Drought, as bad as it is, can present opportunities to help wildlife habitat 
The old saying, “good luck comes to those who are prepared to receive it” was bore out the weekend of Aug. 12-14.
Rain showers pierced the high-pressure dome that has helped keep triple-digit heat over Texas for much of the summer.
The storms did nothing to end the statewide drought. Take North Texas, for example, which got a few inches that weekend, bringing the yearly total to about 16 inches, far below the normal 23 inches.
And searing temperatures returned within days across the state.
But some who received the rain called it miraculous, and those that had special “catchment” containers or “guzzlers” could keep a lot of it for wildlife.
“A half inch to 3 inches of rain can sure fill up a water catchment, if you have it in place,” said Jesse Oetgen, technical guidance biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“I’m in Weatherford,” he said, “and here at my house, the gauge only had half an inch. But if I had a guzzler, with maybe an 8-by-4 sheet of corrugated metal that runs into a gutter system, I could have caught many gallons.”
Oetgen said the Shackelford County area, northeast of Abilene, got 2-3 inches of rain.
“If you can catch that, you can save several hundred gallons, but it depends on the size of the structure,” Oetgen said.
He said guzzlers could be designed to overflow “which creates a green, lush microenvironment that attracts insects and, thus, turkey and quail.”
An Internet search using the words “wildlife” and “guzzler” can direct landowners to dealers that sell catchment systems.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has programs that can make payments to people who install guzzlers.
For example, NRCS officials recently described a guzzler that costs $1,975 per unit, but the agency would reimburse as much as $840 to purchasers who meet criteria for the programs. People should contact the NRCS agents in their counties for more information.
And “do-it-yourselfers” can find cheaper ways to build catchment systems.
Richard Kincheloe of Dallas said he has been exploring “tons of sites” for systems that can be “built for cheap” on his family’s
KV Ranch in Bosque County.
As an example, he described large tractor tires placed flat on the ground and sealed with concrete. Portions of the exposed sidewall are trimmed with reciprocating saws to create wider openings.
And, because tires are black, they absorb heat, which can keep the water from freezing over in winter.
Oetgen said periods of drought also provide opportunities to do other improvements.
The most common practices are brush control and clearing silt from dried-out ponds and tanks to enlarge their volumes when rains return.
Oetgen said he is preparing a lecture for landowners in Palo Pinto County who were beset by wildfires last spring.
Oetgen also said people who lost fences in the fires could consider new strategies for rotating cattle herds to ease grazing pressure. Such a plan could leave more grass for wildlife.
“It’s an opportunity to rebuild new fences in different locations,” he explained. “Where they had two pastures, now they can create two or four.”
And drought also lends the opportunity to combat another ongoing problem for landowners.
“The species it hurts more than anything is feral hogs, which is OK for most people,” said David Synatzske, area manager for the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area southwest of San Antonio.
“They can’t regulate their body temperatures with their fat contents,” he added, “so they wallow, to help (stay cool).”
Dr. Roel R. Lopez, wildlife professor Texas A&M University, said a feral hog probably drinks the same amount as a domestic pig. He referred to a study that shows an adult boar will use as much as five gallons per day.
By comparison, a white-tailed deer will consume a gallon per day in extreme heat.
Therefore, Oetgen said, “Hogs will concentrate near watering sources. As pigs move to those areas, it makes it easier to trap or hunt them.”
