Normal Agricultural Operations and Dove Hunting in Texas

Dove hunting draws thousands of Texans to the field each year for the kickoff of the annual fall hunting season. To increase dove harvest, many hunters engage in preseason scouting to determine flyways and bird concentrations over natural feeding areas and water sources. Over the past several years, decoys have become used more widely to entice birds to fly within shooting distance. Read More...

Recognizing Feral Hog Sign

Wherever feral hogs are found, they leave evidence, or sign, of their passing, and as feral hog populations expand, landscape damage increases. While the most noticeable sign of feral hog activity is damage caused by their destructive rooting behavior, it is not the only indicator of their presence. Read More...

Corral Traps for Capturing Feral Hogs

Large corral traps have proven extremely effective for reducing hog numbers quickly and should be considered in most management efforts. Feral hogs typically travel in large family groups called sounders, and a large corral type trap can be effective in capturing the entire group. Read More...

Building a Feral Hog Snare

Snaring can be a handy, inexpensive part of a feral hog management strategy to minimize these negative impacts. Due to their ease of assembly, many landowners choose to construct their own. When building a feral hog snare, it is very important to remember that the cable used to make snares has a natural lay to it. Read More...

Box Traps for Capturing Feral Hogs

As part of the toolbox for feral hog management, box traps should be considered among approaches to reducing feral hog numbers and impacts. While they are not the best choice to remove large numbers of animals at a time, box traps are useful as a pinpoint control effort and can be a first strike in combination with larger traps and other techniques. Read More...

Harvesting Rainwater for Wildlife

One underused method for attracting wildlife is the installation of watering devices to provide a supplemental source of water for animals. Land managers are also harvesting rainwater to better distribute water on the landscape, thus increasing the amount of usable space for wildlife. Read More...

River Reborn

Generations ago, ranchers and farmers cleared land along the Trinity River to graze cattle and grow cotton. Now, with little vegetation to slow storm water, runoff flows quickly over the land and into the river, eroding the banks along the way. Read More...

Rio Grande Wild Turkey In Texas: Biology and Management

The unmistakable gobble and showy tail fan of the tom turkey indicate competition to pass on its genes to the next generation. To many people, the sight of strutting gobblers, as males vie for the attention of hens, is an unforgettable scene in spring. Read More...

Rio Grande Wild Turkey Life History and Management Calendar

This calendar is for landowners and managers who want to manage and improve their wild turkey habitat. Rio Grande wild turkeys are found in many areas of Texas. Although the timing of some management tasks may vary by region, this information can help you plan those tasks and know when and how to monitor turkeys and their habitat. Read More...

Habitat Appraisal Guide For Rio Grande Wild Turkey

Although there is a long tradition of managing solely for livestock, active management focused on enhancing habitat for wildlife populations is gaining momentum. Interest in habitat management for wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) has grown over the last fifteen years as landowners, hunters, and wildlife viewers recognize their actions can impact natural resources. Read More...

Linking Water Conservation and Natural Resource Stewardship in the Trinity River Basin

As we head into the 21st century, water conservation has quickly become a core issue facing citizens of Texas. Texans commonly hear that demand for water by the human population has already outgrown the supply in Texas. Read More...

Techniques for Wetland Construction & Management

For many people, wetlands equate to swamps, which bring to mind images of dangerous alligators and snakes. However, wetlands are important systems that contain a vast array of plants and animals. They are as valuable ecologically as they are beautiful. Read More...

Managing Options for Reducing Yaupon

The Post Oak Savannah Ecoregion (POSE) in Texas, roughly 8.5 million acres in size, is a long and relatively narrow region which extends from the Red River in Northeast Texas to Victoria in South Texas. Read More...

Managing Yaupon With Fire and Herbicides in the Texas Post Oak Savannah

The Post Oak Savannah Ecological Region in Texas was once an open grassland savannah maintained by periodic fires. The Post Oak Savannah can support mid- and tall grasses, such as little bluestem, indiangrass, Texas wintergrass, and purpletop. Today, the savannahs have been replaced by oak woodlands with dense yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) understories that limit grass and forb production and species diversity. Read More...

Habitat Monitoring for Quail on Texas Rangelands

Quail are generalists, meaning they can live in a wide range of different habitats, from the wetter regions in Texas’ eastern half to the much drier zones in the western half of the state. Rather than a single optimum habitat, an assortment of suitable quail habitats exists. Read More...