1 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This 2 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: is Col's Week in Review with Ryan col Cala. Here's Cal, 3 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: Hello everybody, It's a rainy Tuesday here in bos Angelus, Montana. 4 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: Another fantastic interview episode coming at you here on the 5 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: Call of the Wild podcast feed. This week, we've got 6 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: the East Foundation. If you got long memories, you may 7 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 1: recall some previous conversations and mentions with the East Foundation, 8 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: specifically around ocelot work. Today we will probably talk about oslots, 9 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: which is not an African jungle animal. We have them 10 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: here in the United States, just barely, and we're probably 11 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: going to talk about an interesting new threat to wildlife 12 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: and cattle. And really that's kind of the intersection of 13 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: the East Foundation, which their tagline here is we promote 14 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: the advancement of land stewardship through ranching, science and education. 15 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: We say it all the time here on the Cow's 16 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: Week in Review podcast. Tall grass makes fat cattle, and 17 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: tall grass is also great for your pollinators, your big 18 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: gnarley mule deer bucks or antelope bucks. Fire resistance, drought tolerance, 19 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: keeping those nasty invasive species out is just a healthy 20 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: landscape with me today is James Powell, director of Communications 21 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: for East Foundation, as well as Jason Sawyer, who's the 22 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: Chief Science Officer, which is a heck of a title. 23 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: Jason and Jordan, I know we've been trying to pull 24 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: this together for a while. Thank you so much for 25 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: making the time, and can you tell us a little 26 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: bit about who you are and what the East Foundation does? 27 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 2: Sure, yeah, we're sure glad to be with you today. 28 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 3: Again, it's been a minute since I think Neil visited 29 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 3: with y'all a little while back. The East Foundation, as 30 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 3: you mentioned, our mission is to promote the advancement of 31 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 3: land stewardship. 32 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 2: But really what the East. 33 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 3: Foundation is is a private, working landowner that operates cattle 34 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 3: ranching and maintains landscapes really for the benefit of both 35 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 3: productive ranching operations as well as wildlife conservation. 36 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 2: Our operations are all in Deep South Texas. 37 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 3: We operate on about two hundred and seventeen thousand acres 38 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 3: of private rangeland it's one hundred percent rangeland no cultivation, 39 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 3: no you know, real improvements other than water developments and fences. 40 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 3: And really our overall purpose is to maximize the long 41 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 3: term value of these landscapes and enable better decision making 42 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 3: by stewards of working lands, including ourselves. 43 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: And when you say working lands, I've been, you know, 44 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: a guest invited to go check out some different conservation 45 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: programs and projects on big properties in Texas. But I 46 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily call them working land. They're beautiful parks what 47 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: might be more appropriate description. But when you say working lands, 48 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: what do you mean? 49 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 3: Well, sure, you know, for US, working lands is as 50 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 3: that would imply as are landscapes that produce. They do 51 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 3: their jobs, they're put to work. They provide Now, they 52 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 3: provide for wildlife habitat, which is an important value proposition 53 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 3: in many ways, but they also provide for food production, 54 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 3: they provide for open space, and really, I think the 55 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 3: notion of working lands is that they are intentionally productive. 56 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,679 Speaker 3: We put them to work. Now, there's certainly a place 57 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 3: for preserves and refuges, and you know, areas that we 58 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 3: would say are not working lands, they've been taken out 59 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 3: of production for some other purpose. And you know, I'm 60 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 3: not not trying to cast any stones at that, but 61 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 3: the majority of land in the United States is working land, 62 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 3: and most of the wildlife habitat of the United states 63 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 3: occurs on working lands, and. 64 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 2: So it's really that confluence. 65 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 3: You know, the conservation of these things is how do 66 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 3: we achieve the wise use of these resources to maximize 67 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 3: their long term value? And if they don't produce anything, 68 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 3: then someone has to continuously invest external capital to sustain them, 69 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 3: Whereas the goal maybe of a working landscape is that 70 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 3: through its provisioning capability, it self generates the capital required 71 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 3: to sustain its multiple use. That's probably not a dictionary definition, 72 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 3: but certainly maybe my interpretation of what working lands are 73 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 3: as opposed as you said, you know, a park or 74 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 3: a refuge or a preserve. 75 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, you're probably taking a crop of some sort off 76 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: of working lands, be it crop of calves, crop of lambs, or. 77 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 2: Timber. Yeah, yeah, yes, sir. 78 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, And and so that's really kind of the context 79 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 3: of of what at least we mean when we say 80 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 3: working lands that they produce a product, you know, and 81 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 3: that production is necessarily aligned with the other amenities that 82 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 3: that landscape provides, the other ecosystem services that people talk 83 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 3: about quite a bit, and you know, that includes the 84 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 3: course wildlife habitat, and it includes game species that are 85 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 3: a direct value contributor to those landscapes. In many cases 86 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 3: it includes non game species that provide other value and 87 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 3: and you know, have amenity value as well as conservation, 88 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 3: and I'm going to say, you know, ethical and aesthetic value, 89 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 3: and all of those things need to come together and 90 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 3: operate conjointly. And we feel like there's pretty good evidence 91 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 3: that stewarded appropriately, that working landscapes actually can confer the 92 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 3: best habitat and the best opportunities for those things to 93 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 3: be sustained into the future. 94 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: So what's the rule that the East Foundation is focusing on? 95 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: What's the history there? 96 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 2: Well, a little bit of history. 97 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 3: It kind of informs I guess our views of what 98 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 3: we're here to do and why we're here. You know, 99 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 3: the East family put this land together over a couple 100 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 3: of generations, and they did that with livestock production. Now, 101 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 3: they had a deep interest and passion for wildlife, and 102 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 3: they personally enjoyed the wildlife on their properties, but they 103 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 3: made the decision to keep these lands intact by placing 104 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 3: them into a foundation that would outlive themselves right and 105 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 3: outlive everybody else. 106 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 2: And so our charge. 107 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 3: Is to continue to ranch and that is part of 108 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 3: our charge, and to do that in a way that 109 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 3: benefits wildlife and the land resource itself and provides for 110 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 3: scientific research and education to empower future generations of land stewards. 111 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 2: So that's a little bit about our. 112 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 3: History how we came into being, but it also informs 113 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 3: very much our mission and how we intend to accomplish that. 114 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 3: So we operate a working cattle operation. We're primarily a 115 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 3: calcalf operator. We retain ownership on some of the calves 116 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 3: that we produce as uterlines when forage conditions allow, and 117 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 3: in that working ranch context, we also seek to secure 118 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 3: the best habitat potential for the game species and non 119 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 3: game species that inhabit our landscapes. 120 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 2: You know, South Texas is pretty. 121 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 3: Well known for abundant white tail deer populations for you know, 122 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 3: important game birds like bob white quail. We have, you know, 123 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 3: arguably the largest wild population of bob white quail left 124 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 3: in the United States in the sandsheet of South Texas. 125 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 3: We also are faced with some interesting newcomers relatively speaking 126 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 3: to the landscape and Nilgai antelope, which are an incredibly 127 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 3: interesting species that seem to have filled an ecological niche 128 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 3: in South Texas. Their range doesn't extend much north of 129 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 3: Corpus Christi Texas, so they stayed very far south, but 130 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 3: they're native to India. They were introduced into South Texas 131 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 3: about one hundred years ago, and that population has persisted 132 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 3: and become unimportant resource in the region. We're also fortunate, 133 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 3: depending on who you ask, they may disagree with our fortune, 134 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 3: but to have some notable endangered species present on our landscapes, 135 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,439 Speaker 3: like ocelots that I know you've talked about before with 136 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 3: Ease foundations. And an interesting thing to note there is 137 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 3: that you know the presence of these endangered species, we 138 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 3: view that as a responsibility, right they're there, that we 139 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 3: hold those wildlife in the public trust. The public depends 140 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 3: on us as lands too to sustain those populations. I mean, 141 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 3: that's a responsibility that we have. But interestingly, cattle have 142 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 3: been present on this landscape for about three or. 143 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,839 Speaker 2: Four hundred years, and. 144 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 3: We would say that part of the reason that oslots 145 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 3: still call that ranch home is because it has been 146 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 3: a cattle ranch and it hasn't. 147 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 2: Been converted into other use, and. 148 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 3: That landscape still because of ranching, really has remained intact. 149 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 3: And so we actually think that's a really positive example 150 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 3: and maybe the misunderstood example of the importance of working 151 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 3: lands and conservation. 152 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, like Jason said that that ranch, the El Salis 153 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 4: is right on the coast near Port Mansfield. If it 154 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,439 Speaker 4: wasn't a working cattle ranch as we're running it right now, 155 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 4: that land would have been prime for development, could have 156 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:07,679 Speaker 4: easily been converted just outside of Port Mansfield into subdivisions 157 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 4: and other highest best use you know in air quotes ways, 158 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 4: and those oscelots that are there, some of the last 159 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,199 Speaker 4: that are in the state of Texas in the US, 160 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,680 Speaker 4: probably wouldn't be there anymore if it wasn't a cattle ranch. 161 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, I was just in d C the 162 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: other week and it was chatting with a lot of 163 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: members of the egg community that were in the same 164 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: same room. And you know, I think right now there's 165 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: a real heightened awareness between the hunting side of the world, 166 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: the outdoors public land folks that we need to really 167 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: get some common language with with the egg producers. Protecting 168 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: those big family ranches is critical to long term wildlife 169 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: and habitat and you know, among many other things, right like, 170 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: we want to save ranching and wildlife, and in order 171 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: to save wildlife, you got to save ranching too, right. 172 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 3: We would certainly agree with that that these things fit 173 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 3: together hand and glove. You know, it's not one opposed 174 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 3: to the other, or that they're held in tension. And 175 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 3: the viability of these landscapes is equally dependent on wildlife 176 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 3: value and livestock production value. In other words, if we 177 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 3: remove one of those, the other is likely to fail. 178 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 3: And so part of part of our objective, both as 179 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 3: stewards and operators as well as as researchers and educators, 180 00:13:55,200 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 3: is continuously evaluating and innovating how we best achieve those goals. 181 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 3: What decisions should we make. What's the best decision to 182 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 3: achieve these outcomes? And we don't always know, so we 183 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 3: do experiments and try to figure it out. And you know, 184 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 3: this notion of continuous improvement is also important there as 185 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 3: we think about the future, whether it's of you know, 186 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 3: ranching as a cultural activity or as a food producing activity, 187 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 3: or hunting as a cultural activity or a food producing activity. Right, 188 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 3: they share many common features and they share the same 189 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 3: piece of ground, and so it's in all of our 190 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 3: best interests to make sure that we make the wisest 191 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 3: decisions about being able to do those things together. For 192 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 3: a very long time, you know, for forever hopefully. 193 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: Well yeah, you know, the wildlife world, let's just say, 194 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: on the on the public land side of the fence, 195 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: maximizing returns for this season can have very detrimental effects 196 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: on the next season and the season after that, especially 197 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: taking in environmental factors. There's no difference on the private 198 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: side of the fence. If you're a cattle producer and 199 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: you overload the ranch trying to get the best return 200 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: you can for this season, well that could set up 201 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: the next season for failure or the next generation on 202 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: that place for failure. 203 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 2: Absolutely. Yeah. 204 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 4: You know, we have research on like quail, right, Jason 205 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 4: mentioned Bob White quail in Texas. A lot of our 206 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 4: research and Jason can go more into this. You know, 207 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 4: we're doing fifty plus projects right now, research projects at 208 00:15:55,680 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 4: any given time, game species, non game grazing strategy, things 209 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 4: like that, and there are a lot of that research 210 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 4: is at the intersection of ranching and wildlife management. We 211 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 4: talked you mentioned harvest there cal and one of our 212 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 4: studies on Bob White quell is sustainable harvest of Bob 213 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 4: White quell. You know, one of the prescriptions in South 214 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 4: Texas has always been well, you can harvest twenty percent 215 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 4: of the quail every year and that'll be sustainable in perpetuity. 216 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 4: But no one really ever had set that up as 217 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 4: a true experiment in South Texas to prove whether that 218 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 4: was actually true or not. And so a lot of 219 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 4: the some of the folks on Jason's team are testing 220 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 4: things like that, like just how much harvest pressure can 221 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 4: a bob white quail population handle in working ranch land 222 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 4: South Texas landscape or not. 223 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: A good good friend of mine, old T Edward Nickens, 224 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: Eddie Nickins, I know, has written an article or two 225 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: on some of the quail stuff, And man, if you 226 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: look at how much money goes in per bird in 227 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: a lot of famous quail areas in the US, it's 228 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: pretty amazing that it really boils down to a handful 229 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 1: of things, right, like on that healthy habitat. Everything else 230 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: is kind of marginal returns if you're not investing in 231 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: that habitat and habitat management, that's right. 232 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 3: Well, and you know, that's been one of the really 233 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 3: interesting evolutions. And maybe you know a role that we 234 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 3: feel like is very important for us is you know, 235 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 3: we feel a responsibility to do these things we feel 236 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 3: responsible to understand more about better decision making for stewardship, 237 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,680 Speaker 3: but we also have to be relevant and so doing 238 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:10,919 Speaker 3: that in the context of a working cattle operation, and 239 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 3: doing that at scale on Rangeland in South Texas is 240 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 3: also really important. And so this our overarching COIL projects. 241 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 3: One of the things that's unique perhaps about us doing 242 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 3: those things is that we're deploying that at operational scale, 243 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 3: So that controlled experiment where we can compare a twenty 244 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 3: percent very strictly executed twenty percent harvest quota against non 245 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 3: hunted areas with grazing, you know, interspersed into that, we're 246 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,919 Speaker 3: able to do that at you know, right now, we 247 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 3: have about thirty five thousand acres in the hunted treatment 248 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 3: and about the same out in the reference sites or 249 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 3: the controls the unhunted areas, all. 250 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 2: Of which are subject to cattle operations. 251 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 3: And so at that scale, right we start to really 252 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 3: understand the landscape level impacts on populations and make better 253 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 3: decisions for individual landowners, you know, give them the ability 254 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 3: to use information well as well as informed regional trends, 255 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 3: and you know, and that's something that's difficult for many 256 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 3: others to do within the constraints of their own systems, 257 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,960 Speaker 3: and so the scale of work is really important in 258 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:46,120 Speaker 3: the duration. You know, quail populations are a great example, right, 259 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 3: that's a boom and bus cycle, I mean, and a 260 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 3: few inches of rainfall at the right time of the 261 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 3: year is a huge difference maker every year. And so 262 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,400 Speaker 3: for us be it able to evaluate these things over 263 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,919 Speaker 3: long periods of time. So we're about eight years in 264 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 3: on this sustainable coil harvest project and to be able 265 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 3: to execute that over long periods of time to really 266 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 3: understand these long term impacts, as you mentioned, is also 267 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 3: we think of a vital element of the work. 268 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 1: That we do and it's you know, in research that 269 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: can be applied at least to some degree everywhere. But 270 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: you're nimble enough with your operation to actually be able 271 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 1: to implement this year over year and see what the 272 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: results are, which is super cool. 273 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 3: And you know, one of the interesting things that comes 274 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,679 Speaker 3: out of work like that kind of the intention that 275 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 3: we have and how we do that is as James 276 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 3: mentioned that you know, this notion of the intersection of 277 00:20:54,200 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 3: livestock production and habitat for wildlife is that you know, 278 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 3: quail do better with some grazing pressure they like a 279 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,160 Speaker 3: mid serial stage rangeland you know, and they need room 280 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 3: to navigate and room to operate. And they they are 281 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 3: food sources. They want some diversity there. And we can 282 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 3: actually promote the beneficial aspects of habitat for quail with 283 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 3: properly applied grazing. And so the removal of grazing completely 284 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 3: from our landscapes over time is likely detrimental to quail abundance, 285 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 3: not positive for it. And so again a great example 286 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 3: of how, you know, all things work together for good 287 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 3: when we have to kind of keep our eye on 288 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 3: the ball, you know, and don't forsake one for the 289 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 3: pursuit of the other. 290 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: We talk about this all the time in various ways, right, 291 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: But you know I'd carry the label of a hunter, right, Well, 292 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 1: there's plenty of hunters out there that I don't want 293 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:09,160 Speaker 1: to be associated with. And ranching and farming. You can 294 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: see that pretty plainly looking across to let's just say 295 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: a bad neighbor's fence, right and you're like, well, things 296 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: are going well over there, right, And why is that? 297 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: So when you have a good model, especially when it's replicable, accessible, 298 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 1: it can be really contagious, right In a. 299 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,439 Speaker 2: Good way volunteer your point. 300 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 3: You know, we can all look around and we try 301 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,400 Speaker 3: really hard to kind of operate with the mindset of 302 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 3: what I said, how do we enable better decision making? 303 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 3: And first and foremost, we want to make better decisions. 304 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 3: We want to do the best we can do, and 305 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 3: we need better information in order to make better decisions. 306 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 3: And that kind of fuels our science. You know, what 307 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 3: questions should we ask? Well, the things that matter that 308 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 3: make better help us make the best decision. And when 309 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 3: we look, you know, we drive down the highway and 310 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 3: you look over somebody else's fence, and it's pretty easy 311 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 3: to ranch their country for them from your your windshield. 312 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 2: You know. 313 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 3: And or like I said, you you know that there 314 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 3: might be folks that that hunt that maybe don't don't 315 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 3: do it in a way that's as good as it 316 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 3: ought to be for the betterment of the resource and 317 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 3: maybe even for themselves. But you know, we try pretty 318 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 3: hard to say, you know, it's not I would never 319 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 3: I would never kick another man's dog, you know, And 320 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,879 Speaker 3: I would never presume to tell you what you ought 321 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 3: to do. However, I think that when we do look 322 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 3: across that other that other fence and think you know 323 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 3: that they're having a tough time, that country is in 324 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 3: tough shape, or it looks like a series of decisions 325 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 3: that went wrong. What drove them to that? Why is 326 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 3: it that way to? You know, you asked that question, 327 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 3: why why is it that way? And can we then 328 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 3: take that on and think about, Okay, somebody might have 329 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 3: made a series or felt forced into a series of 330 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 3: decisions that ended up being detrimental to the future of 331 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 3: their operation. Is there a way that we could could 332 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 3: generate information that would help them make a better decision 333 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 3: next time? Can that ranch be healed, you know, by 334 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 3: making a series of better decisions because they're better informed 335 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 3: going forward. And you know, that's the amazing thing about 336 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 3: most of these landscapes is that that you can start 337 00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 3: making some different decisions and change the future. Sure of that, 338 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 3: Rangeland I mean it is within our capacity to do that, 339 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 3: And that's pretty powerful. 340 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:15,400 Speaker 1: I imagine there there's producers out there as well who 341 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,159 Speaker 1: are like, I want to run this many head of 342 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: cattle on this much acreage? Can you help me do that? 343 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 2: You know that that does come up quite a bit. 344 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 3: And uh, and so we're also pretty honest about that. 345 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 2: You know, here's here's a way. 346 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 3: And we're continuously working on methods to better assess our 347 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:47,719 Speaker 3: own capacity. You know, so, what is the capacity of 348 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 3: our of our land to support cattle populations, deer populations, 349 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,360 Speaker 3: et cetera. How do we better assess that so that 350 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 3: we are more appropriately applying implementing population management and lifestock 351 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:09,440 Speaker 3: management on the landscape. And yes, people frequently find themselves 352 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 3: in a situation where they say, well. 353 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:12,639 Speaker 2: I've done the math. 354 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:19,479 Speaker 3: I have two thousand acres of rangeland in a twenty 355 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 3: inch rainfall zone, and I need to run three thousand cows. 356 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 2: On this in order to pay bills. 357 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,800 Speaker 3: Well, that's not going to happen, you know, And so 358 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,439 Speaker 3: are there ways for them to rethink or reinvent the 359 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:41,679 Speaker 3: business where they're better able to match their utilization with 360 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 3: the resources they have. And you know, and sometimes the 361 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 3: honest truth is is that they have a mental model, 362 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 3: right that they have to do a certain thing, and 363 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 3: maybe what we need is to help them see that, 364 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,960 Speaker 3: you know, they could innovate and find a different approach 365 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,199 Speaker 3: that allowed them to operate more appropriately within the capacity 366 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 3: of the ranch. That's a hard thing, you know, that's 367 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 3: a really hard thing. But it's definitely something that comes 368 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 3: up quite and you know, and we face that ourselves. 369 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 3: I mean, we you know, there's a lot of incentive 370 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 3: to increase inventory if you're a cattle operator, but we 371 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,639 Speaker 3: also recognize that there's an optimization point and finding that 372 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 3: is the real challenge, that that's the goal. And so 373 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 3: you know, again we face the same challenges and problems 374 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 3: as others, so we at least understand some of those 375 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 3: things that are driving decisions and how to be on guard, 376 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 3: you know, and not let yourself get fooled into a 377 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 3: decision that seems appropriate for today but maybe detrimental for tomorrow. 378 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: We were hiking a ranch in Sonora one time for 379 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: Col's deer and a friend of mine. You know, it 380 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:11,120 Speaker 1: was similar to summer Texas, you know, real real brushy 381 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: and everything sticks you And a friend of mine said, man, 382 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,920 Speaker 1: what would this place be like without cattle? And I said, 383 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: I don't think we'd know, because I don't think we 384 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: could hike through any of. 385 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 2: It, right, right, right. 386 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 3: And you know, it's like wildfire, you know, I mean, 387 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 3: prescribed fire is good, wildfire is bad. And you know, 388 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 3: all things can be overdone, but they can also be underdone. 389 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 3: You know, the removal of fire or the removal of 390 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 3: grazing altogether is often detrimental as well. 391 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and I think in this case, having that 392 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: natural in quotes deforestation. 393 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 2: Was good. 394 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: It was the only thing that was up that landscape 395 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: to any other sort of forbes. 396 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 3: Right, So right, how you create opportunity for the species 397 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 3: that those that those deer depend. 398 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: On, you know, Yeah, because they don't live just in 399 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:19,360 Speaker 1: the brush, neither did the turkeys or the quail. They 400 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: every part of their day for all those species, as 401 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: they get out of that stuff into the grass for 402 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: at least a little. 403 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 3: Bit, Yeah, go go find the goodies where they can 404 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 3: find them, you know. So it's interesting that, you know, 405 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 3: there's currently pretty big issue that I think many people 406 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 3: have forgotten was a problem at one point in time, 407 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 3: and that's New World screwworms, and and the people who 408 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 3: do have some scarce memory of that pest perceive it 409 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 3: as a livestock problem. You know that that was a 410 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 3: problem in the you know, early nineties, well, late eighteen hundreds, 411 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 3: early nineteen hundreds, before it's eradication in the nineteen sixties 412 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 3: in the US, people you know, perceived that was a 413 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 3: livestock operators problem and don't recognize that the enormous impact 414 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 3: that that had on wildlife populations. You know, screwworms in 415 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 3: Texas in the nineteen fifties, eighty plus percent of the 416 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 3: fawn crop would be lost every year to screwworms. And 417 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 3: you know, an adult deer succumbed to as well bucks, 418 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 3: you know, during rut when they injure themselves, become susceptible and. 419 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 2: Perish from that. 420 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 3: And so you know, after screwworms were eradicated in Texas, 421 00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 3: the deer population doubled within the next five years and 422 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 3: has quinn tippled since that time, went from you know 423 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 3: about you know a million and a half maybe some 424 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 3: some estimates under a million white tailed deer in Texas 425 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 3: to almost six million today. And you know, is that 426 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 3: all because the screwworm eradication. No, but certainly that was 427 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,959 Speaker 3: a significant depressant on those populations. 428 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 2: That's been relieved and and again. 429 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 3: People perceive it as a livestock problem, but kind of like, 430 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 3: you know, the ranchers and the hunters are really all 431 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 3: on the same side here. 432 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, that parasite can infect any any warm blooded mammal. 433 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 2: I mean it. 434 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 4: You know what we talked about, Nilghai, We've talked about 435 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 4: you know, there's there's a feral hog issue now, so 436 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 4: you've got a bunch of feral hogs that could be 437 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 4: vectors for those screw worms. They can even infect humans. 438 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 4: So down in Central America, where it's always still been around, 439 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 4: there are non human infection cases. And it doesn't always 440 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 4: have to be a gaping open wound. At Jason's point, 441 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 4: it might just be a tick bite that becomes infected 442 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 4: by a screwworm and then within a matter of days 443 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 4: you have a serious, even life threatening infection on your hands. 444 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 1: And you know where this. 445 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 4: Is something that's kind of, like Jason said, it's been forgotten, 446 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 4: but all of a sudden, it's a big deal again. 447 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 4: You're seeing it and then on Fox News and you're 448 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 4: hearing the Secretary of Agriculture talk about it now all 449 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 4: of a sudden, because it's like it's coming north again 450 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,760 Speaker 4: out of Central America into into Mexico. I know Jason 451 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 4: and his science team are tracking this very carefully because, 452 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,880 Speaker 4: as he said, it's not only going to potentially affect 453 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 4: us as producers, it could devastate wildlife populations and in 454 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 4: South Texas or as far north as those will be 455 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 4: able to move. Right, it's a big potential problem, not 456 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:08,880 Speaker 4: just for ranchers but also for hunters. 457 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: And so where where's East Foundation weighing in on this? 458 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: You're you're monitoring, Jason, but are there some potential projects here? 459 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 3: Well, you know, we are trying really hard to be 460 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 3: a voice and also trying to connect. You know, thankfully, 461 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 3: USDA zag Research Service has never given up the fight 462 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 3: on screw worms and they have an entomology unit a 463 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 3: Llow here in Texas who works primarily on on these 464 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 3: sorts of insect pests and tick pests, and they have 465 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 3: sustained research over the last fifty years to continue to 466 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 3: develop methods to you know, do surveillance and response and 467 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 3: produce the sterile flies that are used to combat screwworms 468 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,360 Speaker 3: and eradicate eradicate that pest. So we've made sure to 469 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:15,439 Speaker 3: engage with them and see how we might be able 470 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 3: to engage in research programs with them to increase surveillance 471 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 3: capabilities and innovate technologies for surveillance of the pest, because 472 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,200 Speaker 3: you have to know it's there before you can do 473 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 3: anything else about it. Certainly we want to be engaged 474 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:40,200 Speaker 3: with with other organizations and inform landowners and operators again, 475 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:45,800 Speaker 3: create that awareness that this is certainly a livestock problem, 476 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,240 Speaker 3: but not only a livestock problem. You know, you mentioned 477 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 3: being on a property in Texas that maybe had dedicated 478 00:34:53,880 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 3: themselves exclusively to wildlife management. Those folks are very vulnerable 479 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 3: here and often again they don't perceive the threat because 480 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 3: they associate it with livestock, and so our engagement here 481 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:18,280 Speaker 3: really is to understand the problem, enable better decision making 482 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 3: by informing folks seeing beyond the obvious and recognizing the 483 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 3: eminence of the threat and its importance in the United 484 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:32,279 Speaker 3: States to our food supplies but also to wildlife conservation. 485 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 3: You know, we talked about the last remaining population of 486 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:43,279 Speaker 3: oslots you know in deep South Texas. Well, they get 487 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 3: tick bites too. They are susceptible to this as well. 488 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 2: You know, it's not just a. 489 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:57,080 Speaker 3: Livestock problem, and so so you know, I'll be honest 490 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 3: with you, I hope and pray that we know have 491 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:04,560 Speaker 3: the opportunity to do direct research about treatment for screw. 492 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 2: Worms on our operations. Yeah, I hope they don't ever 493 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:08,759 Speaker 2: get here because they don't get here. 494 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 4: And the big thing that, you know, the thing that 495 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 4: needs to be encouraged right now, is the redevelopment and 496 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:23,080 Speaker 4: restarting of sterile fly production production facilities. So the way 497 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 4: that this was fought back was a couple of I 498 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 4: mean it was genius, really, a couple of scientists came 499 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:36,960 Speaker 4: up with this idea where you breed sterile male screwworm flies. 500 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 4: They then out compete the males in the wild to 501 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 4: breed with the females in the wild. And so by 502 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,880 Speaker 4: the sterile males breeding with the females and not producing 503 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:56,279 Speaker 4: viable progeny over a lot of quick generations of reproduction, 504 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,319 Speaker 4: they wiped that they wiped themselves out by by being 505 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 4: outbred by sterile mals that we were making in factories 506 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 4: by the hundreds of millions. So it was a genius 507 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 4: solution to the problem, maybe one of the best pest 508 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:17,240 Speaker 4: control things that's ever happened in human history. The problem 509 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:20,000 Speaker 4: is is that once we got rid of them in 510 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:21,920 Speaker 4: this part of the world and push them all the 511 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:26,760 Speaker 4: way back down into Central America to basically what people 512 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,840 Speaker 4: are I think referring to is the dairy and gap 513 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:34,439 Speaker 4: area right, that very very remote area in Panama. Now 514 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:38,759 Speaker 4: they quit producing the flies except in one place. So 515 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 4: what needs to potentially happen now, and maybe fairly quickly, 516 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,360 Speaker 4: is that we get some of those product those sterile 517 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:51,719 Speaker 4: fly production facilities built and back online very quickly, so 518 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:56,759 Speaker 4: that we can deploy those quickly if they're needed, you know, 519 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:00,120 Speaker 4: if they get out of southern Mexico into ord the 520 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,480 Speaker 4: Mexico and start getting up to the our southern border 521 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 4: and threatening you know, like like Jason has said, it's 522 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 4: not just a cow problem, it's going to be a 523 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 4: wildlife problem as well. 524 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 3: And a great example there, you know, is that you know, 525 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:21,840 Speaker 3: to James's point, like, hey, we want we we pushed 526 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 3: it out, pushed it all the way out of the US, 527 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,760 Speaker 3: all the way south across Mexico, all the way down 528 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:29,240 Speaker 3: south of Panama. 529 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 2: We want. 530 00:38:32,239 --> 00:38:36,480 Speaker 3: And and you left you left one one place on 531 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:41,399 Speaker 3: guard duty. Yet you got one production facility in the 532 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 3: world remaining that produces sterough flies and trying to keep 533 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:52,640 Speaker 3: that threat at bay. Well, some jumped over the wall, right, 534 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:57,640 Speaker 3: they overwhelmed the last remaining guard there, and so now 535 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:03,840 Speaker 3: that facility is perduction capacity might not be enough to 536 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 3: keep up the fight. 537 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,160 Speaker 2: So you got to have you got to have more. 538 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:16,560 Speaker 3: And again, fortunately the ag Research Service with USDA has 539 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,520 Speaker 3: a strain that they've developed that if put into practice, 540 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 3: could probably double the production of that one facility pretty rapidly. 541 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,640 Speaker 3: But even that might not be enough. And some additional 542 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:34,760 Speaker 3: production facilities further north, you know, in the US because 543 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:38,640 Speaker 3: now it's in Mexico. It's kind of jumped over the guard, right, 544 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:41,880 Speaker 3: and you got to push it back. So this is 545 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:44,839 Speaker 3: something obviously that's on our minds a lot right now, 546 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 3: and we're trying to be the best partner we can 547 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:55,880 Speaker 3: be to other research agencies and to the the you know, 548 00:39:56,440 --> 00:40:01,240 Speaker 3: USDA and state level and health agencies like ATHIS for USDA, 549 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 3: or Texas Animal Health Commission in Texas Parks and Wildlife 550 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 3: within Texas to be forward looking and think about how 551 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:16,160 Speaker 3: we manage this threat. And it's certainly not something that 552 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:19,680 Speaker 3: we can wait for, you know, we need to go 553 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,120 Speaker 3: to it, not not wait for it to come to us. 554 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:27,719 Speaker 1: Yeah. Boy, it might be like an emergency funding situation 555 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:34,520 Speaker 1: here depending on what federal dollars get released. But as 556 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:39,880 Speaker 1: you're saying, hopefully the awareness is enough to prevent an 557 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:41,640 Speaker 1: emergency situation anyway. 558 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 3: Absolutely, And you know, again we're private landowners and we're 559 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:56,400 Speaker 3: not necessarily you know, I'm must speak for myself. I 560 00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:59,839 Speaker 3: don't believe necessarily that the government needs to take care 561 00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:03,680 Speaker 3: of everybody every single day. But there are roles, right, 562 00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:06,000 Speaker 3: This is one of those roles when you have a 563 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 3: threat that is larger than any one entity. 564 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:11,080 Speaker 2: And when we. 565 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,239 Speaker 3: Look at the historical effort here, it was a combination 566 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:25,640 Speaker 3: of private landowners and organizations, conservation groups, livestock organizations, and 567 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:29,800 Speaker 3: the federal government that came together to create the solution. 568 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:34,560 Speaker 3: And that's kind of where we see ourselves today is 569 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:39,640 Speaker 3: you know, this is an effort, this is what this 570 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 3: is what government is for, is to safeguard the resources 571 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:49,359 Speaker 3: and productivity of the nation. And this is that sort 572 00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:50,400 Speaker 3: of an issue. 573 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:55,000 Speaker 1: And like you said, it's not just a producer's issue. 574 00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:02,200 Speaker 1: The wildlife effects are us You're talking about on a 575 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:09,240 Speaker 1: normal year having eighty fond mortality. Is that's impactful. 576 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 3: And and you know how rapidly that decimates the population 577 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:20,359 Speaker 3: right to an unhuntable, unsustainable level. And you know it 578 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:24,640 Speaker 3: affects people in town too. You know, the effects on 579 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:30,280 Speaker 3: productivity and their recreational opportunities and the price of food. 580 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,840 Speaker 3: You know, all of these things are affected. And you know, 581 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:38,600 Speaker 3: I'm the last person to ever want to, like, you know, 582 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:41,560 Speaker 3: be a fearmonger or anything like that. 583 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,000 Speaker 2: But reality is reality. 584 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,360 Speaker 3: And helping people understand the importance of this kind of 585 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 3: an issue when it might seem far away from them, 586 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:57,160 Speaker 3: you know, is we think important and something we're certainly 587 00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:02,040 Speaker 3: you know, spending a lot of our our thought energy 588 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:02,719 Speaker 3: on right now. 589 00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:03,760 Speaker 2: For sure? 590 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,239 Speaker 1: Are you telling me that hunters aren't the only ones 591 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:08,880 Speaker 1: who only get off their butts when the threats in 592 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:09,719 Speaker 1: their backyard. 593 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,600 Speaker 3: I think that's a human condition, you know, closest alligator 594 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:18,440 Speaker 3: to the boat, and and sometimes it's helpful to have 595 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:23,879 Speaker 3: you know, I've got my youngest son is really good. 596 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:26,279 Speaker 3: If you stand him up a little bit higher on 597 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,200 Speaker 3: the boat, he can see a little further out, and 598 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:31,239 Speaker 3: he's got better eyes than me, and he can sometimes 599 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:34,239 Speaker 3: see something from further away than I can. And it's 600 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 3: useful to have a lookout, you know, and turn right. 601 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:40,480 Speaker 3: We all have to tend with to you know, contend 602 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,839 Speaker 3: with today's problem. But but we need to keep our 603 00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:46,360 Speaker 3: eye on the one that could be a way bigger 604 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:47,280 Speaker 3: problem tomorrow. 605 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:51,640 Speaker 1: Yep, that's the truth. Well, I'd love to have you 606 00:43:51,719 --> 00:43:56,520 Speaker 1: back on and dig into this es a topic as 607 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,360 Speaker 1: it evolves here in the US. 608 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,479 Speaker 2: Another interesting development, right. 609 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,759 Speaker 1: Sup, Super interesting and it's just just too big to 610 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:12,680 Speaker 1: fit in this episode. But if folks want to get 611 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:18,080 Speaker 1: a hold of the East Foundation and you know, learn 612 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:27,440 Speaker 1: more about this crossroads of ranching wildlife habitat, sustainable long 613 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: term use and yields also screwworm or you know, having 614 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:41,640 Speaker 1: a working landscape that involves endangered species such as the ocelot, 615 00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:46,040 Speaker 1: or maybe it would be lesser prairie chicken ranching country 616 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:53,359 Speaker 1: or greater sage grouse ranching country, or or right forridging pigmyls, 617 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:58,520 Speaker 1: blackfoot ferrets. That damn list? How did? How do folks 618 00:44:58,520 --> 00:44:59,200 Speaker 1: get a hold of you? 619 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:03,680 Speaker 4: So we have a We just just put out a 620 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:09,279 Speaker 4: brand new website at www dot Eastfoundation dot net. So 621 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:16,040 Speaker 4: that website is months old and specifically designed to be 622 00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:23,160 Speaker 4: a great repository and online library of information about all 623 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:26,000 Speaker 4: the things we do, all the research we do with 624 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:30,600 Speaker 4: all of our university and agency partners. You can find 625 00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:33,440 Speaker 4: out about what we're doing for the oslot issue, what 626 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:37,880 Speaker 4: we're studying in terms of game species like nilghai quail, 627 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,360 Speaker 4: whitetail deer, and what we're doing in terms of ranching 628 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:47,160 Speaker 4: research and operation, you know, adaptive management and ranching as well. 629 00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,919 Speaker 4: So our website East Foundation dot nets probably the best 630 00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:54,480 Speaker 4: place to go. We also have a Facebook and Instagram. 631 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:59,000 Speaker 4: Just look up just type in east Foundation and you'll 632 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:02,319 Speaker 4: you'll find us there. You've been putting out information on 633 00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:07,920 Speaker 4: this screw worm issue on social media with links and 634 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:10,400 Speaker 4: direction to other resources so people can get up to 635 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 4: speed on this really quickly by following us there. 636 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:20,360 Speaker 1: Excellent, excellent. Well, if folks have additional questions, Chief Science 637 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:25,080 Speaker 1: Officer Jason Sawyer, please right into ask c A l 638 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:29,200 Speaker 1: ask Cal at the meeteater dot com. Will either get 639 00:46:29,239 --> 00:46:32,840 Speaker 1: these folks back on which I think we should, or 640 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:36,520 Speaker 1: I'll get your questions to them and we'll answer them 641 00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:37,000 Speaker 1: on the show. 642 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:40,440 Speaker 3: Well, we would look forward to the opportunity to visit 643 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:44,360 Speaker 3: with you more about any of these or other topics. 644 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:49,680 Speaker 3: We just really appreciate all y'all do and the great 645 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:53,279 Speaker 3: awareness that you'll bring to Honting in the intersection of 646 00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:56,560 Speaker 3: these issues and how important they are, you know for 647 00:46:57,239 --> 00:47:01,480 Speaker 3: everyday people. I mean being relevant matter, and and we 648 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:05,239 Speaker 3: just really value everything that you do at Meat Eater 649 00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:08,759 Speaker 3: and appreciate the opportunity to visit with you today and 650 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:10,560 Speaker 3: would love to have a chance to do it again. 651 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,200 Speaker 1: Oh darn right, we'll make it happen. You guys, keep 652 00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:16,920 Speaker 1: keep working on keeping the working lands in working fashion, 653 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:23,560 Speaker 1: not turning into condos, and we'll we'll be buddies for sure. 654 00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:29,919 Speaker 1: So thank you so much, and we'll talk to you. 655 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:33,000 Speaker 2: Soon, Yes, sir, take care, Thank you. Thanks,