MAN
OF THE
LAND
FRED BRYANT
PASSIONATE ABOUT
WILDLIFE AND
LIVESTOCK RESEARCH,
CONSERVATION
FRED BRYANT
WRITTEN BY: LAURA GUTSCHKE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FRED BRYANT
FRED BRYANT, PH.D. (BS, WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT, 1970) OFFERED
UNDERGRADUATES SAGE ADVICE WHEN
HE WAS AN ACADEMIC ADVISOR.
reptiles and 1,800 plant species. That’s more species than found
in the Florida Everglades.
“South Texas is a very rich area in terms of biodiversity—it’s
the second highest in the country,” said Bryant.
Such biodiversity means that the CKWRI’s research is applicable beyond South Texas to regions across the world.
“I would tell them, if you’re going to be in school four or five
years, find something that interests you. Go where your passion is,
not just based on how much money you can make,” said Bryant.
He spoke from experience. He followed his passion of the
outdoors and today enjoys a career that combines his inquisitive
nature with nature itself. Bryant is a noted national and international researcher who specializes in livestock and wildlife management. He was a faculty member of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) before his “dream
job” was offered to him in 1996.
Today he oversees the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville as the Leroy
G. Denman, Jr. Endowed Director. Like its namesake and benefactor Caesar Kleberg (1873-1946), who was a conservation pioneer while working on the famed King Ranch, the CKWRI too is
a maverick, conducting forward-thinking wildlife conservation
and management research.
“We loved Lubbock, but coming here was a huge opportunity.
There’s more going on in wildlife management here than anywhere else,” Bryant said.
With its staff of 16 doctoral-degreed scientists, the CKWRI is
home to the largest wildlife management staff in the country,
Bryant said. The scientists specialize in deer, wild cats, quail and
other birds, habitat management, native plants and fire ecology.
“Fred has brought world-class scientists to the institute,” said
Stephen J. “Tio” Kleberg of Kingsville, a member of the CKWRI
Advisory Board and a former manager of the King Ranch. He
has known Bryant since the two were Phi Delta Theta fraternity
brothers at Texas Tech, and Kleberg has high praise for both his
professionalism and unassuming personality.
“Fred is very knowledgeable in so many subjects, and he can
speak about so many animals: deer, quail, turkeys, migratory
birds, and so on,” said Kleberg.
The CKWRI is advantageously located in the heart of South
Texas, home to 625 species of amphibians, birds, mammals,
FAMILY TRADITION
Bryant’s love of the outdoors is the product of both genetics
and environment. Raised near San Antonio, he is a fourth-generation Texan from both sides of his parents. His mother’s family farmed. Growing up Bryant’s grandfather raised sheep, goats
and cattle and enjoyed hunting, particularly deer.
Texas Tech offered Bryant a football scholarship. “I knew I
wanted to major in range and wildlife management, so I was
lucky to go to a school that had that,” said Bryant.
By his junior year, Bryant realized that he wanted to instill in
young people an interest in nature and wildlife and figured the
best way to do that was through teaching and research.
“Plus, I never got over wanting to learn more. Since I was 4 or
5 I’ve learned about the land from my grandfather,” Bryant said.
“My dad instilled learning and science in me but my love of the
outdoors and of the ranching culture came about by hanging
around my grandfather.”
With the guidance of former CASNR faculty members Dr.
Gene Coleman and Dr. Eric Bolen, Bryant set a course for graduate school.
“Dr. Bolen saw that I had more potential to learn and go to
graduate school than I probably realized at the time,” said Bryant.
After graduating from Texas Tech, Bryant taught algebra one
semester at his alma mater John Marshall High School in San
Antonio before entering the graduate program at Utah State
University in 1971. Three years later, he received his master’s
degree in wildlife biology from the university.
“At Utah State Dr. John Malechek, who was from San Angelo,
encouraged me to get my Ph.D. He was on my graduate advisory
committee, and he was a Texas Tech graduate too,” said Bryant.
In 1977, he earned his Ph.D. in Range Science from Texas
A&M University and returned to Texas Tech to teach range and
wildlife classes as an assistant professor.
27
landmarks 2006
He was named assistant to the dean in 1982. Two years later,
Bryant was appointed as associate professor. From 1987 to 1996,
he served as a professor. Concurrently, from 1993 to 1996, Bryant
was Assistant Vice Provost for research at Texas Tech.
TEACHER & RESEARCHER
Research in both livestock and wildlife management has taken Bryant to many foreign countries because of US Agency for
International Development grants totaling $5.0 million over 11
years. The federally funded research, known as the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP), was part
of an overall U.S. initiative launched in 1977 to tackle poverty
and hunger by sponsoring experts at American universities to
work with agriculture industries in developing countries.
Bryant was principal investigator for projects in Peru, Morocco
and Bolivia. He also traveled to Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Australia, Ecuador, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger on research projects.
“We were transferring technology and research to help the
poorest of the poor. We worked on raising sheep, goats and other livestock on small land-holdings, and we also worked with
students in those other countries to help them to be able to
teach and train others there,” said Bryant.
He received additional grants over the years for other projects
and has been published extensively in both academic and popular
publications. Bryant also was involved with many college and university committees, and he helped start Agri-Techsans, a student
organization that aids the CASNR in recruiting new students.
increased state and federal grants. Bryant also has developed a
rapport with area landowners, who often make their land accessible for research. Some landowners are even helping on projects, such as monitoring and documenting migratory bird patterns across their property.
“Fred has really endeared himself to the ranching community,” said Tio Kleberg. “The landowners want to know what animals, plants and habitats they have on their land, and Fred helps
them with that. He works with them to let them know what they
have and how they can protect it.”
Bryant defers credit for the fund-raising success to members of
the CKWRI’s Advisory Board. (Two Texas Tech alumni serve on
the 15-member board: Tio Kleberg and Diane Scovell of Dallas.)
IN HIS NATURE
NATIVE TEXAN NEVER TIRES OF LEARNING MORE
ABOUT WILDLIFE, LAND MANAGEMENT
At the CKWRI, Bryant’s day-to-day responsibilities include
ranch visits, fund-raising, legislative relations, public speaking,
meeting with landowners, public relations and management of
the research staff and facilities.
Bryant helped initiate a $15 million capital and endowment
campaign to upgrade and expand facilities, add staff scientists
and broaden research initiatives. As a result, in the last four years
a wildlife pathology lab, research aviary and the Caesar Kleberg
Wildlife Center, a conference center for public education have
been constructed on a showcase 35-acre facility called the “Tio and
Janell Kleberg Wildlife Research Park”. Ground breaking on an
ungulate facility for hoofed mammals is scheduled for 2006, and
underwriting is being sought for a carnivore captive facility.
Additionally, staff scientists have grown from eight to 16, and
more than 50 graduate students study at the CKWRI. And, the
institute has engaged in more collaborative research because of
landmarks 2006 28
“I’ve learned a lot about fund-raising from the Advisory Board
members. They are sophisticated in their fund-raising efforts,
and they are very passionate about the work we do,” said Bryant.
He likewise continues to be as passionate about habitat and
wildlife conservation as he was as a youngster walking the land
with relatives. And, what he is most proud of is what first attracted him to teaching: the opportunity to work with young people.
“All the students I had—whether they were undergraduate
or graduate students—are the highlight of my career. I run into
former students all the time and I see that they have succeeded
in their lives, and I’ve got to feel that I had a small part in that,”
said Bryant.
• 2005 Sam L. Beasom Conservation Leader Award, The Texas
Wildlife Association
• Outstanding National Publication Award, The Wildlife
Society 2001
• Fellow Award, Society for Range Management
PUBLICATIONS/SYMPOSIUMS
• Three books, four book chapters, 2 monographs, 60 refereed
journal articles, 27 bulletins and symposiums, 21 popular
journal articles and 73 abstracts. He also has presented papers
at 19 international and 99 national symposiums.
• Bryant has been an active member of Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation, serving on its Board of Directors from 19962002; Boone and Crockett Club; The Wildlife Society; and Society for Range Management. Bryant served as President of the
International Society for Range Management in 1995.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
FACT FILE
FAMILY
• The Bryant family’s blood runs Raider Red. Fred met his wife,
Janis, in high school, and she and the couple’s three children
are also alumni. Janis (English, 1968) is the Assistant Dean of
Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
• Their children are: Lisa (BBA in Finance, 1993) who works for
J.P. Morgan in New York City; Clint (BBA in Finance, 1996)
who was an All-American baseball player at Texas Tech and
now works for Wachovia Bank in Dallas; and Coy (B.S. in Civil
Engineering, 2000) who works for ExxonMobile in Houston.
• Bryant is a member of First United Methodist Church in
Kingsville. He also is an in-demand public speaker. While in
Lubbock, he was a leader in church, parent-school organizations and youth baseball and other sports groups.
HIS EXPERT OPINION
Bryant shares his perspective on some of today’s pressing wildlife and land management issues:
• Wildlife recreation/ecotourism
“Wildlife recreation in the form of hunting is saving a lot of land
that could have turned into a landfill or suburbia because of urban sprawl.”
PROFESSIONAL
“Ecotourism works for some and not for others. It’s a growing
industry, but you have to have a good business plan. And, you
also have to like people, but not only that, you have to like having people on your land.”
Honors include:
• High fencing of deer
• Outstanding Researcher of the Year, 1986, CASNR, TTU
“The high fence itself it not unethical, but it becomes an issue
if it confines wildlife into too small a space. And, the right size
land for high fencing depends on the condition of the habitat.”
• Fred and Janis have six grandchildren.
• President’s Academic Achievement Award, 1989, TTU
• Professional Achievement Award, 1996, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University
• Distinguished Alumnus for 2002, CASNR, TTU
• Dean’s Excellence Award, 2003, College of Agriculture and
Human Sciences, Texas A&M-Kingsville
• Outstanding Technical Publication Award, 1983, 1994, 1999,
2003, 2004, Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society
• Feral hogs
“We have several studies going on right now about feral hogs.
They are now in areas I never thought they’d be. The problem
is they have no natural predators, they have two litters a year,
with about five to six in a litter, and they’ll eat anything. One of
the studies we have underway is trying to figure out a way to
control them.”
29 landmarks 2006