Deer Study

Local landowners are learning how to improve wildlife on their ranches and provide better customer service to their hunters. Dale Rollins says "hunting in Texas is big business. Many landowners here in West Texas make more profit off wildlife leases as off sheep and cattle, so it is important to understand the process." A big change in Texas hunting in recent years is the ranches are being divided into smaller pieces. Brian Murphy says "lands have been getting fragmented at a high rate in the state of Texas. The mid-size ranches of 500 to 2000 acres are getting broken to smaller parcels. It is harder to find lands large enough for hunting." A hot topic at the meeting will be intensive deer management. This involves installing a high fence to harvest bigger bucks. Dale Rollins says "you have seen an increase in the high fences. With that brings added responsibilities and obligations to protect the deer behind the fence." Early indications from July fawning suggest a large number of deer next season. Brian Murphy says "we see in abundant rainfall years a high recruitment, or fawn production. We will get a large harvest and will need to harvest extra deer." The favorite flora of the deer is in abundance this year and will add size to the animals.