Regional Range Renovation Program Set For Feb. 26

Writer: Steve Byrns, Communications Specialist, (915) 653-4576, email: s-byrns@tamu.edu

DUMONT – A “Rangeland and Wildlife Habitat Restoration Field Day” sponsored by Texas Cooperative
Extension, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station , USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service,
and the Texas Section of Society for Range Management is coming to the Tongue River Ranch near here
on Feb. 26.

Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m. Three continuing education units (CEUs) will
be awarded to participants with Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator licenses.

Dr. Darrell Ueckert, Texas A&M range researcher at San Angelo and one of the program coordinators,
said northwest Texas ranchers now have another battle to fight while facing a prolonged drought and
questionable economic times.

“Termites have eaten the world up here. The drought and desert termites have resulted in a major die-off of
desirable warm-season forage grasses. Huge parts of many of these ranches have little or no desirable
vegetative cover,” Ueckert said. “So when it does rain, the soil seals over...resulting in little rainfall
infiltration and a lot of runoff. Recovery of rangelands with this problem can take decades.”

“The purpose of this program is to provide ranchers with an array of proven technology they can easily use
to restore degraded rangeland. We will demonstrate this technology knowing full well that ranchers will
only adopt it if it makes economic sense, and if it won’t hurt their lucrative wildlife industry.”

Gary Antilley, King County Extension agent, will introduce Bill Reed, Tongue River Ranch manager, to
kick off the program. Reed will give a profile and brief background of the ranch.

The remainder of the morning’s speakers and topics include: “Grazing Management and Monitoring,”
Allan McGinty, Extension range specialist, San Angelo; “Weed and Brush Control-Chemical and
Mechanical,” J.F. Cadenhead, Extension range and brush control specialist, Vernon; “Rangeland Ripping,
Contour Furrowing, Re-seeding and Managing Desert Termites,” Ueckert; “Cost Share Opportunities,” Jon
Weddle, NRCS program liaison, Lubbock; and “Considerations for Quail,” Dale Rollins, Extension
wildlife specialist, San Angelo.

Following a noon lunch break, the afternoon program will cover:  “Considerations for Deer,” Dean
Ransom, Extension wildlife specialist, Vernon; and “Deer Nutrition Study at Tongue River Ranch,” David
Sikes, NRCS, Guthrie.

The program concludes with closing remarks and distribution of CEU certificates at 2 p.m. Participants
will then reconvene at the ranch demonstration site for a first-hand look at equipment and procedures
ranging from rangeland ripping, to furrowing and seeding, and weed spraying.

Registration costs $10 per person before Feb. 19, and $15 per person after that date or at the door.
Registration information (name, address, telephone number) and fees should be sent to: Gary Antilley,
County Extension Agent - Ag., Box 125, Guthrie, TX 79236. Antilley is at (806) 596-4451, and his
email is king-tx@tamu.edu .

A map to the Tongue River Ranch headquarters is on the Internet at the ranch’s website:
http://www.tongueriverranch.com/. Ranch headquarters is 3.2 miles due north of Dumont. Dumont is 10.5
miles west of Guthrie, and east of Dickens, on Highway 193.