"Invasion Biology" Texas Approves Feral Hog Hunting by Hot Air Balloon Soon we will have tried every goofy way to control wild pig populations while ignoring the common sense solution: Gather and sell free range pigs into the commercial food chain, like back in the day. NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on May 25, 2017. Texas lawmakers have
Bio-Diversity Killing Cattle a Felony Under Texas Livestock Bill Awaiting Abbott’s Signature A very good law to defend stray livestock, including bison. NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on June 2, 2017 Careless hunters or trigger-happy gunslingers who kill Texas livestock …would no longer get a slap on the wrist under legislation awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature that would
Bighorn Wildlife Crossings Get a Whole New Look These structures can satisfy wildlife’s need to move across our Western ranges. They can also facilitate grazing. Both are needed for habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. NOTE: This post initially appeared on WSJ.com on June 20, 2017. Feature photo by Jeff Burrell/Wildlife Conservation Society Why did the
Conservation Oil Trends in Far-West Texas Mineral revenues can be very good for wildlife practices. NOTE: This article initially appeared at OilPrice.com on March 24, 2017 Shell’s New Permian Play Profitable At $20 A Barrel OPEC’s worries about the booming U.S. oil production have increased significantly with the big three oil companies’
Bio-Diversity The Dirty Little Secrets Behind Earthworms Earthworms are disappearing from our farm and range lands. Two articles on this topic appear below. #1: New York Times attributes this to plowing, but #2: Science shows glyphosate (Roundup) use associated with GMO’s and brush control is worse. NOTE: This post initially appeared on WSJ.com on June
Conservation A Reduction in US Drought Over the Period 1901-2014 Does global warming mean global drought? “It would appear that instead of making droughts worse, the global warming/climate change experienced over the past century appears to have ameliorated them.” NOTE: This paper was published on CO2Science.org on May 25, 2017 Paper Reviewed by McCabe, G.J., Wolock, D.
Bio-Diversity Best Tools for No-Till Farming These principals readily apply to ranching. Keeping desert rangeland covered with plants is the rancher’s most important challenge. NOTE: This post initially appeared on MotherEarthNews.com this month First, the bad news: We’ve lost millions of tons of soil from croplands in the United States annually for the
"Invasion Biology" TPWD Mule Deer Habitat Advice I was surprised to learn at a TPWD mule deer seminar that the way we graze cattle at Circle Ranch harms plants and water function. So I read all the studies on which these conclusions were based and found they did not study what they claimed to study. I wrote
Animal Development Foodies Can Order Meats From a Single Animal Consumer demand for wholesome food is the driving force behind sustainable food production. NOTE: This post initially appeared on WSJ.com on October 5, 2016 Throwback to getting your sirloin ground at the butcher shop emerges with ‘single origin’ cuts In grocery store cases stuffed with exotic grass-fed and organic
Animal Growth MDF / Lado Ranch Wildlife Water Project In far-West Texas water additions like these are the very best, cheapest and quickest wildlife practice. Free water hurts nothing and helps everything. VIEW ON FLICKR: April 29th, 2017 – Lado Ranch near Van Horn, Texas Funded by the Mule Deer Foundation On April 29th more than 30 volunteer conservationists from
Africa High Above, Drones Keep Watchful Eyes on Wildlife We have found drones to be a useful management tool. However the simplicity of drones is greatly overestimated, especially the notion of flying them by video monitor at great distances from the operator. NOTE: This article was originally published on NYTimes.com. Drones seemed like the perfect anti-poaching tools. But
"Invasion Biology" Reds on Shrimp, Gulls on Reds On May 21, 2011 we were fly fishing for redfish in the lower Laguna Madre. Here’s a wonderful photograph of a redfish pod feeding on shrimp, and gulls trailing the redfish to pick up their leavings. You might wonder why this picture has been entered on a blog dedicated
"Invasion Biology" Where's a Real Environmentalist When you Need One? Many of the strongest advocates for planned grazing of cattle and other domestic animals to maintain and restore habitat health – ourselves included – started out opposed to grazing, which the agencies and universities have taught 4-generations to believe is bad for plants and animals. NOTE: This post initially appeared in Range
"Invasion Biology" Millions of Bees Dead After South Carolina Sprays for Zika Mosquitoes No pesticide – any chemical used to kill plant or animal ‘pests’ – is selective. This story should give pause to those who think the ‘feral hog apocalypse’ and routine use of range poison is a good idea. NOTE: This post initially appeared on WashingtonPost.com on September 1, 2016 On Sunday
"Invasion Biology" Did Humans Live in California 100,000 Years Earlier Than We Thought? At our Circle Ranch Indian Cave, Arizona State University found charcoal that radiocarbon dating says is 25,000-years older than the 10,000 BC date which most scientists say is when humans arrived in North America. This extraordinary date change would be small compared to what is discussed below. NOTE:
minerals West Texas Mineral Classifications Explained Much of far-West Texas is ‘mineral classified’. This important feature of land ownership is a major reason why West Texas ranches are such great investments. Enacted in 1919, the Relinquishment Act, as interpreted by the Courts, reserves all minerals to the State in those lands sold with a mineral classification
Animal Development Circle Ranch Game Camera Videos Wildlife videos from our high-desert mountains, captured in the winter of 2015.
"Invasion Biology" Cancer Worries Over a Common Weedkiller California has recently acknowledged what the medical community has known for years: Glyphosate (Roundup) causes cancer. It is implicated in other diseases like alzheimers, gluten intolerance, diabetes, infertility and more. Glyphosate residuals are found in most everything we drink, eat and wear. Efforts to move away from glyphosate dependance in
Big Bend Ranch State Park Big Bend Still Breathtaking After All These Years Big Bend and far-West Texas is the most overlooked part of the West. NOTE: This post initially appeared on SAExpressNews.com on April 27, 2017. Feature photo by: Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK — Since its opening in 1944, breathtaking Big Bend National Park has drawn visitors from
Bio-Diversity Pesticide Maker Tries to Kill Risk Study Like the tobacco companies before them, for decades now the agrochemical companies have worked the system to avoid consequences from the health hazards of their products. According to the left, Big Government stands between the public and Big Businesses including the agrochemical giants. According to the President, a smaller EPA
"Invasion Biology" New York Today: Prospect Park Goes to the Goats Even the folks in New York City have figured out that animal impact – in this case ‘exotic’ goats – can better maintain open space than machinery or chemicals. This insight puts them ahead of Texas’ mainstream wildlife ‘managers’. NOTE: This post initially appeared on NYTimes.com on May, 2016 To help
Adele Davidson Life on the San Antonio River A profile of Circle Ranch Co-Owner Josie Negley Gill, from Texas Monthly Magazine. NOTE: This article initially appeared in Texas Monthly: A family breathes new life into a historic King William home with their eclectic style. View as Slideshow Nine-year-old Tres Davidson and his seven-year-old brother, Wells, fling open the
Agri-business Eco Profits - Whose Money Harms The Environment? Author Dan Dagger says in part, “Environmental corporatism is guilty of the same offense of which it has made a career of accusing capitalism, the free market, and private enterprise: Getting rich at the expense of the environment. And its consumers are just as blind to the damage they cause
Bighorn US Drought Falls to Record Low Good news for quail and wildlife: It looks like we will dodge the drought bullet for the moment. Now is the time to implement the range recovery practices that will mitigate the next dry cycle. NOTE: This post initially appeared on TheGWPF.com on April 28, 2017 Drought in the
"Invasion Biology" On The Iberico Trail In Spain, free-ranging pigs which forage for themselves and fatten on seasonal acorns produce hams that can bring $2,000 apiece. In Texas, free-ranging pigs which forage for themselves and fatten on seasonal acorns are considered unfit to eat. Why the difference? Anticompetetive regulations which favor Big Pork, and bureaucratic
