Hunt Texas Online Connection - July Link of the Month

It is still too hot to spend hours in a deer stand and the ducks are still months away from embarking on their migration south, but it isn't too early to start thinking about where you will chase your favorite game this fall. Texas Parks and Wildlife has launched a new online service this year to put hunters looking for a place to hunt in contact with landowners offering hunting lands for lease. Landowners and land managers can list hunting leases for free, including last minute open spots, while ensuring anonymity until a match is made. Hunters can find private hunting leases for free, as well as search for specific hunting opportunities by lease type, county, game species and other information. Click on the title of this post to view the the Hunt Texas Online Connection website and begin searching for a place to hunt this year or find hunters interested in leasing your property.

Native Prairies of Texas - June Link of the Month

Many of you have heard me recommend planting native grasses or making other efforts toward restoring native prairies on the properties you manage. What are native grasses? What is a native prairie? I didn't plant these grasses, so aren't they native? These are some of the responses I get when I suggest restoring native grassland areas. Your properties lie in the Post Oak Savannah ecosystem. This means that historically the landscape was a savannah with a prairie understory and an open canopy of post oaks and other trees above. A prairie is a diverse ecosystem of mainly native grasses and flowering plants with wildlife, soil, geology, and fire playing important roles. Cotton and grain farming, cattle ranching, and urban development have eliminated or severely altered more than 99% of the nearly 20 million acres of prairie that once existed in Texas.

This month's link of the month is to the Native Prairies Association of Texas. Click on the title of this post or the similarly named link on the right panel of this blog to learn:

• What is a prairie?
• How is a prairie different from fields of grass?
• Where you can visit native prairies in Texas
• How to recognize and protect prairie remnants
• How to plan and install small prairie areas
• What to plant in your native prairie area

You will also be able to follow links to pictures and slide shows of native prairies and beautiful wildflowers, NPAT newsletters, suggested reading materials, and additional links concerning native plants and prairie restoration. If you are interested in restoring natural beauty and wildlife value to the open areas of your property, this website (especially the 'photo album' and 'learn' tabs) deserves at least 20-30 minutes of your time!

For details on restoring native prairie plants on your property or cost share programs offered by state and federal agencies, contact me or comment to this post.

May Link of the Month

In an effort to keep everyone coming back to the Harvey WMA blog site and keep WMA members informed of the latest information, I will periodically post on this site. At times, I will write "articles" on various topics. Once a month, I will also introduce you to a new link that contains information I think you will be interested in. This month, the link I'm recommending you all visit is the Spring 2008 edition of Texas Parks and Wildlife's Eye on Nature Newsletter. Click on the title of this posting to read the newsletter in its entirety. The Eye on Nature newsletter is published by the wildlife diversity program that Matt Wagner, my predecessor, now oversees. In this issue you will discover the key to great wildlife habitat, learn the differences between native and invasive plant species and effects of each on various wildlife species, read a narrative describing the development of Texas Parks and Wildlife's Private Lands Assistance Program which allows me to work individually with you on the management of your properties, and read short descriptions of native plants such as American beautyberry, wax myrtle, rusty blackhaw viburnam, hackberry, post oak, and mistletoe which provide valuable food and cover for some of your favorite wildlife. I strongly recommend that you follow the link in the title of this post and spend about 10-15 minutes reading the articles in this newsletter. Be sure to check the Eye on Nature Newsletter link on the right column of the blog to see past and future editions of the newsletter.