From the basic needs for survival – air, water, food, shelter – emerge the skills to adapt to altering conditions and environments. This underlying theme wound its way through the topics presented at the second weekend for the Texas Naturalist Program of the Tierra Grande Chapter, hosted by Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area just south of Alpine, Texas.

Couch’s Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii) is well adapted to areas of infrequent and unreliable rainfall. Using a sickle-shaped spade on their hind feet, they dig into the ground up to two feet during the dry spells. Vibrations from rain will bring them to the surface where males will use their loud distinct voice to lure the females. From egg to toad is a rapid 8-16 day transition to accommodate the quick evaporation of shallow pools.

Dr. Lynn Loomis (Marfa), soil scientist with USDA-NRCS, asked the class if we could think of any human food that is not dependent on soil for production. Texas Parks and Wildlife botanist, Dr. Jackie Poole emphasized, “Without plants we all die.” Plants generate the oxygen we breathe, produce the food we eat, and provide many of our shelter needs.

Dr. Lynn Loomis (in the back) uses simple exercises to demonstrate how bare ground is susceptible to dramatic erosion. Dr. Loomis believes the 1930’s Dust Bowl is ‘when the light came on’ in the realization that soil is everything to living. We must finds ways to prevent erosion and maintain our soils. Also pictured (L to R) are Billy Tarrant (Alpine), John Maxwell (Alpine), Roger Siglin (Alpine), Froylan Hernandez (EMWMA), and Jennifer Baur (Alpine).

Silty, Sandy and Loamy – Linda Hedges (Fort Davis), Jennifer Baur (Alpine) and DJ Sanders (Fort Davis) display the three different types of soil texture.

“Insects can fill all sorts of ecological niches,” according to Dr. Chris Ritzi, entomologist teaching at Sul Ross State University. One primary niche is the pollination of plants which grow in the soil which…well…you get the idea."

Friendly and beneficial, this female Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) takes a pose. (Note the soil under fingernails from previous seminar.

Fascinating in the study of living things is how they adapt to environments in order to survive. Herpetologist, Dennie Miller (Alpine) used the gray-banded kingsnake as an example – this reptile remains reclusive by only moving at night and during certain phases of the moon.

Dennie Miller (Alpine), herpetologist, photographer and writer, gently handles a Gray-Banded King Snake (Lampropeltis mexicana alterna).

Froylan Hernandez, resident wildlife biologist at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, described how Big Horn Sheep will come down from the mountain to a water source and drink 4-5 gallons giving it a portable reservoir to live on for a week.

The Big House at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Dr. Patricia Harveson (Alpine) describes management practices for natural systems in urban settings.

Habits adapted by deer, bears and mountain lions when interacting with urban settings is the focus of study for Dr. Patricia Harveson (Alpine), a wildlife biologist doing post doctoral research. Some folks may wonder why studying and documenting all this activity is important.

Desert Box Turtle (Terrapene ornate luteola).

Three primary issues we face today were outlined by Dr. Robert Kincuan, Sul Ross State University Dean of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences: water: more needs than resources; land: urbanization and land fragmentation, and epidemics: invasive plants and animals.

Big Bend National Park Geologist Don Corrick, reminded us it’s all interdisciplinary; take these independent studies and see how they correlate.

Dr. Ritzi takes the group outside to collect and inspect six and eight legged critters. (L to R) Patt Sims (Shafter), Dr. Chris Ritzi (Alpine), Steve Scharath (Alpine/Terlingua), Debbie Murphy (Fort Davis) and David Mainz (Ingram).

Support the stewardship of private landowners and build trust offered Billy Tarrant (Alpine), regulatory wildlife biologist. “We need to keep an open mind and learn from our mistakes,” summed up Dr. Kincuan.

Many of the Texas Master Naturalist speakers including (L to R) Froylan Hernandez (Elephant Mountain WMA) and Billy Tarrant (Alpine) sit in on the classes. We’re all in on the learning.

Students in the Texas Master Naturalist program, sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Cooperative Extension, will spend a weekend in October training in the fabulous Big Bend National Park, the third and final seminar of the program.

Read parts 1 & 3 of the series of photo essays by the author here on our website. Crystal Allbright is an artist, musician, and avid outdoorsperson who lives in Terlingua.