Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Even people without a computer know about YouTube, the online video sharing website where you can view videos of practically anything.

03—Our YouTube channel has almost 200 videos on it.

Whitney Bishop is a video and web producer who helps oversee Texas Parks and Wildlife’s social media efforts, including its YouTube channel.

08—We have videos on almost all of our state parks, so it you’re thinking of going to a state park in Texas, it’s a great place to go and check it out and see what the park looks like and what it has to offer.

The parks videos give visitors a sense of being there. And with 200 videos and growing, there’s bound to be something for every outdoor enthusiast.

08—We also have stories about hunting and fishing. We have breaking news stories. Like, we’ve been posting recently stories about the oil spill and what Texas parks and Wildlife is doing about it.

In addition to YouTube, you can keep up with Texas Parks and Wildlife via its Facebook fan page, and Twitter feeds.

13—If you’re on Twitter, then you do these 140 character tweets. And Texas Parks and Wildlife also has some Twitter feeds people can follow. And Twitter is kind of like just late breaking news as it’s happening. So, it’s a good way to keep up with what’s going on right at the moment.

Find links to all Texas Parks and Wildlife social media on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

 

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This is Passport to Texas

Social networking sites such as Facebook allow people to connect with not only one another, but also with agencies like Texas Parks and Wildlife via fan pages.

09—We have almost 30-thousand Facebook fans; and Facebook is really easy to use. And the neat thing about it is that we’re able to have real conversations with people who are interested in Texas outdoor news.

Whitney Bishop is a video and web producer who helps oversee the agency’s social media efforts. She calls Texas Parks and Wildlife fans engaged and helpful.

16—We’ll post a topic on Facebook, and then people will start talking to each other; it’s like we’re sitting in a big living room together and there’s conversations going back and forth between people. Sometimes they’ll recommend places to go—recently we had a post about good swimming holes in Texas, and a lot of people gave their ideas of great places to go.

A real bonus, says Bishop, is the fans’ ability and willingness to post their images to the site.

14—Our fans have posted almost 2 thousand fan photos. And they’re posting things like wildlife, outdoor scenes from all around Texas. We’ve gotten really neat pictures, like baby bluebirds, and bobcats and owls—you name it. I mean, it’s kind of like the National Geographic of Texas.

Become a fan of Texas Parks and Wildlife when you log on to Facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife. Tomorrow, other ways the agency uses technology to connect with you.

02—Our YouTube channel has almost 200 videos on it.

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

 

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This is Passport to Texas

For the past year, Texas Parks and Wildlife has been reaching out to the public via social media. Social media allows people to connect with one another using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Blogs, and various apps.

Whitney Bishop is a Texas Parks and Wildlife video and web producer who helps oversee the agency’s social media efforts, and who spoke with me about the value of social media to the agency.

I think the value of social media is, it give s our agency a human face. We’re not just a big anonymous agency. We’re letting people know what we do, and we having conversations with people, interacting with them. So, it helps us talk to people out there, Texans, and people who are interested in the Texas outdoors.

Yes, in fact, we are going to produce some how-to videos about how to Geocache to help people understand what geocaching is all about, and the correct way to do it, so you don’t damage the environment.

So be on the look out for those videos on YouTube. Also we encourage you to join or start a conversation with Parks and Wildlife on our Facebook fan page.

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

 

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This is Passport to Texas

[Nats aquarium] Pet stores like Rivers and Reefs in Austin sell fish and plant species from all over the world.

11—Most of your Tetris species are from South America. Even your average gold-fish comes from China. Some of your Amazon sword plants obviously come from South America from the Amazon River.

Manager Rachel Pohl says that’s why people should be careful not to dump their aquariums in rivers or lakes or even flush live fish down the toilet.

08—Some of these fish get into our rivers and start eating our fingerlings in our rivers, and it starts unbalancing the native population because they don’t have a predator here.

And it’s not just fish. TPWD aquatic habitat biologist Howard Elder says giant salvinia started out as a decorative plant for aquariums…but it didn’t stay there.

09—Giant salvinia was found in a Houston school yard in 1998. It has since been found in 17 public reservoirs.

And it’s not pretty anymore.

10—The plant can produce dense mats that actually block out sunlight and displace native vegetation and fish species as well as many wildlife species.

So do Texas a favor. Have fun with your aquariums. Just don’t dump them. Many pet stores will take back unwanted fish or at least tell you where you can take them.

That’s our show… we had research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan…the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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This is Passport to Texas

The average age of Texas hunters is mid-forties. As these hunters decrease their time in the field, some increase their time in the classroom.

06—Some become [hunter education] instructors, and really want to give back to something they’ve enjoyed all throughout their lives.

Terry Erwin oversees the hunter education program at Texas Parks and Wildlife, where there’s a growing need for instructors with special skills.

13—Parks and Wildlife has a lot of constituents who are bilingual, and who just speak Spanish. We are looking for bilingual instructors that are able to teach the hunter education program in Spanish and English.

The Hispanic population in Texas is growing, and Parks and Wildlife wants to ensure this group has access to hunter education, and a great outdoor experience.

11—We certainly could use those instructors to help us reach those constituents that we normally wouldn’t be able to reach. And, we do want to offer them [Spanish speaking constituents] an opportunity to get out in the outdoors and enjoy it.

We have information on becoming a volunteer Hunter Education instructor at passporttotexas.org.

We record our series at the Production Block Studios in Austin.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our show…and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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