Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine - November 2011

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November 2011 - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

Take a peek beneath the surface with new feature stories about Texas archeology and one ranch's contribution to statewide conservation. And Executive Director Carter Smith writes about the deep heritage and privilege of hunting. Then take a closer look at some unique Texas parks, plants and wildlife species.

Feature Articles

Finding Texas Past

At treasured sites like Gault, archaeologists dig for ancient truths but leave others buried.

By Kathryn Hunter

On a walk in the woods or along a dry creek bed, there’s no telling what you’ll look down and find at your feet — perhaps an old railroad spike, a medicine bottle of hand-blown glass, a perfectly shaped arrowhead. Yesterday’s trash is today’s treasure, as the old adage goes, and there’s no shortage of it when nearly every road and city of ours has been built on top of another, when every remote corner of the globe has, at some time or another, belonged to someone else. Read more.

Beyond the Hunt

For most hunters, there’s more to the passion than just the thrill of the kill.

By Carter Smith

My “bobbing for apples” started shortly after climbing into the hunting tripod. It was an unseasonably warm November opener, even for Texas, and try as I might I couldn’t keep my eyes open or my head upright. I knew better. I’d been taught better. And, at the ripe old age of 14, I was determined to prove that I was ready to hunt alone and, with a little luck, kill my first buck.

My drowsiness probably had something to do with not getting much sleep the night before, perhaps from the late-night storytelling by the camp elders who regaled one another with tales about deer hunts and camps from years gone by.

As I recall, we seemed to have more deer stories than deer at our Gonzales County place. As the youngest member of the deer camp, I didn’t want to miss a single one. Read more.

Reviving the Ranch

History, education and good land management abound at the Leopold Award-winning Temple Ranch

By Mike Cox

The transformation of an overgrazed, overhunted South Texas ranch into a haven for wildlife as well as a valuable research and education venue has earned Arthur “Buddy” and Ellen Temple the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award for Texas.

Located 11 miles north of Freer in Duval County, the 11,300-acre ranch has been owned by the Temples for two decades. While the couple divide their time between the ranch and their home in Lufkin, ranch managers Robert and Jenny Sanders live full-time on the place with their 2-year-old son, Nathan. Assistant manager Kevin Anderson also stays on the ranch. Read more.

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