About

THE LEGACY OF CAESAR KLEBERG

Caesar Kleberg, one of the great conservationists of his time, was born in Cuero, Texas, in 1873. At the age of 27, while working on his uncle’s ranch (the King Ranch), he witnessed the impact of wildlife being decimated by unregulated hunting. As a result, Caesar set rules for hunting on the ranch as early as 1912. He then served for 20 years on the Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission (the precursor to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), and through that organization effectively stopped all hunting of wild turkeys in the state to promote their conservation. Subsequently, he enlisted the help and support of private landowners to work at restoration efforts for deer, turkey, and quail.

In 2009, Caesar was designated as the Father of Wildlife Conservation by the Texas Legislature. Today, his name appears on university bulletin boards around the world, as the institute named for him advertises for graduate students and research scientists. In addition, his name now appears in hundreds of scientific journals and articles produced by Institute faculty, reporting discoveries about wildlife and their habitats. Fortunately for all concerned – Mr. Caesar’s legacy continues.

To learn more, visit the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute.

ABOUT THE EVENT

2021. The 175th anniversary of the formation of DeWitt County. The 40th year anniversary of the Caeser Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. The 50th year anniversary anniversary of the Useful Wild Plants of Texas Project. The perfect time for a conference about looking forward.

The world is facing significant challenges in the way the climate is affecting the polar caps, contributing to species loss, driving people inland from the coasts, and impacting land use. Going forward, we all will have to be ever mindful of protecting our survival resources. This is a great opportunity to bring the sciences – natural sciences and especially plant sciences – to the fore and expose our audience to the new possibilities being developed in the plant sciences. The Caesar Kleberg’s Legacy Event aims to bring to the fore the importance of Caesar Kleberg’s legacy of wildlife management, an especially timely topic as America faces the multiple dilemmas of population growth and the need to conserve the resources that sustain human life and provide for our needs.

WHY DEWITT COUNTY?

DeWitt County sits more or less in the center of a pie plate, with the major urban areas of San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Corpus Christi and the smaller towns of Victoria and Port Lavaca along the rim. DeWitt County is also at the intersection of several biological zones. Elements of the Rio Grande Plains can be found in southern DeWitt County, the trans-Pecos reaches into the western part of the county, and the coastal prairies reach into the eastern part. The Post Oak Belt terminates just below Goliad, and the plains from the north of Dallas run southward to terminate in DeWitt County. Click on the images below to learn more about them, and click here to see more stunning images of DeWitt County.

 Event Co-Hosts