This trip will include an overnight stay at 15,200 acre Chaparral Wildlife Management Area as well as visits to nearby private ranches. Participants will be acquainted with common woody plants and the mosaic structure of natural vegetation. Evening lecture will recount descriptions of the area by Spanish and French explorers between 1520 and 1700 and describe land uses that best maintain an intact ecosystem. Root plowing of native brush land and seeding of African grasses like buffel have been major factors in reducing plant and animal diversity. The economy of hunting is helping to maintain what remains of wild lands but deer management has potential indirect effects on feral pigs and neotropical birds edging northwards.