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Cross Bar Ranch

The Cross Bar Ranch is a 34,000 acre wildlife research preserve located along the Canadian River in northern Potter County, about 10 miles north of Amarillo, Texas. It is home to the Cross Bar Cooperative Management Area, a 12,000 acre prairie site owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and co-managed by West Texas A&M University.

The Cross Bar serves as an outdoor classroom for students, who in turn provide expertise and manpower to help accomplish the property management objectives of the BLM, improving the ecology and environmental aspects of the site. WTAMU’s Wildlife Biology Program offers a degree for those who wish to become professional wildlife biologists. A wildlife biologist is responsible for preserving lands in a condition that wildlife can use for survival and successful reproduction. Wildlife biologists also control hunting seasons and oversee situations where conventional agriculture, forestry and range management cause conditions where some animal species may become pests. They are responsible for reducing negative interactions between wildlife and people.