The Texas Bighorn Societies
"2003 Work
Project"
March 21st and 22nd 2003, Black Gap Wildlife
Management Area
"I
love this enfolding of layer upon layer, like the steel of a fine sword, for a
sense of place is a function not of space, but of time, an accumulation of
experience and memory constantly renewed."
Jack Turner in Teewinot
Friday and Saturday, March 21st and 22nd, TBS volunteers converged on the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area for our annual "Work Project". Facilities are somewhat primitive in this remote corner of Texas bordering on Big Bend National Park, so people brought campers, tents, RV's, or secured reservations early at a couple of the local establishments that could supply a roof over your head and a hot shower. But once everybody got on the ground, and fueled by the excellent catering of TBS board members Jerrell and Pam Coburn, the results were as usual, nothing short of spectacular!
Using 2 helicopters we were able to
rework nine different guzzlers
this year, doing repairs such as replacing damaged tin on the collection aprons,
installing new and heavier lines to the drinkers, changing out old drinkers, and
replacing the white water collection tanks with opaque black ones to prevent the
buildup of algae that had begun to stop up the valves on some systems. 
We also
put some of the TBS sponsored research done by Justin Foster (formerly of
Sul-Ross University, and now with Texas Parks and Wildlife) to use by trimming the
woody brush down around the drinkers. He found that the bighorns were very reluctant
to use drinkers that had significant brush within 30 meters of them, probably
due to security reasons. All in all it added up to a serious amount of work,
that just wouldn't have been possible to tackle without the help of our
dedicated volunteers. Once the blisters have healed, and the sore muscles are recuperated,
we can all look back on this weekend as just a fond memory! All told
better than $50,000.00 was invested in this effort, and the volunteer labor that
makes it happen is impossible to put a price tag on. Many people from both TBS
and TP&W were working on aspects of the project for weeks, and even months
in advance of the actual project, such as former president Daniel Boone's work
designing and fabricating drinkers, Art Knowles work on organization and
logistics, and Kathy Boone, Mike Pittman, and Clay Brewer doing on-site analysis of specific
requirements prior to commencement of the work project.
The scenery at Black Gap was truly magnificent with the springtime show of flowers intensifying day by day during our visit. I saw flowers open during my time on one site, and the stately Big Bend blue bonnet patches alongside the road grew larger every time you passed them. The staging area for the projects was just a few hundred yards from the ribbon of green marking the Rio Grande, and the mountains across the border in Mexico provided additional layers of deepening shades of blue marching toward the horizon, particularly as the shadows deepened as the sun went down. I gain a deeper appreciation of this country every time I get the opportunity to view it up close, and although there didn't seem to be nearly enough time for exploring on foot, the brief helicopter flights provided a birds-eye view of some of the rugged canyons and impressive caves and rock formations that are sometimes difficult to appreciate from the roads and areas you can reach during day hikes. Whenever spare moments presented themselves many of the volunteers would grab binoculars and scan the nearby ridges and peaks looking for some of the nearly 100 bighorns that inhabit this 107,000 acre state wildlife refuge. A few of the non-native aoudad sheep were seen, but the bighorns stayed hidden as far as I know.
The Black Gap WMA represents one of
three wildlife management areas in Texas that provide critical strongholds for
the expanding herds where active management can be undertaken. Elephant
Mountain, and the Sierra Diablo areas round out this trio, with each having
there own strengths, but all sharing characteristics such as rugged escape
terrain and an abundance of roaming room in which to gather the elements necessary for survival in this Chihuahuan desert landscape. The work done this
weekend provide the bighorns sources of water near their preferred foraging
areas without having to run the gauntlet to the river, particularly at this time
of year when they have young lambs in tow. Black Gap was the recipient of a
transplant of 45 bighorns from Elephant Mountain in December of 2000, and the
hope is that this herd will continue to grow to it's full potential.
Some of the existing herd have already taken up residence in the adjacent Big
Bend National Park, and on surrounding private ranches, and there are some
exciting efforts underway across the border by the CEMEX Corporation on their
Sierra Del Carmen property restocking desert bighorns that may one day form part
of an interconnected population on both sides of the border!
As always this was an opportunity to renew old friendships, and meet new people, dedicated individuals willing to commit their time, money, and sweat to a cause as noble as returning bighorns to their rightful place here. It is always easier to strike up conversation with people when you know from the start that you share a common passion. Breakfast was usually somewhat rushed as the trip out to the staging area took about 45 minutes over the dirt road, and lunch was just a short break in a very busy day, but dinner invariably stretched into several hours of story telling and laughter, all wrapped around some excellent food. I just can't imagine another circumstance that would draw 80 or so better people together in the middle of nowhere, many from hundreds of miles away, and I am already clearing my calendar for next years project. My personal thanks to those of you who attended, and a special invitation to all our members to join us next year.
David Wetzel, March 2003
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