Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Report of Current Research: 2011 Page: 2
84 p. : ill., mapsView a full description of this report.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
FOR EWOR
When I wrote this essay last
year in the fall of 2010, we
had just come off the second
T wettest September-September
on record. This came on the
j \heels of the driest September-
September period on record
(2008-2009). I swore I never
Wanted to see another summer
io like 2009. It was a beat-down
summer. Then came 2011. As
P, - I write this essay, I ache for the
. land and its wildlife.
On Bobwhites
In spite of the year we have had, bobwhite reproduction
has surprised us-broods have been reported when none
or few should exist. It does not mean a banner year or
even huntable populations, but it is a testament to the
hardy characteristics of this amazing bird and the will to
live. If we can give it a good home (habitat), keep from
parceling its home up into small pieces (fragmentation),
and get a little help from Mother Nature, they will be
in good shape in South Texas.
There has been an inexplicable and drastic decline of
quail in the Rolling Plains, and our friends in that region
have launched a study to see whether diseases and para-
sites might play a role in this disturbing trend. Our own
Dr. Alan Fedynich was invited to participate because he
is the "go-to" scientist when it comes to bird parasites.
We are lucky to have Alan on our CKWRI team.
Texas Native Seeds
One of our successful programs, South Texas Natives
(STN), was founded a decade ago by a few supportive
landowners and TxDOT. With its partners at the USDA
Plant Materials Center and at Rio Farms, it has been
so successful that TxDOT has funded an extension of
this project, Texas Native Seeds, to begin working in
central and west Texas as well. We applaud TxDOT
for its vision and encouragement, but we need private
funding to match the TxDOT funding. Private support
has been lacking for the central and west Texas work.
Because of our work, TxDOT recently took all non-
native plants out of their roadside specifications for the
bottom half of South Texas. This is not only a tribute to
STNbut also to the commitment and confidence TxDOT
has in our program and the commercial native seed in-
dustry, primarily Douglass W King Seed Co. and Pogue
Agri Partners. Native seeds developed by STNand their
partners, and produced by these companies, are finding
broad use, from levees in the Rio Grande Valley, to
pipeline right-of-ways crisscrossing the Eagle Ford and
on private lands. What an impact this program has had.
It's Not Just The Water Holes That Dried Up
Despite taking serious and unavoidable cuts ($140,000
over the next 2 years) to our state funding for the
Institute, the Caesar Kleberg Partners andSustainingContributors saved our operating budget and several
jobs. With our endowment working again, we are
making progress toward recovery. Unfortunately, the
research funding from Texas Parks and Wildlife Depart-
ment (TPWD) and federal agencies is drying up just
like your dove pond or stock tank did this past summer.
Monies that were available to fund some of our work
in the past will not be there in the foreseeable future.
That said, one of the newest partners we have been
blessed to work with is the East Wildlife Foundation,
one of the most exciting foundations to appear in South
Texas in many years. Projects on ocelots, wintering
birds, and large mammal baseline surveys are ongoing
as we speak, and are collaborative efforts with TPWD
and other institutions. Because wildlife on the Foun-
dation's 200,000 acres will never be hunted or inten-
sively managed, it provides a fantastic and fascinating
laboratory to understand how wildlife populations tick
when they are totally unaffected by man, except for
cattle grazing. Thanks to the vision and generosity of
Robert East, a man who lived South Texas ranching
from sun-up to sun-down every day of his life, there is a
lasting legacy to understand how ranching and wildlife
can coexist. This is an amazing gift to every Texan.
The Eagle Ford Shale
The Eagle Ford will have the greatest impact on wild-
life and its habitat of any single activity in the past 50
years. If you have driven south or east of San Antonio,
you know what I mean. This is an opportunity for us
to help understand the impacts and suggest options for
reduced impact, but we have only had meager success
at raising funds for this kind of research.
In October 2010, Carter Smith (TPWD Director) and
I gave a presentation to 2,000 participants at the Eagle
Ford DUG Conference in San Antonio. And yet, we
have had little response from the industry to help with
restoration techniques and best management practices.
Pioneer Natural Resources, ExxonMobil, and Cono-
coPhillips have been the most interested, but it will take
a far greater commitment to deal with all of the potential
wildlife and habitat issues. Given there are upwards
of 200 companies currently working in the Eagle Ford,
there is great potential for a wildlife research initiative.
In closing, it is hard for me to express the outpouring
of support we have in South Texas. And, it even goes
beyond our beloved region. We receive donations from
people who don't live, hunt, or own land in South Texas.
They just send a donation and say "keep up the good
work." It doesn't get more heart-warming than that.
Best wishes for a great Holiday and Christmas Season,
and, close to my heart,
Good Hunting.
-u cPg &
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Report of Current Research: 2011, report, December 2011; Kingsville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth326679/m1/4/: accessed May 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.