Long-Term Financial Impacts of Cattle and Wildlife Management Strategies in South Texas

Abstract

Wildlife management is becoming the principal, as opposed to a supplemental, enterprise in many ranches.  Specifically in South Texas, forage and brush control considerations for wildlife habitat have become an integral, if not the predominant, management issue for some ranch operations.  In this time of shifting away from range management dominated by livestock needs, this paper illustrates the financial implications of alternative management strategies targeted toward optimizing wildlife habitat and the profitability of ranching/hunting operations.