Concho Valley Wildlife Management Program to focus on white-tailed deer

Workshop and tour slated for Sept. 23 in San Angelo

Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, [email protected]

Contact: Josh Blanek, 325-659-6522, [email protected]

                SAN ANGELO –  Hunting season is just around the corner, and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has set the multi-county Concho Valley Wildlife Management Program from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 23 in San Angelo to educate landowners about white-tailed deer management.

                The workshop and tour will start at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center just north of San Angelo on U.S. Highway 87, then after lunch move to the Angelo State University Management Instruction and Research Center behind the A&M center for the afternoon tour. The ASU facility is also known as the MIR Center.   

                “We’ve suffered through a string of 100-degree days, but thus far this has really been a very good year from a wildlife standpoint,” said Josh Blanek, AgriLife Extension agent in Tom Green County. “We want to continue that momentum with this program which will deal exclusively with deer management.”

                The program will be conducted by the AgriLife Extension offices in Coke, Concho, Irion, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling and Tom Green counties.

                “The counties involved with this program are all prime deer country, so this should be the perfect setting for the workshop, but especially the tour,” Blanek said.

                Individual preregistration is $15 by Sept. 19 and $20 thereafter. Preregister by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Tom Green County at, 325-659-6522.

                Topics and speakers, all from San Angelo, will include:

                — Aging Deer on the Hoof and by Mouth, Dr. John Tomecek, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist.

                — Whitetail Hunting Management, Greg Simons, owner of Wildlife Systems.

                — Getting to Know Your Deer – White-tailed Deer Necropsy and White-tailed Deer Health, Dr. Chris Womack, D.V.M., and Tomecek.

                — White-tailed Deer Nutrition and Supplemental Feeding, Ryan McClintock, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service wildlife biologist. 

                After lunch, participants will convene at the MIR Center for the tour of Brush Sculpting sites, plant identification and use of game cameras for deer census work under the direction of Dr. Cody Scott, ASU department of agriculture professor, Tomecek, Dr. Morgan Russell, AgriLife Extension range specialist, and Grant Teplicek, NRCS rangeland management specialist.

                For more information, contact Blanek at 325-659-6523, [email protected] or the AgriLife Extension offices in any of the participating counties.