BORDERLANDS BULLETIN

Conserving the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands

through research, education, and outreach.

San Antonio Women Honored as West Texas Conservationists of the Year

Roxana Catto Hayne (left) and Ruthie Bowman Russell were honored as the 2023 West Texas Conservationists of the year.

The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) celebrated the second annual West Texas Conservationists of the Year award ceremony at the San Antonio Country Club on April 12. The event was hosted by the Borderlands Research Foundation, the charitable arm of BRI.

The honorees, Roxana (Roxie) Catto Hayne and Ruthie Bowman Russell, are longtime leaders in West Texas conservation. Their leadership was recognized with a program that included highlights of their work in West Texas, and each honoree received a bronze statue of quail created by artist John Kobald.

Hayne’s ranching heritage goes back to 1883 with the A.S. Gage Ranch located in Brewster and Presidio counties. The ranch flourished under the leadership of her grandfather Alfred S. Gage’s management. Roxie and her family have continued the ranching tradition on the Catto-Gage Ranch with an emphasis on conservation of natural resources, and it supports a diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats that thrive alongside well-managed cattle herds thanks to the family’s dedication. The ranch was honored with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s prestigious Lone Star Land Steward Award in 2007.

Russell inherited her conservation values and love of West Texas from her grandmother, Verna Hooks McLean, who preached about how important it was to respect nature and improve the land. Russell took the lessons to heart and devoted her life to land and wildlife conservation. She and husband Johnny manage multiple ranches in Texas, including the 101 Ranch in West Texas and the Sycamore Springs Ranch on the Devils River, which holds a conservation easement through the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and was honored with a Lone Star Land Steward Award from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 2014.

To see more photos from the evening, visit our Flickr account.

View tribute videos of each honoree on our YouTube site, linked here at Roxie’s video and Ruthie’s video.

BRI Student Spotlight: Maya Ressler

BRI graduate assistant Maya Ressler taking in the view from the South Rim trail in Big Bend National Park.

Maya Ressler fell in love with Big Bend and West Texas when her father took her to Big Bend National Park for her sixteenth birthday.

“It totally changed my world,” said Maya. “I was trying to figure out what I was going to do career-wise and where I would go to school. I learned about wildlife biology from the park rangers, and I decided right then and there that I wanted to do something that puts me outside in a beautiful place like West Texas.”

Growing up mostly in Austin, Maya decided to stay close to home for her bachelor’s, and she earned a degree in wildlife biology from Texas State University in San Marcos in 2020. She began building her conservation network and some wonderful field experiences further cemented her interest in a wildlife-related career.

Several of her mentors and friends encouraged her to continue her education, and she continued to volunteer for field work, including for a project in West Texas.

“That’s when I met Dr. Ryan Luna, who told me about the quail research program at Borderlands Research Institute. I enrolled, was accepted, and am just thrilled to be out here in West Texas.”

Project Spotlight: Montezuma Quail

BRI graduate assistant Maya Ressler with fellow student Ryan Keeling recording field data at The Nature Conservancy's Davis Mountains Preserve, where much of Maya's research was conducted.

This study uses models to examine two possible issues affecting Montezuma quail in the Davis Mountains of Jeff Davis County, West Texas. One model examines the effects of extreme climatic events on simulated Montezuma quail populations, while the other model examines the presence of feral pigs to estimate how their habitat overlaps with Montezuma quail habitat.

Conservation Artist Suzi Davidoff

The Borderlands Research Institute highlights artists whose work makes a connection between art and conservation in the Greater Big Bend region, in hopes of inspiring greater efforts toward land, wildlife and resource conservation there. We are pleased to share the work of Suzi Davidoff, an artist based in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas, as a Big Bend Artist for Conservation.

Suzi’s work explores themes of sustainability in the natural world through intimate drawings and prints that portray fine details of flora and fauna expanded in dreamy layers. Her connection to and passion for the natural world, and the deep concern she harbors for vanishing species, inform the work.

$50,000 for 50 Years

“I’ve been to the top of all of these mountains,” Carl Ryan softly exclaimed. And so began his tale of falling in love with West Texas lands.

Carl Ryan fell long and hard for the Davis Mountains when he was just 10 years old, as a summer camp attendee at the Prude Ranch in Fort Davis. Decades later, this part of West Texas remains close to his heart.

Carl sees Sul Ross State University, his alma mater, as having incredible potential to positively impact the region he loves. He is an active board member of the Borderlands Research Foundation, the charitable arm of Borderlands Research Institute, located at Sul Ross.

“We share the same conservation goals. It’s important to be able to rely on someone who can give us information about the challenges we face. The Borderlands Research Institute is important to Trans-Pecos landowners and to all the people who will inherit the Trans-Pecos,” Carl said.

In honor of his 50-year anniversary of graduating from Sul Ross, Carl pledged $50,000 to the Borderlands Research Institute.

“We are so appreciative of Carl’s support to Borderlands Research Institute and Sul Ross State University,” said Dr. Louis A. Harveson, who is the Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., Endowed Director of Borderlands Research Institute. “Carl has inspired us all with his commitment to conserving the land he loves, and this major gift will help ensure that BRI’s focus on wildlife and conservation research will remain strong in the years and decades to come.”

Borderlands Buzz: Montezuma Quail

Montezuma quail are the least-researched species of quail in Texas. Borderlands Research Institute grad students are changing that, one research project at a time. Fortunately, organizations like the Quail Coalition are making these studies possible with their financial support. Listen in on our latest podcast with BRI’s Dr. Ryan Luna, Quail Coalition executive director Jay Stine and BRI graduate assistant Maya Ressler to learn more.

LISTEN

BRI Celebrates 15 Years

We’re celebrating 15 years of BRI’s conservation mission, and to mark the occasion, we’re presenting a series of short videos. In this one, our James A. "Buddy" Davidson Charitable Foundation Professor Dr. Maureen G. Frank speaks about how everyone has a place at the table when it comes to conservation issues. Watch this and other videos on our YouTube page.

VIEW VIDEO

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