[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_image src=”https:\/\/elpaso2023.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/69\/2023\/09\/Jade_Ard-scaled.jpg” alt=”Illustration of a man walking into an invisible church in the wild.” title_text=”Jade_Ard” admin_label=”Hero Image” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/elpaso2023.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/69\/2023\/09\/Hero_FPO.gif” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”16px||20px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Illustrator Credit” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
ARD SU \/ NEXTGENRADIO<\/small><\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section: Reporter Standup and Project Description” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title: Project Theme: DO NOT EDIT” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||” text_text_color=”#1a1a1a” text_font_size=”29px” header_font=”Oswald|on||on|” header_text_align=”left” header_text_color=”#E02B20″ header_font_size=”60px” header_2_font_size=”27px” max_width=”450px” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
What is the meaning of<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title: Project Theme: DO NOT EDIT” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” text_text_color=”#20ace8″ text_font_size=”72px” header_font=”Oswald|on||on|” header_text_align=”left” header_text_color=”#20ace8″ header_font_size=”72px” header_3_line_height=”0em” max_width=”450px” custom_margin=”|||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n home?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#20ace8″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”3px” disabled_on=”off|off|off%22″ admin_label=”Divider: : DO NOT EDIT” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”195px” height=”false” custom_margin=”30px|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_delay=”100ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project description ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Roboto||||” text_text_color=”#1a1a1a” text_font_size=”24px” text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”450px” custom_padding=”30px|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_delay=”200ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hdfl20_LVDw” play_icon_color=”#ffffff” admin_label=”Reporter Standup Video” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” animation_direction=”bottom” animation_intensity_zoom=”6%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_text admin_label=”Standup description” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Roboto||||” text_font_size=”18px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”523px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||60px|” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_delay=”400ms” animation_intensity_slide=”4%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Jade Emerson speaks with Brian Wright, the manager of the 9,500-acre ranch in Mason, Texas. To Wright, home is something he shares with all the critters on the land, whether that\u2019s cattle he\u2019s grazing or the currently threatened Texas Horned Lizard. Wright is on a mission to combine ranching with conservation to sustain the ranch for everyone \u2014 and everything \u2014 that calls the land home. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section: Headline Area” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”26px||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” admin_label=”Headline: : DO NOT EDIT HERE” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|700|||||||” title_text_align=”left” title_font_size=”60px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E02B20″ meta_font_size=”24px” meta_line_height=”2em” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_post_title title=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” admin_label=”Byline: : DO NOT EDIT HERE” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”Oswald|700|||||||” title_text_align=”left” title_font_size=”60px” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#20ace8″ meta_font_size=”24px” meta_line_height=”2em” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/elpaso2023.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/69\/2023\/09\/NextGenElPaso2023_JADE_MASTER.mp3″ title=”Listen to the story” artist_name=”Jade Emerson” album_name=”Next Generation Radio, University of Southern California Annenberg | March 2023″ admin_label=”Audio Player” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” background_image=”https:\/\/elpaso2023.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/69\/2023\/09\/Waveform_2.png” custom_padding=”20px||20px||false|false” border_radii=”on|90px|90px|90px|90px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_audio][et_pb_toggle title=”Click here for audio transcript” admin_label=”Audio Transcript” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n (Slight sound of wind and feet crunching on dirt)<\/span><\/p>\n BRIAN WRIGHT:<\/p>\n I can’t believe that. Isn’t that the coolest thing?<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of wind and the hum of the motor of a Kawasaki MULE)<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m Brian Wright. I’m at White Ranch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And we are currently just, I mean, literally right after the sun had gone down and it started to get a little bit dark and gray. We’re driving the roads in a Kawasaki MULE and actually found one of the sweethearts of the rodeo or one of the species that I love on this ranch, and it’s a little horned lizard with beautiful markings, all kinds of different colors, camouflaging and on its belly it has lots of different spots. So they\u2019re just really unique little critters.<\/span><\/p>\n When you ask a question like, \u201cHow do I share my home with these critters?\u201d I think it’s actually the opposite. They’re sharing their home with me.<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of wind the hum of the motor fade out)<\/span><\/p>\n I work at White Ranch, which is a fifth generation ranch that in central Texas that is trying to survive and stay whole, like so many of the other ranches.<\/span><\/p>\n Gosh. I mean, how do you define rancher? It’s kinda like defining home. What is your home? What is a rancher? You know, in my case I do ride horses. I do help with cattle, sheep, and goats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of a wild boar snorting)<\/span><\/p>\n You’re, anything from the sanitation engineer taking care of septic systems to electrical problems, or, you know, plumbing problems to fixing fences. I mean, it’s nonstop.<\/span><\/p>\n Yesterday when I woke up, the cattle were in the yard. Well, somebody had left a gate open, so I had to go take the cattle back to where they were supposed to be.<\/span><\/p>\n I always liken White Ranch and what I do here as being a 13,000 piece puzzle, jigsaw puzzle, and I’ve got about three pieces in place. I mean, it’s gonna be a challenge, and it has been a challenge, but we know we’re, we’re headed in the right direction,<\/span><\/p>\n That’s part of what I’m trying to do is make the ranch sustainable. And by doing that, you need to really take care of your resources. You want to try to find that good balance. And mother nature is going to dictate what that balance is.<\/span><\/p>\n So Texas Horned Lizards\u00a0 the way that we, uh, started getting interested in them, or I did, I, I got so excited. I knew Horned Lizards from San Antonio from 50 years ago. So, but they kind of went away. As more development came in, uh, the horn lizards went away, so, you know, we lost them.<\/span><\/p>\n Urban sprawl is probably one of the hardest things on horned lizards. They starved to death more or less. So when I came out here is when I first saw my first horned lizard.<\/span><\/p>\n And they have a mystique about ’em, you know. They\u2019re, they’re kind of so ugly, they’re cute.<\/span><\/p>\n (sound of an engine accelerating and changing gear)<\/span><\/p>\n What we’re gonna be looking for as we’re driving along is if you see any motion or if you see something that looks out of place.<\/span><\/p>\n So it looks like a pancake moving across the ground, kind of. Actually, a flat football moving across the ground with horns and scales.<\/span><\/p>\n As I started seeing one and started seeing two and 10. Then I started realizing that this was someplace special\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of chain hitting a gate)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The definition of a church is a, is a building that people go and, and congregate together and, and worship.<\/span><\/p>\n And for me, it’s every time I go out and drive around.<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of an engine accelerating)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I mean, this is my house of worship. Talk about home? This is home.<\/span><\/p>\n (Sound of engine fades out)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_divider color=”#20ace8″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”3px” disabled_on=”off|off|off%22″ admin_label=”Divider: : DO NOT EDIT” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”150px” module_alignment=”center” height=”false” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”50px||||false|false” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_delay=”100ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section: Story Area” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Story Text” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Arial||||||||” text_text_color=”#353535″ text_font_size=”18px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Brian Wright savors his evening drives on the White Ranch in Mason, Texas. He lives and works on the 9,500-acre property as the ranch\u2019s manager. The drive has become one of his rituals, because Wright considers nature to be his church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat is the definition of a church \u2013 it\u2019s a building that people go and congregate together and worship,\u201d says Wright, 69. \u201cAnd for me, it’s every time I go out and drive around \u2026 I mean, this is my house of worship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On the side of the red-dirt road, a flash of movement catches his eye. He pulls over his ranch vehicle, a sage green Kawasaki Mule, and hurries to scoop up a small bundle of horns and scales. It’s a Texas Horned Lizard and it quickly flattens out like a pancake, to a size nearly as big as his hand. That\u2019s just one of its defense mechanisms to hide from predators.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u201cThey’re just unique little critters,\u201d he says. \u201cThey will squirt blood out of their eyes when you start to handle ’em if they’re really fearful. So sometimes when I’ve picked ’em up, they’ve actually squirted blood on my hand or on my shirt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Wright flips the lizard over and points at the spots on its cream-colored stomach. He explains that the spots are kind of like a fingerprint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To Wright, this lizard is the \u201csweetheart of the rodeo\u201d \u2014 horns and all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey have a mystique about ’em, you know. They’re kind of so ugly, they’re cute,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”17px|0px|3px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/elpaso2023.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/69\/2023\/09\/Brian-Wright-13.jpg” alt=”Close shot of a Texas Horned Lizard resting on Brian Wright\u2019s fingers.” title_text=”Brian Wright-13″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”CAPTION TEXT” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Brian Wright holds a Texas Horned Lizard, a threatened species, in his hand which he caught on the side of the road at White Ranch in Mason, Texas on Sept. 4. Wright affectionately calls the lizards the \u201csweethearts of the rodeo.\u201d<\/p>\n JADE EMERSON \/ NEXTGENRADIO<\/small><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#20ace8″ admin_label=”Divider: NOTHING TO EDIT HERE” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]\u00a0 [\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”17px|0px|3px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Story Text” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Arial||||||||” text_text_color=”#696969″ text_font_size=”24px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Facing a threat<\/b><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Story Text” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Arial||||||||” text_text_color=”#353535″ text_font_size=”18px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Over the past <\/span>60 years<\/span><\/a>, Texas Horned Lizards have been disappearing in many parts of the state. Insecticides have almost completely wiped out their food source of native ants, and invasive fire ants can kill the baby lizards. Horned lizards also face habitat loss from urban development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n