The Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 17, 1981 Page: 2 of 20
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Hagr 2. Section 2. The Hondo Anvil Herald, Thursday,
Letter to the Editor
Dear Pam,
In a recent column, you
discussed a session of Com-
missioners’ Court when a
number of ranchers and
landowners were present to
address an old subject -
management of the oounty’s
whitetail deer herd. To be
specific, this meeting had to
do with doe permit issuance
rates and, during the discus-
sion, some questioned why it
was necessary to even have
doe permits. So - I’d like to
respond as an individual
member of the Court - to
that question but first -
Those interested in this
subject should be made
aware that the Commis-
sioners’ Court has little auth-
ority regarding establish-
ment of game laws - bag
limts, etc. If your readers
have a Texas Hunting Guide
available - they’ll note in that
guide - most counties of this
state are shown in white -
and Medina County is one of
those. That means Medina is
a “regulatory county” and
game laws, bag limits, etc.,
are established by the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Commis-
sion. Also in the guide, some
counties are "shaded” - Mc-
Mullen is a nearby example
of the 26 counties shown in
this category. Those are
“non-regulatory counties” -
meaning that those counties
are regulated by laws passed
by the Texas Legislature.
Not mentioned in the guide
is yet another category -
“regulatory counties with a
Commissioners’ Court
clause” That, too, is a cate-
gory Medina falls in and it
means that the Court has
“veto power” over some of
the bag limits proposed by
TP&W. And what happens
when the Court used its
veto? Very simple. The bag
limit, or whatever, simply
reverts to that of the previ-
our year. So, from the fore-
going - it is obvious that the
Court has little authority in
this area. The Court has NO
authority in establishing doe
permit issuance rates. That
is the responsibility of Texas
Parks and Wildlife. Now -
Why not go back to the old
system used for so many
year in this county - three
<feer for evfefy licensed hun-
ter - no more'-than two
Bucks? In early'summer,
when TP&W representa-
tives presented their 1981
hunting season recommen-
dations to the Court - - that
was their recommendation.
Three deer for every hunter
- no more than two bucks.
TTiat means, too, that every
licensed hunter could kill
three does. Annually, there
are some 10,000 hunters in
Medina County. The basis
for the TP&W recommenda-
tion wa&tbat the number of
, ,ina County had
.......to the point that
the ‘tatrying capacity” had
almost been exceeded. One
problem the Court had with
that recommendation was
that it was made before the
fawn crop became a reality
and, therefore, was an un-
known. And a second prob-
lem was that only months
previous in 1980, you’ll re-
call, must of the area south
of Highway 90 had no doe
permits, and some areas
only had one permit to 925
acres, which is §imost J* *
(toe permits. The TP&W
justification for that policy
was that the great drouth
and heat wave of early 1980
caused a very poor fawn
crop and therefore the does
had to be retained for the
1981 fawn crop. So - it did
not appear to the Court that
„ we could improve within
months from “no doe per-
mits” to everyone kill three
deer before the fawfi crop
came. That was one factor
and herq are others.
Obviously, the county has _
changed considerably within
the last 30 years. One way in
which we’ve changed is that
there are now a great num-
ber of “absentee landown-
ers”. Sometimes the “absen-
tee owners” aren’t as con-
cerned about our deer as are
county residents. Another
way we’ve changed is that
there are now a great many
subdivisions around the
county - acreages divided
into very small lots - up to
25 to 50 acre tracts. And too,
with each succeeding gener-
ation, the larger ranches are
divided and become smaller
and smaller, meaning the
deer habitat is also shrink-
ing. Finally - there are now
more hunters than ever. So,
considering all those factors,
here is a major problem with
the idea that every hunter is
permitted to kill three deer.
In many areas of the
county, our de<*r population
is down, and you might say
barely “hanging on”. In
those areas we don’t need to
harvest any does. Also,
there are some, very few,
landowners who aren’t that
considerate of their neigh-
bors. Here’s what I mean. If
I were to buy an ideal spot,
say 100 acres nestled in
among some big ranches
north of Highway 90,1 might
have a difficult time making
the payments with the 4
cows I could run on that
$150,000 place. So - to assist
- come June I drive over
from my home on the Gulf
Coast and instruct the local
hired man to start putting
out corn in July, 300 pounds
a day maybe. And also I tell
him to build some fine deer
blinds - plush - and make
certain there’s plenty of
water pumpfed in the tank.
With the proper advertising,
dome mid-November, I’ve
got every day of the season
“booked’’with hunters. I can
sell every buck my neighbor
has raised for $350 and
every doe for something -
and with that kind of feeding
arrangement and 3 deer for
every hunter, I can sell
plenty while they last. I’ve
done mthinjg illegal and
short of building a deer-
proof fence at some $12,000 a
mile, there’s not much my
neighbors can do. But, if we
have doe permits, there’s
not much I can do - sure I
can draw the bucks in, but
I’ve only been issued one doe
permit. That kind of situ-
ation is ‘“real world” and
many are aware it exists - in
a number of different forms.
Another point -
Some landowners, even
locally-owned and operated,
aren’t that concerned about
our deer either. Recently I
had an individual tell me
that over 210 people had
hunted in one season on a
ranch which is slightly lar-
ger than average. That isn’t
such good management. Al-
so, I recently hunted in a
county where there are few
restrictions, no doe permits.
Every hunter gets three
deer. The landowner I hunt-
ed with was irate because a
3,000-acre ranch adjoining
his property had been leased
to a large firm on the Gulf
Coast. Each weekend, a new
group of hunters” came and
slaughtered - does, fawns,
bucks, whatever. So finally -
I believe I can speak for all
Court members when I say
that each has a very special
interest in this county’s deer
herd. We all want to see our
herd managed properly - in
that the hunting will con-
tinue to be good - but so that
the farmers, who so often
provide much of the feed for
our deer, are not adversely
impacted.
So, one of the better ways
of protecting our deer, and
landowners, is to have HP doe
permit system. If the ONLY
consideration was proper
deer herd management, we
should also adopt a buck
permit system as well. How-
ever, this is still a democracy
and since 'there are many
more landowners with small
acreages than there are with
larger acreages, the buck
permit system would not be
a viable option at this point.
Finally, the Court fully
understands that some land-
owners may not be happy
that there are doe permits.
On the other hand, some are
unhappy that it is even legal
to kill does in this county.
tem, there is some protec-
tion/ for the! deeaiik these
areas qf the: county. I where
there, is « very light concen-
tration. Alsov there is proteo
tion for landowners who may
have neighbors that .might
harvest far More deer than
they support -Therefore, in
these' times, doe permits;
appear to be the best Of not
very many good -alterna-
tives. If anyone has any
sound ideas on haw iwe can
better manage the deer herd
with what limited authority
we have, the Court-will be
very, happy , to hear your
ideas on any Monday (except
holidays), j up;: ,, ,
i - Henry B. Briscoe
Commissioner, Pet. 4
i Medina County
EMS, Hospital
n
11
il..:'
ported to a larger facility in
San Antonio and it is during
this transport time that a
carefully, monitored envi-
ronment for the child is
necessary.
To facilitate the proper
environment required by an
infant with respiratory dis-
tress symptoms or a pre-
mature infant certain spe-
cially designed incubators
have been designed. These
incubators allow a sterile,
oxygen-enriched environ-
ment for the infant while
providing the necessary
warmth that is so critical
and also allow I V. therapy
and access to the infant by
trained professionals. How-
ever, the special pieces of
equipment cost around
$5,000 a piece.
While everyone would
I
quickly concede that the life;, ;
of any infant is worth far a
more than $5,000, current,
expenses and other - needs . ,
have stripped local budgets
of the capacity to make such ,
a purchase in the near:,
future. • i .,’t
Therefore, the staff and
administration of Medina
Memorial Hospital, all local
physicians and the personnel
of the Community EMS have:
joined hands in a united,
effort to generate funds
through contributions for
the purchase of one such
incubator.
Please lend your support
and send your contribution
to Infant Care, P.O. Box 9, •
Hondo, Texas 78861. Our
children and parents, along
with all those who care,..
thank you for your help.
ALAMO
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Helvey, Pam Nester. The Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 17, 1981, newspaper, December 17, 1981; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818964/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.