Helping Texas kangaroo rats and livestock coexist

Little is known about how the Texas kangaroo rat uses the landscape, but that could be critical information for conserving the species, which is on the state list of threatened species. Since much of its range is on private land, TWS member Clint Boal, a professor in the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech, is hoping to better understand how private land management affects the species. Boal received a $277,982 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks and Wildllife Department to study connectivity and management of the Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator) and develop monitoring strategies for it. Boal hopes to establish best practices for private landowners to help livestock and Texas kangaroo rats coexist.

“This is an opportunity for us to work directly with landowners and learn to manage private lands to further conservation efforts for the Texas kangaroo rat in ways that are compatible with livestock production and good rangeland management,” Boal said.

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