Dear Stewards,

Fall is finally here! Cooler temperatures means greater opportunities to get outside and explore all that Texas has to offer from the Gulf Coast to the Davis Mountains. Our mentored hunting season is already underway and we are preparing for our only mentored fishing trip this season at Powderhorn, a beautiful, coastal retreat and future state park near Port O'Connor. Please spread the word about this trip — we're still looking for 10 new or novice anglers to join us Dec. 13-15! Feel free to email me with any questions.

In this issue:

Check out the upcoming events near you
Meet Austin Stewards of the Wild member and rockstar Brianna Fuller
Catch up on all things TPWF:

BRI's efforts to welcome black bears back to Texas
Pollinators & Prairies program launch
S. Reed Morian Gear Up for Game Wardens' 4th Annual Online Auction recap
Learn about Gulf of Mexico Trust's Trash Free Gulf Campaign
Watch "Chasing the Tide"
Meet TPWF Ambassador Kimberly Ratcliff

Cheers,
Katie

Photo by: Wendy Pierce

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Upcoming Stewards of the Wild Events

Annual State of Conservation Dinner | Dallas | November 7

The State of Conservation Dinner is the Dallas Chapter's premier fundraising event. The night's mission is to raise funds for the Stewards program, bring awareness to conservation issues in Texas, and connect with other conservationists from the Dallas area and around the state. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Texas conservation efforts! Last year the chapter supported SOTW's Mentored Hunting Initiative and the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. This event is currently sold out, but stay tuned to @stewardsofthewild_dallas as there is a chance more tickets will become available.

Native Plants Workshop | BCS | November 7

Join the BCS Chapter and Lisa Whittlesey at Lick Creek Park to learn about floral design with a variety of native Texas plants! This event is free, but please RSVP.

RSVP

Happy Hour | San Antonio | November 13

Join the San Antonio Chapter for a happy hour at King Ranch Saddle Shop on November 13 from 6-8 p.m. Fourth-generation Texas rancher and Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation ambassador Sarah Nunley Biedenharn will be speaking at the event.

3rd Annual Chili Service Night at Community First! Village | Austin | November 19

Join the Austin Chapter in serving chili to a local community and learn more about Community First! Village! The chapter will be serving wild game chili and sharing stories with Community First! Village residents on Tuesday, November 19. Set up begins at 6 p.m. and food is served at 6:30 p.m. If you would like to volunteer, please sign the waiver linked here and RSVP using the link below.

RSVP

Mentored Fishing Trip at Powderhorn | December 13-15

Calling all new or novice fishermen! Join us on our only mentored fishing trip of the year at current WMA and future state park, Powderhorn near Port O' Connor! Thank you to Dagon for supporting this trip. Read more and reserve your spot now using the link below.

Duck Hunt | Houston | December 14

Mark your calendars for the Houston Chapter's duck hunt on December 14. Stay tuned to @stewardsofthewild_houston for more information.

5th Annual All-Stewards Duck Hunt at Bucksnag | Statewide | January 5-7

Our 5th Annual All-Stewards Duck Hunt at Bucksnag Hunt Club in Garwood will take place January 5-7, 2025. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, November 19 at 10 a.m. Stay tuned to @stewardsofthewildtx for more information!

BBQ Happy Hour | Houston | Every Second Tuesday

Join the Houston Chapter for a happy hour on the second Tuesday of every month at Pinkerton's BBQ at 6:30 p.m. Meet fellow Stewards of the Wild members, hear updates from the Houston leadership, and enjoy some great BBQ.

FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Stewards of the Wild Highlights & News

Meet Austin Stewards of the Wild Member Brianna Fuller

While TPWF works to conserve the wild things and wild places of Texas, Austin Chapter Stewards of the Wild member Brianna Fuller is busy advocating for the water that brings our many wild wonders to life. As the campaign director of the Texas Runs on Water® campaign for the Texas Water Foundation, she leads the effort for this vital statewide initiative that links the value of water to our shared pride in all things Texas.

Brianna’s current role at Texas Water Foundation is just her latest in a burgeoning career of championing Texas-wide causes across myriad local communities. And it’s a path she was born to blaze. “Growing up in a multigenerational Texas family with deep roots in San Antonio, I always felt the pull to get involved in the community from a young age,” says Brianna. Even in high school, Brianna was active in local social and cultural causes through her volunteer work for the National Hispanic Institute, where she encouraged her peers and rising Texas high school students to do the same through leadership training and outreach initiatives.

Shortly after graduating from UT Austin with a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and writing, Brianna landed a communications position with Keep Texas Beautiful, where she first entered the dynamic field of Texas conservation. “I was responsible for developing strategic communications tools and resources for 300 local affiliates and got to work with folks from all walks of life, from small towns to big cities, who were committed to enhancing their communities. It gave me a deeper appreciation and understanding of our state.”

This challenging role perfectly positioned her for a move to the Texas Water Foundation in 2020. “With the classic ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ campaign as our North Star, Texas Water Foundation wanted to achieve that same level of success, but for Texas water.” What emerged is Texas Runs on Water, a cultural movement that invites all Texans to rethink how they value water. Much like her charge at Keep Texas Beautiful, Brianna is strategically directing Texas Runs on Water as a statewide umbrella campaign that can be tailored to local communities and help address local water challenges.

READ THE FULL STORY

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Updates

Welcoming Black Bears Back to Texas

Black bears are making their way back to the West Texas landscapes they once roamed.

Historically, they ranged across the Trans-Pecos, but by the 1950s they had mostly disappeared from Texas. In the 1990s, black bears were sighted once again in Big Bend, and more recently, they’ve begun to repopulate into Texas from Mexico.

Borderlands Research Institute (BRI), in partnership with TPWF, is committed to tracking and researching the black bear to understand more about its population growth and habitat needs and how its presence affects the human population of the area. This research is vital to creating science-based management strategies as black bears naturally repopulate their historic range.

Researchers at BRI, with the help of private landowners, have begun to fit bears with tracking collars. These collars help researchers gather data on the bears’ movement and behavior. The collars also mean researchers can track their interactions with humans. As more bears move into Texas, understanding how humans and bears can coexist is an important part of the project, and BRI’s research will help shape and facilitate science-based management as the bears expand their range.

Watch the video to see how TPWF has partnered with BRI to study the return of black bears in far West Texas:

TPWF is committed to supporting BRI’s ongoing research to ensure our wild things endure in the wild places of Texas, and we are grateful to the generous donors who make this vital research possible:

Pollinators & Prairies

TPWF is thrilled to announce the launch of the new Pollinators & Prairies program to help native pollinators and prairies thrive.

Pollinators & Prairies is conserving Texas’ vital native pollinators and iconic grasslands through research, outreach, and on-the-ground conservation action. TPWF is working with dedicated conservation partners to increase healthy prairie habitat and pollinator populations, encouraging Texans to plant native grasses and wildflowers, and funding critical research to guide management strategies for native bees and other vital pollinators.

The program is generously supported by presenting sponsor H‑E‑B, with additional support from Phillips 66. “We are delighted to collaborate with our many conservation partners on the ground to make a difference for pollinators and prairies in Texas,” said TPWF Executive Director Anne Brown. “We are grateful to H‑E‑B for coming on board as presenting sponsor of the program through their commitment to Our Texas, Our Future, and thankful for the generosity of our supporting sponsor Phillips 66."

The launch of the program coincided with Native Plant Week in Texas, and H‑E‑B celebrated by featuring a diverse array of Texas native plants at 200+ stores between October 14-30. TPWF and the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) also teamed up to promote H‑E‑B’s Texas Native Plant Week Celebration. NPSOT passed out free native seed mix packets, compliments of TPWF and H‑E‑B, at 18 H‑E‑B Texas Backyard stores on Oct. 16 and 19.

A new app will launch next year for Texans interested in planting a pocket prairie or native plants. The app will make it easy to know what native plants or seed mixes to purchase for your region and include a step-by-step guide to planting and maintaining a native pollinator area.

LEARN MORE

4th Annual Gear Up for Game Wardens Online Auction Recap

TPWF's "S. Reed Morian Gear Up for Game Wardens" program is an initiative in Texas designed to support and enhance the work of game wardens, who play a crucial role in wildlife conservation, law enforcement, and outdoor recreation. On October 1-3, TPWF held their 4th annual online auction to benefit the program.

Thanks to all of their donors, brand partners and supporters, Gear Up's 2024 auction was a record-breaking success! They raised an astonishing $260,000! Proceeds from the annual auction provide essential program support to ensure Gear Up for Game Wardens can continue its work to get much-needed equipment in the hands of your Texas Game Wardens!

Since 2017, generous supporters have helped Gear Up for Game Wardens procure over $5.6 million in lifesaving equipment ranging from thermal search and rescue drones to side-scan sonar units and more. Proceeds from the annual online auction provide essential program support to ensure Gear Up for Game Wardens can continue its work to get specialty equipment in the hands of your Texas Game Wardens.

LEARN MORE

Gulf of Mexico Trust & Partners Presents: Trash Free Gulf

The Texas Coast is a nursery for much of North America’s marine and bird life, supports millions of jobs, and is a gathering place for generations of Texans. Our waterways connect us to each other and to the Gulf of Mexico.

Yet the Lone Star State has more trash on our coastline than anywhere else in the nation. Nearly every one of Texas’ 30 million residents lives in a watershed that empties into our bays, beaches, and ocean. This means that in addition to marine debris from other parts of North America and the globe, the Gulf receives Texas’ litter that ends up in a creek or river.

To prevent trash from reaching our waterways and the coast and raise awareness of Texas’ outsized role in the health of our oceans, The Gulf of Mexico Trust and partners will conduct a statewide, month-long cleanup and awareness campaign in May 2025. Cleanup efforts will focus on 11 major rivers and 7 bays in Texas. As a part of this effort, cleanup partners will collect data on the type and volume of trash collected to support solutions addressing the root causes of excessive litter.

Together, we will work towards a Trash Free Gulf.

MORE ABOUT THE GULF OF MEXICO TRUST

Chasing the Tide now airing on Texas PBS stations and streaming online!

Chasing the Tide is a six-part documentary series showcasing the beauty, challenges, and resilience of the Texas coastline. This series joins Chrissy and Jay Kleberg and a team of cinematographers on an extraordinary journey, as they walk every inch of Texas’ coastline from the Louisiana border to the Rio Grande.

VIEW CHASING THE TIDE STREAMING SCHEDULE

TPWF Ambassador Spotlight: Kimberly Ratcliff

Photo By: Jeff Wilson

Kimberly Ratcliff left a prosperous marketing career on Wall Street in 2007 to help transform the sprawling 2,500-acre Caney Creek Ranch near Oakwood into a bold family legacy. For the last 17 years, Kimberly and her father have worked hand-in-glove to manage and scale the ranch.

With Kimberly’s mind for marketing, she has helped turn the ranch into a diverse and profitable business with global possibilities through Ratcliff Premium Meats, which sells high quality ranch-direct beef from their ranch and local producers.

“We started with one little ice chest at the Frisco farmers market, and now we’re selling between 70,000 and 90,000 pounds of beef per month to families through our website and at the farmers market, as well as wholesale to restaurants, hotels and chefs nationwide,” said Kimberly.

As Kimberly builds a legacy for her family and her community, she knows that sustainable agricultural practices will ensure the longevity of that legacy. “Our family’s focus on sustainable farming practices doesn’t simply protect the earth; it allows us to keep this ranch going for future generations. Multigenerational ranch families like mine are the backbone to our food supply and vital to our future. My goal is to look down on this ranch in 100 years and see my family still running it."

READ KIMBERLY'S FULL STORY

What else has TPWF been up to?

TPWF 2023 Annual Report

TPWD: Get the Updated Outdoor Annual

Palo Pinto Mountains State Park

Supporting Black Bears in the Trans-Pecos

Thank you to our statewide program sponsor!

The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is the leading wildlife research organization in Texas and one of the finest in the nation. Its mission is to provide science-based information for enhancing the conservation and management of wildlife in South Texas and related environments.

BECOME A STEWARD OF THE WILD

Stewards of the Wild, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s conservation leadership program, equips emerging leaders aged 21 to 45 with opportunities to actively participate in the stewardship of Texas’ wild things and wild places by providing education, networking, and outdoor experiences.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation

2914 Swiss Ave.

Dallas, Texas 75204