Tuesday, September 13, 1988/The Battalion/Page 7
Drought causes shortage of hay ;
livestock in danger of starvation
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By Jamie Conley
Reporter
I It looks like it might be a long,
told and possibly hungry winter for
^ome of the livestock in Texas, as al
most 30 percent of the state is suffer
ing from a shortage in hay supplies.
According to a weekly forage re-
jort released by the Texas Agricul
tural Extension Service, the short-
iges are most pronounced in East
Texas, Northeast Texas, South
Texas and the Coastal Bend region.
Dr. Chester Fehlis, the state
Reader for county extension pro-
jrams, said that drought is the major
factor behind the shortage.
“The Panhandle and West Texas
have received an unusually high per
centage of rain,” Fehlis said. “But
because East Texas, the state’s pri
mary hay producer, has been hit
hard by the drought, the hay short
age is more severe than normal.”
Fehlis said, however, the shortage
will have little affect on the Bryan-
College Station area.
“The county is a little below nor
mal in its hay supply,” he said. “But
since we (Bryan-College Station) are
traditionally a big supplier, we will
still have an adecjuate amount.”
To cattle and horse raisers, the
shortage will mean a cost increase in
maintaining their livestock during
the winter. Along with a 20-40 per
cent hike in hay prices, some will
have to contend with the added ex
pense of transporting the hay, he
said. Because of its bulky nature, the
hay is difficult to move, which adds
to the transporting price, he said.
There are, however, hay produc
ers in a number of counties with hay
for sell, Fehlis said.
To help with the shortage prob
lem, these producers are harvesting
as much hay as possible before the
end of the growing season this
month, he said.
They are hoping to enter the win
ter season with a large forage to help
the ‘hay-poor’ producers with their
supplemental feeding period, he
said.
This period begins with the first
anc j l as t s until the first sprincr
growth.
The county Extension agents in
those counties with hay for sale are
keeping a current listing of individu
als with a surplus of hay and the
quantity that is available at this time,
Fehlis said.
“To help solve the problem we
need to match those people with hay
shortages and those with hay surplu
ses,'” Fehlis said. “Anyone wanting to
buy hay should contact his local
county Extension office for assistan
ce.”
According to the most recent for
age report, 1,012 producers are of
fering some 75,060 tons for sale.
Counties with the largest volume
of hay for sale include Hamilton,
Henderson, Leon, Limestone, Ran
dall, Smith and Van Zandt.
Man tears
garden apart
after break-in
HOUSTON (AP) — Flowers
and plants that surrounded a
house in a poor neighborhood
were uprooted by the man who
rented the home after he was
forced to move because burglars
stole nearly everything he owned.
“They (burglars) usually break
in once a year, but they hit me
two times last week and stole ev
erything but my bedstead and
clothes,” said Cleveland Turner,
53, who worked five years on the
yard and tore it down last week.
His home and its bright sur
roundings had once been a bright
spot in Houston’s Third Ward.
The yard was full of flowers and
plants and was surrounded by
scraps of lumber that were
painted mostly red, blue and
green.
It also was full of adornments
such as plastic swans, a picture of
jjesus Christ and a wood cutout of
Alickey Mouse.
But Turner, frustrated over
the two recent burglaries, tore
down the bright surroundings
and moved from the three-room
house to another rental home
about two miles away,
“I just couldn’t (jut it anymore,”
he said.
Congress OK’s appropriation
to guard endangered species
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legis
lation is on its way to President Rea-
gan’.s desk setting aside $15.5 million
to buy the last bit of privately held
land on Matagorda Island, wintering
grounds for the endangered whoop
ing crane, and to expand a wildlife
corridor along the Rio Grande.
The Interior Department appro
priations bill authorizes $10 million
for the purchase of approximately
7,700 acres to be added to the Lower
Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife
Refuge, home of the bald eagle, per
egrine falcon, jaguarundi and oce
lot.
The measure, passed by Congress
last week, also calls for spending
$5.5 million to purchase 5,017 acres
at the southern tip of Matagorda Is
land, congressional officials say. The
purchase will be the federal govern
ment’s third and final acquisition
from the Texas Nature Conservancy
for the 11,602-acre Wynne family
ranch on the Gull Coast barrier is
land south of Victoria.
While ownership of the rest of the
55,396-acre island is split between
the state and federal government,
the Texas Parks and Wildlife De
partment manages the entire parcel
and had sought control of the
Wynne ranch.
But officials say politics and per
sonalities entered into the picture,
with the prevailing sentiment that
the federal government should man
age lands it has purhcased under the
Endangered Species Act.
State officials, however, say the
fight isn’t over.
“We’re going to try next year to
get control of the Wynne property,”
Mark Schnabel, natural resources
coordinator for the Texas Office of
State-Federal Relations, said.
The island has emerged as impor
tant wintering grounds for the
world’s only flock of cranes that
breeds in the wild, as its population
expands and outgrows the tradi
tional winter home on nearby Aran
sas National Wildlife Refuge.
David Cottom, spokesman for the,
Texas Wildlife Department, said the
agency’s proposed plan for the
Wynne ranch contended that uni
fied management of all lands on
Matagorda would be in the best in
terest of the habitat and the many
species of animals, including 20 that
are endangered or threatened.
“We have an excellent record and
are recognized nationally for man
agement of wetlands habitat and, in
particular, that area where whoop
ing cranes are on the island,” Cot
tom said.
Bruce Thompson, in charge of
the stale’s non-game and endan
gered species program, said as many
as 150 tvhoop'ing cranes are ex
pected to make the journey this fall
from Northwest Territories, Can
ada, to Texas. Last year, 134 cranes
wintered in Texas.
Another flock of about 20 winters
in New Mexico and summers in
Idaho, but Thompson said those
cranes have not yet reproduced in
the wild. A flock of about 40 is kept
in captivity at the Patuxent Wildlife
Refuge in Maryland.
The $10 million appropriation for
land along the Rio Grande is among
the largest single acquisitions for
wildlife in Texas approved by the
federal government, congressional
staffers said.
The land will augment a wildlife
corridor between Falcon Dam and
the mouth of the Rio Grande, one of
the nation’s richest areas for plants
and animals.
The thorny brushland is home to
56 types of birds and animals facing
extinction, says Sen. Lloyd Bentsen,
D-Texas. It is the only remaining
natural habitat with a subtropical cli
mate in the United States, has the
country’s only remaining native
palm grove, and nine species are on
the endangered species list.
Since the establishment of the
south Texas refuge, the U.S. De
partment of Fish and Wildlife has
been able to protect 25,887 acres of
land. The service has identified
107,500 acres it would like to see
protected, Bentsen said.
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The Student Chapter
THE
AGGIE
CLUB
The Aggie Club
Student Chapter
is holding it's first
membership meeting of the school year.
All students are invited to
attend. Scheduled to speak are
Arno Krebbs, President of the Aggie Club,
and Coach Jackie Sherrill.
Come and renew your membership or
come join and get involved.
Thurs., Sept. 15,1988
8:00 P.M.
G. Rollie White
Coliseum
Make money while gaining
valuable work experience as a
Battalion
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Must be a student enrolled in TAMU
Must have a car
Sale experience desired but not necessary
For more information call
845-2696 845-2697
OFFICIAL NOTICE TO TEXAS A&M
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
In the past, certain information has been made public by Texas
A&M University as a service to students, families, and other interested
individuals.
Under the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974”, the
following directory information may be made public unless the student
desires to withhold any or all of this information.
Student’s name, address (local and permanent), telephone listing,
date and place of birth, sex, nationality, race, major, classification, dates
of attendance, class schedule, degrees awarded,awards or honors,
class standing, previous institution or educational agency attended by
the student, parent’s name and address, sports participation, weight
and height of athletic team members, parking permit information, and
photograph.
Any student wishing to withhold any or all of this information should
fill out, in person, the appropriate form, available to all students at the
Registrar’s Office, Room 112, Records Section, no later than 5:00 p.m.,
Friday September 16, 1988
Donald D. Carter
Registrar
Students! Work Smart.
Work Simply...
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\aggie
inema/
Le declin de Tempire Americain
Un film de Denys Arcand
En Francais avec sous-titres en Anglais
New York Critics Award
Best Foreign Film for 1986
Tuesday
September
WINNER
INTERNATION AJ.
ASSOCIATION OF
FILM CRITICS AWARD J
CANNES FILM
FESTIVAL
1986
7:30 PM
Rudder Theatre
"Delicious
decadence"
—Village Voice
"Spontaneously
funny”
-N.Y. Times
"A triumph"
Times
The Decline of the American Empire
A film by Denys Arcand
In French with English sub-titles
Tickets $2.50 w/TAMU ID
Today is the last day to buy
our International Film Series
discount season pass!
They're only $12.00!
Co-sponsored by MSC Jordan Institute.