Chris Gill - Pitchstone Waters (Page 51)

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Chris Gill

Ranching, wildlife management, finance, oil & gas, real estate development and management.

sagebrush_burning

Restoring the West’s Burned Rangeland, With Seeds and a Pasta Machine

“Fire is often touted as a beneficial substitute for grazing Western rangeland. It is not. Fire bares soil, sterilizes soil by killing soil microorganisms, releases toxins, and destroys precious organic material. The best and cheapest way to maintain or restore healthy ranges – and prevent wildfire – is with periodic planned grazing

cattle_grazing_leased_land

Book Review... No Risk Ranching: Custom Grazing on Leased Land

Those who wish to enter ranching but can’t afford a ranch should consider this way of getting started. And those who already own land can increase their profits by this same method. This book can be purchased on Amazon.com Greg Judy was forced to liquidate his cow herd

Desert Bighorn Sheep at Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Far-West Texas

Desert Bighorn Sheep at Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Far-West Texas

Big Bend National Park and the area around it is home to bighorn, elk, mule deer, pronghorn and their predators.

pronghorn_running_texas

Understanding the Effectiveness of Aerial Wildlife Surveys

This article makes very good points about the limitations of aerial surveys of wild animal populations. An unmentioned limiting factor in aerial survey accuracy is that helicopters are routinely used to kill ‘exotic’ animals and predators – often while counting game. This terrifies wildlife. Years of doing this – as in the

"Invasion Biology"

Beavers, Rebooted

It is strange but true that as species disappear, the empty spaces they leave behind come to be accepted as ‘natural’. How many times during wildlife reintroductions has the objection been raised that deer, pronghorn, elk, sheep, bison, horses, bear, wolves, – and now beaver – no longer ‘belong’ in our wild

The Sounds of Elk Country Volume 5

"Invasion Biology"

The Sounds of Elk Country Volume 5

Another great video from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

white_tail_deer

Chronic Wasting Disease

Things You May Have Heard About Chronic Wasting Disease

This is a very good article about specific CWD misconceptions. But it needs more context. CWD was created in a Colorado state wildlife experimental facility. It is spread by high fences, artificial feeding, predator removals and any other practice that maintains animals at artificially high populations and/or crowds them

Antibiotics in Meat Could Be Damaging Our Guts

Over 70% of all antibiotics used in the US are fed to confined livestock – cattle, pigs and chickens – and about 75% of those antibiotics are passed through to humans. This article discusses the serious health issues this practice creates. NOTE: this article below is from NYTimes.com. It was written

In Tight Senate Race, Arizona Candidates Pledge Help for Ranchers

In Tight Senate Race, Arizona Candidates Pledge Help for Ranchers

Federal drought insurance is based on the false premise that in any two-month period, there is a “normal” Southwestern desert rainfall on which insurance actuaries can rely with statistical certainty. Desert rainfall is irregular in quantity, timing, intensity and frequency. There is no “normal,” so within six consecutive two-month policies

McIntire-Beaver-Dam-Grand-Teton-NP

"Invasion Biology"

How Beavers Build Dams

For 20-million years, beavers have been nature’s water engineers. In North America – before Europeans trapped them out – 400-million beavers impounded 50-million surface acres of water. Beaver eradication was a disaster for continental hydrology. Fortunately, they can be restored. Beavers can again work tirelessly, cheaply and effectively to maintain and

Animal Development

Coffee Beans Are Good for Birds, Fancy Brew or Not

As described in this article, naturally-raised coffee tastes better. And the practices that produce better tasting coffee benefit birdlife. Few Americans realize how much better naturally raised foods taste. Or that our Industrial Agriculture with its fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, range poisons and antibiotics – besides dumbing down food quality, have

beaver_IN_WATER

"Invasion Biology"

Building Riparian Resilience Through Beaver Restoration

As this article explains, every aspect of desert ranching and conservation of wildlife is enhanced by beavers. NOTE: this article was originally posted to Seventh-Generation.org and is reposted here on CircleRanchTX.com – we do not take credit for the words / thoughts provided below. For many people around the West,

Installing Posts for an Artificial Beaver Dam

Installing Posts for an Artificial Beaver Dam

A simplified version of these artificial beaver dams will work great in a desert gully or runoff channel where a “plug and spread” dam is impractical because there is nowhere to spill the water. Substitute t-posts and use old net wire on the downslope side. Fill with logs, branches and

wild_horse_iceland_2

"Invasion Biology"

Can The Wild Horse Fire Brigade Really Work?

To be healthy, forests and grasslands need to be grazed. The grazing must come from more than one species. For millions of years in North America, horses and their ancestors have been part of the animal impact that wild plants need. NOTE: this article was initially published to HorseTalk.co.

cactus_feeders_feedlot

Animal Development

At Hamburger Central, Antibiotics for Cattle that Aren’t Sick

Over 70% of antibiotics used in the US are for confinement livestock – cattle, pigs and chickens – about 75% of which pass through to humans. This is a huge health issue for consumers. And the antibiotics damage ecological systems. In addition, these meat factories are inhumane to livestock, environmentally harmful, and

Mowing Encourages Yearly Return of Grasses and Wildflowers in Texas’ Roadways

"Invasion Biology"

Mowing Encourages Yearly Return of Grasses and Wildflowers in Texas' Roadways

The reason that Texas’ roadways are brush free, have excellent grass cover and lots of wildflowers is because at just the right time of their growth – once or twice per year – they are completely mowed. The next time you drive down the highway, compare the condition of the grass in

otters_bayous_texas

Otters Making a Welcome Return to Texas Waterways

The return of otters and beavers to Texas rivers is a very good thing for the environment. NOTE: this article was published to SAExpressNews.com on February 15, 2018, written by Shanon Tompkins. HOUSTON — Don Greene was sick and weak, dying of pancreatic cancer. But that late-winter morning four years

"Invasion Biology"

Uprooting FDR’s ‘Great Wall of Trees’

This article highlights the environmental mentality of the modern farming methods taught in our universities. As described below, farmers are destroying the Northern Great Plains shelter belts which the WPA planted – for their benefit and at great cost – during the Great Depression. Quoting the authors: “FDR, long fascinated by forestry,

coyote_canada_2

"Invasion Biology"

Urban Coyote: Myth or Fact?

Surprising facts about coyotes.

san_antonio_wet_weather_commerce_street

Fall Will Be Warmer And Wetter Than Normal; El Niño Onset Likely

“This is good news for Texas’ wildlife and habitat, ranchers and farmers. NOTE: this article was originally published to ExpressNews.com on September 25, 2018. It was written by S.M. Chavey. It’s going to be a warm and wet fall in San Antonio, the National Weather Service said

"Invasion Biology"

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Scientist?

The wolf debate is more about politics than economics or the environment. NOTE: this article initially appeared on NYTimes.com on July 5, 2018. It was written by Christopher Solomon. Rob Wielgus was one of America’s pre-eminent experts on large carnivores. Then he ran afoul of the enemies of

Supplemental Water and Feed for Desert Bighorn Sheep

"Invasion Biology"

Supplemental Water and Feed for Desert Bighorn Sheep

Years ago I read an article by a man in the Sierra Nevada of California whose mine was being closed by the feds. They said his mining operation was harming sheep populations. He said, no, he had operated for many years with no problem to sheep: the problem was increased

Humans and Mastodons Coexisted in Florida, New Evidence Shows

Humans and Mastodons Coexisted in Florida, New Evidence Shows

New archaeological discoveries in Florida establish earlier dates for human presence in North America than those that were previously accepted. The same discoveries show that early Native Americans hunted mastodons – a now-extinct, ancient relative of elephants. For 30-million years, mastodons were a keystone species of highly productive savanna ecosystems across

elk_colorado_snow

"Invasion Biology"

Elk Country Chronicles - The Sounds of Elk Country Volume 7

Take a minute to enjoy the peaceful sounds of elk country. With good game management policies, this could be anywhere in far-West Texas. Instead these animals are shot out on all state-managed lands under the scientifically bogus belief that they are non-native ‘invasive’ species that harm bighorn, mule deer and

Discoveries Challenge Beliefs on Humans’ Arrival in the Americas

Discoveries Challenge Beliefs on Humans’ Arrival in the Americas

These findings reflect our own: In the Indian Cave at Circle Ranch in far-West Texas, Arizona State University has radio carbon dated charcoal samples at ages 23,000-years older than the 10,000 BC date previously accepted. NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on March 27, 2014