Conserving the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands
through research, education, and outreach.
|
|
“Partners for Habitat Program” Provides Funding for West Texas Landowners |
|
The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are partnering to provide technical and financial assistance to landowners interested in restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat on their land.
The Partners for Habitat Program will provide $150,000 of financial assistance directly to private landowners across the West Texas counties of Brewster, Terrell, Pecos, Reeves, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio.
“This new Partners for Habitat Program will provide some additional resources that West Texas landowners need to implement positive conservation practices on their properties,” said Billy Tarrant, Associate Director of Stewardship Services for BRI. “We’ll be accepting applications this fall, and will be providing more information about how to apply for this cost-share program in August. We’re very proud to be partnering with the USFWS to provide this opportunity for West Texas landowners.”
|
|
Conservation Biology Research Report |
|
The Borderlands Research Institute is pleased to present the next in a series of research reports highlighting the work of BRI faculty and students. The second report in the series was released earlier this summer and is focused on BRI’s Conservation Biology Program with an emphasis on mountain lions, black bears, kit fox and grassland birds.
|
|
“Small Acreage – Big Opportunity” Workshop Scheduled for West Texas Landowners
|
|
Helping landowners make the best decisions about how to effectively steward their properties is a key focus for the Borderlands Research Institute. That’s why we are helping to bring a special workshop to West Texas.
The new “Small Acreage – Big Opportunity” program is a joint effort of Texas Wildlife Association and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to reach landowners across the state who are managing small acreage properties. Landowners who steward small properties face unique management challenges, because most information currently available to landowners focuses on management of large properties.
“Texas is getting 1,000 new residents each day, and one of the side effects of this population growth is reflected in land trends across the state,” said Dr. Louis Harveson, who is the Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., BRI Endowed Director and Regents’ Professor of Wildlife Management at Sul Ross State University. “Ranches are getting smaller, meaning we have to be more strategic in our conservation efforts across all properties, big or small. These new workshops focus on taking natural resource management prescriptions to a smaller scale, so that they have a positive impact on conservation.”
The intensive one-day workshop will be held on Aug. 28 at the Indian Lodge in Davis Mountains State Park near Fort Davis. The workshop will teach landowners how to evaluate their property’s habitat and what options are available for wildlife management, including cost-share programs. The workshops will also connect landowners with local professionals who can walk alongside them as they steward and learn their lands. The registration fee is $80, which includes lunch.
|
|
Project Spotlight: Water Use by Desert Bighorn Sheep and Aoudad
|
|
A radio-collared desert bighorn ewe and its lamb work their way to a guzzler to quench their thirst. |
|
Implementing artificial water sources (e.g., water troughs, guzzlers, and catchments) for wildlife is a prevalent wildlife management practice in the United States. This is thought to enhance water distribution and increase wildlife presence in areas where water is naturally scarce. Since the 1940s artificial water sources have been used as a management tool to restore desert bighorn sheep. By the early 1960s, desert bighorn sheep were extirpated from Texas, and restoration efforts began in the mid-1950s and continue presently. As desert bighorn sheep restoration continues in Texas, desert bighorn sheep are now potentially threatened by aoudad distribution and population increase.
This study evaluated the use of artificial water sources, documenting seasonal and temporal usage by aoudad and desert bighorn in a coexisting area. Results indicated that water use by desert bighorn sheep is highest in the summer months and significantly decreases in the winter months. Aoudad expressed similar peak utilization in the summer months, but their presence at water sources was widespread throughout all months.
|
|
Student Spotlight: Jose Etchart |
|
Jose holds an aoudad lamb. As a graduate student with BRI at Sul Ross State University, Jose studied water use by bighorn and aoudad in the Sierra Vieja Mountains. He graduated with his master's this spring. |
|
Jose Etchart’s parents came to the United States from their native Chihuahua, Mexico, for the same reason that has drawn immigrants to America for centuries.
“They were looking for a better future, for themselves and their family,” said Etchart. “Just trying to find the American dream.”
His father became an electrician, and his mother was a homemaker who raised Etchart and his sister. Etchart grew up in El Paso, but frequently traveled to Mexico to visit family, where he worked on the family’s ranch. His interest in horses and roping led him to Sul Ross State University, where he was part of the university’s ranch horse team.
|
|
He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science, becoming the first in his family to earn an advanced degree. He was contemplating a career as a veterinarian, but then he got introduced to the wildlife field by volunteering with the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University when he was a sophomore. That’s where he met Dr. Louis Harveson, who ended up hiring him as one of BRI’s first wildlife technicians.
“Dr. Harveson was one of my first career mentors, and he really took an interest in me. I loved the field experience I got as a technician, and it sparked my interest in the wildlife field. Now, I’m passionate about it.”
In 2014, he was hired at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) as a seasonal wildlife technician. About the same time, Dr. Harveson roped him into grad school. TPWD wildlife biologists kept their eye on him, and when a permanent position opened up in 2016, he was encouraged to apply. He was thrilled to accept a full-time position with TPWD as a district biologist in December 2016. Since then, he has juggled a full-time job with his grad school studies and his thesis project.
“My research project evaluated water use and seasonal ranges of desert bighorn and aoudad in the Sierra Vieja Mountains, Presidio County. I defended my thesis earlier this year and I graduated in May 2021.”
|
|
2021 Davis Mountains Hummingbird Festival Aug. 19-22 |
|
A rufous hummingbird, one of many species that can be seen in the Davis Mountains and surrounding region. Photo courtesy of Michael Gray. |
|
After a year’s hiatus due to COVID-19, the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Festival is on the wing! The event will take place Aug. 19-22 and is sponsored by the Trans-Pecos Bird Conservation Partnership. This year, in addition to the many field trips, presentations are also available online.
|
|
Fun Fact: Creosote Bush, an Ancient of North American Deserts |
|
Smell that?
The rain brings the fresh smell of creosote bush in several North American deserts. Creosote is an evergreen shrub with small, dark green leaves that contain resin, a sticky, flammable substance that protects the leaves from drying out. This resin contains volatile oils that are released into the air when it rains, filling the desert with a fresh, earthy, floral scent. It has tiny yellow flowers, fuzzy seeds, and is one of the most drought-resistant plants known to man.
Creosote bush can be found across three deserts in North America, and the plants have a different number of chromosomes in each desert. Mojave creosote have 78 chromosomes, Sonoran creosote have 52, and Chihuahuan creosote have 26 chromosomes. This condition of having more than the normal number of chromosomes is called polyploidy and is common in desert plants, as it aids in drought resistance.
In addition, creosote bush has been found to emit inhibitory substances through its roots, preventing other plants, including other creosote plants, from growing close by. Creosote reproduces not only by its many fuzzy seeds, but by cloning, where several shrubs will sprout from the outer edge of the root crown. Over time the original stem and branches will die away, leaving a spot of bare ground surrounded by a circle of clone plants. These clonal rings can live to be over 11,000 years old.
|
|
Please share this enewsletter with others who may be interested in the work of the Borderlands Research Institute. SUBSCRIBE HERE so it comes straight to your inbox.
|
|
P.O. Box C-21, SRSU, Alpine, Texas 79832
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
