In the heat of a July afternoon, Brad and his brother Travis Wuest joined aquatic biologist Cody Craig in the shallow waters of the Cibolo Creek. The creek runs through the heart of the Natural Bridge Caverns property, owned by the Wuests. It was a busy day of wading in the water and dragging a seine, or net, to collect fish.
“We had him earlier,” said Craig after almost netting a large fish. “But he got away.”
It’s a science experiment taking place in real time. We were given the chance to join the group and help herd fish into the net. The process was fairly simple as Craig dragged the net, and we helped move the fish toward the net.
”Come on in; let’s go all the way in,” Craig instructed. “Alright. Pull it up. Alright. A lot of little guys.”
This go-round, the net was full of small fish, but important fish nonetheless. With multiple species showing, Craig was able to determine the health of Cibolo Creek.
”Not only are we interested in studying the species that call the cave system home, we also want to know all about the species that live here on the ranch, on the surface as well,” said Brad Wuest, who has long been a champion of the preservation of his family’s property. “We’ve conducted studies of the frogs and the toads here on the ranch, on smaller, lizards and reptiles; snakes. We’ve studied the bats.”
On this day though, it’s about the fish.
“I think right now we’re up to seven species. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get, you know, 15 or so species in this area,” explained Craig.
Craig knows his fish. Each time the net was pulled up, he quickly identified the species and type of fish in the seine.
”This is a huge Gambusia, which is a western mosquitofish,” explains Craig, after pulling up the net again.
He told us that while having the name western mosquitofish, this species rarely eats mosquitoes. Too bad. However, the amount, type, and size of the fish are important in this census.
“These are more lake species, just because of the flow conditions right now,” said Craig. “We may see some different species, like after a rain, big rainfall event or maybe a little bit closer to the actual springs.”
It’s this kind of information that is truly important and likely determines what the Wuests will do next.
“So, let’s say hypothetically, we find some spring-associated fishes,” said Craig. “That could change the conservation measures of Natural Bridge Caverns. What can we do to really preserve the spring flow which is important for these spring-associated fishes? So, you can take conservation measures in that way. That’s one example.”
In other words, little tweaks to how the Wuests deal with their property can go a long way to preserving the natural environment around them. The census showed that this part of Cibolo Creek is fairly healthy.
”We want to learn what we have so we can be better stewards of the land and their habitat. And then we want to share that,” said Wuest.
The family plans to continue to take inventory of the wildlife and share that with visitors to Natural Bridge Caverns.
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