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Texas' trophy hunts PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mary Helen Aguirre   
Thursday, 26 June 2008
TROPHY TICKET: Big Time Texas Hunt entries generated $798,150 in 2007, of which $146,000 (18 percent) went to wildlife research, and $218,150 (27 percent) was placed in a fund for wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting.
TROPHY TICKET: Big Time Texas Hunt entries generated $798,150 in 2007, of which $146,000 (18 percent) went to wildlife research, and $218,150 (27 percent) was placed in a fund for wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting.
Researcher Stephen Benn is in the first year of a two-year study focusing on native prairie restoration. The project leader at Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area is overseeing the reintroduction of 17 native grass species and 14 forb species to a plot at the WMA near Weslaco.

The point of his research, Benn said, is to see is how well the native grasses and wildflowers compete against invasive nonnative plants. There is a potential for the formulation of a seed mix that would be made available to the public.

The long-term impact could mean greater plant diversity that translates into a greater diversity of wildlife. It could mean more insects. It could mean better cover for nesting birds. It could mean more game bird species.

You could call researchers such as Benn the real winners of the Big Time Texas Hunt program. His research is funded from the money earned through that program.

In the fall of 2007, hunters bought 79,815 entries at $10 each for a chance at an all-expense paid dream hunt. $798,150 in gross revenues was generated. Funds raised from the BTTH program, said Linda Campbell, go into Fund No. 9, which is earmarked for wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting. Campbell is the program director for Private Lands and Public Hunting for Texas Parks and Wildlife. "We use the net revenue from BTTH within our budget authority to fund research projects benefiting habitat and game species — about $100,000 per year," she said. Matt Wagner, TPW's Wildlife Diversity program director who is in charge of research, reels off some of the projects that are currently being funded through the BTTH money: Antelope and mule deer management research; A dove-banding study; Quail research; A deer survey project that focuses on how to count whitetail deer in small acreage areas. The money, Campbell said, also is used to provide materials, such as blinds, to support public hunting on Wildlife Management Areas.

Campbel's BTTH budget through the end of August of this year was $598,000. Because the budget is capped by the Texas legislature, in 2007 more money was earned than she has been allowed to spend thus far. The unspent money will be placed into a fund earmarked for public hunting.

Campbell estimates that the beginning BTTH balance for September of this year will be $631,500.

The BTTH program has been around for a little more than a decade. This fall, the plan is to push online entries more vigorously so mailing fees can be reduced, Campbell said. To that end, they will offer online entries for $9.

2007 Big Time Texas Hunt Numbers

Gross Revenues:
$798,150 from the sale of 79,815 entries at $10 each. Expenses & Expenditures:
$250,000 for production and mailing costs.

$104,000 for the hunt packages, which are selected through a bidding process.

$14,000 for temporary data entry services.

$66,000 for salaries of personnel responsible for data entry needed to support the drawn public hunts.

$100,000 for wildlife research projects.

$46,000 for bighorn sheep aerial surveys and management to continue to restore bighorn sheep populations.

The difference:
$598,000 was the approved BTTH budget through the end of August.

Money that is earned but not spent goes into an earmarked fund used to support the work of the Wildlife Division — specifically research and management that benefit game species and support the public hunting program.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 June 2008 )
 
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