SAN ANGELO — “The West Texas Deer Study Group,” a new gathering of people interested in fostering proper deer management, will hold its first annual meeting June 8-9 at San Angelo’s Texas A&M Research and Extension Center. The meeting starts with registration from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The remainder of the morning will be devoted to a pre- test and lab practical for all participants.
“The interest in quality deer management continues to climb at a pretty incredible pace,” said Dr. Dale Rollins, Extension wildlife specialist for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. “The West Texas Deer Study Group represents a user group’ where biologists and other deer managers can pick each other’s brains about what’s working and what’s not.”
The formal program begins at 1 p.m. The first afternoon’s session will include: “Why a West Texas Deer Study Group?,” “Economics of Deer Management,” “Food Plot Management in Semiarid Regions,” and “Aging Deer: Art or Science?”
Following a 3:15 p.m. break, the first day’s afternoon session resumes with: “Deer Management on the Internet,” “Summary of Deer Genetics Symposium at TAMU,” and “An Independent Review of Deer Genetics Data Sets.”
The evening session starts at 7 p.m. back at the Center. The session will be done in a “shoot-from-the-hip” format with the topic being aimed at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s deer management permit policies.
The June 9 session meets at 7:30 a.m. on the Lipan Springs Ranch southeast of San Angelo.
“The Lipan Springs Ranch is on the cutting edge regarding intensive deer management, and they’ve been gracious enough to host our first field trip,” said Rollins.
At 8 a.m. participants will be given a demonstration of the helicopter net-gunning technique used to capture deer. They will also be taught deer necropsy techniques and be given a tour of deer management conducted at the ranch.
A hands-on’ plant identification session for deer managers will be conducted on the ranch.
A noon lunch will be catered at the ranch. Before adjournment, the group will meet for an hour to discuss plans for the second annual meeting.
Registration received by June 1 is $20. Registration after June 1 and at the door is $30. The fee includes lunch on the second day and refreshments.
For further information contact Rollins at (915) 653-4576 or e- mail him at: d-rollins@tamu.edu. or find information on the World Wide Web at: http://texnat.tamu.edu.
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