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Texas Agriculture Archive

September 6, 2002

2002 weather impact
a mixed bag for hunters

As the weather goes in Texas, so go wildlife populations, says Texas Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist Dr. Neal Wilkins.

That being the case, a look at the current drought severity map of Texas may provide the biggest tip for hunters: in some places the bag may still come up dry; in others there may be a bountiful harvest.

"It's a mixed blessing as far as wildlife goes," said Wilkins of this year's expected weather impact on hunting. "Most species are a product of the health of their environment."

That environment currently runs the gamut in Texas. A swath through the north-south middle of the state is currently dubbed an "incipient wet spell" at the Red River border and very wet at the Rio Grande border, according to the Texas Water Development Board. Shouldering the Louisiana border and the New Mexico line, however, is mild to moderate drought. The three southernmost counties are considered to be in severe drought.

Much of the state now considered wet is due to extreme floods earlier in the summer. And those heavy rains came on the heels of an extended drought. Both extremes had their own impacts on wildlife in those areas.

"The drought exacerbated the effect of the flood," Wilkins said. "In some places, ranchers had gone three years with little or no effective rainfall, and then they got 30-40 inches in a week."

For some wildlife species the initial toll may be heavy, he said.

"Those floods caused destruction of wildlife habitat all along the banks of the waterways," Wilkins noted. "And for those ground-nesting birds, such as quail and turkeys that already had nested when the rains came, many were likely flooded out."

Now those areas look plush and green, he said, but that doesn't necessarily mean a big quail or turkey crop is waiting.

The season begins as early as Sept. 28 for archery hunting of Rio Grande turkey while quail hunting begins Oct. 26 statewide, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

It was the timing of the rains that made the difference. If the rains had come earlier in the season, habitat for the birds would have been better and existing nests would not have been washed away. With earlier rains, many birds would have come into the breeding season in better condition.

"However, those birds that do hatch (from renesting attempts, or nests surviving the floods) have excellent habitat conditions, so survival through the fall is good," he said. "That contrasts to some years in which there is good hatch but not good conditions for brood survival."

For deer, the droughty-wet conditions in various parts of the state likewise has caused mixed results, he said.

"Some of the flooding happened at the peak of fawning season. Many fawns were on ground or not very old, so there was additional stress on the animals," Wilkins said. "But, the compensating factor is we generally have an overabundance of does and most them get bred, so we can recover populations where there is lots of forage for them to eat."

The wildlife specialist cautioned against returning pre-drought livestock numbers to land that is recovering from drought. Also, it is important to consistently bring deer numbers in line with long-term forage availability.

"There are several areas of the state that now appear green after several years of drought, but much of this new growth is from short-lived annual plants. It could take only a few weeks of extreme heat with no rain to go back to return to the same drought-like conditions," he said.