Writer Iliana Peña, Director of Conservation Programs Courtney Brittain, Website Consultant COL(R) Chris Mitchell, Texas Youth Hunting Program Director Bryan Jones, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Bob Barnette, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator Briana 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.

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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

MARCH VOLUME 36

H

8 Supersizing Turkey

NUMBER 11

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2021

32 Borderlands News

Restoration in Texas

by MATT LINDLER

Novel Pathogens In Quails of the Trans-Pecos Ecoregion of Texas

14 Hunting Heritage

by TREY E. JOHNSON, DALE ROLLINS, CARLOS E. GONZALEZ and RYAN S. LUNA

A Partnership for Good

34 Law of the Land

by BRIANA NICKLOW, BOB BARNETTE and SHELBY BESSETTE

Access to Property

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

16 Lessons From Leopold

36 Public Land Turkeys

A Fountain of Energy

by NATE SKINNER

by STEVE NELLE

40 Texas Master Naturalists

18 Conservation Legacy

Getting Dirty for Conservation

L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

by GWEN EISHEN and ELISA VELADOR

46 Outdoor Cast Iron Cooking

22 Member Profile

by TAMRA BOLTON

Brad Barnes

by LORIE A. WOODWARD

54 Outdoor Traditions

Barn Swallows and Other Bird Watching Pursuits

26 Guns & Shooting

Gunning for Gobblers

by SALLIE LEWIS

by LUKE CLAYTON

28 Pond Management

When Smaller May Be Better

by BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, PH.D. Photo by Jami Linder

Magazine Staff

MAGAZINE OF THE TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION

On the Cover In recent years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has embarked on a turkey super-stocking program, where its staff intensively restock birds in three designated focal areas in East Texas. For example, the goal for 2020, was releasing 160 Eastern Wild Turkeys (80 per site) in two targeted release sites. Read more from the Matt Lindler on how this and decades of careful habitat management by volunteers with the National Wild Turkey Federation, TPWD and hunter dollars have given translocated birds the greatest chance of success in East Texas in his article “Supersizing Turkey Restoration in Texas,” starting on page 8.

MAGAZINE CORPS David Yeates, Executive Editor Kim Rothe, Consulting Publications Coordinator/Editor David Brimager, CWB®, Advertising Director Lorie A. Woodward, Special Projects Editor Publication Printers Corp., Printing, Denver, CO

MARCH 2021

Wild Turkey Talk

Photo by Jami Linder

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION ON HUNTING SEASONS, call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, consult the 2019-2020 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, or visit the TPWD website at tpwd.state.tx.us.

MAY

MAY

JULY

MAY 4-23 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

RODEO CANCELED. LIVESTOCK SHOW CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MARCH 21. For more information, visit www.rodeohouston.com.

MAY 22 Texas Big Game Awards Regional Banquet, Bass Pro Shops/ Cabela’s, Fort Worth. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

JULY 16-18 WildLife 2021, TWA’s 36th Annual Convention, San Antonio JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For more information, visit www.wildlife2021.com.

MAY 15 Texas Big Game Awards Regional Banquet, Fiddlers on the Gruene, Gruene. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

JUNE JUNE 5 Texas Big Game Awards Regional Banquet, Brazos County Expo Hall, College Station. For more information, visit www.TexasBigGameAwards.org.

TEXAS WILDLIFE

V I RT UA L M E E T I N G S A N D E V E N T S G U I D E VISIT THE PROGRAM PAGES ONLINE at www.texas-wildlife.org/program-areas/category/youth for specifics and registration information.

WILDLIFE BY DESIGN CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS: • (Virtual) Wildlife by Design is available for K-8 students in the DFW area, Greater Houston area, South Texas, and West Texas. Have your local teacher visit the website for more information.

• (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.

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.

Critter Connections are now available in a read-along format. Recordings of past issues are available online and live broadcasts accompany each new issue. All recordings and scheduled live readings can be found online.

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MARCH 2021

Photo by Jami Linder

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS

8 TEXAS WILDLIFE

MARCH 2021

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS Article by MATT LINDLER, National Wild Turkey Federation

F

or the first 25 years of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) existence, assisting state agencies with wild turkey restoration efforts was a priority for the organization and its volunteers. The Federation worked hand-in-hand with state agency partners to reestablish turkey populations in areas of suitable habitat, where few or no wild turkeys existed.

The energy among the states, the NWTF and its volunteer base was palpable: People were getting their hands dirty for a good cause, and turkey populations were steadily growing.

When the NWTF was founded in 1973, there were 1.3 million wild turkeys in America. By the early 2000s, wild turkey populations were at their modern-era peak of about 7 million.

Target 2000, the turkey trap-and-transfer program, was a huge

WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG

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Photo by Annie Farrell, NWTF

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS

Eastern wild turkey releases in Titus County at a super-stocking site identified by TPWD and NWTF. These turkeys were trapped in Missouri and transported to East Texas to bolster wild turkey populations there.

success across the U.S. Gobbles and filled tags abounded hunting season after hunting season.

At the same time, another story was unfolding in East Texas.

Early stocking programs from the late 1970s to early 2000s brought wild-caught Eastern Wild Turkeys from neighboring states and from even farther, but the original seeding formula of releasing a flock of 15 to 20 birds comprised mostly of hens with a few gobblers didn’t take off as it did in many other parts of the country.

No one knows for sure why turkeys in East Texas didn’t thrive and grow as their counterparts did in similar habitat. Some point to low poult survival following restocking efforts as one cause and heavy predation on nesting hens as another.

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MARCH 2021

“Habitat also plays a factor,” said Annie Farrell, NWTF district biologist in Texas and Oklahoma. “The Pineywoods of East Texas is a pyric ecosystem, meaning it depends on fire, and the lack of it has led to habitat that is way too thick for turkeys to survive.”

Through active habitat management, the NWTF and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are working together to address this issue and give the translocated birds the greatest chance of success. In just the past decade, the NWTF and TPWD have accomplished more than $5 million in work on public and private lands, impacting at least 150,000 acres of habitat in Texas to benefit wild turkeys and other species.

Photo by Jami Linder

Habitat is always the most critical factor in the restoration and management of a species, explained Jason Hardin, TPWD’s wild turkey program leader.

“Once habitat is suitable, controlling predators can also play a role when in restoration mode,” Hardin said. “Another issue, which is beyond our control, is that Texas marks the westernmost edge of the Eastern Wild Turkey’s historic range.

This may have influenced the success of past restocking efforts.”

In recent years, however, a new approach is showing some promise. TWPD has embarked on a super-stocking program, where its staff intensively restock birds in three designated focal areas in East Texas. For example, the goal for 2020, was releasing 160 Eastern Wild Turkeys (80 per site) in two targeted release sites. These turkeys predominantly came from North Carolina, where USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service personnel trapped them on airport properties where they posed a safety hazard. Some also came from Missouri and West Virginia.

“Stocking in higher quantities provides a number of benefits to help encourage population sustainability and growth,” Farrell said. “First, this helps the restocked birds overcome typical mortality levels and poor nest success often seen the first year the birds are released. During block stocking, it was

Photo by Russell A. Graves

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS

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Photo by Jami Linder

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS

Photo by Jami Linder

common to lose all the toms restocked before the breeding season ever began.

The super stocking approach, however, assures that an ample number of birds survive going into years two and three.”

There’s also security in numbers in the fall and winter when wild turkeys congregate and flock together in segregated gobbler flocks and hens/young flocks. This provides some protection from predators. Also, more gobblers breeding hens and more hens laying eggs means more opportunities for successful nesting, poult survival and recruitment, juveniles that survive the first year and become adults in the population.

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MARCH 2021

Photo by Jami Linder

Photo by Jami Linder

SUPERSIZING TURKEY RESTORATION IN TEXAS

While there are limited hunting opportunities in 13 counties in East Texas, most of the region no longer offers turkey hunting opportunities. NWTF hopes to assist TPWD in creating more hunting opportunities in the region through this intensive restocking program.

“The Eastern Wild Turkey once occupied up to 60 million acres in East Texas,” Hardin said. “Texas hunters, through their purchase of hunting licenses, are footing the bill for the restocking efforts.”

To date, the vast majority of funds tied to the restocking of this valuable bird have come from the purchase of TPWD’s $7 Upland Game Bird Stamp.

“Many of Texas’ citizens will ultimately benefit from the success of this restocking effort, but hunters will have once again paved the way,” Hardin said.

Sustainable populations resulting in the survival of adult wild turkeys, their nests and recruitment of poults into the population are critical if we are to one day open turkey hunting seasons in more areas across East Texas, Hardin explained.

“Wild turkey hunting currently provides close to $64 million annually to rural Texas communities,” he said. “Expanding hunting opportunities in East Texas will benefit hunters and landowners, and will, in turn, improve habitat for many game and nongame species that share the wild turkey’s range.”

Originally published February 2020 at NWTF.org. Used with permission.

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A Partnership for Good

How the Texas Youth Hunting Program and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are joining forces to create hunting opportunities for youths.

Article by BRIANA NICKLOW, BOB BARNETTE and SHELBY BESSETTE Photos courtesy of TYHP

Youth hunters practiced with their bows at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.

G

iven that at least 94 percent of Texas is privately owned, it’s no surprise that most Texas Youth Hunting Program hunts occur due to the generosity of private landowners. But did you know that TYHP also partners with public land agencies to create additional hunting opportunities?

TYHP has formed a unique partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in

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

three areas around the state. Hosting hunts on National Wildlife Refuges exposes youth hunters to public land hunting, which is usually a bit more primitive hunting style than those found on our private lands. It also introduces youth hunters to opportunities open to them as they continue in their hunting journey.

The Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (HNWR) in North Texas is

MARCH 2021

well known for its archery draw hunts.

Hunters vie for these coveted spots on this productive property. In 2015, TYHP North Texas Field Coordinator and avid bowhunter Bob Barnette, who often hunted the HNWR, began discussions with its staff, about the possibility of hosting a TYHP hunt there.

Soon after, Hagerman staff agreed to a TYHP hog hunt in the spring of 2016.

A PARTNERSHIP FOR GOOD

Furr High School Students posed with their harvest at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Since that initial hunt, TYHP has hosted seven additional hunts, including deer and turkeys, on HNWR. This refuge has always been an accommodating location, providing advice, help and resources where needed.

Currently, groundwork is being laid to add a TWA Adult Mentored Hunt on HNWR. TYHP’s relationship with the refuge is proving an invaluable opportunity to take both youths and adults hunting.

In Houston, TYHP’s partnership with USFWS’s Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement focuses on providing inner-city Houston youths with opportunities to explore the outdoors.

Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement has a long-standing partnership with Furr High School: An Institution for Innovative Thinking. Part of its curriculum focuses on educating students about where food comes from and the role wildlife management plays in our ecosystems.

In 2018, as TYHP East Texas Field Coordinator, I coordinated with Furr High School and Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement to provide an avenue to take students hunting.

USFWS helped to secure hunts at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and facilitate

the partnership. TYHP also conducted Hunter Education at the school, provided a private lands hunt, and helped secure TYHP volunteers for both hunts.

To date, this partnership has allowed five TYHP hunts accommodating 40 youth hunters with 49 students attending the Hunter Education course. In addition, an effort is ongoing to connect students with mentors at the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge to further their hunting knowledge. From first opportunities to lasting ones, this partnership opens the door for a greater diversity in the hunting community and in these students’ lives.

The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuges in South Texas are home to a large population of nilgai, an exotic species introduced to South Texas in the 1940s with no natural predators in Texas.

While biologists are still learning about their ecological impacts in Texas, there is concern they are negatively impacting the critical thornscrub habitat important to such species as the Texas tortoise and ocelot.

While volunteering at the refuges, Shelby Bessette, a TYHP Huntmaster, talked to the refuge manager about

A Furr High School student with his harvest on a private lands hunt.

TYHP. This communication resulted in a partnership between TYHP and the refuge in which a refuge tract known as the “Sal Del Rey” was designated as a good spot for TYHP hunts as it has an overpopulation of nilgai. In January 2020, two TYHP hunts were conducted on Sal Dey Rey, the first hunting ever on this specific tract of land for the refuge.

Along with nilgai, youth hunters were also able to harvest white-tailed deer and hogs. TYHP and USFWS are both optimistic for future hunting opportunities on NWR land in South Texas and for this partnership.

The Texas Youth Hunting Program exists because of generous landowners— public and private—who open up their gates. Volunteers, like Bessette, are critical to initiating and strengthening partnerships in their own communities.

TWA is excited to see the continued growth of the TYHP and USFWS relationship. Hunting on public lands offers a unique way to experience the outdoors and allows additional access to Texas lands.

If you are interested in hosting a hunt or volunteering with the TYHP, please visit our website at www.tyhp.org and call (210) 930-2177 or email tyhp@texas-wildlife.org.

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

A Fountain of Energy

BY STEVE NELLE

Land is not merely soil; it is a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants and animals. ~Aldo Leopold, 1939

W

hen we think of energy, we usually think of hydrocarbons such as oil, natural gas and coal, or the electricity that is generated from these fossil fuels. Some may think of wind farms or solar energy.

We think of the pipelines and powerlines that crisscross Texas to transport energy from where it is produced to where it is used.

But we usually do not think about the land itself as a component in the flow of energy—even though this is the primary means of energy production and transfer on the planet. Every young student learns that sunlight energy striking green leaves is transformed into a different kind of energy by the process of photosynthesis.

Plant energy in the form of carbohydrates is what feeds man and beast and what sustains all life on earth.

Physicists calculate that on average, about 100 watts of sunlight energy per square foot is continually received during daylight hours. On one acre this is enough raw energy to power nearly 600 homes or the equivalent of 464 gallons of gasoline each day. It is interesting to consider that fossil fuels are also the result of this massive transfer of sunlight energy to plant energy that took place eons ago and is now stored in the ground for our use.

Our management of the land determines in large part to what degree sunlight energy is put to good beneficial

use. Energy conservation on the farm or ranch is a lot more than being careful with fuel and electrical consumption.

Energy efficiency can be viewed as managing every square foot to maximize the conversion of the sun’s energy though beneficial plants.

The biggest wastage of energy is when sunlight strikes bare ground. In the summer, bare soil absorbs solar energy and heats up to 130 or 140 degrees—hot enough to kill or suppress the growth of soil microbes. This in turn hinders soil health, infiltration and water holding capacity. We may cook our steaks to 140 but we should not be cooking the soil. An over-heated soil, just like an over-heated motor impairs its productivity and is a sign that things are out of kilter.

In the grand circuit, the energy in plants is transferred to the animals that consume plants—livestock, deer, rodents and insects. In some cases, the food chain is simple as in the case of cattle eating grass and other cases it is more complex with several links.

At each step in the food chain and at the end, there is decomposition whereby waste products or the dead plant or animal is broken down and the energy (carbon) is cycled back to the soil and the atmosphere to fuel next generation plant growth. It is difficult to comprehend how perfectly the system works.

On ranches, there are several ways to ensure the efficient conversion of

sunlight energy to plant and animal energy. There needs to be green plants growing all throughout the year, even in the winter. Cool season plants and evergreens should be mixed with warm season species.

A healthy energy cycle also requires a diversity of plants which enables the most effective capture and conversion of sunlight. Deep rooted plants including many brush species are able to remain photosynthetically active even in drought.

Short lived annuals can provide quick green cover while the slower growing perennials get established. Every different type of plant has its own niche in the energy circuit.

Animal diversity is also needed for the efficient transfer of energy. Soil organisms, insects, rodents, small mammals, larger herbivores, birds, predators, decomposers are all needed to keep the circuit humming. A gap at any stage interrupts or weakens the flow of energy through the system.

Landowners tweak the controls of the terrestrial energy cycle with grazing, fire, brush control, timber harvest, farming practice and hunting. By increasing or decreasing the pressure of these adjustments man becomes a key part of the energy circuit. We marvel at the natural balance that has been created; and we humbly acknowledge the responsibility we are given to care for and manage it for beneficial purposes.

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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MARCH 2021

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L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops Interactive Training in a Virtual World Article by GWEN EISHEN and ELISA VELADOR

L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops in 2019 versus 2020 (joining together in a very different way).

T

he L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshop is a professional development opportunity like

no other.

Typically, workshops are offered in different locations across Texas by TWA’s Conservation Legacy (CL) Outreach educators. The six-hour, free, summer workshop has become very sought-after, with spots often filling up even before the school year is over.

With a great lineup of lessons and activities for teachers to add to their science curriculum, and the added incentive of potentially earning Gifted and Talented (GT) update hours, it’s no wonder why teachers want to participate in the workshop—sometimes year after year. The opportunity to visit a

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local nature center, zoo, state park or other venue they may have never been to before is an added bonus. Included in the workshop are opportunities to share ideas, participate in hands-on group activities, experience outdoor fun and enjoy an overall great day of learning about native wildlife and natural resource conservation.

In early 2020, the CL Outreach Team was very excited about the 28 in-person workshops scheduled for the summer months and teachers were already eagerly registering. Then the threat of COVID-19 derailed plans to host the in-person workshops for the summer of 2020.

In March, students and teachers were enjoying their Spring Break but also nervously watching the world-wide

MARCH 2021

spread of COVID-19. They were not yet aware that they would not be returning to their schools to finish off what was left of the 2019-2020 academic year.

As positive cases started to rise in Texas, it became clear that the CL educators would not be able to resume school visits for their Wildlife by Design lessons either, so, the decision was made to cancel the in-person teacher workshops for everyone’s safety and transition them to all virtual events. Through Zoom meetings, conference calls, and emails with the Outreach Team, an alternative plan for the 2020 L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops began to take shape.

Keeping in mind that teachers might be overwhelmed by the transition to remote teaching, a full six-hour live

L.A.N.D.S. OUTREACH TEACHER WORKSHOPS

online workshop was decided against.

Instead, a workshop model was developed that could be completed in two units— the Outreach Team worked relentlessly from March to May to ensure the virtual content would be accessible to all teachers regardless of the technological limitations they were facing.

the state, regardless of district or school location; however, traveling to a location outside of their region has been a barrier for teachers to attend in years past.

Without having to travel or leave their home, teachers took advantage of the virtual offerings and teachers from over 50 counties joined a workshop in 2020.

CRITTER CONNECTIONS Subscribe to Critter Connections Today!

• 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!

Unit 1 would be three hours of a guided workshop led by a CL educator via the Zoom platform. During the Zoom meeting, a combination of lessons would be presented, including those from Wildlife by Design programs, the Stewarding Texas-A Scientific Exploration online resource, and Discovery Trunks.

The teachers would participate and take notes on a provided Unit 1 workshop checklist.

Unit 2 would be a self-guided portion, with all the necessary lessons and resources housed on the TWA website, in which teachers would independently complete lessons, watch On-Demand Webinars, and submit work back to their TWA host educator.

The change from in-person L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops to virtual offerings actually brought out more participants on average than seen the previous summer, even with fewer workshops offered. In 2019, 34 workshops were hosted in-person across the state and 754 participants attended. In 2020, 28 virtual workshops were hosted with 926 total participants.

Workshops are always open to any formal or informal educator from across

The lessons from Stewarding Texas and Discovery Trunks that were used in Unit 2 gave teachers an opportunity to explore ways to use different conservation and land stewardship concepts in their curriculum. They also encouraged teachers to experience the provided lessons the way a student would in the classroom.

After participants submitted their completed work for each lesson, they went through accompanying supplemental material and evaluated the material for their students’ learning needs on the provided Unit 2 workshop checklist.

Workshop participants submitted work in many creative ways including s sending in photos, sketches, videos, PowerPoints and even a Flipgrid of their completed lesson materials.

One lesson in particular, Observations with Leopold, gave the teachers an opportunity to recognize and record local wildlife in their backyard.

The lesson’s goal is for students to recognize Aldo Leopold as a pioneering conservationist and distinguish between observations he used to collect data, including both qualitative and quantitative information.

• Read-along videos available of past issues and live read-along broadcasts of new issues Sign up here: bit.ly/subscribecritterconnections

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L.A.N.D.S. OUTREACH TEACHER WORKSHOPS

You also had a ticket out for each activity.

Your guided practices were fun and easy to follow by any level student and your high-level questions engaged the higher learner. Great information. ~ Tina Saenz, Administrator, San Diego ISD, San Diego, TX I really enjoyed how the lessons all had a virtual component…with the status of this upcoming year in question, it will be nice to have some lessons ready to use in the event that we have to resort to distance learning. ~ Deborah Kingsmill, Junior High Teacher, Goose Creek ISD, Baytown, TX

The work submitted by teachers included a wide variety of observations from qualitative methods using their senses and quantitative methods using units of measurement. The results illustrated the diversity of wildlife found across Texas.

Participants across the state discovered a wide array of wildlife in their own backyards and neighborhoods through this exercise, including everything from blue jays and hummingbirds to dragonflies, frogs, and squirrels. The diversity of Texas ecosystems was apparent in the variety of plants identified, including sunflowers, yuccas, mesquite, mulberry, live oak, and buffalo bur. Many abiotic factors were also observed and gave clues as to the climate variety found among the many ecosystems in Texas.

Teachers were also able to get in touch with their creative side with a lesson called Blending Butterflies. This lesson explores different types of camouflage in animals such as concealing coloration, countershading, disguises, disruptive coloration, and mimicry.

For the workshop, teachers designed a butterfly so that its camouflage allowed it to hide somewhere in the classroom or home. (One teacher even made a butterfly camouflage with her dog.) When the lesson is utilized in the classroom, students color their butterflies to blend in somewhere in their classroom,

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then attempt to find as many of their classmates' butterflies as possible.

The feedback from participants highlighted many positive aspects of the virtual L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops.

You were awesome. I am an administrator and I would have rated you extremely high on T-TESS. [T-TESS refers to the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System which focuses on providing continuous, timely and formative feedback to educators so they can improve their practice.] You had hands-on activities, kept your students involved and checking to see they were on board by using the polls.

MARCH 2021

As a newly minted Master Naturalist I am thankful that I could take part in this workshop to learn how knowledge about nature can be transmitted. Should I come about teaching opportunities with children, I have some good examples and material that I can now use. Thank you very much for letting me take part in the workshop. ~ Sophie Voswincke, Master Naturalist, North Texas Chapter, Dallas, TX The TWA CL Outreach Team has been helping teachers incorporate land stewardship and native Texas wildlife in their science curriculum since 2013 and hope to continue to do so for many years to come. Prior to COVID-19, workshops were successfully planned and presented professionally, with teachers overwhelmingly satisfied with their participation.

When COVID-19 surfaced, TWA educators jumped into action, with very little time to adjust. Virtual lessons were implemented with excellent attendance and success.

Virtual L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops may even become a permanent offering to serve more teachers statewide than ever before. Based on the numerous glowing evaluations about the adjustments made in 2020, the L.A.N.D.S. Outreach Teacher Workshops continue to be a relevant resource, and whether offered in-person or virtually, the content and the educators who make the lessons come to life are immensely valuable to educators statewide.

© D.K. Langford

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE As members of the Texas Wildlife Association, we are asking our neighbors who are fellow conservationists, ranchers, and hunters to join our vital efforts. Your membership will help promote Texas’ hunting traditions and develop opportunities for new generations to know the pleasures of Texas outdoors. By joining, you will strengthen our work with legislators, educators and wildlife biologists to protect private lands and the many species of wildlife they support. The future of our wildlife populations depends on you.

Photo by Russell Graves

Join your neighbors today!

For more information on becoming a member of the Texas Wildlife Association, please visit www.texas-wildlife.org/membership

THE LAND creates a LIFESTYLE which leaves a LEGACY.

LAND • LIFESTYLE • LEGACY THAT’S WHAT WE SELL!

Specializing in: Farms, Ranches and Hunting Properties Throughout TEXAS! j Call Me Today i

Johnny Baker Realtor Associate

www.txland.com johntxland@gmail.com 713-829-9951

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T WA M E M B E R P R O F I L E

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Brad Barnes A Lifetime of Anticipation

Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photos courtesy of BRAD BARNES and FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO

S

ince childhood, Bradford S. “Brad” Barnes has eagerly anticipated the annual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (FWSSR).

“When I was a child, the Schutts family invited me every year to sit with them in their box for a Stock Show rodeo performance,” said Barnes, a lifelong Fort Worth resident.

“Their box—the best seats in the house—sat right above the bucking chutes. For a city boy, it was the highlight of my year to look down and watch those cowboys.”

Anticipation turned to excitement with the annual distribution of the beloved Fort Worth Independent School District tickets. The one-day grounds pass admitted

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MARCH 2021

students to the world of premium livestock, head-spinning rides, skill-testing games, stomach-stretching food and even more cowboys.

“The whole experience was just huge,” Barnes said.

THE FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO Today, the huge experience, including distributing more than 365,000 School Day tickets to area students, falls to Barnes, who since 2010 has served as the president and general manager of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, and his team.

The widely talented group that brings one of the nation’s oldest stock shows to life for 23 days each year from mid-January into

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early February includes 150 directors, 21 full-time employees, 950 seasonal employees and 1,800 volunteers.

“I still get excited,” said Barnes, who worked in his family’s oil and gas business and owned and operated a food processing equipment wholesale distribution business before joining the Stock Show staff in 2004. “These days, though, the feeling comes from a different place. With all of the logistics of producing major livestock shows, rodeo performances, competitions and more, the devil is in the details.”

Staff, leaders and volunteers pour months and years of planning and preparation into the Stock Show and all its attendant events. They work through every conceivable scenario trying to ensure attendees have a safe and enjoyable experience.

And despite all the careful, thoughtful preparation, the same question raises its head each year before the gates open.

“What have I forgotten?” said Barnes, who joined the Stock Show in 1986 as a member of the then-new Calf Scramble Committee. “You work to be prepared but you never really know until the gates open.”

He continued, “I’m blessed to be surrounded by talented, committed people who are all working toward the same goal.

Whatever success the Stock Show enjoys boils down to the people doing the work.”

The Stock Show team, at all levels, remains flexible and responsive keeping their collective eyes on the same prize. It’s proven to be an effective strategy that keeps people coming back. Over its storied 124-year history, the Stock Show has grown and expanded. In the early 21st century, the Stock Show annually hosts an estimated 1.2 million guests and competitors from every corner of Texas, across the country and around the world.

The local economic impact is huge. According to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article published on Oct. 15, 2020, the Stock Show generates about $88.6 million in spending. The number grows to more than $177.6 million when multiplied for related spending.

FORT WORTH AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS While the Stock Show is undeniably important from a business standpoint, it is arguably the flagship event that defines and maintains Fort Worth’s unique identity among Texas cities.

“Amon Carter Sr. may have summed it up best, when he coined the phrase, ‘Fort Worth is where the West begins,’” Barnes said.

In the early 19th century, Fort Worth became a hub for West Texas ranching families. Their legacy is an unmatched combination of cowboys and culture. The city of 895,000 residents boasts five world-class museums, a vibrant downtown, and the nation’s premier livestock and equestrian competition center—all within a short distance of one another.

Barnes is equally proud of Fort Worth’s friendly vibe.

“It’s still nice to walk downtown and have strangers say, ‘Hello!’” Barnes said. “Despite our size, we’ve managed to hold onto the feel of a much smaller West Texas town.”

In addition to its friendliness, Barnes recognizes Fort Worth’s diversity and inclusivity as assets. The city’s residents are 39

percent Anglo, 36 percent Hispanic and 18 percent African American reflecting a changing Texas.

“Fort Worthians like to say ‘y’all means all,’” Barnes said. The Stock Show has evolved with the city and added events such as the Cowboys of Color Rodeo, the Best of Mexico Celebracion and dia de la Familia.

A third attribute that Barnes credits for Fort Worth’s vitality is intentional, thoughtful civic engagement and philanthropy.

“Fort Worth is blessed with families who could live anywhere in the world, but they’ve chosen to remain where their roots are deep—and enrich our city,” Barnes said.

Public-private partnerships thrive here. For instance, the Will Rogers Memorial Center is owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth; the Stock Show operates there under a 30-day, multi-year lease.

Through the years, the Stock Show contributed more than $60 million (in inflation adjusted dollars) to public-private partnerships for expansion and renovation projects at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Those improvements, resulting in the finest equestrian and livestock facilities in the nation, were gifted to the City of Fort Worth for all to enjoy. The facilities host equestrian competitions throughout the year sanctioned by the National Cutting Horse Association, National Reined Cow Horse Association, United States Team Roping Championships and the American Paint Horse Association to name a few.

The city’s crowning public-private partnership, though, may be Dickies Arena. The 14,000-seat, multi-use arena, resulted from a partnership between Event Facilities Fort Worth, Inc., a not-forprofit private sector development partner that’s also a supporting organization for the Stock Show, and the City of Fort Worth.

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TWA MEMBER PROFILE

Completed in November 2019 for approximately $560 million, the city’s obligation was capped at $225 million. Private donations covered the remaining $335 million in construction and development costs. Upon completion, the arena, its parking garage and the land the facilities occupy were deeded as a philanthropic gift to the city.

While Dickies Arena was built to be Fort Worth’s home for sporting events, concerts, graduations and children’s shows, it was designed and built first and foremost for Stock Show rodeo.

“The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo wouldn’t be anywhere near the event it is today, nor would the people of Fort Worth enjoy these amazing public event facilities, without the various public-private partnerships that benefit our great city,” Barnes said.

THE MISSION FIELD As Texas has shifted from a rural to an urban state, the Stock Show’s role has shifted as well. Today, it—and its sisters in Texas’ other cities—are the primary opportunities for urban and suburban audiences to connect with agriculture.

“To me our mission is educating people about the role agriculture plays in society and in their daily lives,” Barnes said.

Showcasing agriculture’s contributions, especially to young people, excites him in a way that makes managing all the devilish details worthwhile.

“Walking in the livestock barns and seeing generations of families working together thrills me, but I really love watching the urban students,” Barnes said. “Those kids arrive here not knowing where milk comes from. When they see dairy cows getting milked, they just get so wide-eyed.”

He continued, “Wouldn’t it be great if just one of those kids was impressed enough to help feed the world one day? Of course,

TALKING TWA WITH BRAD BARNES In addition to helming the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Brad Barnes serves as director for both Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and TWA. Personally, why TWA? What does the organization bring to Texas that is important?

BB: TWA’s mission statement says it all: “Serving Texas wildlife and its habitat, while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife resources.” The Stock Show is committed to helping TWA advance this very important mission.

What is the value of partnering with other organizations such as TWA? How have TWA and FWSSR worked together?

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BB: Our partnership with TWA has been invaluable as we have worked to expand the Stock Show’s public offerings and features. Working with TWA, an event was created called Kids Gone Wild. It’s a hands-on experience tailored to children that introduces them to the many wonders of nature and the wildlife that inhabits Texas ranches and other lands dedicated to habitat preservation.

The wonderful staff at TWA organizes the annual event that draws thousands of children. They coordinate participation from approximately 20 organizations involved in natural resource education, wildlife habitat restoration and

MARCH 2021

preservation as well as activities that introduce youth to responsible hunting and fishing opportunities.

What’s next for FWSSR and TWA? BB: Continuing our collaborative efforts to help educate and enlighten the public on the importance of our natural resources—land, livestock, water and wildlife—and the role of private landowners as stewards of God’s awesome creation. It’s my hope that we can we grow what’s now a halfday event that engages a few thousand youth to something that touches a lot more people.

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you can’t walk through and pick out those kids, so we have to create opportunities for them all to be exposed to the industry.”

LAND, LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE Barnes knows the life-changing impact of discovering nature through agriculture and wildlife. He began life as a child of the city and cement, but today Barnes is a man of the land.

When he married the love of his life, Jil Tennison, 43 years ago, he became part of a family of stewards. In the 1940s, Jil’s grandfather Charlie Lupton, who was a Fort Worth Coca-Cola bottler, put together the aptly named Coca-Cola Ranch in Jack County. Her parents, Harry and Gloria Tennison, were avid hunters and conservationists.

“Hunting and ranching introduced me to life in the country and conservation,” said Barnes.

Bird hunting with good dogs quickly became a passion. His first love? Quail. A favorite memory involves a blue norther that roared across the Plains and blew into Paducah in a swirl of snow. Anticipating a serious hunt, Barnes and two hunting buddies had brought eight bird dogs. Hoping to spend more time in the country than in town, they had rented a single motel room.

“It was so cold that all 11 of us—three men and eight bird dogs—slept in one tiny room,” Barnes said. “The hunt was successful, but the lights of Fort Worth were a welcomed sight.”

Then, there was Bones, a German short-haired pointer who “looked like hell” because he stayed skinny and scruffy no matter his rations. In the pack of wide-ranging, sometimes hard-headed English pointers that belonged to his hunting companions, Bones stood out. He hunted close, retrieved downed birds and came when called.

One day, Barnes’ phone rang. It was his long-time hunting buddy, Bill Meadows. Meadows asked, “Can Bones go hunting today?”

“I still laugh about my dog getting invited to hunt without me,” Barnes said. “There are just some dogs that leave a mark on your life.”

The land leaves its mark as well. For the past 36 years, he and Jil have been heavily involved in managing the family ranch, which is now owned by Jil and her siblings Kit Tennison Moncrief and Lee Lupton Tennison. Through the years, they have run a cow-calf operation, a stocker operation and have partnered with TWA’er Emry Birdwell of Henrietta to utilize high-density, high-intensity grazing programs.

“I credit Emry with being the person who taught me to look to nature for answers about how to manage the land,” Barnes said.

These days, though, the grazing is leased to the Christian Brothers, a local family who shares the Barneses’ stewardship philosophy and commitment to well-timed, well-managed grazing.

“It gets back to the amount of time you can be present and really take care of things,” Barnes said. “I tell people, ‘I’m selling grass now, so I’m not too worried about the market, but I still worry about rains.’”

He continued, “Today, this ranch is my sanctuary. It is the place where we gather as a family to make our own memories… the place I go to get away from everything else.”

While hunting is part of the mix, the immediate family, which includes two children, their spouses and four grandchildren, often spends time just enjoying the outdoors and each other.

Common pastimes include fishing in the stock tanks, splashing four-wheelers through mud holes, exploring different parts of the ranch and talking about what they see, chunking rocks in the tank, and walking along the creek listening for turkeys, spotting deer and identifying animal tracks.

“These days, it’s just about getting the kids out on the ranch— and teaching them to slow down and look and listen to what nature is telling them,” Barnes said. “I want them to understand that if you pay attention instead of just blowing through, the land will tell you what to do to take care of it.”

Land lessons aren’t just for children. Barnes carries what he’s learned back to the city and to the Stock Show.

“It’s about taking a holistic approach, whether you’re managing people or natural resources,” Barnes said. “No one person is more important than others in an organization. And, if you sacrifice one aspect of your resource base to the benefit of another, the whole entity will ultimately suffer.”

He continued, “Positive change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes patience, persistence and years of hard work.”

“The ultimate goal and satisfaction, when it comes to the land, is passing the resource to the next generation in better shape than when you received it. For the Stock Show I want to build upon the many accomplishments of those who came before me and set it up so those who follow me can take the Show to even greater heights.”

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

GUNS & SHOOTING

Gunning for Gobblers Article and photos by LUKE CLAYTON

Regardless the gauge or action of shotgun you choose for hunting spring turkey, a heavy shot shell load is a must.

C

hoosing the proper shotgun and ammo for hunting spring gobblers can be a pretty simple affair. Grab a tight-choked 12 gauge, load it with a heavy dose of #4 shot, and you are ready to go, right? This combination definitely accounts for more spring turkey dinners than any other, but when we seriously consider gunning for spring gobblers many other factors come into play.

Today’s ammo designed for turkey hunting is light years ahead of where it was when I first began hunting spring gobblers. Back in the day, any 2 ¾-inch 12 gauge shell loaded with an ounce of shot was considered a “heavy” load.

Today, many turkey hunters won’t even consider going afield shooting anything less than 3-inch magnums loaded with an ounce and a half of shot. I agree with them. Coupled with a super tight choke tube, these heavy loads have the capability of really reaching out there.

Two years ago, set up a couple of hen decoys at 30 yards, and a big mature gobbler came trotting to what I thought was 50 yards. He was getting nervous, and I knew I had to take the shot quickly.

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MARCH 2021

I felt comfortable with the load of Hornady® Heavy Turkey Magnums and super tight choke in my shotgun making a clean shot on the gobbler standing in an open field. I estimated that I would be stretching my self-imposed maximum shooting distance of 40 yards by 10 yards.

The gobbler raised his head, looking in my direction. The load/ choke combination contributed to a successful harvest. When I ranged the distance, I learned I had just cleanly harvested a gobbler at 62 yards.

I certainly don’t recommend shooting turkeys with any shotgun at this range, but in this instance, I simply misjudged the yardage. A mature gobbler with an 11-inch beard made me anxious.

This same year, Travis Benes, who manages the Choctaw Hunting Lodge in southeastern Oklahoma, invited me up to hunt Eastern Turkeys. Eastern gobblers are “woods” birds and in my opinion, much more challenging to get within shotgun range than their Rio Grande Turkey cousins.

We were hunting in very tight cover and Benes called two mature gobblers within 25 yards, one on the first morning of the hunt and the other that afternoon. The heavy magnum shells I was using certainly had plenty of punch to cleanly harvest the biggest, toughest of gobblers.

Waiting for clean shots through little openings in the brush, I missed both the gobblers. Looking back, it wasn’t the ammunition that I was using, it was the super tight choke coupled with the fact that I was simply “aiming down the barrel” of the shotgun.

When I patterned the shotgun with the same round and super tight choke at 25 yards, I discovered a pattern of only 6 inches at that range. Rather than simply looking down my shotgun’s barrel, I could have greatly benefited from some sort of aiming device. Super tight chokes have their place but not in very tight cover unless one has the ability to aim accurately.

Which action one prefers for a “turkey shotgun” is definitely a matter of personal choice—some hunters like autoloaders but a few still use “old school” single shots. The late outdoors writer Bob Hood was one of the best turkey hunters I’ve hunted with.

Hood used an old single shot Ithaca Model 66 super single shotgun in full choke built back in the early 1960s. This was a lever action gun, but the lever only served as a means to break the barrel open to load/eject shells. Hood could break that old shotgun open, reload and be ready with a follow-up shot almost as quickly as I can pump a round into my Remington 870.

GUNS & SHOOTING

comfortable shooting turkeys with an arrow tipped with a sharp broadhead than using a tight choked .410, but again, it comes down to personal preference.

I’ve known a few turkey hunters who used light caliber rifles for their spring turkey hunting and made only head shots. I remember a group of doctors who hunted on the same lease as I in Schleicher County. They used calibers such as the .218 Bee and .22/.250, and all were very skilled riflemen. They had an ongoing contest each year for the longest bearded gobbler.

They hunted around feeders from elevated blinds. The downward angle of their shots was a definite safety advantage when using rifles instead of shotguns.

Their method of hunting was a bit unorthodox but I’d be the last to say it wasn’t challenging.

A few years ago, big bore air rifles became legal for hunting big game, including turkeys with the exception of Eastern Turkeys, in Texas. Although

I’ve yet to harvest my first turkey with an air rifle, I have plans to do so this season. I hunt with a 45 caliber Texan by Airforce Airguns that I’ve used to harvest whitetails the past couple years and hogs and exotics for the past several years.

I don’t know about head shots on gobblers but the big, slow-moving bullets traveling around 800 fps. should be ideal for precise body shots on gobblers within 60 yards. There will be minimal meat damage with these slow-moving bullets.

Arrow air guns are becoming more popular and rifles such as the Seneca Dragon Claw® which shoots both bullets and arrows should make a great gun for harvesting spring gobblers.

Regardless which sporting arm you choose for your spring turkey hunting, by all means equip it with a sling. We turkey hunters are known for packing a lot of gear, and slinging a rifle or shotgun frees up both hands for toting decoys, pop-up blinds and more.

The late Bob Hood, an outdoors writer, used an old single shot Ithaca Model 66 for spring gobblers.

I once asked Hood how many gobblers he had taken with that single shot, and he estimated well over 150. Many turkey hunters today would never consider going afield with anything less than a super tight choked semi-auto loaded with the heaviest loads on the market. But looking back on my years of chasing spring gobblers, I seldom remember getting a second shot especially when hunting in tight cover. It’s all about knowing your pattern at different yardages and having some accurate method of aiming.

There is a contingency of spring gobbler hunters who insist on using a .410 bore shotgun and getting really close for head shots. I have a couple of buddies who use their little .410s on gobblers and pride themselves on getting the birds within 20 yards before making the shot. There are also hunters who take to the turkey woods with nothing less than a 10 gauge.

Some would call this overkill but every hunter can use his own preferred gun.

Personally, I’ve harvested several gobblers with a bow and feel much more

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

POND MANAGEMENT

When Smaller May Be Better Article and photos by DR. BILLY HIGGINBOTHAM, Professor Emeritus, The Texas A&M University System

This 1/3-acre pond is ideal for producing catfish but is too deep to harvest by seining.

F

ifty years ago, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, now Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, embarked on a series of catfish production result demonstrations utilizing small farm ponds scattered across the northeastern one-third of the state.

The demonstrations’ stated goal was to investigate the viability of using small existing impoundments for catfish production, most of which served primarily as livestock water sources.

The idea was managing these waters to successfully increase farm nutrition, recreation and sometimes income by raising edible-size channel and/or blue catfish.

Texas is home to more than 1 million private impoundments and many, if not

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most, are well under one surface acre in size. While generally deemed as too small to manage for largemouth bass on a sustained basis, AgriLife Extension fisheries specialists believed that these smaller waters were suitable production units for species that would accept a pelleted ration.

To be successful, a series of Best Management Practices had to be developed in order to demonstrate the viability of improving unmanaged ponds that typically averaged only 100 pounds of fish (many of which were under-sized and or undesirable species for consumption) per surface acre.

Over the next decade, the Best Management Practices became wellestablished following hundreds of these catfish production demonstrations that

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proved that with proper management, these small waters that previously produced 100 pounds of fish per surface acre increased 10-fold to 1,000 pounds of edible-sized catfish per surface acre per year.

One of the challenges in evaluating the success of these demonstrations was the ability to monitor total fish production by harvesting and weighing all of the fish produced at the end of the annual growing season in November-December.

While many ponds can be utilized to produce catfish up to the 1,000-pound level, only those that could be harvested via seining provided the total production data needed to evaluate success.

As word spread about the viability of these small waters producing 1,000 pounds of edible-size catfish per surface

POND MANAGEMENT

acre per year, an increased number of landowners built ponds designed to allow a complete annual harvest by seining so re-stocking could take place the next spring.

The results were in. Small ponds with good water quality and no competitor fish species stocked up to 1,000 6-8-inchlong fingerlings per surface acre in March or April would put on at least 1 pound of weight gain by cool weather in November.

The pound of weight gain would result from the regular feeding of a quality floating catfish ration that would only require a total of 1 ½ to 2 pounds of feed fed for each pound of weight gain.

The BMPs developed as a result of this success story still apply to Texas farm ponds today. The added benefit is that if these ponds are primarily used for livestock watering, catfish production does not interfere with that purpose or vice versa.

Let’s take a closer look at these smaller ponds and the practices necessary to turn them into catfish production factories. It does not have to be a pond that is seinable (most aren’t), but it does need to be a pond that you can easily monitor—that pond in the Back Forty that requires a four-wheel drive and dry conditions to reach may not be the best candidate.

POND SIZE: Any pond from 1/10 to 1 surface acres will do. Keep in mind that a 1/10 surface acre pond is capable of producing 100 pounds of edible catfish per year—more than enough for several family and friends fish fries!

WATER QUALITY: A pH of 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 and total alkalinity of more than 20 ppm is ideal. Many East Texas ponds built on acid soils will need agricultural limestone applications to adjust pH and total alkalinity.

Off color water? No problem. I actually like muddy ponds for catfish production as you do not encounter as many aquatic weed problems. And because the catfish are on a commercial ration, they will not taste muddy.

EXISTING FISH POPULATIONS: Since many of these ponds contain existing fish populations, do yourself a favor and remove these fish prior to

stocking your catfish. Everything that is swimming in the pond either wants to eat the feed intended for the catfish or wants to eat the fingerlings themselves.

Rotenone is the fish piscicide of choice for remove existing fish.

STOCKING RATES/TIMING: Not everyone wants or needs 1,000 catfish per surface acre. That is ok—you can reduce the stocking rate of 6-8 inch fingerlings according to your needs. An added benefit to this reduced stocking rate approach is you buy yourself some time before the total weight of fish exceeds 1,000 pounds per surface acre, a level considered to be the carrying capacity of typical Texas farm ponds without additional management necessary to increase their carrying capacity, during the hot summer months.

As for when to stock, I prefer early in the growing season, typically March or April. This corresponds with warming water temperatures and triggers the catfish fingerlings to feed on a consistent basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEED/FEEDING: This is where a well-meaning pond owner sometimes runs off the rails. Yes, catfish will eat range cubes, dog food or a steady diet of bread (so will you if you

get hungry enough!) but none of these meet the nutritional requirements of our targeted catfish species.

Select a quality floating catfish ration that contains between 28 percent and 34 percent crude protein. You may need to select one with a little smaller pellet size initially so the recently stocked fingerlings can easily swallow the pellets.

Be consistent with your feeding protocol. Typically, most pond owners feed early or late in the day under low light conditions. Feed in the same location at each feeding and the catfish will quickly become trained to your truck driving up to the bank or your footsteps on the dock.

To maximize production and growth, regardless of the stocking rate utilized, plan on feeding at least six days a week from April through October with some pond owners feeding all seven days per week. The fish should be fed all of the floating ration they will consume in 15 minutes.

Fish that have been vigorously feeding and then one day abruptly stop may be a signal that something is wrong. It may be due to something as simple as a weather change that puts the fish offfeed temporarily. If it occurs during the

These 45 channel catfish weighing a total of 315 pounds were harvested in one night using a 4-foot long trap net.

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POND MANAGEMENT

summer months, especially on hot, still, cloudy days, it could also signal dropping oxygen which may require emergency supplemental aeration.

If low oxygen is suspected, it’s a good idea to check the pond at daylight, when oxygen levels are at their lowest level to ascertain if low oxygen conditions exist.

Catfish “piping,” swimming lethargically right along the surface, at daylight is a pretty good sign that the oxygen content has become critically low.

Winter feeding is best practiced weekly by picking a warm late afternoon after several days of warm temperature. Don’t expect the fish to eat much and weight gain will be minimal. Regardless, the fish should enter the Spring growing season in better condition than if not fed at all.

FISH HARVEST: This is the reason you stocked and managed your catfish pond, right? Obviously, angler harvest will be a great source of recreation for family and friends.

Even trotlines are sometimes used to insure enough harvest for a weekend fish fry. Other viable harvest tools include baited trap and hoop nets and even the occasional gill net. If that pond does happen to be “seinable,” then harvest of almost fish present can be accomplished in one fell swoop.

RECORDKEEPING: Keep up with the stocking rate, the number and average size of fish harvested. This is the best way to estimate the pounds of fish per surface acre remaining in the pond.

Given that the carrying capacity of most ponds will be 1,000 pounds of fish per surface acre during the summer months, pond owners stocking at higher rates (e.g., 1,000 fingerlings per surface acre) will find it necessary to harvest almost all of the production each year. This is a tall order unless the pond is seinable, although certain partial harvest tools including trap/hoop nets can be very efficient at removing

considerable numbers (and weight) of catfish.

For many pond owners, an alternative strategy will be to use a reduced stocking rate, which allows multiple years of fishing before reaching the carrying capacity requiring enhanced harvest pressure.

Whenever possible, catfish should be removed before they reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age. Despite opinions to the contrary, channel and blue catfish do not require running water to spawn and their reproduction can lead to over-population in a farm pond in just a few years.

Catfish stocking season is just around the corner. So, next time you drive by that small pond to check the cows, think of it as not only a livestock water source but as a resource for producing golden fried fish fillets that beg only for some good slaw and fries.

Until then, Good Fishing!

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SALT CREEK RANCH 1,671± Ac. Dimmit Co.

DullnigRanches.com DullnigRanches@gmail.com 210.213.9700

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Photo by Ross Studer

TEXAS

Wildlife Association Join like-minded individuals who value the land, water, and wildlife of Texas by becoming a member of Texas Wildlife Association. Our mission is to defend those natural resources for present and future generations through public policy advocacy, hunting outreach, and educating Texans of all ages.

For more information visit www.texas-wildlife.org/membership | (800) TEX-WILD

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

B ORDERL ANDS NEWS BORDERLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Novel Pathogens In Quails of the Trans-Pecos Ecoregion of Texas Article by TREY E. JOHNSON, DALE ROLLINS, CARLOS E. GONZALEZ and RYAN S. LUNA

Liver of a Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata) infected with Mycobacterium sp. collected in August 2019 in Brewster County.

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here are four species of quails who call the Lone Star State home. Three of these, Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Gambel’s Quail (C. gambelii), and Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae), live within the Trans-Pecos ecoregion of Texas.

These charismatic species draw many bird watchers to the region every year.

Quail are also considered economically

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Gambel’s Quail infected with Oxyspirura petrowi.

important game birds throughout the country. For instance, hunters who pursue Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus) in Texas spent an average of $254 in 2011 and 2012 to bag a single bird and about $1.5 billion annually on hunting expenses.

Unfortunately, quail populations in Texas have waned over the past few decades. It is estimated that Northern Bobwhite Quail and Scaled Quail

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The breast muscle of a Montezuma Quail infected with Physaloptera sp.

populations in Texas have declined 3-4 percent annually since the 1980s.

Researchers have identified habitat loss and urban sprawl as the primary cause of this decline.

It has also been speculated that pathogens may negatively impact these quail populations. Pathogens are organisms or other agents that can cause disease. Helminths, protozoa, and bacteria are all examples of pathogens.

BORDERL ANDS NEWS

Healthy proventriculus of a Scaled Quail (l) and proventriculus infected with Dispharynx sp. (r).

Helminths, or parasitic worms, are heavily studied and commonly recorded in wildlife species. On the other hand, the roles of single-celled microorganisms like protozoa and bacteria in wildlife are not well understood. Many pathogens are detrimental to upland game birds.

A prime example is the helminth Trichostrongylus tenuis in Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) of the British Isles.

Over a century ago, researchers began inspecting the effects of T. tenuis on red grouse. They discovered that higher T. tenuis infections reduced the reproductive success of Red Grouse.

These infections were responsible for “the Grouse Disease” and caused those populations to fluctuate from year to year.

This study sparked research on pathogen communities in the game birds of North America. For instance, a series of studies in Canada highlighted the influence of pathogens in Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosus).

This research found the helminth Dispharnyx nasuta caused extreme damage to the proventriculus, an important digestive organ. Moreover, it was determined D. nasuta infections were a significant mortality factor in Blue Grouse chicks. Researchers concluded that these infections could have population-level impacts.

These findings, along with the decline of Texas’s quail populations, set precedence for investigating pathogen communities in Texas’ quails. Recently, several studies identified pathogens, primarily helminths, in Northern Bobwhite Quail of the Rolling Plains of Texas and southern Texas. Fewer studies have analyzed the pathogen communities in scaled, Gambel’s and Montezuma quail of the Trans-Pecos.

To address this knowledge gap, researchers at Borderlands Research Institute surveyed the region’s quails for pathogens.

Desert quails were harvested from ranches across the TransPecos from 2019 to 2020. Those quail were then necropsied and examined for pathogens.

To ensure pathogen identification accuracy, they were submitted to the Texas A&M University Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Lab in College Station, Texas. This process provided valuable new information regarding pathogens in desert quails.

Our study documented eight pathogens that were novel within their respective hosts. The pathogens Dispharynx sp., Sarcocystis sp., and Mycobacterium sp. were recorded in Scaled Quail,

Oxyspirura petrowi and Aulonocephalus pennula were recorded in Texas’s Gambel’s Quail, and Subulura sp., Physaloptera sp., and a cestode were found in Montezuma Quail for the first time.

Though all of these findings are noteworthy, some may prove to be more crucial than others.

The proventriculus of a Scaled Quail was infected with Dispharynx sp. The infected individual experienced severe ulceration within the proventricular tissues.

This damage was comparable to that caused by D. nasuta in Blue Grouse and pen-reared bobwhites. Moreover, it has been shown that D. nasuta can cause increased mortality in Blue Grouse and pen-reared Northern Bobwhite Quail.

It is likely that Dispharynx sp. can negatively impact individual quail similar to our sample. However, due to their low prevalence it is unlikely that they are affecting wild Scaled Quail populations.

Within the muscular tissue of one Scaled Quail, we also recorded Sarcocystis sp., a protozoa that has not been documented in wild quail of the United States. This genus of protozoa parasite uses carnivores as definitive hosts.

S. calchasi has been reported in White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica) and Eurasian Collared-Doves (Streptopelia decaocto) from Texas. It was determined that these protozoa caused fatal encephalitis in the dove they infected.

Similarly, S. calchasi caused early-stage encephalitis in domestic pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica). In both cases, avian species were negatively impacted by S. calchasi infections.

If the Sarcocystis sp. we documented is S. calchasi, Scaled Quail may be experiencing similar effects.

The liver and spleen of one Scaled Quail were infected with Mycobacterium sp., likely M. avium-intracellulare complex or M. genavense. This is the first documentation of a bacterial infection in a desert quail.

Both species of bacteria are capable of causing avian tuberculosis. M. avium caused death and lower egg production in pen-reared Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus).

The Scaled Quail that was infected with M. sp. was likely suffering from liver failure. This supports the idea that quail infected with M. sp. have a decreased chance of survival.

The pathogens documented in Gambel’s and Montezuma quails were less detrimental to the hosts. However, they are still significant due to the lack of knowledge surrounding pathogen communities of these species.

This study helped describe the pathogens that can be found in Trans-Pecos quails. Pathogens documented in this study, such as Dispharnyx sp. and Mycobacterium sp., can negatively impact individual quail, while other helminths in desert quails may not be detrimental to their hosts.

This lends credence to the idea that more prevalent pathogens may be more prevalent because they have lesser effects on their hosts, and less prevalent pathogens may be less prevalent because they are more likely to negatively impact their hosts. However, more research is currently needed to determine the pathogens' prevalence and pathogenicity documented here before such speculation can be substantiated.

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Access to Property

BY LORIE A. WOODWARD

This is the second 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://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/texasaglaw/files/2019/05/ Owning-Your-Piece-of-Texas.pdf. Hard copies may be purchased by contacting the author.

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ssues of access come along with rural land ownership.

“In broadest terms, access is a way by which a thing or place may be approached or reached,” 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. “When it comes to landownership it means determining who is able to come and go on property—and how they get there.”

Under the legal umbrella of property access, easements are the most common issues that landowners encounter.

“When people talk about access to property, they generally have easement issues,” Lashmet said. “It creates real problems to own land and not be able to get to it.”

EASEMENTS An easement is a means by which a landowner grants another person the right to use the landowner’s property for a specific purpose. For instance, Amy can grant an easement to neighbor Brett to use a road on her ranch allowing Brett to reach his property that does not have public road frontage.

“An easement does not convey ownership of the property itself, but instead conveys the right to do what is expressly granted and any rights reasonably necessary to that,” Lashmet said.

The land on which the easement is granted is considered the “servient estate,” while the land the easement benefits is called

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the “dominant estate.” In the example above, Amy’s ranch is the servient estate and Brett’s the dominant.

EXPRESS EASEMENTS The agreement between Amy and Brett is an example of an express easement because Amy, the servient estate owner, “affirmatively granted” Brett the right to use the road. Express easements are governed by the language in the granting document, rather than the actions of the participants.

“Landowners who grant easements should be very careful with the exact wording included in the document granting the easement because it can impact the rights of the servient estate in big and sometimes unexpected ways,” Lashmet said.

In one Texas case, the servient estate owners granted an easement deemed a “ranch road” and tried to limit its use when the dominant estate owners built a housing development on their property and allowed residents to use the road. The court held that using the descriptor “ranch road” without more detailed limitations in the easement was not sufficient reason to limit the road’s use.

“A written express easement prepared by a qualified attorney is the best option,” Lashmet said. “The good ones clearly spell out the terms, so there are no misunderstandings. Once they’re filed in the deed records, they become public knowledge and can be acted on with confidence.”

IMPLIED EASEMENTS An implied easement is the other type of easement. As the name indicates, an implied easement is not created by an express grant, but one implied by law when certain conditions are met.

“Implied easements must be adjudicated in court, which means they can be time-consuming and expensive,” Lashmet said. “Plus, the burden of proof rests on the person seeking the easement; it’s not easy to prove the factors, so there are no guarantees that the time and expense will result in the desired outcome.”

L AW O F T H E L A N D

The four types of implied easements include easements by necessity, prior use easements, easements by prescription and easements by estoppel. Each type of implied easement has a separate and different set of conditions that must be met for the court to grant an easement.

An easement by necessity arises when a grantor either conveys or retains a parcel of land and fails to expressly provide for a means of access. In situations like this, courts have assumed the initial landowner intended to provide access and simply failed to do so. In order to successfully obtain an easement by necessity, the party seeking the easement would have to show (1) prior unity of ownership between the dominant and servient estate; (2) true necessity of access; and (3) the necessity existed at the time of severance.

For instance, if Amy owned 100 acres and offered to sell the back 50 acres, which had no other access, to Brett, the court would likely conclude an easement by necessity is implied if Brett proved all of the necessary factors.

A prior use easement is based, as the name indicates, on prior use. The courts recognized this type of easement once it became apparent that the necessity framework was ill-suited to address improvements such as powerlines or utility pipelines. Again, the party seeking the easement will have to prove a number of stringent conditions including “the use must be necessary to the use of the dominant estate.”

As an example, in a case where a landowner sold one parcel while retaining ownership of another, yet failed to reserve any water lines to service his home, the court held a prior use easement existed.

Unlike an easement by necessity and a prior use easement where a landowner’s consent is assumed, a prescriptive easement only exists where no such permission to use an easement exists.

“Courts tend to disfavor this type of easement, so each element—which generally are very difficult to prove—is carefully scrutinized,” Lashmet said.

To obtain a prescriptive easement, the person claiming the easement must prove he or she has used the easement for at least 10 years and the use was: (1) open and notorious; (2) continuous; (3) exclusive; and (4) adverse.

One case where the elements were satisfied involved a rural road on a landowner’s property where the neighbors used it without permission for more than 40 years. They did not allow anyone else to use the road, which they maintained, and enclosed the road with a fence and a gate at the end.

An easement by estoppel arises when one person acts in reliance on being told that an easement exists. As with other implied easements, the landlocked owner is forced to file a court action, prove the specific elements, and get a judge’s order.

In Cores v. Laborde, a recent Texas case, the courts held an easement by estoppel existed with regard to a road that the prior landowners had used for years without objection. The purchasing landowner was told by the seller that he was able to use the road and in fact, the seller had built new cattle pens on the road. With these facts, the court found the new owner purchased the property in reliance on his ability to use the road.

LANDLOCKED PROPERTY Contrary to popular coffee shop wisdom, neighboring landowners are not required to allow access to a “landlocked” piece of property.

“As a landowner, you do not have to grant an express easement to anyone to allow them access to their land,” Lashmet said. “It’s a case of buyer beware. Purchasers should ensure they have clear access.”

During purchase transactions, access issues become apparent early on because it is impossible to get title insurance or a bank loan. Of course, some people may choose to pay cash, which circumvents these hurdles initially, but they could resurface if the purchasers ever choose to sell. The looming issues also limit potential buyers.

Access issues with landlocked property often arise with inherited property.

“Many people find themselves in situations where access was provided through a handshake deal, but the people who shook hands on it are long dead—and there is no record of the agreement,” Lashmet said.

Regardless of how they came to own landlocked property, landowners have options.

“Likely, the best thing to do is try to negotiate an express easement with one of the neighbors, even if it means purchasing it,” Lashmet said. “Express easements bring certainty.”

If negotiations fail, the landlocked landowner can begin researching the applicability of the various implied easements.

As noted earlier, each type of implied easement has a specific set of facts that must be proven for the easement to be considered by the court. Even if the facts are proven, there is no guarantee that the court will rule in favor of the landlocked owner.

As a final option, landowners may consider a provision in the Texas Transportation Code (Section 251.053) that allows a statutory easement to be granted by a commissioners court.

Under this provision the commissioners court can determine that no access exists and issue an order to create a public road to connect the landlocked property to another public road. Note, the commissioners court has the option, but is not required, to take this action even if all elements are satisfied.

While this provision exists, there are many practical hurdles, not the least of which is that the county must cover the cost of road construction as well as damages to any property that the new road crosses. Additionally, there are potentially some constitutional concerns with this approach of which parties seeking this type of access should be aware.

“This option like implied easements carries no guarantee of success despite the time and effort expended,” Lashmet said.

“An express easement, when available, is the landowner’s gold standard for access.”

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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PUBLIC LAND TURKEYS Article and photos by NATE SKINNER

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unting for wild turkeys in the spring is enjoyable but challenging.

Some hunters refer to turkeys as the “smartest yet dumbest” creatures to hunt. This comes from the fact that at certain times, wild turkeys will respond to a call and come running in, seemingly on a rope, providing hunters with quick and easy shot opportunities. Other times, turkeys will come to a call but then hang up just out of range almost as if they sense something isn’t quite right. These moments can be frustrating and humbling. It’s all part of turkey hunting.

When everything comes together for a close encounter with a boss gobbler, the effort put into the pursuit becomes worth it. From their strutting displays to their thundering gobbles, longbeards provide plenty of excitement as they live out their springtime love stories in the turkey woods. Experience this up close and personal is an absolute treat.

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There’s definitely something to be said about stepping onto unfamiliar turf, successfully locating wild turkeys and then maneuvering in close proximity to them. It’s a challenge that many spring turkey fanatics live for, and there are public lands across the Lone Star State that provide that opportunity. In fact, the number of public land turkey hunting opportunities that are available might just be a lot more plentiful than most would think.

PUBLIC LAND OPTIONS According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Wild Turkey Program Leader Jason Hardin, there are several TPWD Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that offer drawn public land turkey hunts. They include Caddo Lake WMA, Gene Howe WMA, James Daughtrey WMA, Kerr WMA, Matador WMA, Muse WMA, Pat Mayse WMA, Powderhorn WMA, Roger Fawcett WMA, and San Angelo State Park.

PUBLIC LAND TURKEYS

All of these WMA turkey hunts have varying dates and regulations that can be found at the TPWD website on the drawn hunts page. Although the application deadline for these hunts has expired for this season, most of them accept standbys.

“Our drawn public land turkey hunts are often underutilized by hunters,” Hardin said. “Anyone that is interested in making one of these hunts should contact the WMAs and ask if they have filled all of their drawn spots. Even if they have, showing up for the chance of being chosen as a standby hunter in the case of a no show could be a gamble worth taking.”

This is the first year for the Powderhorn WMA to host a spring turkey hunt.

“WMA staff marked wild turkeys on the Powderhorn in February of 2020,” Hardin said. “We hope this data will show how the birds are using the WMA to support future management decisions.”

Hardin said that TPWD also offers E-Postcard drawn hunts for spring turkey at the Moore Plantation WMA. “The way hunters are selected for these hunts are very similar to the drawn hunts on other WMAs,” Hardin said.

Hunters must possess an Annual Public Hunting Permit in order to attend an E-Postcard turkey hunt. More information about these hunts can be found on the same page of the TPWD website as the WMA drawn hunts.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) along Lake Texoma also offers a three-day spring turkey hunt.

“Hunters must apply for this hunt with the refuge through the TPWD website,” Hardin said. “Unfortunately, they do not accept standbys and the application deadline for year’s hunt has passed. It’s something that spring turkey hunters should keep on their radar for next season.”

The Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands offer season long spring turkey hunting opportunities. Hunters must possess both a Texas hunting license and an Annual Public Hunting Permit when hunting here. For more information about these public lands controlled by the US Department of Agriculture, visit https:// www.fs.usda.gov/help/texas.

Public land hunters can also find turkey hunting opportunities in north Texas within the Teacup Mountain Wildlife and Recreation Area. It is open to the public on most days throughout the spring turkey season. For updates on closures or more information about turkey hunts here, check out https://www. teacupmountain.com.

Hardin said that Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is another public land option for spring turkey hunters. Hunters can contact the park at (806) 857-3151 for additional information.

“There are several Army Corps of Engineers (COE) properties that offer public turkey hunting as well,” Hardin said. “Not many folks know about the

hunting opportunities on these lands, and there are definitely some hidden gems for those willing to put in the work.”

For a full list of the Army COE properties with public hunting opportunities, visit https://www. s w f - wc .u s a c e . a r my.m i l / l a k e /SW F_ Hunting_Guide_ Final_ 2020_ 2021.pdf It is important to note that not all of the properties within this link offer spring turkey hunting.

Hardin said that TPWD has been working with the National Wild Turkey Federation on habitat projects across many of these public lands listed above, to improve habitat for wild turkeys.

“This has been a successful collaborative effort,” Hardin said.

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PUBLIC LAND TURKEYS

LOCATING WILD TURKEYS ON PUBLIC LANDS One of the easiest ways to pinpoint where turkeys are congregating on any given property is to hear them gobble.

Unfortunately, gobblers don’t just let out their piercing calls regularly, all day long. There has been extensive research conducted that reveals specific time windows and conditions in which hunters should expect to find the birds more vocal.

Dr. Bret Collier is a professor of wildlife ecology at Louisiana State University who has been conducting wild turkey research in Texas in conjunction with TPWD and the National Wild Turkey Federation for the past 15 years. Some of Collier’s research has been focused on when turkeys tend to produce the most gobbling activity.

Collier’s research has employed the use of automated recording units (ARUs) that hang in trees and record all ambient sounds from about two hours before sunrise to about one hour after dark.

“An ARU is basically like a fancy tape recorder that records sound,” Collier said. “Then we extract the gobbles that we hear out by day and time of day, and use those to monitor gobbling chronology.”

Collier said that the ARUs have revealed that most gobbling activity occurs between a half hour before sunrise and one hour after sunrise.

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“Across the board, about 90 percent of gobbling occurs by 10am,” Collier said. Obviously, there is some activity later in the day, but overall, turkeys tend to be more vocal during the morning hours.”

According to Collier, weather conditions also affect gobbling activity.

“Increases in wind speed and the presence of rain equate to decreases in gobbling activity,” Collier said. “Ecologically this makes sense for a bird that uses auditory and visual cues to portray fitness, since these conditions limit these abilities.

Furthermore, predation risk is likely higher in these conditions due to decreases in auditory and visual abilities, so perhaps that’s another reason why turkeys tend to be less vocal during periods of strong winds and rain.”

Collier said that a negative change in barometric pressure is also typically related to decreases in gobbling activity.

“Declines in barometric pressure represent an incoming front bringing rain and wind,” Collier said.

Collier’s research has also shown that temperatures above 75 degrees tend to result in a rapid decrease in gobbling activity.

“Besides inclement weather and warm temperatures, most other weather metrics have proved to have little impact on changes in daily gobbling activity,” said Collier.

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Hunters can use this information to plan accordingly when preparing to hunt public lands that they may not be familiar with to locate wild turkeys. Scouting and hunting during the optimal time windows and conditions will give them the best chance at achieving public land success.

WILD TURKEYS ACROSS TEXAS THIS SPRING According to Hardin, the Cross Timbers and northern Edwards Plateau regions saw very good production from wild turkeys over the past two years.

“Hunters should see a lot of jakes and 2-year-old gobblers,” Hardin said. “They may also have to contend with a lot of young hens that often, do not put much of an effort into nesting, and therefore distract gobblers from decoys and calls.”

Hardin said that the eastern portion of south Texas also had two decent years of production from wild turkeys, and that the region should offer some great hunting opportunities.

“The Rolling Plains has seen mixed success,” Hardin said. “The eastern portion of the Rolling Plains is in good shape. However, the traditional strongholds from Wheeler County and south to Cottle and Foard Counties did not get the population boost that others areas have experienced. TPWD staff are looking into this concern and may develop calls for research proposals next year if we do not see any changes in this trend.”

Hardin said that east Texas is in about the same shape as it has been for the past few years when it comes to wild turkeys.

“Hunters can expect to find birds in east Texas this spring in the same areas that they had encounters with them last year,” Hardin said.

There’s nothing like a change of scenery or getting out and exploring more of what our great state has to offer, and now is the perfect time to experience it. Springtime is here and thundering gobbles from long beards fill the air.

Public land turkey hunting opportunities abound for those willing to put in the effort and cover a little ground.

You’ll never know what hidden gems await you in the turkey woods unless you try.

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Photo courtesy of Carol Mayhew, North Texas Master Naturalist Chapter

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

Trail marking at John Bunker Sands Wetland Center by North Texas Master Naturalist volunteers is an example of a Texas Master Naturalist service project.

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TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS Getting Dirty for Conservation Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD

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Naturalist volunteers. As a point of comparison, TPWD has about 3,500 fulltime employees and AgriLife Extension has about 1,350 full-time employees including management, administration and other “non-field” positions.

On average the Texas Master Naturalist corps contributes about 450,000 hours back to the state each year. Some volunteers complete their required 40 hours of service, while others give back 1,000 hours or more.

“In human resource department terms, 1,000 hours is the equivalent of a part-time employee,” Meuth said. “We have several volunteers who have achieved a 20,000hour milestone, which is incredible considering Texas Master Naturalist has only been around for 22 years.”

Photo by CJ McDaniel

exas Master Naturalists get dirty on behalf of conservation—and multiply the outreach efforts of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

“Recognizing conservation is a big job in a big, diverse state like Texas, TPWD and AgriLife founded the Texas Master Naturalist program 22 years ago,” said Mary Pearl Meuth, Assistant State Coordinator of the Texas Master Naturalist program. “The founders knew we needed more hands on deck.”

Since its inception, the program has trained 13,000 people to do the handson work of conservation, education and technical guidance. On any given year, there are about 6,000 active Texas Master

Barron Rector, state Extension range specialist, instructing Coastal Prairie New Training Class Members at Attwater Refuge, 2017.

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Photo by Robbin Mallett

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

Pollinator Protectors, Coastal Prairie Chapter at work.

The statewide program is organized into local chapters that encompass single county or multi-county areas. Currently, 48 chapters, covering about 80 percent of Texas, exist; two more are in development and expected to launch in 2021.

“It’s a ‘learn here, give here’ model,” Meuth said. “We want our volunteers to know what is in their backyards, so they can identify, manage and conserve the local resources—and reach out to their neighbors who share the same environment.”

To become a Master Naturalist, volunteers complete at least 40 hours of combined classroom and field training in all aspects of conservation.

“We cover everything from ecoregions, soil, water and weather to the ‘-ologies’—mammalogy, herpetology, ichthyology and even geology,” Meuth said. “We also tackle management practices that bring conservation down to the landscape level.”

Many people are initially drawn to the organization to gain knowledge.

“A desire to learn about nature is what hooks most people,” Meuth said.

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BECOMING—AND STAYING— A TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST Contact your local chapter either through the AgriLife Extension office or through the Texas Master Naturalist website (txmn.tamu.edu).

Determine when the chapter is offering training, which is a minimum of 40 hours of combined classroom/virtual and field experience. Training fees range from $25-$125, depending on the local chapter.

Take the training. (This may be the most challenging part because most chapters only host training once a year.

If you miss the annual session, you will have to wait until the next cycle.)

Upon training conclusion, engage in local chapter projects and log at least 40 volunteer hours each year.

To remain active, complete 8 hours of advanced training each subsequent year.

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

She likens the learning experience to drinking knowledge from a fire hose while tumbling down Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole.

“Once you fall into the Master Naturalist’s rabbit hole, you’re gone,” Meuth said. “You suddenly have unlimited access to this huge network of naturalists—and every question and its answer leads to more questions, more curiosity, more classes, more workshops. And the rabbit hole is bottomless because no one ever learns everything about nature.”

While many people come for the knowledge, they stay for the people. Karen L. Aho, president of the Prairie Oaks Chapter, recalled her first encounter with the Master Naturalists. As a non-profit professional, Aho had been invited to speak to the Stephenville-based chapter soon after its founding.

The members introduced themselves. As they began to share their experiences and interests, Aho had a revelation.

“I said to myself, ‘I have found my people,’” said Aho, a native of Pennsylvania who grew up hunting and fishing. “Years later, with people coming and going, I can still say, ‘These are my people.’ The people drawn to Texas Master Naturalist are just my kind of folks.”

In college, she majored in environmental studies and found her dream job as an environmental educator. A move to Texas and a lack of environmental education jobs prompted her to change her career path.

“I joined Texas Master Naturalist as a way to stay in touch with that portion of myself,” Aho said.

Not everyone who comes to the Master Naturalists is a traditional hiker-camper-hunter-angler outdoors enthusiast.

“I’m not a wilderness woman, unless you count gardening in my backyard,” said Martha Cray, president of the Alamo Area Master Naturalists, the state’s original chapter, based in San Antonio.

The retired kindergarten teacher found the program through a friend. Her first encounter involved toddlers, earthworms and storybooks at San Antonio’s Friedrich Wilderness Park, which was also the site of the first Master Naturalist training.

“I thought I was done teaching kids, but seeing their eyes light up lit a fire in me,” Cray said. “It was so fun and rewarding. I tell my friends, you go pull weeds and lead hikes, but give the kids to me.”

Master Naturalists are as diverse as the landscape of Texas.

Many are retired from natural resource agencies, corporate offices, higher education, medicine and law. Some people are firsttime landowners eager to learn to care for their own resources.

The corps includes students as young as 18. According to Meuth, the program is enjoying an influx of 20-somethings and 30-somethings who are joining urban chapters as a way to give back to the planet.

“Everybody brings something different to the program, which is what makes it so wonderfully rich and interesting,” Cray said. “We all take our volunteering seriously, but we have such a good time doing it—and our project partners so appreciate our efforts.”

Collegiate chapters are another recent development.

According to Aho, whose chapter includes Tarleton State

Daddy took me mothing. Photo by Valerie Taber, TMN Rio Brazos Chapter—Best of Show Winning photo in 2020 TMN Annual Meeting photo contest

HOW DO I GET MY LOCAL TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST CHAPTER INVOLVED IN MY PROJECT? “Our chapters have local autonomy, so the best thing to do is get involved locally. Attend a local meeting. If you have conservation expertise, share it with the group as a speaker.

Maybe get trained as a Master Naturalist yourself. Introduce the chapter to your project. Propose a partnership.

The Texas Master Naturalist program is all about building relationships. Build the relationship, build a worthwhile project—remember our volunteers like to put their hands in the dirt on behalf of conservation…they’re not peanut butter sandwich makers—and likely they will come.”

--Mary Pearl Meuth, Assistant State Coordinator, Texas Master Naturalist

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Photo by Garrett Engelbardt

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

Floating Dock Work, Coastal Prairie Chapter.

University, students get volunteer experience for their resumes, leadership skill training, mentoring, and a statewide network.

“In Master Naturalists, we’re like one big family of nature nerds,” said Meuth, laughing. “When our students leave their universities and go almost anywhere in Texas, they’ve got a built-in family ready to welcome them.”

As might be expected, the projects are as diverse as the Lone Star State and the volunteers tasked with completing them. The local chapters exist to meet local needs, so there are no-one-sizefits-all volunteer opportunities.

In San Antonio, volunteers work with a host of partners ranging from the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department to the National Park Service to the San Antonio River Authority to the Witte Museum and many more. As examples of their efforts, they clear hiking trails, battle invasives, plant and maintain pollinator gardens, test water quality, teach children and guide educational walks.

“We’ve got so many places to plug-in,” Cray said. “You don’t even have to like being outside because there are websites to be maintained, books to be balanced and lesson plans to be developed. There’s something for everybody.”

TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST IN THE COVID-19 ERA

When COVID-19 arrived in Texas last March about one-half of the Texas Master Naturalist chapters were in the middle of their annual training programs.

“Chapter leaders quickly came up with new ways to connect at a distance,” said Mary Pearl Meuth, assistant state coordinator for the Texas Master Naturalist program. “The takeaway has been just how innovative the Texas Master Naturalist family is, whether it is in how they communicated or how they adapted their training and their projects to accommodate social distancing and an unprecedented situation.”

As an example, one chapter that is working with landowners to create

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pollinator gardens and reseed land back to native plants used Facetime to provide technical guidance as the landowners walked their property.

For the first-time, the Texas Master Naturalist staff hosted a virtual Volunteer Fair. The fair was a round-up of digital projects where volunteers could contribute their expertise online. In one instance, Texas Master Naturalists in South Texas contributed their photos and plant identification skills to a range plant website being developed by the AgriLife Extension Range Specialist in Corpus Christi. The fair was so successful that another was held in February 2021.

Like so many organizations, the Texas Master Naturalists moved its five-day annual meeting online in 2020. Staff had four months to transition to a fully digital platform.

“We were building the airplane while we were flying it,” Meuth said.

The results? Attendance doubled to almost 1,200 participants.

“The virtual experience removed the barriers of distance and expense,” Meuth said. “And because the sessions were taped it allowed people who work full time to participate after hours.”

MARCH 2021

With the goal of keeping volunteers both safe and active, Texas Master Naturalist leaders are watching the progression of COVID-19 as they plan 2021. At the time of this writing, both local trainings and the annual meeting are in flux.

“2021 is a total toss up right now,” said Meuth, noting the organization follows the COVID-19 guidelines prescribed by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, which are changing almost weekly.

When it comes to local training, some chapters are transitioning to a 100 percent virtual platform. Others are postponing. Staff is preparing a list of all chapters that will be providing training in 2021 and will post it on the statewide website in early 2021.

The Annual Meeting occurs in October. At the moment, staff is deciding what form it might take.

“Our preference is to hold the Annual Meeting in person so we can see our friends and family again, but we also feel strongly that we need to include a virtual component, so those who aren’t able to travel can stay engaged,” Meuth said. “A hybrid approach is most likely, but it’s all yet to be decided.”

Photo by Kyle Purvis

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

In the four-county area served by the Prairie Oaks Chapter, volunteers maintain a native prairie demonstration site and a pollinator garden. Some assist at the fish hatchery at Lake Possum Kingdom or as interpretative guides at area state parks.

Other people volunteer at community museums. The chapter, in conjunction with the Big Country Chapter based in Abilene, is planning a bio blitz at the 4-H Center in Brownwood.

“One of the big challenges in the non-profit world is having volunteers whose skills meet your organization’s needs,” Aho said.

“Master Naturalist is different, though, because we train you well and then ask, ‘So what are you interested in doing?’”

Another thing that sets Master Naturalist apart, according to Cray, is the clear expectations for service and lifelong learning.

To remain as an active volunteer, Master Naturalists must contribute at least 40 hours of service annually and complete 8 hours of advanced training.

“You give back to your community and you get back new knowledge that keeps you current, excited and engaged,” Cray said. “Thanks to my mother, I’m a lifelong learner, so new information feeds my enthusiasm.”

From Meuth’s standpoint, the Texas Master Naturalist program continues to thrive and grow because volunteers can see their impact.

“Whether it is butterflies and bees feeding in a pollinator garden or invasive plants disappearing from a native prairie or the light of understanding coming on in a child’s eyes, our volunteers can see their impact over time,” Meuth said. “They and the members of their conservation family are making a difference in their communities and in Texas—and it shows.”

Estuary Seining, Cradle of Texas Chapter.

WHY IS TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST A GOOD PARTNER FOR TWA AND CONSERVATION LEGACY? “Master Naturalists have more passion and drive to learn about Texas’ natural resources than any other group of people across the state. Not to discount the work done by natural resources professionals, but there are Master Naturalists out there that have invested such a tremendous amount of time and energy to learn about our natural world, that they can rival the experts. Not only do Master Naturalists participate in TWA programs to further their education, but there are also those that come to TWA to enhance the education of others—they come to TWA to volunteer. They serve as instructors at youth field days and as Huntmasters for the Texas Youth Hunting Program. They truly are the boots on the ground that stand side by side with the professionals to ensure that conservation education and stewardship continues to permeate Texas and Texans.”

--Kassi Scheffer-Geeslin, Director of Youth Education, Texas Wildlife Association

Official Corporate Conservation Partner of TWA

THANK YOU CAPITAL FARM CREDIT

FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

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More chefs are now using cast iron to showcase their specialty dishes.

OUTDOOR CAST IRON COOKING Article by TAMRA BOLTON

C

ast iron has been used to cook meals for more than 2,000 years.

What accounts for its longevity and continuing popularity? Could it be the connection with our pioneer ancestors or the glory days of the American West when Texas was young? Whatever the reason, using cast iron gets in your blood.

Cast iron aficionados are passionate and most of them are on a mission to convert the rest of the world to the joys of cast iron cooking. If you ever start using it, especially for outdoor cooking, you will likely discover its almost mystical allure.

In spite of my initial resistance, I’ve learned a lot about cast iron over the last 10-15 years. I’ve had to. My husband is

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MARCH 2021

obsessed with cast iron. Therefore, I am up to my eyeballs in cast iron cookware of every shape, size and make.

Recently, I spent some time talking with a few cast iron believers, and I want to share their helpful tips and a few recipes you can use with your own cast iron cookware. Even if you don’t own any cast iron, by the end of this article, you may just want to go out and find a pan or two…there are plenty of reasons to invest in these hefty wonder wares.

HISTORY OF CAST IRON COOKING First used around 220 A.D. during the Han Dynasty, cast iron became more widely used in 14th century Europe when casting techniques improved. Then, in 1707, a fellow named Abraham

OUTDOOR CAST IRON COOKING

Darby patented the sand-casting method, which is a similar process to what manufacturers use to create the pots and pans we have today.

Cast iron is one of the most durable cooking implements you can purchase. Dutch ovens and other pieces have been used for hundreds of years, passed down from one generation to the next.

If cared for properly, cast iron is seemingly indestructible.

The hey-day of cast iron usage in America was during the colonial period and on through the years of our expansion westward. Every wagon going west during the 1800s carried cast iron cookware, usually a frying pan and a Dutch oven.

The cattle drives that began late in the century also made use of the cookware. Every chuck wagon cook had a set of cast iron to fix the outfit’s hard-working cowboys’ breakfast, dinner and supper.

Old photos show the importance of this enduring cookware to every pioneer, trader and cowboy. Cast iron was also considered quite valuable. In fact, it was so important to daily life on the frontier that some early settlers’ journal entries mention it as being “more valuable than gold.”

While the popularity of cast iron waned somewhat in the mid-20th century with the advent of non-stick type pans, it has experienced a surge of interest in recent years especially among chefs. A growing number of health-conscious home cooks are also jumping on the cast iron cooking wagon, and cast iron cookware is experiencing an amazing 21st century comeback.

CARING FOR CAST IRON Many home cooks shy away from cast iron for several reasons. They think it is too heavy, too expensive, too much trouble to take care of and everything sticks to it. To answer these doubts and other concerns I consulted with Omar Alvarez, a native Texan raised on King Ranch and World Champion Dutch Oven Cook.

He qualified his advice by saying, “If you ask 10 people, you will get 10 different answers.” Even so, I am confident that the tips Alvarez shares here are reliable.

While the initial outlay for good cast iron cookery may be on the expensive side, its longevity outweighs the cost factor. I can’t count the number of non-stick and regular stainless pans I have thrown away over the years.

Alvarez agreed, “You can buy a good quality cast iron pan today, and you will still be cooking with it years from now. You can also pass these pans down for generations. How many other pans can you say that about? Some of my pans are well over 100 years old, and I use them every day.”

As for the weightiness of the cookware, Alvarez said, “How many other cooking implements can double as a workout?”

Enough said.

Cast iron, according to every expert I talked to, is naturally non-stick, if properly seasoned. Although there are various techniques to achieve this, here is one version: Carefully clean your pan using hot soapy water (Alvarez recommends Dawn), always making sure it is thoroughly dry with no rust spots visible; then spread a thin layer of shortening or vegetable oil

over the pan (and lid, if it has one), and then place it upside down on the middle rack of your oven at 375 degrees for one hour. Let it cool in the oven. Placing a sheet of aluminum foil under the pan will help catch the drips and keep your oven clean. If your cast iron develops rust spots or starts sticking, follow these steps to re-season your pan.

Most of the time, all you need to clean your cast iron pan is hot water. People fear using any kind of soap on cast iron, but Alvarez says that Dawn dishwashing liquid is a safe choice for cleaning. Just make sure the pan is thoroughly dry before storing to prevent rust spots and preserve the seasoning. Putting a freshly washed and wiped dry pan on the stovetop on medium heat for a few minutes will ensure that the pan is dry enough to store.

Also, Alvarez warns against applying oil to pans you don’t use regularly.

Using charcoal for cooking can be done just about anywhere making it a convenient choice for outdoor cast iron cooks.

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OUTDOOR CAST IRON COOKING

“If you don’t use a pan often, there is no need to oil it before storing. If you do oil it and don’t use it soon enough, chances are the oil will go rancid and you will have to clean and re-season the pan before using it again.”

If you find yourself with a rancid-smelling pan, you can use apple cider vinegar and hot water to scrub it and remove the rancid smell, then re-season.

Owning and using cast iron can be a joy if you know how to properly care for it.

“I own about 65 Dutch ovens and around 35-40 frying pans…

I’ve lost count,” Alvarez said. “I also have eight skillets that I keep on my kitchen counter. I cook everything in cast iron.”

DOS AND DON’TS WITH CAST IRON Although most things are better cooked in cast iron, there are a few things you should avoid with cast iron cookware: Texas and the western frontier were dependent on cast iron cookware for meals on the trail.

• Don’t put highly acidic foods such as tomatoes, vinegar or citrus juices in cast iron for lengthy times or marinate (with

A FULL MENU FOR A COOK-OUT WITH CAST IRON

by TAMRA BOLTON

DUTCH OVEN BRISKET 1 16-inch Dutch oven sprayed with Pam 8 to 10 lb. brisket, trimmed 5 or 6 slices bacon Tenderizer Black pepper Sprinkle both sides of brisket with tenderizer. Put into Dutch oven, fattest side down. Pepper top side and lay slices of bacon on top.

Put small amount of coals underneath and a small amount on the lid. Let brisket cook slowly till tender. (This recipe is from Sue Cunningham and sure to be a hit at your next gathering.)

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS (FOR A 16-INCH DUTCH OVEN) 4 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 4 Tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 cups buttermilk 8 Tablespoons oil Mix buttermilk and baking soda in large bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, and stir. Add oil and stir; gradually

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add flour until firm enough to dump out onto a floured board. Sprinkle flour on top and pat to ½ inch thick. Cut with floured biscuit cutter and place into Dutch oven (sprayed with Pam and with a small amount of oil in the bottom). Brush biscuit tops with melted butter. Bake with coals underneath and on top of lid. Check to keep from burning. (This recipe is from Sue Cunningham.)

REX’S HONEY BAKED BEANS 3 28 oz. cans Bush’s Baked Beans 1 bell pepper, chopped (any color) 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 cups cubed hickory smoked bacon 1 Tablespoon minced garlic ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup honey 1 cup BBQ sauce of choice (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s.)

Brown bacon in cast iron Dutch oven on medium fire— can cook over coals or an outdoor grill. Remove when crispy and set aside. Sautee onion and bell pepper in bacon grease until translucent. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add bacon back to Dutch oven and simmer 2 minutes.

Add beans, brown sugar, honey, and BBQ sauce. Cook until bubbly, stirring

MARCH 2021

occasionally. Remove from fire and ring that bell! This is an easy recipe for a family gathering. My family enjoys this side on the days when we are working cattle. It is a great accompaniment to steaks or hamburgers. (Recipe courtesy of Rex Holland) QUICK PEACH COBBLER (FOR 16-INCH DUTCH OVEN) ¾ cup butter 3 ¾ cups sugar 3 cups flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon 6 teaspoons baking powder 3 dashes salt 3 cups milk 3 teaspoons almond extract 1 ½ gallon sliced peaches (less 3 cups juice) Melt butter in Dutch oven. Mix batter: sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, milk, and extract. Pour into butter, and then put peaches in last. Bake 25 to 30 minutes with slow coals under the Dutch oven and hot coals on lid until done. Be sure batter is done. You can also cook in a regular oven at 375 degrees. (This recipe is a crowd pleaser too, courtesy of Sue Cunningham.)

OUTDOOR CAST IRON COOKING

Women are fierce competitors in outdoor cast iron events and win consistently in many contests.

bases using tomatoes or citrus juices) in cast iron pans; it can ruin the seasoning. It can also leave a metallic taste in your food, not harmful at all, just slightly unpleasant.

Spritzing lemon juice on a dish last minute or a splash of wine at the end of cooking won’t make a difference, if you don’t let your food sit in the pan for long.

• Since cast iron is slightly porous, it tends to take on strong flavors that can linger for a bit. To avoid this, skip cooking garlic, fish, strong cheeses, peppers and such. If you enjoy cooking desserts in cast iron like many chefs recommend, getting a separate cast iron pan for your most delicate flavored dishes would be wise.

• Delicate fish, even salmon, doesn’t always flip well when cooked in cast iron because it tends to fall apart.

• For the first months of use, cook mostly steaks, bacon and other fatty fare. This helps enhance the coating of seasoning in the pan and ensure that it will become truly non-stick. If a pan isn’t used often, it will take longer before your pan will be able to handle such items as scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc. Most people don’t use their cast iron often enough and are disappointed when everything they try to cook seems to stick. Follow the suggestion above and you will enjoy cast iron’s natural non-stick advantages.

• Never store food in your cast iron cookware. It will break down the seasoning and possibly promote rust.

✓ You can cook with cast iron using gas, wood or charcoal and can even bury your cast iron in coals without hurting it. ✓ Cast iron can be heated to extreme temperatures without any negative effects, while some of our modern non-stick pans release toxic fumes when heated beyond a certain temperature. ✓ Cast iron holds heat longer than other types of cookware and will keep food warm for longer periods without drying out. ✓ Cast iron will last longer than you! Good for hundreds of years, your cast iron cookware can be a lasting family heirloom. ✓ Your cast iron is one thing that will get better with use. ✓ Lifting your cast iron skillets can give your arms and shoulders a workout, increasing muscle mass and building endurance. ✓ Eating foods prepared in cast iron adds iron to your diet, making it an easy way to boost your iron intake. ✓ Good cast iron cookware is still less expensive than big name-brand cookware. ✓ Cast iron cookware is a hot new collectible with antique pans commanding top dollar.

OUTDOOR COOKING TIPS When I asked my experts what advice they would give someone just starting out in outdoor cast iron cooking, they all said the same thing: Practice. Practice. Practice.

Like a lot of outdoor skills, the basics can be taught; but to really finesse your abilities and become good at outdoor cast iron cooking, you have to start where everyone does…as a rank amateur.

I remember my first attempts at cooking with cast iron over a campfire—it was in the Boy Scouts Venturing program (offered for girls as well). I was supposed to be helping my daughter with

BENEFITS OF CAST IRON Not only is cast iron great for cooking most anywhere, it is also good for your health. Listed below are the many benefits of using cast iron: ✓ Cast iron can be used in the kitchen, on the stove top, in the oven, on your grill, on a campfire or a camp stove.

The key to cooking any recipe properly is making sure the coals or briquettes are evenly distributed on the bottom of the Dutch oven and on the lid.

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her outdoor cooking badge but like many first attempts, it didn’t turn out well.

Burned peach cobbler that is still raw in the middle isn’t too appealing, even to a bunch of starving Scouts.

Sue Shepherd Cunningham has been cooking Chuckwagon style for more than 30 years. She and her family have won four World Championships and 10 National Championships with their Dutch oven cooking. Sue and her late sister Jean Cates, were also inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2014 for their award-winning Chuckwagon cooking.

She also has a series of cookbooks dedicated to this type of cooking and was even a judge on the popular show Throwdown with Bobby Flay when he challenged legendary Chuckwagon cook Kent Rollins. I figured Sue must know her stuff, so I asked her for some tips on cooking outdoors in a Dutch oven.

Sue’s method of cooking over coals is her own: she adds that everyone has their own way of doing it, but this is what works best for her.

“Dig a hole about 2 ½ feet in diameter and about 6-8 inches deep,” she said.

“Make the sides slanted so you can get the coals out easier. Build a fire with mesquite wood and keep adding wood until you have the coals you need for cooking. Arrange the coals in a ring, about 2 inches wide, to set your Dutch oven on—don’t put any in the center because the heat will go to the center.

Same thing with coals on the oven’s lid, only put them in a ring along the outside edge of the lid; the heat will travel to the center. Watch your food carefully, and don’t overcook.

Cast iron holds heat and will continue to cook a little even off the heat. If you want the top more brown when you’re cooking biscuits and cobblers, put the lid back on (with the coals) for just a little longer. The wind also plays a factor in outdoor Dutch oven cooking.

If the wind is up, your coals will be hotter and everything will cook faster; if it is still, you need to allow more cooking time as things will cook slower.”

Alvarez also has some important tips for cooking meat in the Dutch oven. Learning how to control the temperature using coals or charcoal is one of the keys to success; using a digital thermometer for checking meat and determining when it is done will take the guesswork out of much of Dutch oven cooking.

“Time is not the biggest factor,” Alvarez adds. “The internal temperature of the meat and your nose will tell you when it’s done.”

TIME TO TRY YOUR HAND Hopefully, the tips and information here will help you venture into the world of outdoor cast iron cooking with some measure of confidence. If you’re still not quite sure if you’re ready for the challenge of charcoal or coals, maybe you’d like to try your hand at a little cast iron cooking in the kitchen.

There are plenty of reasons to make the switch to cast iron and enjoy its many benefits. Who knows…maybe someday you’ll find yourself camping or on a trail ride and you will be able to “wow” your friends with your amazing cast iron cooking skills. You can tell them you learned from the best!

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TWA’s 36th Annual Convention!

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Bring the family! Children 12 and under are admitted FREE! Visit WWW.WILDLIFE2021.COM or call (800) 839-9453 for more information

LOOKING FOR A HUNT OR TRIP OF A LIFETIME? Photo by Pamela Harte

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Looking for a hunt or trip of a lifetime? WildLife 2021 is the place to find it! Thanks to TWA Life Members Pam and Will Harte, Brian Austin harvested this great West Texas trophy elk this past fall, guided by Mike Williams and Adam Smith. Hunts like this are some of the exclusive items you can find at the TWA Annual Convention. WildLife 2021 will be held July 16-18, 2021 at the beautiful JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. (A portion of this year’s auction again will be conducted online.)

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TEXAS WILDLIFE

OUTDOOR TRADITIONS

Barn Swallows and Other Bird Watching Pursuits Article by SALLIE LEWIS

True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings. ~William Shakespeare

B

etween the start of the pandemic and the start of my sabbatical in the Texas Hill Country, hope was something I sought frequently in 2020. I found it in the waxing and waning moon, the arc of the sun from dawn to dusk, and quite unexpectedly, as Shakespeare noted, in the trace of a swallow’s wings.

My year of country living began in late winter of last year.

As the cold thawed and spring bloomed, birdsong became the soundtrack of the season. My house sits on the outskirts of Fredericksburg on a hilltop overlooking rolling fields and farmland.

Though I was living alone, I found surprising solace in a flock of Barn Swallows nesting around my home. Their shiny eyes, midnight wings, and cinnamon bellies colored those dark early days of the pandemic. Furthermore, their steady singing inspired me to find joy and music in my own life.

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Day after day, these winged architects worked dutifully engineering their nests along the eaves of my roof. As the weeks and months progressed, I saw their muddy, cup-shaped homes hatch with activity as tiny swallows with gaping yellow throats emerged from the surface. Watching the next generation eat, grow and learn to fly was a heartwarming reminder of life’s continuity, even in the toughest times.

Furthermore, the new hatchlings gave me faith that despite the challenges of the world, nature heals and life rebirths, moving ever onward.

I recently read that Barn Swallows are the most widespread species of swallow in the world. They are one of seven different swallow species in Texas alone, and while there may be nothing particularly rare about them, I’m learning there is extraordinary beauty in ordinary things. Nature has a way of painting that truth with a broad brush.

It has been a little over year since my sabbatical began. The swallows have long since left, migrating south in search of food and warmer weather, yet their nests never fail to remind me of what once was. While their departure left a void, I find comfort knowing we are all on our own journeys, our own migrations of mind, body and spirit.

Over the past 12 months, the greatest lesson I learned is to embrace each day with a grateful heart and eyes wide open.

Perhaps Mary Oliver said it best in her poem, Sometimes, “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Looking back at my journal from the past year, I realized every season brought with it new gifts born from Texas’ rich and abundant birdlife. In April, a flock of Sandhill Cranes flew high over my house. In June and July, I spent long afternoons lying outstretched beneath live oaks, watching the delicate iridescence of Hummingbirds as they sipped from my feeders.

Through the summer and fall, I listened every evening for the honk of wild geese and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks as they flew from the neighboring property. In December, Northern Flickers pecked for ants and beetles from the grass outside my home.

Soon, the Barn Swallows will return, and we’ll have come full circle. Hope is on the horizon.