Just days prior to the September 1st dove season opener in most of Texas, a research team was out two days prior to the season collecting bird specimens for a research study on the effectiveness of various shotshells, including non-lead shot. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists are in the first year of a multi-year study to determine the effectiveness of different load types on wild mourning doves using trained observers and volunteer shooters. This study is the first of its kind for doves and is based on a similar lethality research project in Missouri and Louisiana on waterfowl in the 1980s.

“The main premise of this research is to clarify if there is a difference between perception and reality in wounding rates and killing efficiency of lead shot and non lead shot on mourning dove,” said Jay Roberson, TPWD dove program leader and the study organizer. “TPWD does not have a position for or against non lead shot for doves, but we recognize the importance of this issue. Our objective is to replace perceptions with facts.”

The study design calls for three consecutive sessions using the same shooters paired with the same observers to ensure consistency across three types of shotshell loads. The research objective is to obtain under a controlled study environment 500 mourning dove specimens killed with one shot in each of the next 2-3 years. Collections are being conducted by permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This year, 22 volunteer shooters participated in each of two collection sessions on August 30 and produced about 400 specimens. (more…)

Livestock and wildlife producers, land managers and others interested in learning more about managing and optimizing their grazing lands will have an opportunity at one of five workshops being held throughout Texas from Sept. 3 to Oct. 1, 2008. “My Piece of Texas” grazing schools will teach attendees how to estimate forage production, determine grazeable acres and set proper stocking rates as well as learn valuable grazing management principles.

The $25 registration fee will include lunch and a copy of the soon-to-be published handbook, “Managing My Piece of Texas.” The how-to guide was peer reviewed by ranchers throughout Texas after being developed by grazing specialists from the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI), Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (more…)

Managed nest-box programs can significantly increase local populations of Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity-nesting species. Poorly designed boxes, however, may become population sinks rather than source centers. Internal box temperature is an important determinant of box success. Bluebird eggs and nestlings, for example, cannot survive temperatures exceeding 107′ F (41′ C).

Several researchers have investigated construction materials and nest box temperatures. Lawrence Zeleny in 1968 and Robert M. Patterson in 1980 studied wood, metal, and plastic bluebird boxes. Wood Duck boxes also have been studied. J. A. L. Mertens in 1977 developed a model predicting box temperature for any material and ambient temperature, but its complexity discourages amateur use.

The goal of this project was to examine the effects of construction material on nest box temperature and to develop a graphed model of the relationship.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says that this week will begin the long-awaited groundbreaking for Texas’ newest fish hatchery in Jasper. As is turns out, a $27-million construction contract has been awarded for the project, which replaces the aging Jasper Fish Hatchery.

The Jasper fish hatchery will include a whopping 45 acres of production ponds, a 34,000- square-foot production building, administrative office space, and a maintenance shop and storage area.

The hatchery will be situated on 200 acres and is scheduled for completion in 2010. And the really good news for Texas’s fishermen — the hatchery is expected to produce between 4 million and 5 million fish per year!

Texas’ pronghorn numbers are on the decline. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) wildlife biologists recently recorded a considerable drop in the pronghorn antelope population in portions of Jeff Davis and Presidio Counties, although they said overall pronghorn populations in the Trans-Pecos remain only slightly below the 30-year average.

Department biologists annually conduct aerial surveys in June and July throughout West Texas to count pronghorn herds. The resulting data is used to monitor populations and generate harvest quotas for hunting permits issued to private landowners. While conducting surveys this year, biologists noticed significantly fewer animals in certain areas than in previous years.

Subsequent ground-based efforts, including rancher interviews, indicated that there had been a fairly extensive loss of adult pronghorn in the affected counties. Though it is difficult to determine exactly how many individuals might have perished, mortality estimates approach 50 percent of adult pronghorn in the two counties, or in excess of 1,000 animals from more than 500,000 acres of desert grassland habitat. (more…)