Aggies head to West Texas to build guzzlers
Story by Lili Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News
When you think of spring break for college students, trips to Mexico, Las Vegas or Port Aransas are the first to come to mind.
For the past nine years, JD Bolner has spent his breaks giving back to wildlife. Bolner, a senior at Texas A&M University, is studying rangeland ecology and management.
“It’s become a spring break tradition,” Bolner said. Since 2010, the Bolner family has made their annual pilgrimage to West Texas to work on a project whether it be for the Mule Deer Foundation or the Texas Bighorn Society.
Both groups hosts an annual work project where members gather in the desert mountains of West Texas to build and repair water guzzlers.
The guzzlers are rainwater collection and storage systems that gives the desert bighorn sheep, mule deer and other wildlife an oasis high on the mountain.
This year’s project, put on by the Texas Bighorn Society, benefited the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, 55 miles south of Marathon.
Keller Mainard, of College Station, is a sophomore Agricultural Economics major. He met Bolner while both were working on a ranch near their university. The friends share a deep love of the outdoors.
“I’m a hard-core hunter and fisherman,” Mainard said.
Earlier this spring, Bolner invited Mainard to the Wild Texas Film Tour. The films that showcased wildlife and conservation efforts from across the state inspired Mainard.
“I felt a big urge to giveback,” Mainard said. “I asked JD when the next work trip would be and it happened to be this one, right during spring break.”
Those who have traveled to the Texas mountains can tell you of the enchanting landscape of Big Bend. “It shows you how small we are as humans,” Mainard said. “The whole experience was incredible.”
The group built two complete guzzlers and made repairs to 11 older guzzlers. They rode in helicopters to the top of the mountains, where the guzzlers are situated.
“Everybody brings something different and a different skill to the table,” Bolner said. “It’s really a collaborative effort to get these projects done.”
Each night, everyone gathered at the Adams ranch, which served as the project headquarters.
Bolner appreciated gathering knowledge from those much older than a college student, and hopes to pass some of that knowledge along to others in the future. Newcomer Mainard can’t wait to return.
“Everyone was so welcoming,”Mainard said. “We partied with the old folks and listened to all the stories of the people who had been doing this for 40 years. It was an amazing feeling being able to give back. I’m hoping to be back for sure.”
