By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor

The Texas A&M AgriLife Natural Resources Institute (NRI), in collaboration with the Noble Foundation and East Foundation, released a Private Land Stewardship Academy collection on wildlife management.

One of four Private Land Stewardship Academies, the wildlife management collection focuses on ways landowners and outdoor enthusiasts can improve habitat for desirable wildlife species and minimize competition from invasive species.

Web modules with videos, audio recordings, photos, links to AgriLife publications and interactive quizzes guide users through lessons meant to enhance their knowledge and provide usable methods and ideas.

Controlling wild hogs and promoting habitat for quail are a major focus of the collection.

Since feral pigs have been found in every Texas county except one, the nuisance species has had the undesirable effect of destroying native wildlife habitat, pastures and crops.

Quail populations have been shrinking in Texas for decades. The main reason, according to AgriLife, is declining habitat quality. But through creating better cover and food opportunities, landowners or leaseholders can work to reverse the quail’s disappearance.

Each of the 11 resources in the Wildlife Management Academy listed below provide background information and concrete examples users can implement into their land management programs.

  • Interspecific Competition Between Invasive Pigs and White-tailed Deer
  • Field to Table Safety Precautions for Wild Pigs
  • Exclusion Fencing for Wild Pig Management
  • Wild Pig Biological and Behavioral Drivers
  • Differences Between Wild Pigs and Javelinas
  • Getting to Know the Texas Quail Atlas
  • The Habitat Requirements of Texas Quail
  • Sounds a Quail Makes
  • What Do Quail Eat?
  • The Anatomy of a Quail
  • About the Western Chicken Turtle

Each self-paced module is available at no cost. In addition to personal enrichment or adult continuing education, the resources can easily be incorporated into classrooms or youth educational settings.

To view the entire collection, click here. More information on the NRI’s Private Land Stewardship Program and Private Land Stewardship Academies is available here.