Eye on Nature, Spring 2012 Page: 3
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Understanding the Plants -
A Landowner's First Step in Wildlife Management
By Philip Dickerson
A fter 28 years in the natural resource field you get to see a lot changes take place. Many advances have
been made and much knowledge learned. But it's still somewhat surprising to me that folks will purchase a
property on the Internet without having seen it or without having reasonable knowledge of the plants that
occur there. In my opinion, the plants have a lot to do with potential wildlife values and property values.As wildlife resources become increasingly
important to landowners for economic
and aesthetic reasons, their first step
should be to learn all they can about the
native vegetation on their properties. In
my conversations with landowners and
managers, I refer to this as building the
"foundation" from which good manage-
ment decisions can be made. In today's
modern high-tech, fast-paced world,
there are many perceived shortcuts
(breeder pens, high fences, supplemen-
tal feeding and culling) to improving
our complex natural systems. Manag-
ing wildlife in the Trans-Pecos requires
patience, hard work and knowledge of
the animals and native vegetation.
There are resource professionals
(TPWD, NRCS, AgriLife Extension Ser-
vice and universities) available to assist
landowners with this technical guidance
throughout the region. Additionally,
managers should seek out good field
guides on grasses, forbs and woody
plants to help with this important aspect
of becoming a good habitat manager.
This may sound like a lot of work
but it can also be a lot of fun. In the
beginning it may seem like informa-tion overload but the work will pay off
in the end. I would suggest taking a
camera with you, photographing the
plants as you go, and build your own
plant inventory for your ranch. It's not
only important to know "what it is" but
"what value" these plants have to the
different animal species. For example,
several species of native grasses produce
abundant seeds that will be utilized by
many species of birds in addition to
providing nesting cover. Many of the
woody plants that fall into the "shrub"
category produce a seed or fruit that
becomes a food source for different ani-
mals. The terminal ends (new growth)
of the stems are often browsed on by
deer, elk and bighorn sheep. The point
is that many of our native plants provide
multiple functions (food, nesting and
cover requirements) for wildlife. Under-
standing the quality and quantity of the
native vegetation is vital to developing a
management program. One of my goals
when working with any landowner is to
provide enough of this information so
that the owners will begin to view their
native grasses, shrubs and trees with
a new perspective - how it relates towildlife value. With this understanding I
hope that as they drive across the ranch
they begin to piece together the different
habitats that exist and begin to recog-
nize those special wildlife values. This
understanding is also critically important
so that future management decisions
will enhance the habitat and not be
detrimental. The time spent on the front
end of any management program will
provide a greater appreciation later. I
would encourage all landowners to take
the time to build a good "foundation" of
native plant knowledge and pass it on.
The Trans-Pecos District encom-
passes 16 counties. The Trans-Pecos
landscape is blessed with more species
of shrubs, grasses and forbs than any
other region in the state. Landowners
seeking help with wildlife management
may contact the Alpine District Office
at (432) 837-2051 or use the Texas
Parks and Wildlife website at
www.tpwd.state.tx.us and click on the
Land and Water tab, then under the
Land menu, click on Find a Biologist.
Philip is a technical guidance biologist
with TPWD out of Midland.you
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Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department. Eye on Nature, Spring 2012, periodical, April 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth578813/m1/3/: accessed June 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.