Cattle Kids

Cattle Kids
Author: Cat Urbigkit
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2007-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781590785089

American Farm Bureau Foundation for Education Recommended Book Cowboys aren't necessarily boys, and they aren't necessarily grown-ups, either. In this lively photo essay, young readers will meet girls and boys who live a unique way of life on their families' cattle ranches. Cowgirls and cowboys take part in many aspects of livestock operations, from calving and branding to haying and rounding up the herd. With a colorful and informative text, illustrated with action-packed photographs, Cat Urbigkit's book follows cattle kids through a year of ranching on the western range.

Revolution on the Range

Revolution on the Range
Author: Courtney White
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2012-09-26
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1610911040

In the final decade of the twentieth century, the American West was at war. Battle lines had hardened, with environmentalists squarely on one side of the fence, and ranchers on the other. By the mid-1990s, debates over the region’s damaged land had devolved into political wrangling, bitter lawsuits, and even death-threats. Conventional wisdom told us those who wanted to work the land and those who wanted to protect it had fundamentally different—and irreconcilable—values. In Revolution on the Range, Courtney White challenges that truism, heralding stories from a new American West where cattle and conservation go hand in hand. He argues that ranchers and environmentalists have more in common than they’ve typically admitted: a love of wildlife, a deep respect for nature, and a strong allergic reaction to suburbanization. The real conflict has not been over ethics, but approaches. Today, a new brand of ranching is bridging the divide by mimicking nature while still turning a profit. Westerners are literally reinventing the ranch by confronting their own assumptions about nature, profitability, and each other. Ranchers are learning that new ideas can actually help preserve traditional lifestyles. Environmentalists are learning that protected landscapes aren’t always healthier than working ones. White, a self-proclaimed middle-class city boy, has learned there’s more to ranching than grit and cowboy boots. The author’s own transformation from conflict-oriented environmentalist to radical centrist mirrors the change sweeping the region. As ranchers and environmentalists find common cause, they’re discovering new ways to live on—and preserve—the land they both love. Revolution on the Range is the story of that journey, and a heartening vision of the new American West.

Exotics on the Range

Exotics on the Range
Author: Elizabeth Cary Mungall
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1994
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

For the first time, the unique wildlife situation involving Texas "exotics, " non-native hoofed animals living and breeding on Texas rangeland, has been documented in a comprehensive form. After summarizing the development of this situation in the 1920s and 1930s, all eight established exotic species are characterized and twenty-five other animals (combined into fifteen groupings) are given to illustrate both successes and failures. Then the variety of prevailing management techniques are discussed. Of special interest is a state-of-the-art carrying capacity evaluation method simple enough for repeated use. To assist readers in identifying further written material, the book ends with a detailed section listing publications on all topics covered. Written in a clear, interesting style, the content is informative and of practical use to the non-specialist. At the same time, it is technically oriented for scientists, professionals, and students in natural resource disciplines. It is a compilation of the current information available on exotic ungulates on Texas rangelands. This is of instant use to ranchers and other decision makers, such as exotics managers, as a reference book. Additionally, it offers much to zoo staff, academics, and anyone from around the United States or around the world interested in these animals or in what can happen when new wildlife species establish themselves alongside natives in rangeland environments.

Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas

Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas
Author: George Clendenin
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 604
Release: 2016-10-28
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1623493919

Well-managed ranch lands or rangeland in Texas capture the rain that permeates our soils, sustains creeks and rivers, and replenishes aquifers, which, in turn, water our cities. The stewardship of the region is the focus of this book—the largest contributing watershed in the Colorado River Basin—viewed through the lens of its plant communities. This field guide and management reference to four million acres of rangeland in the Concho River watershed of west central Texas offers general descriptions of more than 200 plant species, including information about the plant’s growing period, growth form, livestock and wildlife value, and special management issues. Accompanying photographs give the reader an idea of not only what the plant looks like on the range but also which identifiable features, such as flowers, fruit, or leaf shape, are most important to that particular plant. In addition, several experts cover the use of fire and the management of deer, turkey, dove, and other wildlife in this region. A discussion of noxious, invasive, and toxic plants; historical accounts of the region; four useful appendixes; a glossary; and a plant list complete the impressive content of this comprehensive volume.

Rangeland Systems

Rangeland Systems
Author: David D. Briske
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 664
Release: 2017-04-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319467093

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book provides an unprecedented synthesis of the current status of scientific and management knowledge regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It has been organized around three major themes. The first summarizes the conceptual advances that have occurred in the rangeland profession. The second addresses the implications of these conceptual advances to management and policy. The third assesses several major challenges confronting global rangelands in the 21st century. This book will compliment applied range management textbooks by describing the conceptual foundation on which the rangeland profession is based. It has been written to be accessible to a broad audience, including ecosystem managers, educators, students and policy makers. The content is founded on the collective experience, knowledge and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands throughout the world. Their collective contributions indicate that a more comprehensive framework is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands. Rangelands represent adaptive social-ecological systems, in which societal values, organizations and capacities are of equal importance to, and interact with, those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework for rangeland systems may enable management agencies, and educational, research and policy making organizations to more effectively assess complex problems and develop appropriate solutions.

Under One Fence

Under One Fence
Author: Wyman Meinzer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2010-11-08
Genre: Ranch life
ISBN: 9780984063017

The thin morning fog, hanging over the sage and bluestem, obscures the trucks and trailers around the pens at Peek Trap. The sun, edging above the horizon, draws the eye from modernity toward something more durable. A whinny in the distance sharpens your focus on a band of shadow cast by a low bluff. The first few horses run into the new light, and the rest of the remuda emerges, strung out along the base of the bluff, nine dozen geldings running parallel to the horizon a quarter mile out. Another day begins. A day that has endured over a century in character. Welcome to the Waggoner Ranch.

Game Ranch Management

Game Ranch Management
Author: J. du P. Bothma
Publisher:
Total Pages: 658
Release: 1996
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

Game ranch management has been recognised as one of the most important reference works on African game. This major revision of the standard work is a worthy successor.

Brush Management

Brush Management
Author: Wayne T. Hamilton
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2004-10-14
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781585443574

The presence of brush in rangeland environments continually tops the list of priority issues among landowners, and not just in Texas. Whether they manage their land for livestock, hunting, or wildlife watching, what to do about unwanted woody plants remains a serious and pervasive question for landowners everywhere. In the pages of this book, leading range management professionals introduce and explain not only the mechanisms of managing brush but also the changes in management philosophy and technology that have taken place over time. From the futile attempts at eradication to the successes of integrated brush management, expert practitioners examine mechanical, biological, chemical, and fire-related methods from three perspectives—the past, the present or “state-of-the-art,” and the future. In a final discussion, three specialists address the timely and important subject of brush management as it relates to water yield, economics, and wildlife. Brush Management: Past, Present, Future gives readers a straightforward and comprehensive view of a topic that remains a consistent concern for livestock, wildlife, and land management—one that will serve as a useful and interesting summary of the subject for teachers, students, landowners, and management professionals.