(splash)
>> MOST PEOPLE HAVE A PRETTY
GOOD IDEA OF WHAT A STATE PARK
IS AND WHAT GOES ON THERE.
(music)
(gunshots)
>> YEEE HA!
>> AND MOST OF US APPRECIATE
THE VALUE OF HISTORICAL SITES,
HELPING US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
OUR TEXAS HERITAGE.
BUT FAR FEWER TEXANS KNOW
ABOUT THE 1.5 MILLION ACRES
OF PUBLIC LAND IN WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT AREAS.
WHERE ARE THESE PLACES?
WHAT GOES ON THERE?
IS THIS MAN A BIOLOGIST
OR AN ARSONIST?
WHAT'S THAT COMING OUT OF THIS
ABANDONED RAILROAD TUNNEL?
AND WHY IS THIS HORNED LIZARD
WEARING A BACKPACK?
A WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA
IS LIKE A LABORATORY,
BUT WITHOUT THE WALLS.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE BIOLOGISTS
STUDY AN ECOSYSTEM AND FIGURE
OUT WAYS TO ENHANCE THE LAND
FOR NATIVE WILDLIFE.
IT'S A PLACE DEDICATED TO
RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION,
AND EDUCATION.
>> THIS IS A LIVE OAK
RIGHT HERE, IN FACT THAT'S A
30 YEAR OLD LIVE OAK TREE.
WHEN YOU SEE WHITE-TAILED
DEER EATING LIVE OAK,
THERE'S HARD TIMES OUT THERE.
>> THE GOAL IS TO SHARE THE
KNOWLEDGE WITH LANDOWNERS SO
THEY CAN IMPROVE THE QUALITY
OF THEIR PROPERTY FOR WILDLIFE.
>> THIS IS HACKBERRY,
HACKBERRY IS A GOOD DEER FOOD,
IT'S A GOOD COW FOOD.
>> THE KERR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
AREA IS FAMOUS FOR
WHITE-TAILED DEER RESEARCH
BUT LIKE MANY AREAS, A VARIETY
OF STUDIES ARE UNDERWAY.
HERE AT OLD SABINE BOTTOM, IN
EAST TEXAS, BIOLOGISTS CONDUCT
A BASELINE INVENTORY TO
DETERMINE WHAT ANIMALS LIVE
ON THE MANAGEMENT AREA.
>> ESSENTIALLY WE'RE LOOKING FOR
SPECIES PRESENCE WHICH MEANS
WE'RE COUNTING EVERY SNAKE,
MAMMAL, AMPHIBIAN, BIRD,
MORE OR LESS ANYTHING WE CAN
GET OUR HANDS ON SO THAT WE
KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS HERE
AND WHAT'S NOT HERE.
>> THESE AREAS ALLOW US TO
ADDRESS SOME OF THE CRITICAL
ISSUES IN WILDLIFE HABITAT
AND MANAGEMENT, WHETHER
IT BE ENDANGERED SPECIES
OR WORKING WITH GAME SPECIES,
SUCH AS WHITE-TAILED DEER
OR WATERFOWL OR SQUIRRELS.
BUT THESE PROPERTIES ALLOW
US A LAND BASE ON WHICH TO
CONDUCT THESE TYPES OF
EXPERIMENTS AND STUDIES.
>> WE'VE GOT 24 OUT,
AND WE NEED 45.
>> MANY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE
TYPE AND NUMBER OF RESEARCH
PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON
ON THESE PROPERTIES.
(snake rattles)
>> THERE WE GO.
>> EACH LIZARD HAS IT'S OWN
FREQUENCY SO YOU CAN DIAL
UP FOR A PARTICULAR ANIMAL.
>> AND IT DOESN'T JUST
INVOLVE WHITE-TAILED DEER
OR GAME SPECIES.
THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH
AND MANAGEMENT THAT GOES ON
THAT CONCERNS ENDANGERED
SPECIES OR THREATENED SPECIES
OR CRITICAL HABITATS
OR EVEN NON-GAME ANIMALS.
THESE ARE THE PROPERTIES
THAT ALLOW US TO DO
THAT TYPE OF WORK.
>> YEAH, LOOKS LIKE A CACTUS
WREN TO ME, YEP, CACTUS WREN.
(music)
>> WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS
WERE FIRST CREATED TO SERVE
AS RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION
SITES IN EACH OF THE DIFFERENT
ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF TEXAS.
(music)
>> WOO!
(cow moos)
>> WOO!
(calf moos)
>> CONVERSION OF NATURAL
HABITATS TO NEEDS AND INTERESTS
OF PEOPLE HAS LONG BEEN BLAMED
FOR THE DECLINE OF WILDLIFE.
BUT WHAT IF THE SAME TOOLS
THAT FACILITATED THIS DECLINE
COULD BE USED TO REVERSE IT?
THAT WAS THE IDEA OF, ALDO
LEOPOLD, PROFESSOR OF GAME
MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN FROM 1933 TO 1948,
AND THE FATHER OF MODERN
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.
LEOPOLD DEVELOPED STRATEGIES
FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
USING FIVE BASIC TOOLS:
THE AXE,
THE COW,
THE PLOW,
FIRE,
AND THE GUN.
(gunshot)
BIOLOGISTS STILL USE A
COMBINATION OF THESE CONCEPTS
AT WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
AREAS TO PROMOTE PLANT
AND WILDLIFE DIVERSIFICATION.
THE AXE, EQUALS A ROLLER
CHOPPER IN THIS CASE, WHICH
IMPEDES BRUSH FROM DOMINATING
THIS SOUTH TEXAS HABITAT.
(truck horn)
BUFFALO THAT USED TO GRAZE
THESE LANDS WERE NOMADIC.
BIOLOGIST IMITATE THIS
TYPE OF GRAZING PRESSURE BY
ROTATING HERDS OF CATTLE FROM
PASTURE TO PASTURE.
THIS PROTECTS THE
RANGE FROM OVERGRAZING
AND PROVIDES AMPLE FOOD
FOR LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE.
THE THEORY OF THE PLOW, REFERS
TO THE PLANTING OF FOOD PLOTS
OR SIMPLE DISCING TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL FOOD FOR WILDLIFE.
>> CAN YA GIVE ME THAT
TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY
REAL QUICK AGAIN?
>> 48% ON THE HUMIDITY
AND 71 DEGREES.
>> HISTORICALLY, FIRES
OCCURRED FREQUENTLY IN NATURE.
NOW, BIOLOGISTS
INTENTIONALLY SET FIRES
UNDER CERTAIN VERY SPECIFIC
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS.
THESE PRESCRIBED BURNS HELP
CONTROL INVASIVE SPECIES IN
A VERY ECONOMICAL WAY.
THEY ALSO PROMOTE PLANT
DIVERSITY AND THE MORE DIVERSE
AN AREA OF LAND BECOMES,
THE BETTER IT IS FOR
THE LOCAL WILDLIFE.
>> DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS ON WHAT'S
A LEGAL ANIMAL?
THIS IS AN EITHER SEX
DEER HUNT BY DEFINITION...
>> THE GUN, REFERS TO THE
PROPER USE OF HUNTING TO
CONTROL WILDLIFE POPULATIONS
AT A LEVEL THAT THE
LAND CAN SUSTAIN.
THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT,
BECAUSE OVERPOPULATION USUALLY
SEVERELY DAMAGES THE HABITAT,
HABITAT THAT BOTH WILDLIFE
AND LIVESTOCK DEPEND ON.
>> EVEN THOUGH THE CONCEPTS OF
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ARE THE
SAME ALL ACROSS THE STATE,
THE SPECIFICS OF THE PRACTICE
ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT
FROM ECOLOGICAL AREA
TO ECOLOGICAL AREA.
(music)
>> THE SMALLEST WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT AREA IS ALSO
PROBABLY THE STRANGEST.
>> THE OLD TUNNEL WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT AREA IS DIFFERENT
FROM EVERY OTHER MANAGEMENT
AREA THAT WE GOT WITHIN THE
WILDLIFE DIVISION IN THAT WE
HAVE IN THIS OLD ABANDONED
RAILROAD TUNNEL BEHIND ME NOW,
A SEASONAL ROOSTING SITE OF
APPROXIMATELY TWO MILLION
MEXICAN FREE-TAIL BATS.
>> THESE BATS ARE MORE THAN A
SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF NATURE.
THEY BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY BY
CONSUMING TONS OF DESTRUCTIVE
INSECTS EACH NIGHT.
MOST AREAS BENEFIT A WIDE
VARIETY OF BOTH PLANT
AND ANIMAL SPECIES.
MADD ISLAND AND OTHER NEW
MANAGEMENT AREAS ALONG THE
COAST, PROVIDE CRITICAL HABITAT
FOR MILLIONS OF MIGRATING
AND RESIDENT BIRDS.
(geese honk, ducks quack)
(music)
WHILE THE EMPHASIS IS ON
WILDLIFE, THESE ARE PUBLIC
LANDS AND MANY ARE ACCESSIBLE
FOR A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES.
(music)
THESE LIVING LABORATORIES
PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF WHAT TRUE
STEWARDSHIP CAN ACHIEVE.
YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THE
ONGOING MANAGEMENT BY THESE
DEDICATED BIOLOGISTS,
TECHNICIANS AND VOLUNTEERS
OF THE WILDLIFE DIVISION
BUT THEIR WORK WILL CONTINUE
TO ENHANCE THE RICH NATURAL
HERITAGE OF TEXAS.
(music)