Landowner Spotlight: Schoolar Ranch (a deer population success story)

An undisputed icon of the Hill Country, the white-tailed deer perfectly embodies the wild beauty and raw elegance of this part of Texas. This popular native wildlife provides immense enjoyment, abundant hunting opportunities, and a huge economic benefit to the residents of the Edwards Plateau. But in the wake of expanding development and consequent reduced natural predators, the numbers of white-tailed deer have exploded, making deer overpopulations one of the most critical land management issues facing the region. Without the same thick and in-your-face reality of dense Ashe juniper growth, for example, many landowners often don’t recognize the vital importance and obligation to the land  and the deer  to manage deer population growth. But for those who do, the rewards are great.

In addition to a strong land ethic, managing a deer herd requires hard work, persistence, and, ultimately, the willingness to utilize help. Few landowners better exemplify these attributes than Marika and Jonathan Schoolar, and their land shows it.

With its stunning granite outcrops, year-round creeks, and numerous ponds, the 4,800 acre Schoolar ranch located north of Fredericksburg, within the shadow of the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, is an almost mythical portrait of Texas land. A diverse mix of open mesquite savannas, oak parklands, dense shrublands, and rich riparian areas, embodies the ranch’s habitat types. Always striving to be good stewards of their land, in the summer of 2008 the Schoolars had Plateau Land & Wildlife Management perform a spotlight survey on their treasured property to learn more about the white-tailed deer herd. Plateau’s survey revealed the ranch supported an abundant deer population – a little too abundant. While recommended white-tailed deer densities on Edwards Plateau rangeland should be 10 - 15 acres per deer, density estimates on the Schoolar property were 3.76 acres per deer. Such high densities have negative impacts to the land such as limiting shrub and forb (wild herb) diversity, preventing development of important woody plants, and encouraging less desirable vegetation. 

"We knew we needed to control our white-tailed deer population,” says landowner Jonathan Schoolar. “As Plateau wildlife biologist Keith Olenick explained to us, our younger oak trees couldn't even get a start because of deer browse, and if we didn't make an effort to restore balance to the deer population, we risked oak wilt, fire or drought denuding us of our trees and other native plants."

Clearly recognizing the impacts, the Schoolars enlisted Plateau to bring the deer population more in line with the carrying capacity of the land. To do so, Plateau developed a management plan for the property and, using results of the spotlight survey, developed a harvest goal for the 2008-2009 hunting season. Working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Plateau enrolled the Schoolar Ranch in the Anterless and Spike Buck Deer Control Permits (ADCP) program which allows for the harvest of excessive does and spike bucks through the use of permits provided by TPWD.  After obtaining necessary permits, a group of dedicated hunters went to work – and work they did. Extreme efforts during the 2008-2009 hunting season resulted in nearly 150 harvested deer.

“Being a family ranch and not a commercial hunting operation, we needed a turnkey program that was economical and easy to implement,” explains Schoolar. “And while the challenge and time commitment of harvesting large numbers of deer should not be underestimated, Plateau made it as simple as possible for us to reach our goals."

Certainly, Plateau did their part as land and wildlife professionals, but the Schoolars also went above and beyond the call of landowner duty, investing in a walk-in cooler for the ranch. All animals not kept for personal consumption were donated by the Schoolars to feed the homeless through the Hunters for the Hungry program.

In addition to the Hunters for the Hungry program, the Schoolars also enthusiastically suggests other options for the deer harvest. County game wardens, for example, are usually happy to set up hunts for various kids groups as part of their outreach programs, and, often, will even construct the blinds. At the end of the day, in the words of Jonathan Schoolar, “everyone wins.”

Results of the hard work and commitment by Plateau and their landowner partners were very evident during Plateau’s 2009 spotlight surveys at Schoolar Ranch.  In an incredible one year turnaround, the observed deer density during 2009 was 7.44 acres-per-deer.

“It’s an honor to be a working partner with landowners with such a strong commitment to the land,” says Keith Olenick. “The numerous beneficiaries of this land management success story – more diverse and wildlife-friendly habitats, the hungry that benefited from the donated venison, and a healthier white-tailed deer herd – are, no doubt, thankful to the Schoolars as well.”

The Schoolars hope to reach their target density of 10 to 12 acres-per-deer by 2010 and Plateau is ready to help them make that goal.

"I have enjoyed working with Plateau Land & Wildlife Management,” says Schoolar, “and would recommend them to anyone looking for a program to improve their land.”

Plateau note: Marika Schoolar is on the Board of The Nature Conservancy. An informative video on the state of conservation in Texas is now available on the home page of plateauwildlife.com.