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The coastal prairies and wetlands of the western Gulf Coast are valuable habitats for millions of migrating and wintering waterfowl. One species that we have been working on for several years is the Mottled Duck, which is a year-round resident to this region, relying on habitats along the western Gulf Coast for all of its life-cycle requirements.

Most Texans are well-acquainted with the Northern Bobwhite, a valued game bird in much of the eastern United States. Few, however, are aware that the historical range of the Northern Bobwhite includes much of Mexico and northern Guatemala or that other “kinds” of bobwhites also occur within this region.

Hunters have been a fundamental component of northern bobwhite quail conservation for most of the past century. Bobwhite quail hunters funded the first modern comprehensive life history study of a wild vertebrate in the 1920s to understand causes responsible for population declines. This investigation identified a causal link between frequent applications of prescribed fire and persis- Atence of bobwhite quail populations in the Southeastern United States, and provided the foundation for contemporary fire ecology science.

Hunters spend countless hours trying to pattern buck movements during the rut, attempting to decipher the “code” that unlocks the secret to buck locations. Some hunters use trail-camera photos to decide where to hang a treestand in hopes that the buck will return. Other hunters believe that buck movements are simply random and chaotic; thus they may set a blind with a good view, hoping to see some antlers moving through the brush. Both approaches sometimes meet success.

South Texas is the Last Great Habitat that supports extensive populations of wildlife on a vast expanse of relatively unspoiled rangeland. This is particularly true for wild quail, especially the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), hereafter bobwhite. A recent Geographical Information Systems survey indicated that there are about 11 million acres of habitat that supports wild bobwhite populations in the South Texas Ecological Region (Brennan et al. 2014). This is more bobwhite habitat than exists anywhere else within the species' distribution.

Ducks Unlimited announced the winners of the 2016 Wetland Conservation Achievement Awards during the 81st North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference held in Pittsburgh, Pa. This year's recipient in the research/technical category is Dr. Bart Ballard, professor and research scientist in the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

White-tailed deer are widely distributed in North America and for at least 10,000 years have been important to human beings for food, clothing, and tools. Market hunting and habitat changes in the1800s caused a precipitous decline in thenumber of white-tailed deer in North America. Hunters acted to restore deer populations. By promoting and helping to enforce hunting regulations, trans- planting deer, and funding conservation and management programs, hunters were the primary rea- son deer populations grew during the 1900s from 500,000 to nearly 30 million.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine have teamed up with deer researchers at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. It is not a common alliance, for sure, but it is an interesting one.