Landowners Seek Diversity, Income Through Wildlife Management

Writer: Tim W. McAlavy, (806) 746-6101, email: t-mcalavy@tamu.edu
Contact: Dale Rollins, (915) 653-4576, email: d-rollins@tamu.edu

LUBBOCK – Higher production costs and shrinking profit margins are leading many Texas landowners towards
a greater appreciation of wildlife. They wonder if their abundant land resources can be profitably managed for
eco-tourism as well as traditional livestock production.

“Basically, there are two motivations managing wildlife on your property. One is for personal recreation. Either
you enjoy seeing or viewing wildlife, enjoy having them on your place – or you, your family or guests intend to
hunt them,” said Dale Rollins, Extension wildlife specialist based in San Angelo. “The other is a commercial
situation, where you are charging someone for the trespass rights to enjoy deer, quail, turkey or other wildlife.

“We’re seeing increasing interest in both segments of that audience.  On the commercial side, more and more
landowners are seeking ways to diversify their income. Especially in situations where the cattle market is down,
or drought is prevalent. They’ve got another asset out there, and in many parts of the state the income potential
from wildlife surpasses grazing values from livestock production.”

A grazing lease worth $4 to $5 per acre may well be worth that much or more as a quail or deer lease,
Rollins added.

That’s where Extension’s wildlife appreciation days come in. These intensive, one-day seminars test landowners
wildlife knowledge while educating them on best wildlife management practices.

A recent Deer Appreciation Day in Stonewall County on the Rolling Plains attracted more than 50 landowners
interested in expanding their knowledge of wildlife stewardship and management.

“We bank on the deer management triangle at these events. Habitat is the bottom leg of the triangle. One side is
population management, such things as buck-doe ratios and harvest levels,” Rollins said. “The other side of the
triangle is people management...especially when your dealing with leases.

“We teach landowners that habitat is the foundation. On habitat you build the deer population...through sound
management. Then you integrate or add people management by marketing wildlife through hunting or eco-
tourism.”

Aside from receiving an overview of deer management, landowers share their ideas on leasing land and
managing land for hunting or tourism. They also get an up-close look at wildlife biology and anatomy.

Landowners also learn how to properly identify and age deer, the importance of genetics, and how nutrition
plays a role in promoting and maintaining  a healthy deer herd.

Then it’s out to the field, where discussions on habitat assessment, beneficial plant species, predators, brush
control and grazing are the order of the afternoon.

“Every landowner or land manager should carry a camera, and use it to build a scrapbook of the vegetation on
their place,” Rollins said. “This habitat is the foundation of your land management plan. There are a number of
resources available to landowners who want to improve their wildlife and land management, but don’t know
where to get started.

“Resources they can access locally include the county Extension agent, USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation
Service (NRCS) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists. These are free public resources. There are
also consultants who can tailor-make land and wildlife management plans for a fee.”

An often over-looked resource is the Internet. There is a wealth of background material, seminar information,
and symposium proceedings on wildlife management available at non-profit and commercial Internet sites,
Rollins said.

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service offers several wildlife appreciation and management seminars
throughout the state each year. At present, these seminars focus on two wildlife species:
quail and deer.

“We talk about the critter, how to appreciate its habitat needs, and how to incorporate that into our overall land
management scheme,” Rollins said. “We haven’t gotten into deer appreciation days full scale. We’ve spent a lot
of time on quail, but there is a growing demand for deer information. I can see where we will  be doing a lot
more deer appreciation days in the future.”

For more information on wildlife management, or the dates and locations for upcoming quail and deer
appreciation days, landowners can call Rollins at (915) 653-4576 or contact their local county Extension office.