Food, cover, water, and space are the basic habitat components that are central to the health of all wildlife species. Though perhaps not as sexy as food or water, cover requirements for wildlife are often the weak links in the habitat equation for various wildlife.
Category
Owning Land
Tips and resources for the land owner and property improvement, plus advice and information about wildlife and habitat management, property taxes and more
Slow Soak: Guide to Managing Water on Your Land
“Anything we can do to slow runoff down gives us more of a chance to soak it into the ground,” says Kyle Wright, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services water quality specialist for Texas.
How to Establish a Timber Basis
Buying raw land is a long-term investment that can reap rewards beyond other real-estate transactions like commercial or rental properties.
Good Fences, Good Neighbors: What You Need to Know About Fence Laws
Rural landowners know that fence issues can create extremely strained relationships among neighbors. Here’s a guide to staying on the right side of the law.
5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Leasing Your Property for a Solar Project
Here are the top five questions landowners should be asking before leasing or selling their property for a solar project.
Aflutter over Monarchs
The Texas Wildlife Association’s Conservation Legacy program connects local students to the plight of pollinators through a Milkweed for Monarchs habitat campaign.
Finding Design Balance: When Your Home is Historical, But Your Taste is Modern
If you want to keep up with the Joneses—and with the interior design magazines—you need to have room to incorporate modern details that are both stylish and appropriate for your property.
Basic Lake Construction Techniques for Building a Lake That Won’t Leak
Brad Vollmar of Vollmar Pond & Lake Management offers a detailed look at the process for constructing a new lake on your property, with plenty of do’s and dont’s to make sure your lake-construction project succeeds.
The Wild Side of Business: So You Want to Play the Wildlife Game?
Greg Simons’ quarterly column focuses on the enterprise aspects of wildlife-based recreation that takes place on private lands across the country.
Along Came a Hero: A San Juan Trout Stream Is Reborn
High in the San Juan Mountains, nestled under 14,000-foot peaks, lies one of the most picturesque, clear-running trout streams you could ever imagine. This stretch of stream in the San Juans is a perfect example of what was and what could be.
Kenneth Bell: Putting Water Where It Isn’t
Decades of experience have shown Bell, who founded Quick Line Service Company’s Ranch Water Division in 1990, that the availability of fresh water dictates land’s productivity when it comes to livestock and wildlife.
Winter Wheat: Texas’ Best All-Around Wildlife Food Plot
Wheat that is planted with a grain drill provides beneficial interstitial spacing of plants, thus enhancing the foraging navigation for small birds, such as dove and quail.
Harnessing the Sun: A Solar Energy Primer for Farmers & Ranchers
Solar technology helps a Texas couple embrace efficiency and self-sufficiency on their ranch.
Open Gates = New Hunters
The Texas Youth Hunting Program needs landowners to open their gates for the sake of young hunters and the hunting tradition.
How to Manage Your Habitat for Quail Sustainability
One of the most avid and dedicated group of hunters in the entire state of Texas are those that pursue quail. Often their most cherished possession is one or more good dogs that flush coveys and retrieve birds after they have been shot. Addicted quail hunters will freely spend money to support their habit.
USDA Announces Bee Better Certified Program for Farmers & Ranchers
The start of National Pollinator Week included the unveiling of the Bee Better Certified program, a program to help farmers and ranchers inform consumers how their products are farmed in ways that benefit bees.
How to Prepare Your Home for a Disaster
You can’t predict where and when disaster will strike, which is why it’s crucial to be proactive and get prepared. These simple steps can help you survive a disaster.
Buying Guide for Lawn and Garden Tractors
Written by Fran Donegan Unless you are in it for the exercise, a large expanse of grass that needs to be cut calls for a lawn or garden tractor. They feature wide cutting decks with multiple blades to get the job done quickly. There are also several attachments that can turn the mower into your […]
Opinion: 453 is better than 1031
Congress is looking into the idea of changing IRC Section 1031. There are options to a 1031 exchange and in some ways, even a better option than a 1031 itself. The answer can be found in IRC Section 453.
How to Create Sustainable Habitat for Big Game Production
This article is adapted from a presentation by Texas Tech’s Dr. Warren Conway on “Sustainable Rangelands for Big Game Production and Habitat Management.”
