- A rancher near Van Horn, Texas is challenging the practice of Texas Parks and Wildlife shooting elk in the Sierra Diablo Wildlife Management Area, which borders his ranch.
- Parks and Wildlife says shooting elk is important for conserving desert bighorn sheep, whose habitat overlaps with elk. However, the rancher argues that elk should be protected.
- The issue reflects a disagreement over how to balance protecting native species like bighorn sheep with introduced species like elk. Parks and Wildlife amended their management plan slightly in response but still plan to control elk populations.
In Colorado, the number of nonprofits has increased significantly and has unfortunately outpaced growth in donor dollars. As a result of Grizzard's work with the Dumb Friends League, they have gained +16,462 new supporters, +45% net revenue, and more.
FORESTS: Old foes try cooperation in bid to revive rural economies, ecosystem...Natalie Bennon
Community foresters in Wallowa County, Oregon are trying to find a third way to manage forests that revitalizes the local economy while improving degraded ecosystems. Wallowa Resources brings together stakeholders like loggers, environmentalists, and government agencies to complete forest restoration projects. Their efforts have reopened one mill and created 35 new jobs. Similar community forestry groups are emerging across the Western US as a way to find solutions that address both economic and environmental problems plaguing rural communities.
The document is the 2014 annual report of the Nebraska Forest Service. It discusses several challenges facing Nebraska's trees and forests, as well as programs and efforts by the NFS to address these challenges. Some key points include:
- Nearly 38% of Nebraska's existing 174,000 acres of farmstead and field windbreaks are estimated to be in fair or poor condition and need restoration.
- The NFS has developed the TREES Heat Nebraska program to break through barriers and provide technical and financial assistance for facilities investigating wood fuel as a viable energy option.
- Emerald ash borer poses a major threat as it has been found within 65 miles of Nebraska and could destroy the state's 54 million ash trees
The document is the Spring 2006 bulletin from Save-the-Redwoods League. It discusses recent acquisitions by the League that have expanded and connected protected redwood forest lands. It also profiles a League supporter, Cynthia Grubb, who has dedicated her life to redwood conservation. The bulletin describes heavy rainfall that caused some large redwood trees to fall in Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the challenges of balancing natural disturbances with human impacts on the forests.
The document summarizes the Save-the-Redwoods League's work to protect and restore coastal redwood forests in California. It discusses the League receiving a top charity rating, their multi-year plan to protect redwood forests on a regional level, recent accomplishments restoring forests and protecting additional lands, and thanks donors for their support of the organization's mission.
This document is a map booklet for public hunting lands in Texas for the 2016-2017 season. It provides information on over a million acres of land owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other agencies that are open to hunting and other recreational activities through the purchase of an Annual Public Hunting Permit or Limited Public Use Permit. The booklet contains maps of the areas, rules, seasons, and other details. It also includes a scorecard for hunters to log their use of the lands to provide data for surveys conducted by TPWD.
This document summarizes the history of mule deer populations in the western United States and some of the key factors that have impacted their numbers. It describes how mule deer populations exploded in the late 1800s and early 1900s due to landscape changes from settlement and resource extraction. Numbers hit historic highs from the 1950s-1970s but have since declined drastically across much of the West. Reasons for the decline include less landscape disturbances, invasive species that reduced habitat quality, prolonged drought, and increased competition from growing elk populations. The document focuses on population trends and management efforts in Colorado and Wyoming to understand the challenges facing mule deer recovery.
The document summarizes the history and activities of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society from the 1970s. It describes how the 1969 oil spill galvanized the chapter into increased conservation advocacy. It outlines the chapter's efforts to protect local habitats from threats like oil drilling and development. These included frequent testimony at hearings and writing letters. The chapter's membership doubled during this time as it took on issues like protecting Lake Los Carneros from development. The piece honors the work of founding member Dick Smith and notes the chapter's early recognition of the dire situation facing the California condor population.
In Colorado, the number of nonprofits has increased significantly and has unfortunately outpaced growth in donor dollars. As a result of Grizzard's work with the Dumb Friends League, they have gained +16,462 new supporters, +45% net revenue, and more.
FORESTS: Old foes try cooperation in bid to revive rural economies, ecosystem...Natalie Bennon
Community foresters in Wallowa County, Oregon are trying to find a third way to manage forests that revitalizes the local economy while improving degraded ecosystems. Wallowa Resources brings together stakeholders like loggers, environmentalists, and government agencies to complete forest restoration projects. Their efforts have reopened one mill and created 35 new jobs. Similar community forestry groups are emerging across the Western US as a way to find solutions that address both economic and environmental problems plaguing rural communities.
The document is the 2014 annual report of the Nebraska Forest Service. It discusses several challenges facing Nebraska's trees and forests, as well as programs and efforts by the NFS to address these challenges. Some key points include:
- Nearly 38% of Nebraska's existing 174,000 acres of farmstead and field windbreaks are estimated to be in fair or poor condition and need restoration.
- The NFS has developed the TREES Heat Nebraska program to break through barriers and provide technical and financial assistance for facilities investigating wood fuel as a viable energy option.
- Emerald ash borer poses a major threat as it has been found within 65 miles of Nebraska and could destroy the state's 54 million ash trees
The document is the Spring 2006 bulletin from Save-the-Redwoods League. It discusses recent acquisitions by the League that have expanded and connected protected redwood forest lands. It also profiles a League supporter, Cynthia Grubb, who has dedicated her life to redwood conservation. The bulletin describes heavy rainfall that caused some large redwood trees to fall in Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the challenges of balancing natural disturbances with human impacts on the forests.
The document summarizes the Save-the-Redwoods League's work to protect and restore coastal redwood forests in California. It discusses the League receiving a top charity rating, their multi-year plan to protect redwood forests on a regional level, recent accomplishments restoring forests and protecting additional lands, and thanks donors for their support of the organization's mission.
This document is a map booklet for public hunting lands in Texas for the 2016-2017 season. It provides information on over a million acres of land owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other agencies that are open to hunting and other recreational activities through the purchase of an Annual Public Hunting Permit or Limited Public Use Permit. The booklet contains maps of the areas, rules, seasons, and other details. It also includes a scorecard for hunters to log their use of the lands to provide data for surveys conducted by TPWD.
This document summarizes the history of mule deer populations in the western United States and some of the key factors that have impacted their numbers. It describes how mule deer populations exploded in the late 1800s and early 1900s due to landscape changes from settlement and resource extraction. Numbers hit historic highs from the 1950s-1970s but have since declined drastically across much of the West. Reasons for the decline include less landscape disturbances, invasive species that reduced habitat quality, prolonged drought, and increased competition from growing elk populations. The document focuses on population trends and management efforts in Colorado and Wyoming to understand the challenges facing mule deer recovery.
The document summarizes the history and activities of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society from the 1970s. It describes how the 1969 oil spill galvanized the chapter into increased conservation advocacy. It outlines the chapter's efforts to protect local habitats from threats like oil drilling and development. These included frequent testimony at hearings and writing letters. The chapter's membership doubled during this time as it took on issues like protecting Lake Los Carneros from development. The piece honors the work of founding member Dick Smith and notes the chapter's early recognition of the dire situation facing the California condor population.
This document provides a summary of research projects and initiatives focused on restoring and studying pronghorn populations in the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas. The pronghorn population in this region has declined significantly since the 1980s and reached a low of 3,745 animals in 2011. Current research projects are evaluating the role of barriers on pronghorn genetics, identifying diseases and their effects, assessing predation impacts on fawns, documenting restoration efforts, and monitoring translocated pronghorn. The document discusses research on habitat fragmentation and genetics, high disease and parasite loads found in some pronghorn, and plans to study fawn survival rates. Funding comes from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other organizations.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help enhance one's emotional well-being and mental clarity.
This letter responds to a request to change Texas Parks & Wildlife's elk policy from extirpation to management. It provides several arguments against the current policy: 1) Elk are native to Texas based on historical records, cave paintings, and accounts from early settlers; 2) Eliminating elk is not supported by ecological science as elk fill an important niche as grass consumers; 3) The department has not adequately researched the topic as basic internet searches reveal evidence of elk inhabiting Texas; 4) It is illogical to think elk inhabited some areas of Texas but not others given their wide-ranging behavior; the policy of total elimination is not consistent with the department's mission of conservation based on sound science.
The archaeologist found several artifacts in a cave including a small corn cob fragment, arrow head, and sandal fragments. No ceramics were found except for one small sherd, indicating the site is older than 200 AD. The archaeologist will meet with a colleague to examine culturally modified bones found at the site. Radiocarbon dating will help determine the exact ages of the artifacts, and there is a chance a Paleoindian cultural deposit could be found 2 meters below the surface.
This document provides habitat guidelines for mule deer in the Southwest Deserts ecoregion. Precipitation highly influences deer populations as winter rainfall determines spring forb production critical for doe nutrition and fawning success. Excessive grazing can reduce forage availability, negatively impacting deer reproduction. Conservation efforts should focus on maintaining adequate forage through management of livestock and other herbivores.
Christopher Gill argues that habitat decline, not overhunting or other factors, is the root cause of declining pronghorn populations. He asserts that removing livestock from rangelands has led to "over-rest" which is as harmful as overgrazing. Gill's ranch in West Texas has increased its pronghorn herd by employing holistic planned grazing with cattle, while surrounding herds declined 80%. He advocates restoring biodiversity by grazing domestic animals and wildlife together under attentive management, and calls for a congressional inquiry into current range management practices.
The document discusses managing habitat for two species of quail - bobwhite quail and scaled quail. It outlines their requirements for food, water, cover, and home range. For food, quail eat plants and insects, relying heavily on forbs. Water should be available within half a mile. Cover includes brush, grass, and forbs for protection and nesting. Home ranges are typically 20-50 acres for bobwhite quail and 80-300 acres for scaled quail. The key is providing the right balance of food, water, cover, and space to support healthy quail populations on rangelands and farms.
The document summarizes a workshop called "Cows & Quail" put on by Holistic Management International that teaches land managers how to create healthy environments for livestock, wildlife, and land using holistic management grazing techniques. The workshop helps participants understand how large grazers like cows interact with quail species and other wildlife, and how their habitat responds to grazing. Participants saw significant gains in their knowledge of general ecology, wildlife habitat assessment, and management of species like mule deer and pronghorn. The workshop trained 39 people and influenced over 536,000 acres of land.
Report on Mule Deer Research in the Chihuahuan Desert Pitchstone Waters
1) A study evaluated the impacts of the herbicide Spike 20P on mule deer habitat in west Texas. Spike 20P effectively controlled invasive brush but significantly reduced forb diversity and abundance for at least 5 years after application.
2) Researchers analyzed seasonal home ranges of mule deer bucks in the Trans-Pecos using GPS collars. Winter home ranges were largest, and home ranges were smaller on ranches that provided supplemental feed.
3) The study found mule deer preferred areas closer to supplemental feed and water stations. Use of feed and water varied seasonally, with greatest use in fall and least in spring. Permanent water is especially important for mule deer in the arid Trans-P
The document provides historical and taxonomic evidence that elk were native to Texas before being hunted to extinction prior to 1900. It summarizes 13 eyewitness accounts and 8 reports of elk in Texas between 1600-1900 from various areas of the state. It also discusses 4 archaeological finds of elk bones and 2 reports of elk antlers. Additionally, it analyzes rock art depictions and place names providing evidence of elk. The document reviews taxonomy and concludes that elk in Texas were the same species, Cervus canadensis canadensis, as modern elk, rejecting the idea that elk in West Texas were a different extinct species. The evidence has implications for classifying elk as native
This document provides a summary of research projects and initiatives focused on restoring and studying pronghorn populations in the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas. The pronghorn population in this region has declined significantly since the 1980s and reached a low of 3,745 animals in 2011. Current research projects are evaluating the role of barriers on pronghorn genetics, identifying diseases and their effects, assessing predation impacts on fawns, documenting restoration efforts, and monitoring translocated pronghorn. The document discusses research on habitat fragmentation and genetics, high disease and parasite loads found in some pronghorn, and plans to study fawn survival rates. Funding comes from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other organizations.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help enhance one's emotional well-being and mental clarity.
This letter responds to a request to change Texas Parks & Wildlife's elk policy from extirpation to management. It provides several arguments against the current policy: 1) Elk are native to Texas based on historical records, cave paintings, and accounts from early settlers; 2) Eliminating elk is not supported by ecological science as elk fill an important niche as grass consumers; 3) The department has not adequately researched the topic as basic internet searches reveal evidence of elk inhabiting Texas; 4) It is illogical to think elk inhabited some areas of Texas but not others given their wide-ranging behavior; the policy of total elimination is not consistent with the department's mission of conservation based on sound science.
The archaeologist found several artifacts in a cave including a small corn cob fragment, arrow head, and sandal fragments. No ceramics were found except for one small sherd, indicating the site is older than 200 AD. The archaeologist will meet with a colleague to examine culturally modified bones found at the site. Radiocarbon dating will help determine the exact ages of the artifacts, and there is a chance a Paleoindian cultural deposit could be found 2 meters below the surface.
This document provides habitat guidelines for mule deer in the Southwest Deserts ecoregion. Precipitation highly influences deer populations as winter rainfall determines spring forb production critical for doe nutrition and fawning success. Excessive grazing can reduce forage availability, negatively impacting deer reproduction. Conservation efforts should focus on maintaining adequate forage through management of livestock and other herbivores.
Christopher Gill argues that habitat decline, not overhunting or other factors, is the root cause of declining pronghorn populations. He asserts that removing livestock from rangelands has led to "over-rest" which is as harmful as overgrazing. Gill's ranch in West Texas has increased its pronghorn herd by employing holistic planned grazing with cattle, while surrounding herds declined 80%. He advocates restoring biodiversity by grazing domestic animals and wildlife together under attentive management, and calls for a congressional inquiry into current range management practices.
The document discusses managing habitat for two species of quail - bobwhite quail and scaled quail. It outlines their requirements for food, water, cover, and home range. For food, quail eat plants and insects, relying heavily on forbs. Water should be available within half a mile. Cover includes brush, grass, and forbs for protection and nesting. Home ranges are typically 20-50 acres for bobwhite quail and 80-300 acres for scaled quail. The key is providing the right balance of food, water, cover, and space to support healthy quail populations on rangelands and farms.
The document summarizes a workshop called "Cows & Quail" put on by Holistic Management International that teaches land managers how to create healthy environments for livestock, wildlife, and land using holistic management grazing techniques. The workshop helps participants understand how large grazers like cows interact with quail species and other wildlife, and how their habitat responds to grazing. Participants saw significant gains in their knowledge of general ecology, wildlife habitat assessment, and management of species like mule deer and pronghorn. The workshop trained 39 people and influenced over 536,000 acres of land.
Report on Mule Deer Research in the Chihuahuan Desert Pitchstone Waters
1) A study evaluated the impacts of the herbicide Spike 20P on mule deer habitat in west Texas. Spike 20P effectively controlled invasive brush but significantly reduced forb diversity and abundance for at least 5 years after application.
2) Researchers analyzed seasonal home ranges of mule deer bucks in the Trans-Pecos using GPS collars. Winter home ranges were largest, and home ranges were smaller on ranches that provided supplemental feed.
3) The study found mule deer preferred areas closer to supplemental feed and water stations. Use of feed and water varied seasonally, with greatest use in fall and least in spring. Permanent water is especially important for mule deer in the arid Trans-P
The document provides historical and taxonomic evidence that elk were native to Texas before being hunted to extinction prior to 1900. It summarizes 13 eyewitness accounts and 8 reports of elk in Texas between 1600-1900 from various areas of the state. It also discusses 4 archaeological finds of elk bones and 2 reports of elk antlers. Additionally, it analyzes rock art depictions and place names providing evidence of elk. The document reviews taxonomy and concludes that elk in Texas were the same species, Cervus canadensis canadensis, as modern elk, rejecting the idea that elk in West Texas were a different extinct species. The evidence has implications for classifying elk as native
Christopher Gill to Editor of Big Bend Sentinel on Elk Removals
1. 5/18/2010 The Big Bend Sentinel - Landowner lock…
Today's Date: May 18, 2010
ABOUT US - CONTACT US - SUBSCRIBE - ADVERTISE - CONTRIBUTE
Landowner locks horns with Parks
and Wildlife over elk shootings
By STERRY BUTCHER
It’s Beebe, Baeza, Brijalba at the city; FRONT PAGE CULBERSON COUNTY – A Van Horn-area rancher is challenging
Lujan stays on school board Texas Parks and Wildlife’s practice of shooting elk in the Sierra
FEATURES
Diablo Wildlife Management Area.
MARFA – Voters on Saturday put two EVENTS
incumbents and a political newcomer into Christopher Gill and his family own the 32,000-acre Circle Ranch
ARTS not far from Van Horn. The ranch neighbors the Sierra Diablo
City Hall and reelected the current school
board president to her seat at Marfa ISD. LETTERS WMA, an 11,000-acre tract that was set aside, in 1945, as habitat
for desert bighorn sheep. This winter, said Gill, he was troubled to
Four candidates ran for three spots on the COLUMNISTS learn that over the course of several years, Parks and Wildlife
city council. Incumbent David Beebe led personnel had shot 25 elk on the state property.
CARTOONS
the pack with 295 votes, followed by
fellow council member Manny Baeza, with PHOTOS “These are good guys at Parks and Wildlife whose efforts on our
260, and former city of Marfa employee behalf we need,” Gill said. “But we’ve got to get them on the right
BLOG
Corina Brijalba, who polled 209 votes. path. People love elk; they don’t want their removal.”
VIDEOS
The 148 votes cast for candidate Abe Elk indeed have been shot, acknowledged Parks and Wildlife
ARCHIVES Executive Director Carter Smith, and there is a purpose for it.
Gonzales, a former Presidio County
sheriff, put him out of the running, since CLASSIFIEDS
the top three vote getters will take office. “Bighorn conservation is the reason we’re in the Sierra Diablo,” he
HEALTHCARE maintained. “Our team has a management goal of working to
Voters also re-approved a quarter-cent city EDUCATION
manage elk in lowest numbers practicable, due to concerns over
sales tax that goes to street maintenance. competition with bighorn sheep.”
The issue has to go before voters every SPORTS
four years. Reintroduction efforts since 1945 have yielded a present,
OBITUARIES
successful population of about 1,500 bighorn in Texas, both free
At the school district, incumbent Yvonne MARFA LINKS range and in the Sierra Diablo, Elephant Mountain and Black Gap
Lujan will continue as the Place 5 RMAs. No concrete census number exists for elk in the same
NEWS region, though populations have been reported in the Sierra Diablo,
representative. She earned 211 votes,
outpolling challengers Fred Martinez, with Film Festival the Chinati and the Glass mountain ranges.
145 votes, and Raul Lara, who was chosen
Noticias Español Elk are among North America’s largest mammals. Five feet tall at
by 106 voters.
SENIOR the shoulder and weighing close to 1,000 pounds, elk are prized
School board trustees Elvia Agan and SPOTLIGHT game animals in places like Colorado and Oregon. Not so in Texas,
Robert Halpern were not opposed and will where the Legislature in 1997 declared them a non-game animal.
return to office. Most of them are captive-bred and released onto private property.
If you’re strolling on your land and come upon an elk, it’s legal to
The council members will be sworn into shoot it, so long as you have a valid state hunting permit.
office individually between May 15 and
May 31, according to Mayor Dan Dunlap. “They’re treated by Parks and Wildlife as an exotic species –
there’s no management of them, no elk license, bag limit or
“That way they can bring in their family season,” said Michael Gookins, the Texas director for the Rocky
members and do it at their convenience,” Mountain Elk Foundation, which has provided funding for Sul
he explained. “It’s the way I’ve done it in Ross State University elk studies in the Glass Mountains. “If it
the past.” were a game animal, Parks and Wildlife would have to take up that
task and do counts, issue permits and all that.”
The swearing in of school board members
bigbendsentinel.com/index.php?option… 1/3
2. 5/18/2010 in of school board members
The swearing The Big Bend Sentinel - Landowner lock…
will take place at a board meeting later this
month.
Johnson re-elected Alpine mayor;
Davidson takes
council seat
ALPINE - Jerry Johnson won re-election
as Alpine’s mayor Saturday by nearly a
two-to-one margin over his challenger, (photo courtesy Christopher Gill)
Clarence Russeau. Elk on the Circle Ranch in Culberson County.
Johnson won 254 votes, or 60 percent, to Texas Parks and Wildlife’s management plan for the Sierra Diablo
Russo’s 168. states concerns about elk: they can forage for the same food as
bighorn and rely on the same, scanty water sources. They’re really
In the three-way race for the Ward 2 city good at surviving in Far West Texas.
council seat, Mike Davidson won 42 votes,
or nearly 50 percent; Stephanie McGraw “Both aoudad and elk and their high level of adaptability pose a
received 27 votes; Susan Curry 17. threat to native species and native ecosystems,” reads the
management plan. “All exotics on the WMA will be lethally
Julian Gonzalez, who did not face removed when encountered.”
opposition, was elected to his post as Ward
4 council member. Gill and Smith traded extensive letters on elk this winter and spring
and Smith, along with other Parks and Wildlife officials, traveled to
Ferguson, Carrerra, Ramirez win city the Circle Ranch to meet with Gill personally. After these
council seats discussions, and to be sensitive to Gill’s objections, Parks and
Wildlife amended the management plan very slightly to read “exotic
By TOM HAI ES ungulate populations will be controlled at the lowest numbers
PRESIDIO - Challenger Rafa Carrerra and possible.” The part about elk being “lethally removed when
incumbents John Ferguson and Jaime encountered” is still in the plan.
Ramirez won the three contested city
council seats in Saturday’s election. “This is a conflict that’s limited to one disagreement with one
landowner and one mountain range,” said Smith. “It’d be
Alcee Tavarez and Eliza Mills placed fourth practically impossible to now eliminate elk from the WMA – the
and fifth in the voting. terrain is too rough and too rugged. Our revised goal in respect to
elk reflects that. It also reflects the 70 years of conservation
Ferguson won 231 votes, or 30 percent; history we have with many partners to bring back the bighorn.
Carrerra won 157, or 20 percent; Ramirez We’re loathe to see that compromised because of a single
134, or 18 percent. Tavarez, who garnered landowner’s interest in introducing elk to the mountain range.”
133 votes, missed tying Ramirez for the
third council seat by one vote. Mills Elk are shot only when they are encountered incidentally, he added.
received 110 votes.
“We’ve harvested 25 elk in the last eight years, but by no means
It was uncertain whether Tavarez, an have we put a dent in the population,” Smith said. “When the
incumbent, will seek a recount to verify the occasion presented itself and staff could act, they were
close result. occasionally successful in controlling elk, but there are not
organized harvest efforts.”
“I am debating whether to ask for a
recount, but haven’t decided yet,” Tavarez Gill pronounced himself “deeply disappointed” with the slim
said. revision. His ranch is a recreational hunting property. Gill’s a
passionate and informed practitioner of holistic management
strategies for his land, in which he aims to restore flora and fauna
to what it was prior to European settlement.
Elk are vital to that plan, according to Gill, and he’s released about
50 of them over the years.
“It is a ranch we manage primarily for wildlife,” he said. “The
primary habitat tools we use are animals, including cattle, sheep,
elk, deer and pronghorn. We manage according to our
understanding of communities of living organisms that are
symbiotic – if parts of one die, parts of others die with them.”
At the center of the elk issue is the lingering question of whether
elk are indigenous to regions of Texas beyond their range in the
Guadalupe Mountains. Parks and Wildlife says no; Gills says yes,
and points to cave paintings of elk-like figures in West Texas, early
Texas landscape paintings that include elk, notations of elk by pre-
1900 travelers and an elk bone found in a Circle Ranch cave. The
landowner claims elk already roamed the Circle Ranch when he
bought the place in 1999.
“The northeast Sierra Diablos are only 20 miles from the southwest
Guadalupes, where there have always been elk,” he said. “The
animals move around. When a friend of ours brought elk cows to a
fenced enclosure, the next morning male elk were on the outside
looking in.”
bigbendsentinel.com/index.php?option… 2/3