Tuesday, April 21, 1998

Shackelford County lauded for state's Best Wildlife Association

By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor

Folks at Albany are known for doing things right.

So it's no surprise the Shackelford County Range and Wildlife Association has been honored as the "Best Wildlife Association in the State of Texas."

Shackelford Countians received the state award the past week along with congratulations for Gov. George W. Bush in Austin ceremonies.

The association was recognized during the Lone Star Land Stewards ceremony and reception sponsored by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Private Lands Advisory Board.

The awards are given each year to recognize private landowners in Texas for excellence in habitat management and wildlife conservation. The honor also identifies outstanding examples of sound natural resource management, while generating public awareness about the conservation efforts of Texas' private landowners.

Dr. Dale Rollins, noted Texas A&M wildlife specialist, San Angelo, had recommended Shackelford County for the prestigious award.

Individuals cited for wildlife efforts

Alan Heirman, conservationist for USDA's Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), Albany was cited by Rollins for Heirman's contagious enthusiasm.

"Someone has to initiate the nerve impulses," Dr. Rollins said. "That someone is Alan Heirman.

Rollins said he ran across a Latin phrase recently - semper paratis.

It means "always ready" and pretty much describes Heirman, Rollins noted.

A German ornithologist once used the term "Zugenruhe" to describe the nervous energy that birds develop just prior to the onset of migration.

"Alan Heirman has a lot of Zugenruhe and it tends to be contagious," Rollins said. "Anybody who knows Alan Heirman knows he doesn't have a reserved bone in his body and that he's the penultimate practical joker. But he's crazy like a fox. He knows how to get people to help him; even if they're not quite sure why they're doing it. Been there, done that."

Rollins observed that Heirman draws on a great supporting cast in Shackelford County Extension Agent Rocky Vinson, Gary Franke, an NRCS colleague, and Tommy Hailey, retired TPWD biologist.

Heirman also has an understanding wife, daughters and a functional Soil and Water Conservation Board to work with on endeavors.

Shackelford County is out front in its work

Rollins has traveled extensively throughout Texas and he has never seen anything to approach Shackelford County.

"Traveling northeast from Highway 351 from Abilene your first glimpse of the county reeks of the tallgrass prairie of Osage County, Oklahoma - rolling topography that's pretty much wide open and wearing a brand of cattle country," Rollins observes.

It's still big ranch country for the most part - with names like Green, Nail, Lambshead, Newell, Cook and others.

"It's obviously a proud county, steeped in tradition and history but with good reason," Rollins noted. "Each year, their annual production of the Fort Griffin Fandangle attracts visitors from throughout Texas."

And for wildlife - Shackelford County stands alone.

"The diversity and quality of game is without rival," Rollins observes. "Deer, quail, turkeys, coyotes, feral hogs, doves and all the attendants therein. Several times a month, I get a telephone inquiry from some deep pockets in Dallas or Atlanta seeking my advice on where the best pearls (hunting leases) might be found. Often as not, I'll tell them between Abilene and the Red River - and I'd start in Shackelford County."

Landowners - interested in wildlife - from the late Watt Matthews and Bill Green to their cohorts like A.V. Jones, Bob Green and others have given Shackelford County a strong heritage in ranching and land management, and a deep-seated interest in wildlife as a product of the land, Rollins says.

From the wildlife perspective, Shackelford County is to the North Texas what Webb County or the King Ranch is to South Texas. It's got <I>the<I> reputation - and the legend is not content to rest on its laurels.

From elementary children learning about land and wildlife, to a corps of highs school youths in the Bobwhite Brigade - or ranchers from 25 to 85 - all of Shackelford County pulls together in network of grassroots effort, Rollins said.

Congratulations to Shackelford County and all of the Albany folks.

And best wishes for a speedy recovery for Alan Heirman who underwent back surgery last week in Plano.