Hill Country Conservancy

Game cameras are an increasingly useful tool for landowners and managers. I have always enjoyed reviewing photos as landowners excitedly point out the “shooter” bucks visiting their feeders. I even share their concern and frustration when the camera captures a sounder of feral pigs hogging all the feed or rooting up a freshly laid food plot. These scenarios illustrate a …

March 10, 2017 Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Little Bluestem are three of the four tall grasses of the Great Plains. The fourth, not pictured, is Switchgrass. Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Little Bluestem are three of the four tall grasses of the Great Plains. The fourth, not pictured, is Switchgrass. Every landowner has areas of land they are looking to improve. …

Earlier this year, the EPA registered the warfarin-based Kaput Feral Hog Bait as a general use pesticide. Its label requirements include specific feeder designs to restrict access by non-target wildlife and disposal by burial of exposed carcasses. Last month, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) adopted emergency rules classifying the toxicant as a State-Limited-Use pesticide which would allow for its use by anyone holding or under the supervision of a Pesticide Applicator’s License.

March 9, 2017 Spring is upon us. I see and hear many of the Hill Country’s heralds of spring; field Sparrows singing, redbud trees blooming, and frogs chorusing. It’s a great time to get outside and enjoy the gifts of nature. This weekend, I’m planning to enjoy the familiar songs of migratory birds and the fresh foliage during a quick …

HCC is working with numerous landowner partners on projects that will add to the fabric of Hill Country conservation. Working with our landowner partners, we carefully negotiate these projects to protect important conservation values and the public benefits they provide while preserving our landowner’s rights to ranching, farming, and traditional recreational uses. These deals are often complex and getting any …