WOMEN IN WILDLIFE: CATCHING UP WITH AMY GREER

Two years ago Biological Sciences Manager Amy Greer left Plateau to take care of the family ranch and we still miss her! Amy worked at Plateau from 2004 to 2008 and her decision to leave was a self-professed difficult one, but when her father called and said he needed her help running the family's historical ranch, Amy, with the support of her husband George, tearfully tendered her resignation to begin the important and honorable work of caring for over 7,000 acres of Texas open space. Amy has a Masters of Science in Wildlife Ecology from Texas State University and a passel of admirers at Plateau. Many of our clients no doubt remember Amy, so we caught up with her and life on the ranch in an email Q & A.

Your family ranch has quite a history, can you tell us about it?

The family ranch has been in our family since 1875. The Winters/Wall ranch, named after my ancestors, is just over 7,000 acres. My great-great grandfather, John Wall, brought the first Hereford cattle to the Central Texas area. My great grandfather, H D Winters, was one of the early pioneers of Angora goats and Rambouillet sheep in the area. The ranch ran large numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle. There was a period in the 1960s and 70s, I believe, when the ranch was leased to Texas A&M University. My father began operating the ranch himself after he retired as a Major from the Air Force. He has always run cattle and for many years ran goats. He also became very active in the exotic wildlife business. However, he never introduced exotics on the ranch we operate now. The ranch has operated on a year-round hunting lease basis for approximately 20 years. Harvests have been largely determined by long-term, well-trusted hunters.

How are wildlife/conservation principles applied at your ranch?

Gosh, I feel like I use my understanding of habitats on a daily basis. George and I try very hard to pay attention to the land and respond to what we see as quickly as possible. We utilize rotational grazing across the ranch to avoid overgrazing. The rotation rate varies with season, precipitation, expected long-term weather conditions, and overall plant condition. We also run less than 100 head of mother cows and are grazing below the suggested stocking rate for our area. We pay close attention to our pastures.

In years past, the property has been significantly overgrazed by goats and cattle. As a result, we have a large density of prickly pear and mesquite. We also have a significant problem with distaff thistle, which is native to the Mediterranean. We intend to try an experiment and train some of our young heifers to eat the stickery thistle. We have been working with NRCS and participating in various federal and state habitat improvement programs. Currently, we have approximately 300 acres of ox bows and ephemeral streams in a low area on the ranch enrolled in the Conservation Crop Reserve Program. This land cannot be grazed or utilized by livestock but can be used for recreation such as hunting, hiking, etc. Also, we worked with Environmental Defense Fund in 2009 to create a more grassy buffer around shinnery (Ed. Note: Dense growth of small trees) to enhance habitat for vireos. We also have two cowbird traps that we operate in the spring.

George and I develop an annual brush management plan so that we can determine how much area we can treat based on the size of our budget to use herbicide treatments on the problem plants over as much area as possible each year. We conducted a prescribed burn on September 1-2, 2009. Over two days, we burned about 1,200 acres. Our burn master was very, very good and the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association, along with many of our wonderful neighbors,  helped us get the job done. So many folks are nervous about fire, and I really, really understand that (our ranch caught on fire three times over the past two years), but all of those great volunteers made it happen with no problems at all. It has been wonderful to watch it come back so green and lush! We destroyed a lot of prickly pear, killed many small, regrowth mesquites, and really stimulated growth with that fire! George and I would both like to go through the burn school in Sonora. We try to help other folks with their burns as often as we can so that we will also be able to find help when we need it.

We actively monitor our deer herd and work very closely with our hunters to manage the population appropriately. We run deer surveys each summer and monitor photos from our hunters' game cameras in order to determine the numbers of does and bucks that can be taken each season. We have established goals for the characteristics of our buck population with the hunters and we are working toward those goals. We have a small population of feral axis deer which I am hoping to make some extra money on! These animals have come in from surrounding properties as we have not stocked the ranch.

Also, we keep fire ant bait in the truck and we use it.

We try to pay attention to the wildlife that we see on the ranch, and we  are always looking for balance.

Any advice for those seeking to move into wildlife and/or combine wildlife and ag?

Hmm. I wish I had managed to set up a reality show to film our lives when we first moved from Wimberley to the ranch. It would have made very good television! I guess I would just say to be prepared to make lots of mistakes, but you'll learn from them, quickly. It's hard work for sure. But remember that no matter how wrapped up you can get in all of it, you MUST take the time to just enjoy it!

It's a special life to live and George, my Dad and I all strive to be good stewards of this wonderful heritage.