Habitat Management
Habitat management research for wildlife in south Texas covers a broad spectrum from brush control to restoration. Scientists such as Drs. Timothy E. Fulbright, George A. Rasmussen, and J. Alfonso Ortega-S. examine the thresholds for manipulating vegetation to improve forage and cover for wildlife. Paula Maywald focuses on developing applied strategies for reclamation and restoration projects in south Texas. Prescribed burning is one method of maintaining high quality rangeland that is beneficial to wildlife. Research is conducted to determine the conditions in which this useful management tool is most effective for maintaining and enhancing wildlife habitats. Other research evaluates wildlife food plots that many ranchers and managers are using to increase food resources on their land. Drs. Fulbright and Ortega-S. study livestock grazing, brush encroachment and management, re-vegetation of disturbed sites, and reclamation of south Texas habitats to benefit wildlife and livestock. The Center for Semi-Arid Land Ecology and South Texas Natives are two specialized research programs at the Institute focusing on habitat management and restoration.
◊ The Center for Semi-Arid Land Ecology, directed by Dr. Timothy Fulbright, specializes in ecological research.Many of the plants, wildlife, and natural communities in semi-arid regions of the world, including south Texas, are being lost to human impacts, overgrazing, and the invasion of exotic plants. This Center focuses on research that will minimize the effects of these trends which will continue as human populations expand and place growing pressures on natural resources in semi-arid land regions.
◊ South Texas Natives, coordinated by Forrest S. Smith, is a program focusing on the development of locally adapted native plant seed for south Texas habitat restoration and reclamation projects. The South Texas Natives program was developed in response to the increased construction of highways and pipelines, increased oil and gas activity, and the increased awareness of native plants as a vital component of wildlife habitat. In 2000, this project was initiated with an overarching goal to develop and promote native plants for the restoration and reclamation of habitats on private and public lands. South Texas Natives works in close collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Natural Resource Conservation Service-E. “Kika” de la Garza Plant Materials Center, which was established on the TAMUK campus in 1981 and is currently managed by Mr. John Lloyd Reilley.
