By Kirby Irvin, Wildlife Biologist - Eastern Lampasas & Coryell Counties

As biologists, it is our job to study, manage, and conserve our native wildlife species and their habitats. A major component being the understanding of population dynamics of various wildlife species and the relationship they have with their habitat. Many hours are spent in the field each year surveying, collecting data, and evaluating habitats throughout the Hill Country. The information collected allows us to make informed management decisions on harvest regulations, habitat recommendations, and conservation efforts. While the work we do focuses on large scale populations, landowners can also estimate populations on their own properties to better understand their native wildlife. Learning how different species interact with each other and their habitat can be a great first step in managing for wildlife.

Carrying capacity, which is defined as the number of individuals that the habitat can support at any given time, is an important part of understanding population ecology. Wildlife populations tend to fluctuate with the condition of their habitat, however, there are some species that have evolved to survive above that carrying capacity threshold. The white-tailed deer is a great example of a species whose populations in some areas have grown past what the habitat can support. This overpopulation, left unchecked, can lead to habitat degradation, increased disease transmission, and decreased survival.

While each wildlife species has their own habitat requirements, many populations co-exist within the same spaces. When one population becomes unbalanced within the ecosystem, that can then effect other species within the same habitat. For example, white-tailed deer, when overpopulated in a particular area, can have drastic effects on woody plant species that many other wildlife need for food or cover. This is commonly observed as a browse line and is the reduction of woody vegetation from the ground up to as high as a deer can reach. Small mammals, upland game, and various songbird species can all be negatively impacted by the overpopulation of just one species. Invasive species, such as feral hogs and exotic ungulates, also tend to thrive above that carrying capacity. They often outcompete and displace our native wildlife, directly competing with them for food, space, and cover.

This is where the time-honored tradition of hunting can be used to help us manage not only our wildlife populations, but their habitat as well. Hunting provides many economic, cultural, and ecological benefits and has significant value to both the hunter and the wildlife populations they hunt. Hunting as a wildlife population tool allows us to keep populations in check with what the habitat can support. Healthy habitats support healthy wildlife populations, which is important if the desire is to conserve our wildlife for future generations. Without hunting and the funding it generates for conservation, many of the wildlife species common on the landscape today would probably be long gone by now.

By Jason Hardin, Wild Turkey Program Leader

Wild turkey across most of Texas has been a great success, especially the Rio Grande wild turkey subspecies. Texas is home to some of the highest densities of wild turkeys in the country and thus, Texans enjoy an ample hunting opportunity thanks to these restoration efforts. Recent survey data suggests hunters are spending more days in the field to harvest the same number of birds and success rates are declining. Additionally, Breeding Bird Survey data suggests a 30-year population low following a peak in 2017. Unfortunately, obtaining accurate harvest estimates has become difficult compared to historical harvest mail surveys. Recently, wild turkey research conducted in Texas recommended moving to mandatory harvest reporting to better track wild turkey populations.

Mandatory harvest reporting has been a requirement in east Texas since 1995 and has expanded to cover more of the state in recent years. In March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved statewide mandatory harvest reporting for all harvested wild turkeys to better track wild turkey populations across the state. Harvest reporting is digital and can be accomplished through TPWD’s Texas Hunt & Fish App, Outdoor Annual App, and the TPWD website. Beginning this fall, all wild turkeys harvested in Texas will need to be reported within 24 hours of harvest. Digital license holders will continue to report immediately following harvest. This data will allow TPWD to make timely management decisions and provide real-time feedback to Texas hunters. TPWD will use this data to track population changes over time and provide in-season harvest reporting to constituents. 

By Ian Witt, Wildlife Biologist - Sutton, Schleicher, & Crockett Counties

Learning how to “read your land” is essential in understanding the importance of healthy habitats and how different factors such as deer density and browsing pressure can affect the plant community. As a land manager, management decisions that come from quantifiable and informative habitat data can be extremely helpful and can provide justification for those decisions. A Stem Count Index, also known as a browse survey, is a beneficial technique which can be used to further understand the health of your habitat by better understanding how overabundant browsing species can cause too much browsing pressure on a habitat.

A Stem Count Index is conducted by evaluating key browse species in different habitat types across your rangelands during the late winter months (Dec-Feb). This method is used by counting the stems on different woody plant species, based on their palatability and preference by browsing animals prior to the spring growing season. Woody plants can be broken into three basic categories based on their preference by browsing animals: first, second or third choice. These different classifications are analyzed to determine the browsing pressure on available browse species which is strongly correlated with deer density. The total number of bites counted is divided by the total number of stems counted for each individual species to determine the percent of stems bitten. This information can be interpreted as percent utilization on each species and is used to assess habitat conditions.

Contact your local wildlife biologist for more information on the Stem Count Index or browse surveys and conducting these techniques to make future management decisions.

By Amanda Leslie, Wildlife Biologist - Menard & Kimble Counties

What is that bright yellow blooming flower this time of year? It’s Tall Goldenrod! This perennial begins blooming in August and flowers through November. It is in the Asteracea family, which is the same family as sunflowers. If you look closely, this plant actually has two different types of flowers. The first are the ray flowers that look like petals but are each an individual flower. The second are the disk flowers that are at the center of the head, inside of the ray flowers, forming a feathery plume shaped inflorescence. The stem is rigid and generally smooth with alternating leaves that have short hairs that give off a gray-green color. Tall Goldenrod can range from 1.5 feet tall all the way up to almost 6 feet tall.

The range of this herbaceous plant consists of Texas all the way north into Canada. Sandy, loamy, and clay soil types with part shade is where you will find goldenrod growing. It thrives in open spaces, along roadsides, riparian areas, and disturbed habitats. It is a drought resistant plant and provides a great late source of nectar for bees, wasps, beetles, and butterflies before the winter.

Goldenrod gets accused of causing seasonal allergies, but it is actually known to assist people with sinus issues and seasonal allergies. Goldenrod leaves and flowers can be worked within tea, oil infusions, herb bundles, and even add a great pop of color to ornamental flower bouquets.