Conserving the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands
through research, education, and outreach.
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Respect Big Bend Coalition
Releases Milestone Report
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The Respect Big Bend coalition released summary and technical reports this week that reflect more than two years of intensive community engagement and analysis on energy development in the Big Bend Region of West Texas.
This area is iconic Texas, a vast and storied country west of the Pecos River. It’s home to one of the most biodiverse deserts in the world and is a place of wide-open skies, native grasslands, diverse wildlife, breathtaking mountain vistas and, most important, self-reliant communities. It’s also the most energy-intensive region in America.
The Respect Big Bend coalition came together in 2019 to do something unprecedented in Texas history: chart a path forward that balances future possible energy development—oil and gas and renewables alike—with conservation planning and community input and leadership.
At the heart of the Respect Big Bend effort is a 14-person local stakeholder advisory group. Members of this group include landowners and community members from the Big Bend Region counties of Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio.
Working with a team of conservation scientists and energy industry experts, the local advisory group developed a set of conservation values to guide future possible energy development. These values are outlined in the summary report and technical report.
These reports provide a roadmap for conserving the unique resources and iconic communities of this region, a blueprint that could change the way communities in any geographical region approach future energy development.
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NFWF and ConocoPhillips Award
SPIRIT of Conservation Grant to BRI
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and ConocoPhillips has awarded a grant of more than $180,000 to the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) for a grassland restoration project that will benefit wintering grassland birds in the Trans-Pecos.
The $180,674 grant to BRI will fund brush treatment of approximately 3,500 acres of private land in the Marfa and Marathon grasslands of Texas, which are critical wintering habitat for migratory grassland bird species. The grant will leverage private funding from landowner and conservation partners dollar for dollar, effectively doubling the impact of the grant.
“The restoration of desert grasslands is a nexus for conservation for the Borderlands Research Institute,” 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. “We have built a team of experts spanning our core conservation programs including BRI experts in habitat/rangelands, big game, bird conservation, stewardship services, and conservation biology. We are grateful to receive this SPIRIT of Conservation grant, which will allow us to maximize efforts to restore grasslands in West Texas.”
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Desert Bighorn Council Supports
BRI Student’s Research
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Olivia Gray, a Graduate Research Assistant with the Borderlands Research Institute, has received a $5,000 scholarship from the Desert Bighorn Council. The Desert Bighorn Council Memorial Scholarship, honoring Charles Hansen, Ralph Welles, Robert Campbell, and Dick Weaver, provides funding for projects that benefit desert bighorn sheep or their habitat.
Olivia’s research project is looking into potential avenues of competition between desert bighorn sheep, aoudad and mule deer. In particular, she is investigating the degree and timing of dietary overlap among these three species in the Van Horn Mountains of Texas, through fecal and vegetation sampling. This study bears significance to wildlife management, as the aoudad, a nonnative from northern Africa, has easily adapted to the same mountain ecosystems occupied by bighorn sheep and mule deer, which are two native species whose populations have fluctuated in Texas throughout the years. With this recent funding from the Desert Bighorn Council, Olivia will be better equipped to study the characteristics of the competition between these three species.
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Project Spotlight: Prairie Dogs and Cattle
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Cattle grazing on a prairie dog colony on The Nature Conservancy's Marathon Grassland Preserve. The cattle were tracked via GPS collars to evaluate their movement relative to the prairie dog colonies. |
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The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) plays an important role in maintaining ecological integrity in western grasslands. A 2010 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department inventory of prairie dog populations revealed that their range has decreased in the southern and western boundaries of their historical range within the Trans-Pecos region.
Potential competition between prairie dogs and cattle influences conservation and management strategies for these native herbivores. Understanding the relationship between cattle and prairie dogs is important for maintaining health in grasslands and guiding sound species management.
The objectives for this study included assessing spatial variation and trade-offs between forage quality and quantity in and out of prairie dog colonies, documenting seasonal variation in forage quality and quantity, and evaluating movement and grazing patterns of cattle in the prairie dog colonies. Results of the study indicate that plant species composition and biomass was similar on and off the prairie dog colonies, and crude protein levels were 10 percent higher on the prairie dog colonies compared to non-prairie dog colonies.
Movement data indicate that cattle graze within the prairie dog colonies during the growing seasons because of the highly nutritious regrowth promoted by prairie dogs’ foraging activity. This study provides evidence that landowners who seek to graze cattle on prairie dog colonies may see a mutually beneficial relationship in the form of positive vegetative feedback. The use of appropriate stocking rates and rotational grazing can be administered so that cattle have access to the prairie dog colonies when vegetation is at its highest nutritional value, while removing grazing pressure and competition between prairie dogs and cattle when nutritional value is lower.
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By the time Cullom Simpson was in middle school he knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“I was an only child growing up out in the country near Boerne,” said Simpson. “Naturally I was kind of drawn to the flora and the fauna that existed on my parents’ property. That led to volunteering at the Cibolo Nature Center, and I met several Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists. So, I started doing volunteer work for TPWD, too.”
Simpson helped with spotlight surveys and learned how to age white-tailed deer and collect Chronic Wasting Disease samples. He volunteered at several TPWD wildlife management areas and with TPWD biologists, doing everything from banding doves to trapping wild turkeys. Every new experience just underscored his love for wildlife biology and his determination to become a biologist.
Simpson graduated from Tarleton with a degree in Wildlife, Sustainability and Ecosystem Sciences in Spring 2016, and was accepted to grad school at the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University in Fall 2016. He graduated this month. Late last year he accepted a full-time job as a wildlife biologist with TPWD.
“It’s almost surreal,” said Simpson. “It’s all come full circle, and I can’t wait to build my career at TPWD.”
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Borderlands Buzz:
Dr. Bonnie Warnock and Cullom Simpson
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Prairie dog conservation can be a controversial topic, but the more we learn about them, the more misperceptions can be dispelled. In our latest Borderlands Buzz podcast, Dr. Bonnie Warnock and Cullom Simpson discuss Cullom’s recently completed research project, and more.
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Fun Fact: Prairie Dog Communication |
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Just as humans vocalize their needs or warnings, so do black-tailed prairie dogs. Depending on the situation, they use unique calls to communicate with other prairie dogs in the colony. Their communication can be done both verbally and physically, such as their famous jump-yip call.
The jump-yip call is performed in various situations, including when the prairie dog is startled by a noise or sudden movement, has identified a predator nearby, after danger has passed or disappeared from view, and when two prairie dogs break from a territorial dispute.
To perform this unique call, the prairie dog will jump up from its front feet, stretch out vertically toward the sky, and belt out a two-toned bark, “AH-ahh” or “EE-eee!” When other prairie dogs hear this call, they too will join in for a chorus of jump-yips!
Check out how they do the jump-yip call in this video:
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P.O. Box C-21, SRSU, Alpine, Texas 79832
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