LANDSCAPE SCALE CONSERVATION IN THE TRANS PECOS From Mule Deer to Minnows By Charlie Barnes 54 “A grassroots effort is underwayto bring the land's majesty back to life.” Mule Deer at Sunrise on Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area Hunter’s Horn • SUMMERsummer 2015 he Big Bend Region of bounce effortlessly up the sides and crags Texas is a magical land with a of rock. colorful history. From Judge Roy Bean, who history Most recently, a lot is being done to protect tells us once shot a man this beautiful land. A grassroots effort is Tfor snoring, to the great Chief Victorio, underway to bring the land’s majesty back known to some as Lone Wolf, who led the to life. Conservation partners like the Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches from Houston Safari Club are working diligently New Mexico south down to Mexico and to assist the region’s wildlife which has western Texas, the Big Bend Region of Texas been threatened, primarily due to the is scattered with larger-than-life legends. prolonged drought and changes wrought by the hand of man over the last century. It’s no secret the “old west” is a rich legacy Under the loose auspices of the Trans Pecos of history, where traces of yesteryear hang Conservation Initiative and others, the heavy in the air, but perhaps even more land’s time to rebuild has seemingly come. notable than the land’s rich history, is the region’s breathtaking landscapes. Venture Dawn couldn’t arrive soon enough as the into the Big Bend region and elsewhere morning light flooded over the beautiful in this glorious, almost forgotten, time- desert sky island called Elephant Mountain weathered corner of Texas, and you will Wildlife Management Area (EMWMA) feel the power of the land and revere its out in the Big Bend region of Texas owned cactus-flowered, cathedral mountains; by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department you will revel in the majesty (TPWD). This iconic mountain is about of its wildlife; and you will 25 miles south of Alpine Texas. I was here, watch desert bighorns scale along with many others, to assist the historic 55 impossible cliffs, coveys capture and transfer of 40 mule deer does of quail burst from to the equally rugged and beautiful El improbable patches Carmen Land and Conservation Company of cover and (ECLCC) Ranch and the adjoining Black mule deer Gap Wildlife Management Area (BGWMA) in southeast Brewster County. I say historic because TPWD has not conducted a mule deer “A grassroots effort is underwayto bring the land's majesty back to life.” Big Bend Landscape from El Carmen Land & Conservation Company Hunter’s Horn • SUMMERsummer 2015 landscape scale conservation in the trans pecos: By charlie barnes landscape scale conservation in the trans pecos: By charlie barnes translocation in Texas for over two decades! conservation easement on the property with restore the corridor’s natural habitat. TPWD Trans Pecos WMA Project Leader the TPWF to restore and protect this critical Permanent wildlife water guzzlers were Mark Garrett mentioned to me that “he wildlife corridor, a corridor which contains a installed, implementing improvements to can’t remember a time when there were major mammal dispersal on a transboundary riparian areas which facilitate landscape plenty of deer tags available on the Black level and is an important bird migration route connectivity and broad-scale rangeland Gap and we needed to get back to those in both the spring and fall. CLO was already restoration of native vegetation. This project days.” As we stood in the cool mountain heavily invested in conservation work on served the full spectrum of native species breeze and the stars around us started to the western side of the Chihuahuan Desert including mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, dim, I couldn’t help but be amazed by how along the New Mexico, Arizona and Sonora, migratory birds, quail, elf owls, black bears many of these very stars had miraculously Mexico borders, and aimed to “bookend” and even the endangered Rio Grande aligned themselves in order for this event to their efforts on its eastern boundary with silvery minnow. happen. the ECLCC property. CEMEX Mexico was also thoroughly immersed in a similar effort This project is “landscape scale conservation” In 2006, a partnership between CEMEX spanning in excess of 400,000 acres just of the highest order and it is obviously an USA and the Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation across the border in the state of Coahuila. undertaking of epic proportions that cannot (CLO) purchased the old Adams Ranch, now be achieved without an extraordinary known as the ECLCC. The partners signed a Extensive work began immediately to coalition of dedicated partners. The 56 Good Genetics - Mule Deer Buck EMWMA Photo by David Wetzel Hunter’s Horn • SUMMER 2015 landscape scale conservation in the trans pecos: By charlie barnes Jill Morgan and Josh Cross of Sul Ross State University Photo by Charlie Barnes 57 Capture Team Bringing Deer Off Of Elephant Mountain WMA importance of building these relationships and the stability and promise they bring CEMEX EL Carmen General Manager And of course, Texas Parks and Wildlife to an undertaking of this magnitude was Billy Pat McKinney pulled me aside after provides the science, standing and recognized early on, and steps were taken construction of one of these guzzlers and coordination to ensure that all our efforts to build mutually beneficial working asked me if I realized “that the last time are soundly designed and implemented to partnerships to carry conservation here far there was permanent water on this site was achieve effective conservation across the into the future. when it was an inland sea a few million entire ecosystem. years ago?” The Texas Bighorn Society (TBS) was There is a remarkable sense of Texas spirit an early partner. After this, a cooperative As the deer transplant came together, the and pride that permeates through the management agreement for bighorn sheep Houston Safari Club stepped up to the plate in a conservation projects done in this country. was inked between TPWD, ECLCC, El big way. The Houston Safari Club contributed The look on volunteers faces at the end Carmen Mexico, TBS and the Wild Sheep $30K for telemetry collars and related research of the multi-day project, says it all. People Foundation to restore the land’s viable to keep the multi-year transplant efforts on came from hundreds of miles away and herbs. Next, the Dallas Safari Club and track, and to monitor its success. Sul Ross represented numerous organizations and the Quail Coalition contributed more State University graduate student J.C. “Kiddo” backgrounds, brought together for one water guzzlers designed and strategically Cambell will be doing his Master’s thesis on main cause. In the words of Josiah Austin, located to support a reintroduction of this work through the Borderlands Research founding partner of the CLO Foundation, Gambel’s quail to the area. The Mule Institute (BRI). BRI can always be counted “I have never seen conservation work done Deer Foundation (MDF) contributed on to put an army of volunteers on the better!” to the telemetry research for the mule ground for any conservation work done across deer transplant and recently installed two this region and their involvement lays a strong Shawn Gray, who heads the Mule Deer and ground guzzlers in preparation for the foundation for developing the next generation Pronghorn programs for Texas Parks and relocation. of conservationists. Hunter’s Horn • SUMMER 2015 landscape scale conservation in the trans pecos: By charlie barnes Wildlife Department, stated the case for captured by the Quicksilver Air, Inc. crew. began to photograph as the first deer timidly doing this work in this area by pointing The masterful helicopter wildlife capture stepped out and paused to evaluate her new out to me the various types of vegetation company team delivered them two-at-a- found freedom. After a few timid steps, she at hand near one of our work sites. He time to the headquarters below Elephant broke for high ground and then one after explained as he pointed “This is Guayacan Mountain. There, an award-winning team another her compatriots jumped out and and this one is Texas kidneywood and those of veterinarians, biologists, students and made their getaway, stotting up and over are Roemer acacia and spiny hackberry. dedicated volunteers quickly processed the a distant ridge to begin their assignment These plant species are common throughout incoming animals, pulling DNA samples, of replenishing the mule deer herd in this the area and are highly preferred by mule administering inoculations, drawing blood arid land. The next day the operation was deer. “He also added that “the only thing samples, then radio collaring and ear tagging repeated. that is missing to restore this land to prime them for monitoring purposes in their new habitat for mule deer is water. You have home. Soon the first trailer was loaded for As I sat there photographing the last of these now resolved that issue right here and your the two-hour drive to the ECLCC Ranch. wonderful creatures topping out a nearby future efforts will resolve it everywhere you ridge, I could only imagine what was going put permanent water”. As daylight began fading on a historical through the volunteer’s heads. I wondered if day here at this wildlife oasis in the desert, their hearts were racing in their chests as mine Soon after dawn broke, all of the forty or Bonnie McKinney hurriedly arranged the was. I wondered if they too had a sense of da so who had gathered to participate in this volunteers into a blocking line on one side ja vu, recounting past hunting memories.