Drought Threatens Fish, Wildlife, Parks in Texas
As experts nervously watch mounting threats of record drought in Texas, several truths are evident: (1) when water won’t fall from the sky, what comes out of the ground is critical, (2) there are important things people can do to prepare to weather a drought, but when you’re in one the only quick fix is rain and (3) there are still parks, lakes and spring-fed rivers with water where folks can beat the dry heat.Last month was the hottest June ever recorded in Texas. At this point, the current drought is the third worst on record based on the Palmer Drought Index, behind the droughts of 1916-1918 and 1951-1957.The Texas drought map is a sea of red, with almost the entire state in extreme to exceptional drought, except for about 10 counties in northeast Texas. What’s worse, little relief is predicted, and some forecasts show a strengthening of La Niña weather conditions this fall, which could prolong the drought.
“What’s on my mind is with continued lack of rainfall we could see impacts on fish and wildlife that could be apparent for years to come,” said Cindy Loeffler, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s top water resource expert.
“That’s based on reports from our wildlife biologists on poor recruitment of young of the year, very poor available food such as mast for deer and bugs for birds to eat, not to mention lack of drinking water. With fish, when you see these historically low levels of stream flows, we begin to see fish kills from low dissolved oxygen and high temperature.”
Across the state, many springs and rivers are trickling and Texas lake levels are way down. In the west, some reservoirs have gone practically bone-dry, including O.C Fisher near San Angelo.
“If this goes on much longer we’re going to have some dry springs, without a doubt,” said Chad Norris, a TPWD water resource scientist who’s spent the last few years studying the status of springs across the state, including many on private ranches.
“One big problem is impacts to endemic and rare species, many of which are isolated to these small springs and are found nowhere else. We might not lose an entire species, but we could lose local populations that could push them toward extinction.”
Norris said people underestimate the importance of small springs. Even in drought-dried creeks, they sustain isolated pools of water, and while that’s not ideal habitat, if you’re an aquatic species or even a terrestrial mammal looking for water, it’s critical.
Guadalupe River Ranch - News
San Marcos and Comal springs are also the headwaters of the San Marcos and Comal Rivers and provide important base flows, especially during drought, to the Guadalupe River and its coastal estuary. The endangered whooping crane breeds in northern Canada
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Prolonged high temperatures, at least 18 days of 100-plus degree temperatures recorded in some Central Texas locations during the month of June, and lack of rainfall are contributing to the declining water levels throughout the Guadalupe River Basin
Of the two that relate to the Whooping Cranes TSEP contends that the proposed site's water use will have a significant impact on Whooping Cranes in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge because water withdrawals from the Guadalupe River required for a
The outdoor event is a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Washington and Alaska. Admission is $20 and tickets are available at Ranch & Home in Kennewick or at the gate. Michael M. Pacheco will sign copies of his book, The Guadalupe Saints,
Guadalupe River State Park | Herff Ranch
: A BIG THANKS TO Toby and Tanya Vicknair, Sami and Mike Gillette, Pam Wiese, Jibs and Greg, Mike Nichols, Jill and Bernie Rodriguez, Matt Moehrig, Peggy and Troy Chontas, Natalie Bowman, Bruce Caltado, Eric Hoffman, Shad Schmid, David Brown, Natalie Brunner and others that I know I missed!! We got the fresh mulch down in the play ground and workout [...
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