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Pineywoods Prescribed Fire Cooperative – Burning Association

Some folks over in East Texas are in the beginning stages of forming a prescribed fire cooperative. The Pineywoods Prescribed Fire Cooperative is made up of private landowners who wish to burn on their own property for habitat management. The primary goal of this cooperative is to put fire back on the ground in East Texas. The benefit will be reduced fuel loads across the Pineywoods, resulting in wildfire protection and, indirectly, wildlife habitat creation or enhancement.

The Pineywoods burning cooperative will be based on several successful models that already exist in different parts of the state and will be run by its members. Members will benefit from this cooperative by on-the-ground training and networking with other landowners with common goals, resulting in possible collaborative burns, access to prescribed burning equipment, and possible cost-share assistance for burning or creation of fire breaks.

The cooperative will be supported by several partner agencies and non-governmental organizations to achieve the mutual goal of putting fire back on the Pineywoods landscape in a responsible manner. An informative meeting will be held from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. for landowners on July 5, at the Texas Forest Service Cudlip Training Center, located at 2127 South 1st Street, in Lufkin, Texas, off of Hwy. 59 South.

Find out about the cost-shares that are available and what the Pineywoods Prescribed Fire Cooperative can do for you. Texas’ burning associations allow members to get hands-on training by assisting with prescribed fires on other member’s property, all the while increasing the knowledge of individuals about the use fire as a wildlife management tool and improving native habitat and hunting.

Deer Smuggling in Texas: Cherokee County Man Guilty

White-tailed deer in Texas have become a big business. Simply stated, big whitetail bucks can be turned into big bucks in the pockets of those that sell them. As with anything that involves money, someone was bound to get caught abusing the system. After a lengthy four year investigation a 77-year-old Cherokee County, Texas licensed deer breeder has pleaded guilty to smuggling deer in the Eastern District of Texas and then lying about it to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.

Whitetail breeder Billy Powell pleaded guilty on June 14, 2011, to the felony offense of smuggling at least 37 whitetail deer, over a 3 year time span, from Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio into Texas in violation of state and federal laws. Powell also admitted that he made a false statement and submitted a false document to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent who was looking into the matter. Powell has agreed to pay a $1 million fine, to be deposited into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Lacy Act Reward Fund, as well as $500,000.00 in restitution to Texas Parks and Wildlife, on his sentencing date.

Powell’s agreement with the government calls for Powell to serve 3 years probation with six months of home confinement which will be monitored with an electric anklet. During the term of probation, Powell will be prohibited from participating in any manner in commercial deer breeding. Additionally, Powell must forfeit any illegally imported deer, any progeny of those deer, and any biological material derived from said deer, which would include any semen, antlers, mounts, and cloned deer. Powell has already forfeited over 1,300 straws of frozen semen valued at approximately $961,500.00 to U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

According to information presented in court, on at least four separate occasions, spanning from October 2006 through June 2008, Powell knowingly imported at least 37 live whitetail deer, many of whom came from captive deer farms in Ligonier, Indiana, into the state of Texas and to his “5-P Farms”, high fenced deer breeding facility in Cherokee County Texas. These deer included bucks known as “Fat Boy” aka “Barry”, “Silver Storm” aka “Hit Man”, “Y 009″, “Eagle Storm” aka “BJ”, “Thunderstruck”, “High Five”, and “Primer” aka “Spikes”.

At all times Powell knew that Texas law prohibited any person from possessing a deer acquired from an out-of-state source. In spite of this, Powell agreed to participate in the above-described transactions in which whitetail deer would be secretly transported from Illinois, Indiana, and/or Pennsylvania, to Texas in order to evade Texas laws and regulations.

Powell acknowledged that the fair market value of all of the illegally imported, whitetail deer exceeded approximately $800,000.00, that the value of the illegally accumulated white-tailed deer semen exceeded approximately $961,000.00, and that the value of the progeny exceeded approximately $290,000.00.

Powell further admitted that he lied to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent during a voluntary statement at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tyler, Texas. Powell told the agent that he had illegally imported approximately 35 white-tailed deer into the state of Texas when in fact he knew that he had illegally imported no less than 41 white-tailed deer, including 6 white-tail deer fawns.

Findings of the investigation also prompted the Wildlife Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to conduct an epidemiological investigation in consultation with veterinarians and wildlife disease experts from Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas Department of State Health Services, and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and accredited veterinarians actively involved in the deer breeding industry. This process was carried out in three separate phases.

Ultimately all 334 deer contained in Powell’s deer breeding facility were euthanized to facilitate testing for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and bovine tuberculosis (TB). This process was necessary in order to provide an acceptable level of assurance that neither disease was prevalent in Powell’s deer breeding facility nor in any deer breeding facility that had received deer from Powell’s facility since October 2004.

Introduction of these diseases into Texas could have a detrimental impact on the longtime cultural tradition of deer hunting, which generates an estimated $1.2 billion in retail sales and has a total economic output of more than $2 billion in Texas each year. Disease monitoring is also necessary to protect legal deer breeding activity from risk of disease exposure. Furthermore, bovine tuberculosis could have a significant impact on the Texas livestock industry.

Since no live-animal test for CWD exists, TPWD consulted with trained experts to ensure the most humane euthanasia method and treatment of the animals was used. Many deer breeders in Texas do not agree with killing deer for testing, but there is no other way. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are presently awaiting the test results for the tissue samples submitted to the Texas Veterinarian Medical Diagnostic Laboratory located in College Station, Texas.

This whitetail deer smuggling-transport case was investigated by the Special Operations Unit of the Texas Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s a shame that these deer had to be put-down, but it’s all because one guy broke the law. These laws are in place to protect people, livestock and the natural resources that are important to all hunters, as well as non-hunters. CWD and TB are no joke, but as the numbers in this case suggest, deer are worth big money. Hopefully the countless others that are bound to be out there smuggling, doing the exact same thing as this guy, will get the message.

Deer Hunting, Habitat in Mills County Okay

Summer in Texas is always a hard time for white-tailed deer. It’s just a given. But this year is tough on deer across the state, especially those located in ecoregions that primarily have thin soils. This includes much of the greater-central portion of Texas as well as the Hill Country. Unless you are actively involved in management on your property, I wouldn’t expect a stellar deer hunting year. Reports from Clay County looked pretty bad, but apparently there are some areas where deer habitat is still in okay shape.

“Hot and dry but our place is in Mills County is in really good condition. The creeks ran a couple of weeks ago, so there is water in the deeper holes. The brush, greenbriars and forbs are still looking decent too. There have been no cattle on our 320 acres since April 1, so the little bit of growth that we got is still there. Having no cows has really saved the browse for the deer. Continue reading Deer Hunting, Habitat in Mills County Okay

Alazan Bayou Wildlife Management Area

The Alazan Bayou Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is part of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) public hunting lands. The property is located in southern Nacogdoches County and is within the Pineywoods ecological region of East Texas. The habitat is typically of the region, with the dominate plant community on the area being bottomland hardwood. This habitat type is great for hog hunting, squirrel hunting and waterfowl. The Alazan WMA is located about 6 miles south of Nacogdoches and just 1.1 miles west of US Hwy 59 on FM 2782.

The Alazan WMA totals 2,063 acres and again is comprised of bottomland hardwood forests and old field habitats bordering the Angelina River. The WMA provides excellent habitat for wintering ducks, white-tailed deer, turkey, woodcock, rabbits, squirrels and feral hogs. Call the WMA headquarters at 936-569-8547 for more information on this Texas-owned public hunting land.

Venison Burger Recipe

Venison Burger Recipe: This one's loaded!

It’s summer time, so that means it’s burger time on the grill! This loaded venison burger recipe makes four Texas-sized burgers for chowing down around the pool or on the deck. This recipe calls for tasty vegetables right in the burger not only to add delicious juices, but delicious taste too. Garnish with your favorite adult beverage and enjoy the long summer days!

Ingredients

1.5 pounds ground venison
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup diced bell pepper
1/3 cup diced onion
crushed black pepper
garlic powder
salt

Directions

This venison burger recipe is a snap. It can be thrown together as you are heating up the grill, or mixed up and placed in the fridge overnight to “marinate.” Either way, it is best if you can let the meat sit out for at least one hour before placing on the grill. This will help the temperature to rise and result in more even cooking. Even cooking is important for burgers, but especially for venison.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg then add Worchestershire sauce, olive oil, bell pepper, onion and venison and mix together. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, because you will have to anyway! Divide the mixture into four equal parts and hand-form the four generous-sized venison patties. Lastly, season the burgers to your liking with salt, pepper and garlic.

The venison burgers should be placed on a charcoal or gas grill with about medium-high heat. Cook the burgers for seven to eight minutes and then flip for another seven to eight minutes. Venison is lean, so cook the burgers until they are just done, then remove them from the grill at let sit for about three to four minutes before building your perfect, loaded venison burger!

Deer Hunting in Clay County Looks Rough

We may be three and a half months away from the beginning of a deer hunting season in Texas, but the dry weather has a lot of hunters thinking about what this year will entail. Deer habitat across much of the state is in poor condition at best.

The Hill Country is a bad as I can remember and reports from across the state are dismal. In fact, my buddy up in Clay County said it’s so dry on his deer lease that there just is not much for the deer to eat.

Deer Hunting

That’s the sentiment of landowners across Texas right now: habitat is bad and deer are on the prowl. Many are seeing deer out all hours of the day trying to find browse and water. With fawns on the ground, you can expect to see does looking for food to support lactation and their fawns. Of course, with habitat as bad as it is this year, deer are having to more than ever. One ranch owner had this to say:

“Even been seeing them up around the house and barn lately… never have before. They are emptying out the two protein feeders of 350 to 400+ pounds per week— that’s getting expensive. I’d say pray for rain, but at this point I’m not even sure that the forbs and browse would respond in a helpful way this summer. It will take several days of back-to-back or well-spaced rains to soak the ground and sprout the seeds in this heat.

This time of the year, all that will grow is grass and noxious weeds that do not do deer much good in most areas. New-growth grass will help some, but only short term. Rain will help deer browse, but it’s going to take the slow-soaking rains to get the new growth started.”

A ranch with a high whitetail deer density is probably going to look much worse than those with deer in-line with available habitat. Getting new growth browse will not happen where deer exceed the carrying capacity of the land. The landowner located in Clay County told me that what he fed in supplemental protein pellets all of last year is the same as what he fed in the first six months of this year.

It’s not looking good for deer this fall for antler growth, overall body condition or as far as fawn production. With habitat in poor condition, fawn numbers will be down this year but I suspect deer will be hitting feeders hard, increasing the number of whitetail seen while deer hunting this year over last season. I’d suggest that landowners and lease hunters perform at least some type of deer surveys to estimate the whitetail population and prevent over-harvest, because it may take a while to bounce back.

Matador WMA: Wildfire Burns 10,000 Acres

This year has been especially dry primarily because of all the rain Texas has missed over this past spring. Summer is usually a period of low rainfall, but wildfires have been particularly bad this year because of on-going, prolonged drought. Much of Texas is in “extreme” drought as classified by the weather pros. Wildfires have plagued the landscape lately, with the latest wildfire burning at Matador Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

On June 13, 2011, it was reported that eleven Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Division employees and seven State Parks staff members assisted local firefighters in battling a wildfire on the Matador WMA that started Saturday after a lightning strike. The fire was under control within 24 hours and contained inside firebreak lines. The wildfire burned more than 10,000 acres of land found on the WMA, primarily on its the western side.

Prescribed burning is a very important management tool for maintaining and enhancing grasslands. However, the fire that burned the WMA was unplanned. However, fire was an important natural part in the development and maintenance of grasslands, forests, and wetlands, throughout history. To many of us, fire is a feared enemy that destroys everything in its path. Because of this, the use of controlled fires, such as prescribed burning, is underutilized as a management tool for improving and maintaining habitats.

“For thousands of years, tall grass prairies and open brushlands were kept free of trees by the occasional wildfires that cleared the landscape every two to 50 years. These fires were caused by lightning, or set intentionally by Native Americans. They had discovered that fire killed woody plants, but encouraged fruit bearing shrubs, and forage producing grasslands.

Present day research and experience have shown that prescribed burning can be an effective management tool. Prescribed burns are used most frequently to maintain and restore native grasslands, and help songbird and quail populations. Prescribed burning can recycle nutrients tied up in old plant growth, control many woody plants and herbaceous weeds, improve poor quality forage, increase plant growth, reduce the risk of large wildfires, and improve certain wildlife habitat. To achieve the above benefits, fire must be used under very specific conditions, using very specific techniques.”

Although native plants are well adapted to wildfires, wildlife managers prefer prescribed burning, also called controlled burning, for habitat management. Biologists located at the Matador WMA have used prescribed fire in the past, but they did not have an option this time. Much of the herbaceous vegetation will green-up quickly, with the woody plants following close behind. Expect the area burned by this wildfire to provide excellent habitat and deer hunting in just a few years.

Culling Bucks for Whitetail Deer Management

The white-tailed deer hunting season may be months away, but that does not stop hunters and landowners from pondering deer management issues. One of the most talked about management practices involves the culling or selective removal of bucks from the herd. There are two reasons to cull bucks. Most hunters cull because they believe that removing inferior bucks allows the more desirable, larger-antlered bucks to breed.

This should allow the better bucks to pass on their genes, and the overall genetic composition of the herd to improve. This makes sense to most hunters, but the facts are not clear. In fact, there has been much discussion, even outright arguments, around the removal of alleged cull bucks, particularly spike bucks. Some well-known whitetail deer researchers even suggest that genetic improvement through culling will not happen in most free-ranging situations.

But genetic improvement aside, the other reason to cull is to simply harvest bucks to manage for the carrying capacity of a property. To some extent, the planned harvest of any buck is considered culling, but the term cull buck still usually refers to bucks with less than desired antler characteristics. If hunters look at culling as a way to keep the deer herd in check with food resources, then from that perspective culling really is a good management practice. But the argument over culling continues…

Source: “What has fueled the debate to some extent is that the research hasn’t always found the same thing. In fact, it has actually caused the rise of two different schools of thought on culling. The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute has been involved with two extensive culling research projects. One completed just a few years back was an eight-year study done on the King Ranch. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) designed the project, which was overseen by Mickey Hellickson, then chief wildlife biologist for King Ranch. The study area was low-fence, and researchers had to take into account young buck dispersal and the movement of bucks in and out of their normal home range during the rut.

One of the criticisms of the study was that culling wasn’t intensive enough to make a change. Dr. Randy DeYoung, of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Institute, disagrees. He says that while certain parameters could not be controlled under low fence, the culling was extensive and intensive. He attributes the lack of progress to the fact that with culling alone, genetic change is extremely hard to accomplish.

Nonetheless, the results of the King Ranch study led to another intensive culling study. This one, which is now five years in the making and has another five to go, is being conducted on the Comanche Ranch near Carrizo Springs. This study was designed by ranch owner Dan Friedkin and ranch biologist Donnie Draeger. There are three study areas, two high-fenced and one fenced on three sides. Together the study area encompasses more than 25,000 acres.

TPWD biologists designed the most intensive of the two culling treatments; the third area is a control with no culling. On the King Ranch study the culling was done the old-fashioned way, by gun. However, on the Comanche study, culling is done via helicopter capture. All bucks captured are measured for a host of different parameters. Those that don’t meet the culling criteria, which by most standards would be considered extremely strict, are euthanized; those that do are tagged and released.”

By any account, it would seem that culling via helicopter would have to be intense enough to see noticeable change, right? Well, despite their efforts, after five years researchers have yet to show any real genetic improvement in whitetail bucks in the treatment areas. They plan on continuing the project into the future, but regardless of what they find, many hunters and managers may find that five years of intensive culling is proof enough that culling bucks as a deer management technique does not work. Deer season is still several months away, so just a little something to think about as you’re filling feeders this summer.

Duck Hunting in Katy – Get Your Stamp

It takes a lot of work in some cases, but it’s usually well worth it. It’s one of the activities I look forward to every fall—duck hunting! With the duck season still some time off, I can’t help buck think about duck hunting in Katy, Texas, with the news that has just been released. It appears the 78th Federal Duck Stamp goes on sale June 24 with an official ceremony held at 9 a.m. at Bass Pro’s Outdoor World located in the Katy Mills Shopping Center in Katy.

The artists of this year’s duck stamps will be on hand to sign copies of their work. In addition, it is reported that Texas Parks and Wildlife Director Carter Smith will also attend the event. Speakers at the event include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials and the Duck Stamp and Junior Duck Stamp artists. Of course, affiliated vendors will have items for sale before and after the ceremony.

Although it is usually referred to as a “duck stamp” the stamp began functioning as a federal migratory bird hunting and conservation product originally used to denote those with a federal license to hunt migratory waterfowl. Those that go ducking know that it’s needed, whether you are duck hunting in Katy, Port O’Conner or Port Arthur, you could face a hefty federal fine.

Today 98 cents out of every dollar raised by the stamps go toes the purchase or lease of wetlands around the country. This locks up valuable habitat and allows biologist to implement wetland habitat management for improved duck production. But wetlands are not just for ducks and geese. It is estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that one third of the nation’s threatened species live in these places. Since 1934 over $500 million has gone to over 5 million acres of wetland habitat. Something to think about as you buy your stamp and head out duck hunting!

Texas Dove Hunting: Report Dove Bands

Banding is an major part of the management of all migratory game birds in North America. To a waterfowl hunter, a duck or goose band is a treasured acquisition. In fact, these aluminum rings become testaments of the hunter’s skill, luck or at least a log of hours spent in the field. But dove hunters need to keep and eye out for these leg bands, too. Heading into the summer, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be trapping and attaching tiny metal leg bands on several thousand mourning dove as part of a larger national effort coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to mourners, white-winged doves will also be banded across the state. TPWD estimates that approximately 3,000 whitewings will be banded in 2011. Banding will begin on June 1 and end on August 15. It takes a lot of effort to capture and band doves, but the real data comes when hunters report dove bands recovered from harvested birds. As whitewings continue to expand across the state, keeping tabs on these dove populations is becoming increasingly important.

Dove band recoveries are revealing extensive travel records and offer interesting insight into the ecology of this prominent migrant. Most banded mourning doves in Texas do not survive to see a second year and extremely few live past three years of age. However, the oldest mourning dove ever recovered in Texas was 9 years old.

White-winged doves banded in Texas have been recovered in four states including Texas, four countries, and one in international waters on an oil platform. The oldest white-winged dove ever recorded in Texas was 17 years old. The farthest recovered white-winged dove banded in Texas originated in Hidalgo County and was recovered in Nicaragua, 1,242 miles from the original band site.

For Texas, the implications of dove management are significant considering the Lone Star State boasts fall dove populations in excess of 40 million birds and its 300,000 dove hunters harvest about 6 million birds annually or roughly 30 percent of all doves taken in the United States. Dove hunting also has a major economic impact, contributing more than $300 million to the state economy. But, despite having more dove hunters than any other state and harvesting more birds than any other state, Texas has the lowest dove band recovery rate in the nation.

“I think most dove hunters aren’t aware of the banding effort,” said Corey Mason, TPWD’s dove program leader. “Unlike with ducks, hunters aren’t looking for bands and because dove bands are only about the size of a bead they don’t stand out.”

Data obtained from dove banding efforts are used to estimate survival and harvest rates and population abundance. These estimates are then used in population and harvest models to determine dove hunting regulations. If you are lucky enough to harvest a banded dove this hunting season, report the dove band and help biologist do their best to manage our natural resources.