By Landee Kieschnick
TFB Communications Intern
Wild hogs, white-tailed deer and quail are all forms of wildlife that you would expect to see in the Texas Panhandle. But a fairly new species is now covering the grounds.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is proposing some expansion of the pronghorn hunting program due to the improved population.
Found only in North America, pronghorn are popular and highly valued as a big game animal by hunters.
Pronghorn occupy about 14 million acres in the Trans-Pecos, High Plains, Rolling Plains and Edwards Plateau Ecological Regions, according to TPWD.
The current increase in pronghorn population in the Panhandle, however, does leave some surrounding farmers nervous about grazing damage in their fields.
“We don’t see them in the summer, because they’re spread out on all the grass, but getting into the winter months, a green wheat field anywhere close to a big ranch area, you’re going to have a lot of pronghorn,” Robert Gordon, Texas Farm Bureau secretary-treasurer and Dalhart farmer, said in an interview with TFB Radio Network.
Gordon noted that he’s unable to turn cattle on a few of his fields because of the increase in grazing from pronghorns.
TPWD’s proposal is to extend the landowner-managed pronghorn buck experimental permit system for four more years and expand the option into three new pronghorn management areas in the northern Panhandle.
“We’ve got guys who come from all over the state and from other states who love to hunt pronghorn,” Gordon said.
Amid other proposals is the increase in dove hunting opportunity by expanding the early September 4-day Special White-winged Dove Area hunting season to the entire South Zone boundary.
Modifying the age for the youth-waterfowl participants from 15 to 16 years of age is also on the agenda.
Public hearings are being scheduled for Dalhart and Pampa to provide a forum for input on the proposed extension and expansion of the experimental pronghorn permit project.
For more information visit, http://tpwd.texas.gov.