Chaparral Wildlife Management Area

Chaparral Wildlife Management Area covers about 15,200 acres of South Texas brush in La Salle and Dimmit counties, eight miles west of Artesia Wells on FM 133. Texas Parks and Wildlife bought it in 1969 with Pittman-Robertson funds, from a federal excise tax on hunting gear, to serve as a research and demonstration area for the Rio Grande Plains. Before that it was part of a cattle ranch the Light family owned from the early 1900s.

This is the brush country that surrounds the Winter Garden farms. About 65 percent of the area was mechanically treated to reduce brush before the 1960s, and vegetation is monitored to see how management practices work. The studies cover white-tailed deer, javelina, feral hogs, bobwhite quail, Texas tortoises and Texas horned lizards. Oil and gas well sites, seismic lines and pipelines still cross the area.

The department allows general public use without interruption from April 1 through August 31; for other dates, contact the area manager. A half-mile wheelchair-accessible nature trail, Arena Rojo, circles the headquarters, and a campsite has an accessible restroom except during hunts. Public hunts require permits. Bring water and sun protection.