Category: Habitat Management

Central Texas Native Seedlings Grow Better

Plant seedlings native to central Texas for best success 

The Central Texas Seedling Program (CTSP) began in 2004 to help supply Central Texas landowners with high quality seedlings that have stewardship benefits for the region. The program supports and compliments current reforestation programs such as oak wilt suppression and recovery, forest stewardship, wildlife habitat, reforestation of marginal lands and farmlands, water quality control, and disease management through diversity.

Tree seeds are collected from a variety of tree species native in and around the Central Texas region. After collection, the seeds are grown at the West Texas Nursery into quality seedlings which are then shipped to Central Texas offices for landowner pickup.

The program is geared toward helping native species survive and grow in the harsh conditions of Central Texas. Because of this, seedlings are typically grown in “tall” containers and are ready to plant at the end of October to give seedlings the best chance of successful establishment. You can order seedlings beginning September 1. Continue reading Central Texas Native Seedlings Grow Better

Hill Country Cedar: Combating Global Warming?

Texas’ cedar could bank carbon and fight global warming 

New research suggests that juniper, mesquite and other woody brush that have overrun grasslands on the Edwards Plateau of west-central Texas aren’t the water hogs that they were thought to be. Further, bulldozing this brush may not be wise, because it would remove plants that take in lots of carbon from the atmosphere, making them a potential ally in efforts to counter global warming.

These are the findings of Dr. Jim Heilman, a Texas AgriLife Research scientist and professor of environmental physics in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University.

“People have this idea that trees are suction pumps, that if you have all of this landscape and big trees, much more water is used,” he said. “Not true. What drives water use is the energy supplied from the sun and the atmosphere.”

Heilman’s data show only “small increases” in the amount of water used due to brush encroachment. “It’s not because the trees are extracting large amounts of water that the grasses can’t reach, but because trees trap and absorb more sunlight than grasses,” he said. Continue reading Hill Country Cedar: Combating Global Warming?

New Website for Texas Wildlife Associations

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has created new web pages that provide a clickable statewide map and detailed local maps for dozens of wildlife management associations or co-ops across the state: Wildlife Associations. The main page states:

“Wildlife professionals believe that the greatest threats to wildlife in Texas are habitat loss and fragmentation due to population growth and changing land uses. One promising solution to these problems comes through the efforts of landowners working together to conserve and enhance their land for the benefit of wildlife.”

The new pages also allow web users to sort wildlife management associations in lists by county and by name. Each co-op Web page lists a contact name and phone number and shows a county-level map delineating the geographic boundary within which the organization works. The main page also links to the TPWD brochure “A Guide for Wildlife Management Associations and Co-ops.” The pages were developed in a collaborative effort involving the Wildlife, State Parks and Communications divisions.

Bamberger Ranch Preserve Wins Land Steward Award

David Bamberger and the Selah win one of Texas’ Lone Star Land Steward awards for 2008. Rangeland improvement, spring restoration, wildlife habitat enhancement, endangered species management, inventory and monitoring of native plants and animals, the first ever “Chiroptorium”, and “people ranching” are just a few of the accomplishments of J. David and Margaret Bamberger.

Since 1969, David Bamberger has worked tirelessly to restore “the worst piece of ranchland in Blanco County” to the model of land stewardship that it is today. For many years, the Bambergers have led by example, while communicating their conservation message to children, teachers, other landowners and policy makers. One cannot help but be inspired when listening to him speak about his land and the natural resources so dear to him.

Mussels Win Critical Habitat from U.S. Fish and Wildlife

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated critical habitat for seven mussels: the endangered fat threeridge (Amblema neislerii), shinyrayed pocketbook (Lampsilis subangulata), Gulf moccasinshell (Medionidus penicillatus), Ochlockonee moccasinshell (Medionidus simpsonianus), and oval pigtoe (Pleurobema pyriforme); and the threatened Chipola slabshell (Elliptio chipolaensis) and purple bankclimber (Elliptoideus sloatianus) under the ESA. Continue reading Mussels Win Critical Habitat from U.S. Fish and Wildlife