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Anthrax in Kinney County, Texas: Could Deer Hunting be Impacted?

There may be less than 3 months until white-tailed deer hunting season opens in Texas, but a lot can happen in 3 months, especially when talking about a disease such as anthrax. The first Anthrax case in Texas for 2014 has been confirmed in a goat in Kinney County. Of course, anthrax is nothing new to the area. The county has seen anthrax outbreaks before, and the impact tends to be localized.

The property where antrhax was detected is located four miles north of Bracketville. The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has quarantined the premises. TAHC rules require proper disposal of affected carcasses and vaccination of other cattle on the premise prior to release of the quarantine.

More on Anthrax Disease

Anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, whichis a naturally occurring organism with worldwide distribution, including certain parts of Texas. It is not uncommon for anthrax to be diagnosed in livestock or wildlife in the southwestern part of the state. A vaccine is available for use in susceptible livestock in high risk areas.

Acute fever followed by rapid death with bleeding from body openings are common signs of anthrax in livestock and deer. Carcasses may also appear bloated and appear to decompose quickly. Livestock or animals displaying symptoms consistent with anthrax should be reported to a private veterinary practitioner or a TAHC official. If affected livestock or carcasses must be handled, producers are encouraged to follow basic sanitation precautions such as wearing protective gloves, long sleeve shirts and washing thoroughly afterward to prevent accidental spread of the bacteria to people.

State of Texas Take on Anthrax

The TAHC will continue to closely monitor the situation for possible new cases across the state, both in domestic animals and native wildlife such as white-tailed deer. Producers are encouraged to consult their veterinary practitioner or local TAHC office if they suspect their animals are affected with anthrax, or if they have questions about the disease or the vaccination of their livestock,” said Dr. T.R. Lansford, TAHC Assistant Executive Director for Animal Health Programs.

TPWD Draw Hunts Online and Ready!

It’s official, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) draw hunts are online as of today! Hunters looking to step foot on public hunting lands can enter for hunting opportunities across the state of Texas. The new online catalog of hunts is available and applications are being accepted. Hunters can browse through the available hunting opportunities online or download a printable PDF.

Talking Public Hunting

TPWD says that over the last several years, a lot of thought and planning went into creating the new online drawing system. The new draw hunt system replaces one that was inefficient and labor intensive; it will improve the way applications are submitted, winners are selected for hunts, and permits are issued, allowing hunters to check their status online anytime and pay application and permit fees by credit card. Anything that saves taxpayer money and makes my life easier sounds like a good idea.

Draw Hunt Permits Available

The online system includes TPWD’s special permit hunts, e-postcard selection hunts for a limited number of areas and US Forest Service antlerless deer permits. Special permit hunts include General, Youth Only and Adult Only categories for a variety of species including alligator, white-tailed deer, mule deer, exotics, feral hogs, javelina and turkey.

Forest Service permits include a limited number of permits provided to hunt antlerless white-tailed deer during the general open season on Alabama Creek, Bannister, Moore Plantation and Sam Houston National Forest Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). No application fee is required for e-postcard or USFS hunts.

Entering TPWD Drawn Hunts

In a complete 180 degree move, paper applications are no longer accepted. The 2014 TPWD draw hunt applications will only accepted online and any mailed paper applications will be returned to the sender. It is absolutely necessary that interested hunters have access to a computer. For those of you reading this article, you will be fine. Others will have to head down to the local public library or get help from a friend or relative who has internet access.

There are no residency restrictions, so Texas residents and non-residents can easily apply. Web-based entry makes it easier for residents to enter, but also drastically increases the ability for non-residents to enter.

Youth applicants for Special Permits draw hunts must be between 8 and 16 years old. Supervising adults must be at least 18 years old. Youth applicants for E-Postcard hunts and US Forest Service Permits must be under 17 years old.

TTT Permit for Deer Management in Texas

Question: “We have a ranch in Mason County, Texas, and are interested in using the Trap, Transport and Transplant (TTT) Permit offered by TPWD to move some deer to our place from Burnet County, which is currently in the MLDP program. This is primarily for genetic improvement since we are shooting extra deer off of our ranch to make room for the transplants. Like our area, the trap site should have breeding from early November through early December, with the rut taking place earlier during that period. Is it better to transport these deer, especially does, early in their pregnancy or later or is there even a difference? We think earlier is better but would appreciate any advice.”

Response: With regards to the TTT permit, the white-tailed deer trapping and moving season in Texas is from September 1 through March 31 every year. The permit allows the movement of wild white-tailed deer in state. It is designed to provide you with the an additional tool to enhance the white-tailed deer population on your property.

You are correct in that the primary rut is early November in that part of Texas, the trap site. From my experience, late-January through February is the preferred time to transport whitetail. There are several reasons why I believe this window is better than earlier or later.

IMPORTANT TTT PERMIT INFO PER TPWD: Conditions for Permit Issuance – All proposed release sites must have a current Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Management Plan approved by a TPWD Wildlife Biologist. Applications will be denied if the proposed activities may detrimentally affect the population status on adjacent properties, if the proposed activities may detrimentally affect the resource, or if the proposed release site is outside of the suitable range of white-tailed deer.

All proposed relocation operations must comply with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s Stocking Policy, which stipulates that prospective release sites shall have suitable natural habitat capable of sustaining the animals stocked. In addition, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance is required of all prospective trap sites. CWD test results must be received by TPWD prior to permit issuance. DO NOT FREEZE SPECIMENS.

First, the weather in late-January and February is cold. This not only helps with the ability to capture deer, but also with handling, with regards to both personnel and the animals. Plus, it also allows deer to remain cool while be transported to the release site/ranch. Extreme stress causes heat build up in animals, humans included, and whitetail are no different, so it’s best to have nice cold temperatures on trap and transport day.

With regards to timing, moving deer is better from late-January through mid-February in Texas because temperatures are cooler and earlier is better with regards to pregnant does. The general rule of thumb is earlier is better with regards to fawn survival, but it’s also important to understand that if temperatures are not favorable then fawns will not survive if the doe do not survive the trip.

The TTT permit allows program can be an effective way to improve the gene pool of a whitetail herd on a property for the purpose of deer management. However, careful consideration must weigh the variety of factors concerning the release site as well as the herd from which the animals are trapped. It may not help if a handful of deer are released onto a very large property. The TTT permit works most effectively when the number of deer released comprises a significant portion (>50%) of the release site’s population.

TPWD Draw Hunts 2014

It’s official, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will handle all drawn hunts online for the 2014-15 hunting season. This includes draw permits for special permit hunts as well as e-postcard selection hunts and for US Forest Service (USFS) antlerless deer permits. Applications must be submitted online only and the Applications for Drawings booklet will no longer be printed and mailed out.

The new drawn hunt system for 2014 looks to be hunter and time-friendly. Applicants can check the public hunting website for draw status, draw results and all winners selected for hunts will be notified by email. It will also allow hunters to pay for their hunt online. It also sounds like it will completely eliminate the chances of disqualification because online entry will cross-verify whether or not you or someone else has already entered you for a particular hunt.

Texas Drawn Hunts 2014

Special Permit Hunts

As is typical of the special permit draw hunts, most hunts require a $3 per adult (17 years and older) per application. The Private Lands categories and Guided Hunt Packages require a $10 fee. There are no feeds for youth (8-16) applicants or supervising adults on Youth Only Hunts. Again, any entry or hunt fees must be submitted online using a credit card.

Most of these hunts take place on state-owned land, primarily wildlife management areas and state parks, but the Private Lands hunts take place, you guessed it, on private property.

E-Postcard Hunt Selection

Several hunting units have a limited number of hunting opportunities that do not require Application or Special Permit fees. However, participants age 17 and older must have a valid Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit. Adults supervising a youth hunter must be 18 years of age and older and have a valid TPWD APH permit. Draw hunt results will be online and winners will be notified by email. and contacted by the hunt area to confirm hunt positions.

USFS Antlerless Deer Permits

The U.S. Forest Service and TPWD will also offer a limited number of permits to hunt antlerless white-tailed deer during the general season on Alabama Creek, Bannister, Moore Plantation, and San Houston National Forest wildlife management areas. Both adult and Youth Only Permits are available for each of the units. There is no application fee and a valid Texas Hunting License and APH permit are required to to hunt these areas.

Entering TPWD’s Draw Hunts

This is going to be a whole new rodeo for the 2014 hunting season. The big concern would be the loss of preference points, but it looks like all preference points will remain in place by hunt category but now they will be called Loyalty Points. According to TPWD, application submission begins in early July at the draw hunt web site and continues until midnight on the deadline specific for each hunt category.

Quail Habitat in Texas: Management for Bobwhite

Bobwhite Quail and Habitat

Bobwhite quail depend a lot on Spring rainfall, but not because they require surface water, because they don’t. Rather, quail need rainfall to signal the “go nest” sign. Rainfall means quail foods as in important seed-producing plants will grow, insects will be abundant and relatively cooler temperatures. All of these factors are important for nesting hens and their resulting broods. Rain is important, but Texas has been quite low on rain over the past several years. So have quail numbers.

Even the Texas Legislature recognized that bobwhite quail populations were dropping. The quail decline was so extreme that, starting in 2002, Texas funded a program to reverse it. The Texas Quail Index, a partnership of public agencies, private conservation organizations, state university units and private landowners, began as a 12-county demonstration program. In 2014, it encompasses 41 counties and seven wildlife management areas, including one at Victoria County’s McFaddin Ranch.

Although Texas’ wild quail populations are in better shape than states to our east, bobwhite populations statewide have declined an average of 3.6 percent annually since 1978. That’s bad news, especially if you enjoy quail hunting, or worse yet, if you happen to be a quail. But don’t lose faith just yet.

Quail Management: Recovery is Important

Source: Quail are an ecologically- and economically-important resource. Ecologically, they are an indicator species, demonstrating the health of their prairies for wildlife in general. Healthy prairies benefit cattlemen, increasing property values for grazing and hunting use. Rural communities are benefited by hunter and ecotourism expenditures generated by birders traveling to prairies, viewing quail and wintering migratory songbirds.

Land fragmentation, division of rural lands into ever-smaller parcels, is a threat to quail. It, whether accidental or intentional, makes quail-habitat fragmentation almost inevitable. Research shows it disrupts animals’ movement and dispersal, making quail more prone to increased predation and nest parasitism. Equally important – it disturbs quail social structure and genetic diversity and diminishes habitat health because natural events such as cattle-grazing rotation and natural fires are prevented.

As holdings become smaller than 500 acres, native rangeland is usually converted to improved pasture through introduction of non-native grasses. Bermuda, in particular, is too dense to support quail movement. Why? In part, replacement’s done by recreational ranches wanting lowered ad-valorem valuations for acreage designated as “ag use”/open-space. But managing for wildlife, including quail, earns open-space valuation today.

Overcoming Land Fragmentation

Maintaining healthy quail populations requires managing and maintaining habitat size. It takes roughly 700 birds in a contiguous habitat to maintain healthy covies. Wildlife biologists figure, using historic quail densities for Texas, a good habitat would cover a minimum of 3,500 to 7,000 acres. A habitat that size could have one or many owners, as long as landscape-conservation practices are coordinated by landowners. That could be accomplished via wildlife management associations or cooperatives to prevent covey isolation and even improve (defragment) habitat.

The index demonstrations teach landowners to do that. Year-round, standardized-monitoring techniques documenting breeding populations, predation and harvestable population are taught. Training includes monitoring, testing habitat quality, and best practices for improving quail plants for food and cover.

Texas AgriLife agents and volunteers working with them do this “on the ground,” not in a classroom. Each demonstration site is monitored for two years. The objective – providing good habitat, an average 500 nesting sites in randomly selected one-eighth-mile walks. Large and small property owners are encouraged to contact AgriLife Agent Peter McGuill at the Victoria Office to find out about instruction and starting their own quail survey and management program. When managing acreage, Peter says, “Take off that cowboy hat and put on a camo-cap, think like a quail.”

TPWD Drawn Hunts Online Entry

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is updating drawn hunts by implementing and requiring online, website-based registration for public hunting opportunities in 2014. TPWD did a mail-out earlier this week to inform past public hunters of the change in the way the program is administered. The letter thank past hunters for participating in Texas’s Public Hunting Program and announced the new online Public Hunt Drawing System.

The benefits to Texas’s hunters include an easier application process, real-time status checks on applications, the ability to pay application and permit fees by credit card, and the ability to either print or store hunt permits on a mobile device. Also, selected hunters will no longer receive letters in the mail, but rather drawn winners will be notified by email.

“With the new paperless system, hunters will be able to browse the drawn hunt catalog by hunt category and location using interactive maps, as well as complete the application and pay online. Selected applicants will be notified by email and can accept permits and pay any fees online. Permits will be issued by email and can be printed at home or stored on a mobile device. Those applicants who are not selected may still be eligible through a secondary drawing if any permits are unclaimed by the payment deadline. There may still be opportunities for traditional standby hunts at some locations.”

The downside is that TPWD will no longer print and mail the “Applications for Drawings on Public Hunting Lands” booklet. I can understand that it’s a cost-savings measure in a highly web world, but I enjoyed being able to thumb through the book and compare different public hunting lands at my convenience. The cost to enter most drawn hunts is still $3, but there are also some hunts, such as e-postcard hunts and US Forest Service antlerless deer hunts that have no application fee.

The online drawn hunt system should be available for hunters to begin their application process in early July, according to the letter. More information about the new drawn hunt system can be found on their website, by contacting hunt@tpwd.texas.gov or by calling 512-389-4505.

Drought Impacts Deer Herd, Management and Hunting

Those of us that hunt white-tailed deer in Texas are lucky. We live in a great state that offers a lot of quality places to hunt. Granted most of it is privately owned, but Texas takes care of it’s landowners and our whitetail. But to be a deer, well, that is a different story indeed. It’s been a particularly tough run for all wildlife the past few years because habitat conditions have been fair to poor, with most towards the latter.

A lack of rain wreaks havoc when it comes to deer foods, especially forb production. Generally speaking, forb availability and quality is high during spring and early summer and declines as summer carries on. This year, many areas saw very little forb production during the spring, though there were some parts of Texas that got some much needed rain recently.

It’s mid-May ans that means fawns. They are already “dropping” in some areas. The fawning period is a critical time does producing and raising fawns, when protein requirements are relatively high. Lack of suitable-quality forage probably will not have a large impact on adult survival, but if does do not have adequate forage, fawn survival and recruitment will be negatively impacted.

To make matters worse, dry weather means a reduction in herbaceous growth that results in reduced fawning cover, which equates to decreased fawn survival because of increased predation. It’s tough to be a white-tailed deer, young or old.

For properties that conduct annual surveys to estimate deer numbers, drought means fewer tick marks on the datasheet and lower deer populations. Yes, a lack of fawn survival and recruitment can have significant management implications on properties. This makes harvest recommendations all the more important. Harvest too many and the population may be shot into a “hole.” Shoot too few and the tough conditions will be exacerbated.

Ranch owners and managers must seriously consider deer numbers at all times, but especially when it’s dry; especially when it’s year after year of dry. Although deer hunting regulations change slowly in Texas, deer harvest is something that varies from year to year on managed ranches. A drought year may mean less harvest overall even though poor range conditions actually make achieving harvest quotas easier (since deer readily respond to bait).

There is no doubt that dry weather and poor habitat conditions impact deer populations, but the impact it may have varies from area to area. If you’re interested in improving the deer found on your property or lease then get more involved with management, start counting deer annually, estimate fawn production and herd size and use the hunting season for both fun and to help the herd as well as the habitat.

Wildlife Management for Landowners in Central Texas

Many landowners in Texas are beginning to see the value in managing for wildlife on their ranch, whether it be for hunting game species or for non-consumptive uses. Good habitat and abundant wildlife add a lot to the quality of our lives. As such, landowners interested in managing for wildlife can take advantage of various incentive programs to diversify their income through good land stewardship for livestock and wildlife.

Join the folks in Coryell County on May 6th to hear experts discuss quail and turkey biology and management, feral hog biology and abatement, wildlife management planning for tax purposes, rangeland evaluation, stocking rate calculation, and brush management techniques such as dozing, prescribed fire and herbicide.

A particular focus will be given to bobwhite quail because of their popularity as a game species, the extreme decline they’ve seen recently, and the fact that the habitat that produces quail also supports scores of other species of wildlife in the rangelands and woodlands of Texas. We will also focus on feral hog abatement as hogs have detrimental impacts to the wildlife we manage for.

Habitat Management and More

Speakers from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife and USDA-NRCS will present on bobwhite quail biology and management, wild turkey biology and management, feral hog biology and impacts to wildlife, proper brush management techniques, wildlife management use planning, and proper rangeland evaluation for using livestock for wildlife.

In addition to the presentations at the Harman School in the morning, the participants will be visit the Hannah Ranch to watch demonstrations on calculating livestock stocking rates, plant identification, wildlife habitat assessment and feral hog control through trapping.

Wildlife Field Day Registration Details

Where: Harman School Community Center
When: May 6th (8:00 am-4:00 pm)
Pre-registration: Call the Coryell County Agent Pasquale Swaner at 254-865-2414 to register

Mule Deer Hunting in Texas: Habitat and Herd Management

The mule deer hunting found across West Texas is pretty darn good, but it’s not by accident. Mule deer are an important resource because the demand for hunting is high and the income generated from hunting packages and leases has been an important component income for most landowners over the mule deer’s range. Their economic value has prompted many ranchers to become more aware of the management needs for mule deer. Indeed, many land use decisions (for example, livestock stocking rate, water developments, brush control) can have a major impact on mule deer. The extent of the impact, and whether it is positive or negative, depend primarily on the degree to which wildlife requirements were considered.

Deer management, like livestock management, varies from one ranch to another depending upon land characteristics and the rancher’s objectives. Just as some areas have a higher grazing capacity for cattle, some areas have a higher carrying capacity for mule deer. Simply stated, deer management involves three principles habitat management, population management and people management. Obviously, each of these will affect the others so it takes the right mix of this inputs to achieve the proper results.

The presence of suitable habitat determines where and in what abundance mule deer will be found. Generally, habitat management involves plant management, the two key points being knowing what plants are important for mule deer food and cover as well as knowing how to manipulate them. For rangeland habitats in West Texas, management tools may include grazing practices, brush management, supplemental water development, prescribed burning and receding operations as helpful wildlife management practices.

The next important factor for producing and maintaining mule deer is population or her management. This means property owners keep the deer population in balance with the habitat’s carrying capacity. It also involves manipulating the age and sex ratios, herd density and other factors affecting population growth (predation, migration, competition with white-tailed deer and exotics). Generally, population management centers around regulating deer harvest levels.

It’s important to note that mule deer and white-tailed deer management are not the same. There is a lack of definitive deer movement patterns and other population-related phenomena, such as natural mortality and competition with livestock which continues to hamper mule deer management in West Texas. Researchers within the state of Texas are conducting ongoing studies to get more information.

Lastly, hunter management is important because it is the means for managing mule deer population. This means landowners, maybe with help from wildlife biologists, must make harvest the proper number of deer annually, and the right deer on top of that. The age structure of the herd is important, especially as it relates to quality and buck harvest. Mule deer management in West Texas is looking good, spurred on by those interested in hunting, but there are still some unknowns that may help in future years. There is no denying that mule deer are interesting animals, and hunting them is a totally different ball game.

Turkey Hunting in Texas Takes Planning, Management

There are good numbers of wild turkey found throughout Texas, but the best tip I can offer for better turkey hunting is to develop better habitat on the property that you hunt. Proper land use and habitat management is critical to keeping birds on your property if they are in the area. With the large amount of Texas that is kept in pasture or improved pasture, it would appear that we have all the permanent openings that we would ever need for wild turkeys. In some cases this is true, but often pastures and fields offer little for turkeys.

Openings are needed to provide important summer range for young turkeys and can provide an excellent source of food for the flock year-around. Before discussing food plots one thing should be made clear, we are talking about openings that are already established. Do not clear trees to create openings. It is a lot harder to grow a mast producing oak or dogwood than grass. Use the openings that already exist and manage those areas for turkey, whether it be through planting spring food plots for turkey or the planting of native forbs and grasses.

A 10 to 20-foot wide strip of high weeds should be left along the edge of mowed fields, fence rows, and pastures for nesting and escape cover. Property owners can also increase spring and summer production of annual weeds and grasses next to these unmowed strips by shallow disking an adjacent 15 foot strip after the first winter freeze. This will make obtaining food easier for hens that nest in the weeds during the spring and will provide a ready supply of insects for the young when they hatch.

Plants found in fields and openings should be reduced by late winter with mowing, disking, close grazing, or burning to discourage hens from nesting where mowing may later destroy turkey nests. Therefore, do not mow, disc, or burn the high weeds purposely left along fence rows and woodland borders to encourage nesting.

Pastureland can provide much of the open habitat needed for turkeys if the adjacent woodlands contain a variety of mast producing hardwoods and fruit producing shrubs. When pastureland is used for both wild turkey habitat and hay production, care must be taken during cutting and bailing operations. Nesting hens may be killed or their nests destroyed if fields are mowed during the nesting season.

In addition, even mowing around a nest site will usually be of little benefit since this just tends to pinpoint the nest for predators. Leaving a small, unmowed area in an otherwise mowed field appears to act as a red light alerting predators to an area needing investigation. Most turkey nesting is completed by the end of May, waiting to mow until early June will give your turkeys a chance for eggs to hatch and poults to go mobile.

Better turkey hunting can be achieved in the parts of Texas where birds are found by managing both the habitat and the turkey population found on a property. The easiest way to have more turkeys is to provide the habitat they need and then let them produce those birds on an annual basis. Weather is also a factor, but it always comes down to whether hens can find a suitable place to nest. A lack of habitat means little to no successful nests and that equates to no new birds and reduced hunting in the future.