Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas form Texas Park and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

The majority of wildlife in Texas falls into the non-game category.

There are over six hundred species of birds, four hundred species of reptiles and amphibians, small mammals, and we really need every dime we can get to manage those animals properly.

Matt Wagner is program director for wildlife diversity. Money to study these species comes from the sale of Texas Horned Lizard license plates, which generate about 200-thousand dollars annually for conservation of non-game species…including the horned lizard.

We’re concerned about the decline of the horned lizard in part of our state, and we have some genetic work going on, and some other population analysis going on in the state that will hopefully reveal some answers to some of those questions.

The horned lizard plate strikes a chord with Texans.

People attach themselves with the horned lizard. And, whether they know where the money goes or not they reveal a value there. And so that is a vote of confidence going to wildlife. So, we want to take those dollars and put them back into the resource that they were intended for.

Go to conservation-dash-plate-dot-org to see the Horned Lizard Plate and to learn how helps wildlife in Texas.

That’s our show for today…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program… providing funding for the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas …For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

We see more horned lizard license plates in Texas than horned lizards. Since 1999, drivers have purchased approximately ten thousand license plates a year featuring this spiny reptile.

I think it’s the fourth largest selling plate, in the entire state, as far as vanity plates are concerned.

One species vanity is another species salvation. Matt Wagner, program director for wildlife diversity, says money from the sale of horned lizard license plates supports conservation of non-game species in Texas.

We get about 20-dollars per plate. And on average, we sell about 10-thousand plates, give or take, and that generates around 200-thousand dollars per year. And again, that money goes into a fund, specifically for non-game wildlife—things like the horned lizard and other reptiles that don’t have a dedicated source of funding.

Funds raised also help study and protect small mammals and birds…and even plants.

We are actually mandated to manage rare plants in our state. And the horned lizard plate is one of the few sources we have that allow us to do that.

Learn about all our conservation license plates at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Today, Texas is chiefly urban, which is a big shift from our rural roots and connection to the natural world.

I am concerned that we are seeing a public that is becoming more detached from the natural world.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director, Carter Smith, says making nature relevant to urbanites comes down to quality of life issues.

At the end of the day, what are those thing that we need, that we want to have emotionally, economically, spiritually, and the out of doors is the answer for that. It’s our clean air; it’s our clean water; it’s our scenery; it’s our abundant fish and wildlife; it’s the opportunity to get out and recreate, and to canoe and kayak and to hike and to hunt or fish.

I think fundamentally Texans want that, and we as an agency have an obligation to provide those opportunities for them. Our state’s land and water plan calls for a couple of things. The number one goal in that plan is to provide enhanced recreational opportunities for Texans. And part of that goal is working to ensure that we have a system of parks in and around our major metropolitan areas that can provide a point of entry into the out of doors, and that is something we take very seriously and are working on.

Find a link to the Land and Water plan at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Blackland Prairie once covered more than 20-million acres in Texas. Jason Spangler of the Native Prairies Assoc. of Texas says because of cropping and livestock overgrazing, less than one percent of this native habitat exists today.

It’s the most endangered large ecosystem in North America.

You can find a thriving 500-acre example of Blackland Prairie in Bell County thanks to the restoration efforts of Bob and Mickey Burleson.

I don’t think that any of our neighbors think of it as anything but Burleson’s folly. They all think that grass is for grazing to the ground.

Over four decades the Burleson’s visited remnant prairies collecting seeds they later used to restore their land.

Eventually it started working naturally to come back to a climax of what had been here. And, it’s still doing that. We haven’t gotten to the place where the Big Bluestem is the dominant—and that’s what would have been at one time—but we’re getting there.

The Burlesons won the Lone Star Land Steward Award for their dedication to land restoration and stewardship.

It’s what belongs here. This is where I live, This is my home, And this is what I love. (birds chirping)

Learn about land management at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

 Lone Star land Stewards: Burleson's Prairie, 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Blackland Prairie, a tall grass prairie, once dominated a large area of the Texas landscape.

There were believed to be 20-million acres of tall grass prairie in Texas. Of that 20-million acres, it is believed that less than one percent of the tall grass prairie is left.

Jason Spangler is a member of Native Prairies Association of Texas. Bob and Mickey Burleson are founding members of that Association, and have spent four decades restoring 500 acres of former cropland and overgrazed pasture in Bell County back to tall grass prairie.

We bought the property in 1969, and started immediately to convert part of the cropland into original Blackland Prairie. At the time we bought this property, there was virtually no Blackland Prairie left around here.

By collecting and planting local ecotype native seed from area hay meadow prairie remnants, removal of invasive plants and use of various management tools, the Burlesons successfully restored the prairie.

We went out and spent every weekend for a year collecting seed from every tiny remnant in Bell, McLennan, Williamson and Falls Counties. And then, come fall in 1969, we planted it all at one time. That was our start. Then we’ve added to it every year since then.

It’s that kind of dedication that won the Burlesons the Lone Star Land Steward Award for the Blackland Prairie eco-region. We’ll learn more about Burleson’s Prairie tomorrow.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

 Lone Star Land Stewards: Burleson's Prairie, 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download