Conserving the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands
through research, education, and outreach.
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New Game Bird Research Report Online
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The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University is pleased to launch a new series of research reports highlighting the work of BRI faculty and students. New reports will be released twice a year. The first report, which was released in late 2020, focuses on BRI’s Game Bird Program, with an emphasis on desert quail, including scaled quail, Montezuma quail and Gambel’s quail.
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Support Quail Conservation Wherever You Go
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The precipitous decline of quail populations in the United States has spurred conservation efforts across the country.
The Borderlands Research Institute is supporting quail conservation through myriad desert quail research projects, many of which are detailed in the newly released Game Bird Research Report. BRI is partnering with Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists to hone in on the best management strategies to bring back these beloved game birds. This work is funded through Texas hunting license fees, a portion of the proceeds of the Upland Game Bird Stamp, Farm Bill conservation programs, and contributions from a number of nonprofit organizations dedicated to quail conservation.
But there’s still a critical need for additional funding, and that’s why Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) launched a quail conservation license plate a few years ago to enhance quail conservation efforts, including habitat conservation and education.
For just $30 you can put one of these conservation license plates on your vehicle, motorcycle or trailer. For every license plate purchased, $22 goes to TPWF to support quail conservation.
What better way to drive home your support for quail conservation in Texas?
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BRI Wins International Grant for Chihuahuan Desert Conservation Program
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The Borderlands Research Institute has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K) Innovation Fund. The grant will facilitate an enhanced partnership between the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University and the Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. The collaboration will provide opportunities for students and faculty from both universities to learn to effectively manage shared natural resources in the Chihuahuan Desert through workshops and academic courses within BRI’s grassland bird research project.
Through this grant, students from the University of Chihuahua will have the opportunity to visit a higher education institution in the US and learn about agricultural education on the other side of the border. These students will also learn about agricultural, management, and conservation practices in the US that affect the shared natural resources along the Mexico-US border, and will offer them a hands-on experience with research being conducted that addresses a wildlife management issue relevant in both Mexico and the US. The project will also promote collaborative efforts between both institutions in research projects relevant for the conservation of shared natural resources through the involvement of students and their advisors in thesis projects, promoting the collaboration between professionals from both institutions.
“We’re thrilled to be selected for this prestigious grant, and we look forward to enhancing the educational opportunities for students on both sides of the border,” said Dr. Louis Harveson, who is the Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., BRI Endowed Director and Regents’ Professor of Wildlife Management at Sul Ross State University. “Wildlife knows no borders, so finding new ways to work together to protect the precious natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert is a wonderful opportunity.”
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Student Spotlight: Emily Card
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Growing up in a little town in Michigan north of Detroit, Emily Card knew from a young age that she wanted a career working with animals. She earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology at Michigan State, and her degree paved the way for a job as an ecology intern at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. That experience led to her next job experience, as a grassland ecology technician in Montana.
“That’s where I fell in love with grassland birds. We worked with long-billed curlews: doing nest searches, trapping them and banding them with GPS tags to track their movements.”
That experience qualified her for a field technician position on a winter marsh bird monitoring project in Biloxi, Mississippi, followed by another job at the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park in Okeechobee, Florida, working with the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow.
“I met a former grad student from the Borderlands Research Institute while I was working in Florida. I found out about the work BRI is doing with grassland birds, and that’s how I ended up here in Texas.”
Scientists have documented that grassland birds that winter in the Chihuahuan Desert are declining twice as fast as birds that winter elsewhere in the United States. Emily and another graduate student, Alejandro Chávez Treviño, are exploring research questions to determine why that is happening. Emily’s research study is exploring whether habitat that has been encroached upon by woody shrubs can be treated to restore grassland habitat to see if bird populations can be boosted.
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Borderlands Buzz Podcast: Alejandro Chávez Treviño, Philip Boyd & Emily Card
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The Borderlands Research Institute launched a new series of outreach events late last year to connect people with birds. The Borderlands Birding Bonanza field trips attracted birders of all skill levels from all over Texas. A recent field trip took place near Marfa at the Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit. Listen in on our latest podcast with BRI grad students Alejandro Chávez Treviño and Emily Card, and Philip Boyd with the Dixon Water Foundation to find out more about this new opportunity.
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TWA Magazine Highlights BRI’s Mule Deer Research
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The December issue of Texas Wildlife Association’s magazine showcases a 10-page feature article about research done by BRI scholars at the Apache Ranch. The article, authored by Dr. Justin French, Thomas Janke, Dr. Carlos Gonzalez, Juan Celaya, P.J. Fouché and Dr. Louis Harveson, focuses on antler growth in mule deer over the lifetime of an animal.
This article was published in the December 2020 issue of Texas Wildlife magazine. It is posted here with permission from the Texas Wildlife Association (www.texas-wildlife.org).
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P.O. Box C-21, SRSU, Alpine, Texas 79832
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