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Like mother, like daughtersKerrCounty IHunting:Sisters, mother runWest Kerr Ranch
By Thomas PhillipsTimes Sports Design Editor
thomas.ph ill [email protected]
The pickup eases to a stop, andAshley Kana peers into the brushoutside. She grew up at the West KerrRanch and lives and works here fulltime now. She knows just about everybush, rock and shadow.
This time, what has caught her eyeis alive: A small group of elk shufflesamidst cedar a few dozen yards away.The cows nervously trot off, and alone bull tries to hold his ground butrelents to followhis harem.
The West Kerrpresents so many in-teresting angles.
• Winner of the statewide Excel-lence in RangeManagement and LoneStar Land Steward awards;
• A massive, 1O,SOO-acretract splitoff from the YORanch;
• Run by two sisters and theirmother.
Guiding hunts, booking huntersand maintaining the deer and exoticspopulations at this converted livestockranch west of Mountain Home restswith mother Barbara Kana and sistersKelcieand Ashley.
"I've had a lot of hunters shocked atfirst," Ashley Kana said.
The shock must wear off. The Ka-nas have grown the business throughword of mouth and their Web site,Ashley said, so many hunters knowabout the ranch's situation before theymake reservations.
"My mom had a passion for hunt-ing; she taught us how to hunt," Ash-ley Kana said on a recent tour. "Shehad a passion for the land.
"My mom's not in it for the money;none of us are. You can't get rich do-ing this. We're doing it because this iswhat we love to do. It's our passion."
Being rUn by women does notseem to attract more women hunt-ers, Ashley Kana said. But fathersof daughters who see women hunt-ing seem more_inclined to hunt here,Ashley Kana said.
"1think that's attractive to a father,"she said.
Inthe fieldSpecies that hunters mainly pur-
sue are native white-tailed deer, tur-key and hogs, and exotics: axis, sika,
Thomas Phillips/Times Sports Design Editor,[email protected]
Ashley Kana stands on a deck at her family's West Kerr Ranch. Ashley,her sister, Kelcie, and mother, Barbara, manage the 1O,SOO-acrespreadand guide hunters for white-tailed deer and exotics.
fallow, Aoudad sheep, elk and black made since 1luIl's purchase, Ashleybuck antelope. The exotics, except for Kana said.the elk, carne with the property when 1luIl managed the West Kerr forBarbara Kana's father,' Bob Trull, livestock. cattle and goats decimatedbought it from the YO - legendary the vegetation, and in 1990 Barbarafor its exotics - in 1976. received permission to manage 2,500
The elk were introduced later, andno other exotic additions have been
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acres for wildlife. She took coursesthrough the Texas Parks and WildlifeDepartment to learn managementtechniques. She learned to use pre-scribed burns and began workingwith a wildlife biologist to help man-age her populations.
Eighteen years later, wildlife biolo-gist Fielding Harwell still studies thoseanimals, enclosed in the high-fencedproperty, though he now is semi-re-tired after 40 years with TPVJD.
He said managing the wildlife atthe ranch is like managing it at sevenranches because of its size and howit is divided internally into seven sub-sections by high fences. Gates on theinternal fences remain open, AshleyKana said, but they still affect thewildlife management.
The Kanas work with TPWD ontheir management program. They an-nually survey the game populationsand set harvest goals.
They have achieved a one-to-onemale-female sex ratio and are workingto improve body mass and antler size.
Hunters have 52 blinds and feed-ers to choose from when hunting theWest Kerr. Guides can escort hunt-ers all day during their hunt or dropthem off at the stand and retrievethem later.
U.S. 83 divides the ranch, with4,000 acres west of the highway. Ani-mals on the western part receive a
- protein supplement in their diet. Theadditional protein boosts body andantler size.
The ranch is noticeable whenviewed from satellite photos such as
Thomas Phillips/ [email protected]
The West Kerr Ranch sits in westernKerr County on U.S.83.
those on Google Maps. One of Barba-ra Kana's initial land treatments wasto cut swaths through the overgrowncedar brush, leaving alternatingstripes of forested and open land. Themixed landscape aids the wildlife.
The Kanas try to burn the openspaces yearly to minimize cedargrowth and promote the growth ofleafy vegetation, which deer prefer.
"This ranch was one of the firstranches in this part of the countrythat started burning," Harwell said."... It's essential to control the re-growth of cedar. It improves the habi-tat for wildlife and livestock while atthe same time controlling cedar."
"Webattle cedar," AshleyKana said.No live creeks pass through the
ranch, so windmills pump water totroughs to meet animals' needs.
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IndoorsLodging at the West Kerr provides
modest space for dozens of huntersand guests. Two cabins and a mobilehome have beds, bunk beds, diningspace and living areas.
The Game Room - that's gameas in wildlife - has walls covered intaxidermy and provides a communityspace for down time during hunts.
The buildings sit atop a hill, andthe view stretches for miles. Decksand ample seating look over theranch from the Game Room and mo-bile home.
Price and prioritiesPrices vary depending, generally,
on the species and sex of the animalsought, hunting method used, lengthof stay and other factors. Severalpackage hunts are available.
Taxidermy is available on site, and,yes, a Kana woman is involved withthat, too. Kelcie Kana began prepar-ing mounts in 1998.
West Kerr Ranchwww.westkerrranch.com(830) [email protected]
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