Posted: Saturday, May 28, 2016 9:10 pm

By RICK KELLEY Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — Sharpshooters in helicopters will target nilgai antelope at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge sometime next month.

The helicopter cull of nilgai on Unit 4 in the northern part of the refuge will be the third this year. The first two occurred at the Bahia Grande Unit along the gulf.

“The reason for the aerial harvest is because we’re trying to do our best to help out our rancher neighbors,” refuge manager Boyd Blihovde said last week. “The fever tick has everybody worried that maybe Texas cattle are not going to be accepted in other markets — overseas or in other states.”

Reducing the number of nilgai became a major issue in 2014, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered cattle fever ticks deep inside CameronCounty and established a temporary quarantine area. Nilgai are carriers of the tick.

The refuge finds itself squarely in the middle of the temporary quarantine area zone covering 223,000 acres in CameronCounty. The decision to kill off the nilgai using helicopter gunmen may put the refuge squarely in the crosshairs of Valley sportsmen, who cherish the exotic antelope as a game animal.

more
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_25ab10ca-2542-11e6-946c-7f75ae08a824.html

Typical why not have hunts for those excess animals, if those hunts are not sucssfulenough then take that route

..What KMON sez Plus a hunnert +'s...Jeez Louise ...Federal Game Management at it's finest, what's next? the introduction & re establishment of the Mexican Red Wolf...Oh! I fergot we're talking about the Local Cattlemen's best interests being protected.

What a waste of a very desirable rsource & meat.
Ron

Yep.

Yelp, knew this would happen when the found a few carrying fever ticks.

Sad

X2
That what I had hope would happen when TPWD took it over. Don't know where the orders came from but would like to know why they did not offers numerous hunts to knock the numbers down and give public some hunts. Not the first time they helio hunted them because of ticks. They did the same thing along the Rio Grande bottoms and Resaca's a couple of years ago. USDA, PLO, TAHC, and SWCRA pushing TPWD for quick fix?

Yeah, a terrible waste of hunter opportunity and I speak as a fellow that has applied both for the LA and LRGV system the last two years and not been drawn. The truth be told you can hunt the refuge system hard and not see a nilgai so I really don't see how the numbers are a problem. If the lands bordering the refuge are having a problem, hunt them. They are missing out on an incredible source of income.

Letters to the editors of the LRGV newspapers has worked before in stopping the helicopter hunts. I guess I will start writing. Others should do the same.

Here is some more of the article...

"Lou Powell is one of the neighbors of whom the refuge manager spoke. Powell is manager of the Buena Vista Ranch, a 12,000-acre spread intimately tied to the refuge by its location.

“We’re surrounded on three sides by ’em, so you have to get along with the 900-pound gorilla,” is how Powell describes relations with the federal government.

Powell said that since other animals can carry the cattle fever tick, like white-tailed deer, he isn’t sure culling nilgai is the answer or that killing them is even the consensus on how to approach the problem.

“It depends on who you talk to,” Powell said last week. “Some people want to get rid of all nilgai, but I don’t know of any hunter who wants to get rid of ’em. I don’t know of any private landowner who wants to get rid of them.”

When all the jokers are outted in this ???'ble deal IMO the driving force behind this agenda will be a influential private non governmental individual who is wired 6 ways from sunday into the power structure.

Not doubting or downplaying the effects of damage to domestic $ producing critters and ranchers pockebooks ...but IF ticks are being carried by OTHER host animals like WTails et al...you have to ask WHY are ONLY Nilgi being targeted for extermination from Federal Land in the name of saving the cattle from infestation by ticks???

Methinks that sumpin smells awful fishy here...WHO is the ultimate beneficiary?? As Jack Webb's character ALLUS SAID in "Dragnet" " Just the facts's m'aam, just the facts.
Just Sayin'
Ron

Follow the money. It cost money to put these cullings on. See where the money goes.

So what happens to the meat? I wouldn't mind driving down there and picking a couple of them up.
I will be waiting with my coolers at the gate.

Sounds like the same scenario when they decided to kill off elk in west Texas so that they could re-introduce the Big Horn sheep to the area.

I've tried to get drawn for the past two years at Laguna Atascosa with no success. And now, to read this! Open up the draw tags - it brings money to the area and to the Refuge!

"Stupid is as stupid does"! - Forest Gump

No need to type "Forest Gump" after that quote. lol

Local news Channel 5 reported that 27 nilgai were killed at the refuge yesterday 7/21/16 and only a few were carrying the fever tick.

I wonder how much the state is paying for the helicopter exterminations?
As compared to how much they could raise on hunting permits.

Yup, but the other thing is that they had already conducted a previous "hunt" in late May. Agree with your statement. Better yet would be other hunting options throughout the year.

Wow! Great hunting opportunities being overlooked.

Yelp had a good friend on the intial study. Saw this coming from over a year now

Friend on FB posted some ranch that was doing Helicopter exterminations and all the meat was going to be processed and given to shelters across Texas for those that ask....They were processing them in 2 lb chubs for distribution.Estimates over 20k of ground Nilgai.Not sure what ranch but they had to stop because the processing and walk ins were full...Okay found it..Trinity Oaks Ranch "partnered" with TPand W Wildlife refuge because they bordered the refuge....One strange pic tho..There is one that has meat in coolers a hog hanging and one deer that looks like a "whitetail" hanging.??

This has been going on for a while. I remember seeing somewhere the last "cull" they did, I forget how many nilgai they shot but a very SMALL % actually carried the ticks. Almost surprised they haven't targeted hogs and deer as well to stop the spread of the evil ticks.

They actually offer quite a bit of hunts at those refuges and every year a handful of nilgai are taken down (in addition to a few monster bucks). It's a tough walk-in only type of hunt and the success rate is pretty low. Anyone who is interested to apply should do so now.

Do you have a link handy for applying to these hunts?

Go to the TPWD under public hunts. They are listed under National Wildlife Refuge Hunts, have both gun and archery.

Thanks for the info. I wonder how many people apply for these hunts at the NWR? What the odds are of getting picked?

There weren't as many applicants like there is now due to the information posted on the TPW website. Even then the draw chances were slim. The only hunts that pretty much a given, were the "first come, first serve" archery hunts.