This month on The Land Steward Podcast, we feature a behind-the-scenes episode from the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the Endangered Species Act where attendees included some of the original authors of the ESA, the James G. Teer Conservation Leadership Institute and many folks from industry, NGOs, DoD and more.
NRI's Director, Dr. Roel Lopez was chosen as this year's Conservation Trailblazer Award recipient. The Trailblazer Award celebrates the immense contribution of wildlife professionals to the field of game and non-game wildlife conservation, including wildlife and habitat management, applied research and policy.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests once dominated the landscape of the Southeastern United States. From the Atlantic coastal plain of southeastern Virginia to the West Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, these forests encompassed over 90 million acres and represented an extraordinary wealth and diversity of cultural, ecological, and socio-economic values.
When America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative (America’s Longleaf) was first formed, the extent of longleaf pine forests had been greatly reduced with an estimated 3.4 million acres remaining. Through the collaborative restoration and conservation efforts of partners involved in America’s Longleaf, that downward trend has been reversed and the current data indicate that the acreage of longleaf pine has increased to approximately 5.2 million acres. This progress is encouraging, but there is still much work to be done to achieve the restoration goals outlined in this Conservation Plan.
To reflect on 50 years of the Endangered Species Act this fall is to acknowledge the nation’s wildlife and wild places in its simplest form. At the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, it's an opportunity to appreciate the research at the nexus of national security, conservation, and healthy working lands. Every day, we look to strengthen wildlife conservation and to keep working lands sustainable.
At the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Annual Meeting in Calgary, Alberta, SERPPAS was awarded the 2023 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources.
Directly from the field, the Summer 2023 NRI Sourcebook is here. Each season, we publish a digital collection of recently published peer-reviewed scientific publications, research reports, and resources developed to support the improvement of conservation, natural resource management, and private land stewardship. This collection is for you, your partners and community to use and share where we can collaborate to create resiliency.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public input on an application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit associated with a proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement with the East Foundation that would support the recovery of endangered ocelots by expanding their range in South Texas.
By Azalia Rodriguez, Defenders of Wildlife
As the Texas Hill Country landscape continues to change, local wildlife is being pushed to its limits. Golden-cheeked Warbler populations are declining, indicator species in our waterways are disappearing, and migratory birds are being directed off their natural flight pathway.
Director of the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit and grants manager for NRI, Debbie Danford, was recognized as part of this year’s CESU Network National Awards for her outstanding leadership and individual contributions to the advancement of the Gulf Coast network.
The recently released Land, Water, Sky, and Natural Infrastructure Plan expands our perspective of Hill Country infrastructure beyond the concrete and steel that physically supports our cities and society. This plan provides us with a framework for conversations in our communities to value natural infrastructure in the same way we value built infrastructure – as critical and tangible systems necessary for our way of life and worthy of major investments.
The global COVID-19 pandemic changed the course of education, including how professors taught wildlife management classes. It's difficult for students to collar a deer or capture frogs when they're in lockdown in their parents' basement, after all.
But TWS member Shelby McCay, project coordinator at the Texas A&M University's Natural Resources Institute, had the perfect prescription for the challenges online learning caused for her students.
The Texas Hill Country Conservation Network is proud to release the Hill Country Land, Water, Sky, and Natural Infrastructure Plan. This plan includes a shared vision for the Hill Country, collaboratively developed infographics, and objectives & strategies for achieving the Plan’s vision.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is thrilled to launch the 2024 Sentinel Landscape Designation Cycle!
The Coca-Cola Foundation, Silk (a Danone North America brand), Google, Meta, and Microsoft are coming together to collaboratively invest $972,000 to restore 2,000 acres of longleaf pine forest on private lands in Trinity County, Texas. Coordinated by the Texas Longleaf Team, with support from Texan by Nature, the restoration will entail managing and removing invasive plants, conducting prescribed fire, and planting approximately 100,000 Longleaf Pine seedlings over the course of five to ten years to create a healthy Longleaf Pine ecosystem that will filter and store freshwater, sequester carbon, support biodiversity, and benefit the community.
In this issue’s Q&A, Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, interviews Dr. Roel Lopez, Director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and Department Head for the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University.
The “Marsh Forward: A Regional Plan for the Future of the South Atlantic Coast’s Million-Acre Salt Marsh Ecosystem” has officially launched! The culmination of two years of work by dedicated partners, the Plan outlines key strategies, objectives and actions to achieve our goal to enhance the long-term abundance, health, and resilience of the approximately 1 million acres of salt marshes within the South Atlantic states to ensure no overall loss of the benefits these wetlands provide to fish, wildlife and people. It will guide our way as we Marsh Forward together and shift our focus from developing the plan to implementing it.
AgriLife Today — The stewards of Texas’ working lands have spoken. The data collected by the survey aids natural resource agencies in developing and implementing educational resources and programming to benefit landowners and the landscapes they steward.
AgriLife Today — Researchers with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and others recently published Rangeland Carbon Markets, a detailed report aimed at helping Texans understand the rapidly evolving domain of voluntary carbon markets.
What do natural resources professionals have in common with rocket scientists? More than you might think. Spacecraft-based cameras that orbit the globe have been providing images that guide natural resource management for decades.
We are pleased to share that the REPI Program has officially delivered the 2023 REPI Report to Congress. The congressional report provides information on the REPI Program and supportive DOD efforts to conserve land and address threats to military readiness from development pressures, environmental constraints, and extreme weather events.
Researchers from the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI), in collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and agricultural and natural resource professionals distributed the survey to better understand rural landowners and their land management objectives, challenges, concerns, and preferences.
Conserving Texas: Quantifying Ecological Return on Investment was developed to better understand the current benefits and needs for financial investment in our state's natural resources to best support our growing state population, the stewards of the land, our thriving economy, and healthy landscapes.
Announcing Rangeland Carbon Markets, a primer on the history, function and processes of carbon markets relevant to Texas rangelands.
Recent reports from popular articles and Canadian news outlets have made sensational claims about wild swine (Sus scrofa), suggesting that a new breed of “super pigs” is expanding their range to the United States. Accounts generally allege that this new breed, weighing ~600 lbs, now exists through natural selection within existing wild pig populations or hybridization between feral swine and Eurasian boar. Are these accounts accurate, or is the media exaggerating a small number of reports? Without concrete scientific date, we can only examine the legitimacy of a new, larger breed of ‘super pig’ by stepping through some questions and scenarios:
This spring, Texas FFA students had the opportunity to prove their knowledge and skills at the Seven Lakes Career Development Event Invitational held at Long Acres Ranch.
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership Federal Coordinating Committee (FCC) is thrilled to announce three significant milestones: the 2022 Sentinel Landscapes Accomplishments Report, the designation of the South Carolina Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape, and the partnership’s 10-year anniversary.
Check out this new handout to help landowners and managers determine if soil carbon storage markets are right for you. Thank you to our partners at the Noble Research Institute, Texas Grazing Lands Coalition, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and AgriLife Extension for your support in developing this resource.
NRI faculty, staff and students were recognized for their academic contributions and expertise in wildlife conservation and management at the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society meeting recently in Houston.
Our director, Dr. Roel Lopez, recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Wildlife and Natural Resources Seminar at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
In its best form, education equips others to make the best and most informed decisions—it requires preparation and constant adaptation to the environment and levels of engagement, sometimes in the very moment.
Collaborative effort celebrates recent achievements and outlines future goals.
Some folks call them horned frogs, others know them as horny toads, and the scientific community refers to them as horned lizards, which is the correct terminology. But whatever the name, most people over 40 remember the flattish spiked lizard fondly. Sadly, most people under that age have never seen one.
