The Value of Open Spaces

I grew up in the Texas Panhandle - an area known for its wide open spaces. My grandfather bought and sold land regularly, but I still have two of the pieces of land - one a working farm and one native grassland, never plowed. My children grew up making yearly visits to visit both sets of grandparents in Amarillo. My mother always took them to see the farm and to visit the ranch and the cattlemen who leased the grasslands and their feedlot. I promise you, their feedlot was not smelly . . . my memories include the smell of cooked sweet feed.

When you are out in the rural areas of the Texas panhandle you can hear the wind blow. You can hear the windmill as it goes about the business of pumping water for the cattle. There are birds up there. I want to go and spend more time photographing some of them. It is quiet and peaceful in a way that is hard to explain. The land is so flat, it feels like you can see forever. At night due to the dry climate and lack of city lights, the stars are incredibly beautiful.

The passing of time always brings changes. Amarillo is growing to the west, swallowing up ranchland slowly but surely. My farm is east of Amarillo. Growth is coming, but slowly. My farm is right on the highway, so I know that some day, perhaps twenty or thirty years from now, it will likely be commercial property, but that is a long way off. I remember when my grandfather bought the farm, I was about five - so it's been in the family for fifty years. The ranch was the third ranch I remember my granddad buying. He tended to buy land when the interest rates were low and sold it when a good buyer came along. The Vega ranch and the farm he kept. WInd farms are springing up all over the panhandle. The land just to the north of mine has recently installed them. Because the panhandle is an area with consistent winds, a lot of open space will look different. Hopefully, the birds the antelope, and the small critters will be able to coexist with these gently moving blades.

When I was at NANPA when it was in Denver, I got to hear John Fielder talk about things being done in Colorado to preserve the open spaces. The Colorado Conservation Partnership has found unique ways to preserve open space in Colorado. If I understand correctly, they have raised funds and purchase development rights from farmers and ranchers. The land is protected and the land owners still receive the value comparable to what they might have received if they had developed the land for commercial or residential uses.

I've been working on a project with ranchers in the Central Texas area, The Texas Hill Country Nature Photography Alliance. There are number of ranchers who have dedicated their land for conservation purposes. They are providing habitat for some of the endangered species that are present in the hill country. They have set things up for photographers and perhaps birders to help fund their conservation efforts. I have been privileged to visit two of these ranches,The Petersen Ranch and Block Creek Natural Area. I hope to visit more and spend some time photographing the beauty in nature found there.

David Langford is one of the owners of the Block Creek Natural Area. This land has been in his family longer than my land and he has been a good steward of the land. He has written an editorial about the value and importance of the preserving open spaces, 'Land Stewards understand Value of Open Space.. The link he sent is from the Amarillo paper, my hometown. But it is appearing in newspapers around Texas. I live in Williamson county where open space has been disappearing very rapidly over the last twenty years. In fact, at one point I had heard that we were the county in Texas losing farmland the fastest. Because I've watched so much farmland and grassland turn into small tract lots, I think that what he says is worth reading and thinking about.

Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area

Henry and I have both been feeling a little cooped up so we decided to go out for a drive on our anniversary. I had some business I needed to take care of in Fredericksburg so we headed in that direction.

The highlight of the day was sunset at Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area. Amazingly enough this is the smallest wildlife management area in Texas (16.1 acres) with the most mammals of any wildlife management area. At the peak of the summer bat season, over 3 million Mexican Free tailed bats live in the old railroad tunnel. Each night volunteers give a presentation about the bats before it is time for the bats to leave for the nightly hunt. Thursday through Sunday there is a lower observation area open for a small fee to get a closer look at the bats during the exodus.

We arrived early and I got a front row seat with my big lens. There were a couple of hawks, one a red tailled hawk, who were cruising the area. The volunteer thought the presence of the raptors might be a signal that the bats would leave early. I was watching the hawk soaring when all of a sudden it tucked its wings in and did a spectacular nose dive. Sure enough the first bats were exiting the tunnel!



When I first set up my big Sigma lens, I was afraid it was going to be too big. Light was not great, so I chose a high ISO so I could keep my shutter speed fast enough to get stop motion on the bats. My goal was to get some close shots as they exited the tunnel. I was also hoping to get shots of the big picture - the patterns of the bats as they spiraled up in the sky before dispersing for their feeding.



The females and young have not yet taken up residence in the tunnel, so the spectacular show of the bats lasted only about 13 minutes. When we were there later in the year, I think it took 45 minutes for all of the bats to leave the tunnel.

I was actually glad we were on the upper deck, because I think i got better shots of the bats and the surrounding landscape. But i would also like to go back with the Canon 100-400 lens and get some shots from the lower deck. No flash is allowed, so I'm hoping to go in July or early August and hope that the bats will be leaving before it gets too dark.

Truly an amazing spectacle to see the sky so filled with these small amazing creatures.

Hill Country Ranches

I had a wonderful time today inspite of the rain from Tropical Storm Erin. I got to tour some wonderful ranches in the Texas Hill Country. The Petersen Ranch is located just west of Blanco. Bob Petersen has done a beautiful job creating a place where people can enjoy nature. He has allowed the land to restore itself - so you can see recovering blue stem native grass. He has set up a wonderful place for both nature photographers and nature observers to come and see and photograph wild birds and other wild critters.

He has been very involved with the Images for Conservation Fund which pairs nature photographers with land owners to provide funding to conserve private lands for wildlife.

I also got to visit the Block Creek Natural Area another ranch area whose owners the Langfords and the Jays are working hard to provide both habitat for wildlife but also areas where people can enjoy watching and photographing them. They love their land and are proud of its family history as well as its scenic beauty.

I was very impressed with the amount of effort that has gone into restoring natural areas, attracting various birds, and providing habitat for some of the Hill Country's endangered species. The natural beauty of these ranches with the hills, cliffs, clear streams, waterfalls, wooded areas, and open meadows is an artist or photographer's dream. Even in August, there were flowering plants and abundant wildlife.

And the owners are true examples of the best of Texas hospitality not only with their friendliess, but also with the facilities they have for their guests.

I am looking forward to a time when I can go and spend time at the blinds and at the creeks with my camera! Truly heaven on earth.