Inaugural Ladies Herpathon Terlingua, Texas

[klawnskale]

Okay, now that the job schedule is all squared away we would like to officially announce that we are (Klawnskale, Tamara, &Hadar) organizing a weekend Ladies Only Herpathon based out of one of the lovely ranch properties owned by Forum participant Daryl Eby. We would like other herper ladies to attend and join the fun and explore. Who knows; maybe we can give the guys a run for their money finding and documenting herp species. So, if you are a contributor to the HERP Database, a chance to gather more entries. Not to mention photos. We won't know unless we give it a try. A chance to hone your field skills and share some quality time with others. I will emphasize here that there will be NO COLLECTING permitted. I will also post here a link to the State of Texas Wildlife Regs for all participants to inform themselves with. I strongly endorse the purchase of a Non Resident Special Hunting Permit ($132.00) with Reptile and Amphibian Stamp ($10.00) as required by Texas Parks and Wildlife. Below is a link to the webpage. Please feel free to PM anyone of us with ideas to make it fun such as cookouts, booze, whatever amuses you… Hope to hear from you gals! We have pinned it down to two possible weekend slots. Please take the poll and let us know what works best for you

http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/licenses ... reational/

[Hadar]

Hey Hannah,

Thanks for posting this poll. I look forward to this female herpathon.

The "Reptile and Amphibian Endorsement" for $10 is for "capturing indigenous reptiles or amphibians on the shoulder of a public road or any unpaved area of a public right of way" according to the TPWD website. It looks like there is a 5 day non-resident special hunting permit that could work for this trip so participants are only paying $48 instead of $132. After looking over the TPWD site, it seems diamonback terrapins are completely off limits and there is a regulation which states, "No person may use artificial light from a motor vehicle to locate, capture, or attempt to capture a reptile or amphibian"? Does that mean no road cruising?

I can contact some of my friends at TPWD to see if they can clarify. Unfortunately they are all men, otherwise I would invite them to join us.

Cheers, Heather

[Hadar]

We wouldn't be able to herp in the National Park (too many regulations) but I wouldn't mind checking out Big Bend while we are so close, if anyone else is interested.

[Soopaman]

The "Reptile and Amphibian Endorsement" for $10 is for "capturing indigenous reptiles or amphibians on the shoulder of a public road or any unpaved area of a public right of way" according to the TPWD website. It looks like there is a 5 day non-resident special hunting permit that could work for this trip so participants are only paying $48 instead of $132. After looking over the TPWD site, it seems diamonback terrapins are completely off limits and there is a regulation which states, "No person may use artificial light from a motor vehicle to locate, capture, or attempt to capture a reptile or amphibian"? Does that mean no road cruising?

I can contact some of my friends at TPWD to see if they can clarify. Unfortunately they are all men, otherwise I would invite them to join us.

Cheers, Heather

Night road cruising is technically illegal (yet the light of day is apparently okay...) If you get out and just observe an animal without handling it, then it's not an issue, but as soon as you pick it up it's technically against the law.

Animals from the shoulder to the fence may be walked up, and this is one of the most common styles of herping in west Texas, though it's efficacy and entertainment value is questionable.

All participants will need an ANSI Class 3 safety vest to comply with the law as well.

You won't have to worry about diamondback terrapins out west. But they can be observed around Galveston if anyone stops by there en route.

I'd recommend looking up Sky Stevens on Facebook, a female herper from Alpine, for advice on herping the area and compliance with the law.

[klawnskale]

Soopaman: thank you for that valuable information. It is greatly appreciated. Maybe we could get Sky Stevens to join us.
Heather: the 5 day permit would definitely work and save us money.

[Hadar]

The "Reptile and Amphibian Endorsement" for $10 is for "capturing indigenous reptiles or amphibians on the shoulder of a public road or any unpaved area of a public right of way" according to the TPWD website. It looks like there is a 5 day non-resident special hunting permit that could work for this trip so participants are only paying $48 instead of $132. After looking over the TPWD site, it seems diamonback terrapins are completely off limits and there is a regulation which states, "No person may use artificial light from a motor vehicle to locate, capture, or attempt to capture a reptile or amphibian"? Does that mean no road cruising?

I can contact some of my friends at TPWD to see if they can clarify. Unfortunately they are all men, otherwise I would invite them to join us.

Cheers, Heather

Night road cruising is technically illegal (yet the light of day is apparently okay...) If you get out and just observe an animal without handling it, then it's not an issue, but as soon as you pick it up it's technically against the law.

Animals from the shoulder to the fence may be walked up, and this is one of the most common styles of herping in west Texas, though it's efficacy and entertainment value is questionable.

All participants will need an ANSI Class 3 safety vest to comply with the law as well.

You won't have to worry about diamondback terrapins out west. But they can be observed around Galveston if anyone stops by there en route.

I'd recommend looking up Sky Stevens on Facebook, a female herper from Alpine, for advice on herping the area and compliance with the law.

Thanks Soopaman for the advice! I was thinking of coming early or staying a few extra days to herp in Roby, TX with a friend from the Dallas Zoo.

[Soopaman]

Soopaman: thank you for that valuable information. It is greatly appreciated. Maybe we could get Sky Stevens to join us.
Heather: the 5 day permit would definitely work and save us money.

I'm not sure if she'll be around to join you. She was finishing up her master's degree and looking for PhD positions and did not plan to still be living in west Texas this summer, but she could still be there. Regardless, she's a great resource for the area and can guide you for great success in seeing some cool stuff. Also knows the best places to eat! Cowdog in Alpine being a favorite of mine.

And I'm sure y'all are already aware, but day herping is almost non-existant in west Texas in the summer, at least at the low elevations along the river near Terlingua. If there's an aspirations to hike and see things in the day, I recommend early mornings or a couple hours before dusk in the Davis Mountains. It may even be good to start there and cruise herp it at dusk and then head back down to the river to herp there as temps fall. Temperatures may not be so extreme with this El Nino year, but the first year I went to west Texas and herped the River road, near Terlingua, the air temperature was 100°F at midnight!

[klawnskale]

Soopaman: thank you for that valuable information. It is greatly appreciated. Maybe we could get Sky Stevens to join us.
Heather: the 5 day permit would definitely work and save us money.

I'm not sure if she'll be around to join you. She was finishing up her master's degree and looking for PhD positions and did not plan to still be living in west Texas this summer, but she could still be there. Regardless, she's a great resource for the area and can guide you for great success in seeing some cool stuff. Also knows the best places to eat! Cowdog in Alpine being a favorite of mine.

And I'm sure y'all are already aware, but day herping is almost non-existant in west Texas in the summer, at least at the low elevations along the river near Terlingua. If there's an aspirations to hike and see things in the day, I recommend early mornings or a couple hours before dusk in the Davis Mountains. It may even be good to start there and cruise herp it at dusk and then head back down to the river to herp there as temps fall. Temperatures may not be so extreme with this El Nino year, but the first year I went to west Texas and herped the River road, near Terlingua, the air temperature was 100°F at midnight!

I figured it would start getting hot that time of year. But then being a desert rat that has worked under those conditions, I am adaptable. From my experience as you suggested, early mornings would work best (and ladies, please take lots of water,sunscreen, and a hat for those walks!) then take that afternoon siesta and commence again at dusk. The animals pretty much follow that type schedule under those conditions and won't be out and about in the mid afternoon heat. It starts to heat up real fast by noon. That is the usual schedule I have followed working in summer heat. The Davis Mountains are one of the locations I was hoping to check out.

[klawnskale]

If anyone is curious about the ranch and its amenities where we plan to stay in Terlingua for this trip here is their website. We would be able to select from a group offering different house models to stay in (also depending on how many participate). All costs would be shared:

http://www.bigbendvacations.com/#!retreat/c6wb

[Hadar]

If anyone is curious about the ranch and its amenities where we plan to stay in Terlingua for this trip here is their website. We would be able to select from a group offering different house models to stay in (also depending on how many participate). All costs would be shared:

http://www.bigbendvacations.com/#!retreat/c6wb

The ranch looks amazing!

[klawnskale]

The event has been postponed until further notice. Work schedules and financial issues have put it on the back burner. Hopefully it will re-emerge sometime in the near future.

[Hadar]

The event has been postponed until further notice. Work schedules and financial issues have put it on the back burner. Hopefully it will re-emerge sometime in the near future.

Oh no! Hannah, how many people said they were interested in joining?

Cheers, Heather

[regalringneck]

.. bummer, i was looking 4ward to vicariously njoying your outing via your posts here : {

Ive thought about using the amtrak to get to alpine, rent a car & do a davis mtns/bigbend trip myself, car-camping but havent ever put a hard comitment 2gether. As tx gets increasingly nutty about herpers, the idea has somewhat faded ... + florida's just a plane ticket furthur & they appreciate eco-tourists.

If you gals do put a plan 2gether, i have a bit of tx info aggregated over the years & would share if 1 of you pm'd me an email domain 2 send it to.

[klawnskale]

The event has been postponed until further notice. Work schedules and financial issues have put it on the back burner. Hopefully it will re-emerge sometime in the near future.

Oh no! Hannah, how many people said they were interested in joining?

Cheers, Heather

There were only 4 voting in the poll; and all were unanimous about it happening later in June. Looks like my work schedule in the Mojave will most likely run into the first week of July and then I will probably have to go back up to Sacramento to return all the equipment and other logistical stuff with the other research techs. Hopefully next go round we can generate more interest in such an event because I think it could be awesome. Tamara had a terrible accident with some of her birds which ran up high vet bills.

[Tamara D. McConnell]

Let's keep this idea alive and plan for another outing. The ranch sounds sooooo wonderful. I am so sorry I had to drop out for this round. I am considering this rain-checked, not canceled.