Wildlife research in northeastern Mexico and south Texas: Past, present, and future. Doan Crider, Diana^*,1, Bryant, Fred², Guadarrama E., Enrique ³, Medellin L., Rodrigo⁴, ¹ King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Kingsville, TX, USA² Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Kingsville, TX, USA³ Asesorias Biologicas, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico⁴ Instituto de Ecologia, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

ABSTRACT- Collaborative wildlife research efforts are increasing between northeastern Mexico and south Texas because of similar ecological and political interests along the border region. Recent shifts in Mexican land ownership patterns, diversification of the agricultural industry, and government and public priority toward conservation issues have opened doors for international collaboration. Previous to the 1970s, much of Mexico's agriculture-related economy was highly influenced by Agrarian Reform laws which designated large tracts of land as communal land holdings, or ejidos. Over time, natural resources became over-used and unproductive, and hunting was essentially uncontrolled. In 1992, new reform laws turned the communal status of these lands into private ownership, thus causing dramatic shifts in land ownership patterns. Furthermore, the Mexican government has since placed high priority on conservation issues, partially influenced by their participation with the Convention for International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) and as a signing member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In addition, Mexico prioritized 10 key wildlife species, and introduced new laws which established wildlife management units (UMAS) and allowed landowners to benefit economically from hunting of managed wildlife populations. Public interest toward wildlife has increased dramatically, and many collaborative natural resource conservation efforts, wildlife reintroduction programs, and habitat restoration programs between private landowners and government entities have developed as a result. If these trends persist, we predict that wildlife research initiatives will increase as well.

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