The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will conduct a multi-county Range and Wildlife Management Field Day on September 19th in Brown County for landowners interested in managing wildlife and livestock.
The program will run from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the McGillivray and Leona McKie Muse Wildlife Management Area, 15 miles northeast of Brownwood off County Road 478.
The morning talks will be followed by lunch, then a tour of the wildlife management area.Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, two integrated pest management and one general, will be available.
“Many Texas landowners are beginning to see the value of managing wildlife on their properties,” said Brian Hays, associate director of the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, Gatesville. “Landowners interested in managing for wildlife can take advantage of various incentive programs to diversify their income through good land stewardship for livestock and wildlife.”
Scott Anderson, AgriLife Extension agent in Brown County, said AgriLife Extension staff will discuss quail and turkey biology and management. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department personnel will talk on Texas horned lizards, wildlife management planning and the Proposition 11 wildlife property tax exemption.
Other scheduled talks to be presented by U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service experts will focus on rangeland evaluation and proper brush control techniques to include dozing, prescribed fire and herbicide application.
“A particular focus will be on quail because of their popularity as a game species and their extreme decline in numbers in recent years,” said Mike Marshall, AgriLife Extension associate with the Texas A&M University Institute of Renewable Natural Resources at Gatesville. “The Muse property offers an ideal place to see proper quail management in action.”
Other field tour stops will include demonstrations on calculating stocking rates, plant identification, habitat assessment and a preview of a prairie restoration effort now underway on the wildlife management area.
Individual registration is $15 and includes lunch. RSVP by September 14th by contacting the AgriLife Extension office in Brown County at 325-646-0386.