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.

If you plan to hunt this fall, and were born on or after September 2, 1971—you are required to take a hunter education training course. Program coordinator Terry Erwin says there is a way around it—at least temporarily.

13—Anyone who has not been certified by the time they turn seventeen, can go and get a deferral. They must buy a hunting license, and ask for deferral type 1-6-6 at the point of sale.

The deferral allows you to try out hunting as long as a certified licensed hunter accompanies you.

06—And if you like it, go get certified; you have by August 31st of the current license year to do that.

It’ll cost you $10 for a deferral. When the program started in 2005, more than 10-thousand people purchased deferrals—and that number continues to climb.

17—It offers an opportunity for someone who has not hunted before to give it a try and it brings in lapsed hunters. If they’ve been out of hunting for awhile, and didn’t get certified, they can come in, take the deferral, and then have an opportunity to get back into the outdoors.

Texas residents required to take hunter education training may obtain a deferral only once, after which time they must complete the certification course.

You’ll find hunter education information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Our show is made possible in part by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Hunting is a tradition passed on from one generation to the next. Since 1971, teaching the basics is no longer the sole responsibility of family members.

10—Anyone who is born on or after September 2, 1971, and who has attained the age of 9, is eligible to be certified in hunter education.

The course is hunter education. Terry Erwin oversees hunter education at Texas Parks & Wildlife. He says volunteer instructors are the backbone of this popular program.

07—Many of the individuals have gone through the Hunter education course themselves, and found out that they really wanted to give something to the sport.

Volunteers also save taxpayers a nice chunk of change in the process.

07—If you put a dollar value on it, probably in volunteer hours and things like that, way exceeding half a million dollars.

The volunteer aspect goes beyond the classroom; these dedicated instructors also take on mentoring roles.

13—We always encourage every instructor to take at least one or two youth hunting each year that they train. That starts a mentoring process in which that student goes out under the training and guidance of an experienced hunter.

Learn how you can volunteer to teach hunter education classes, visit our website: passporttotexas.org.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program support our series working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

Golfing has often been described as a good walk spoiled. The same has never been said about hunting. Hunting includes a good walk as well as a chance to pass on a Texas tradition to the next generation.

06—I’d like to encourage all hunters to take their youngsters hunting even if they start them out with a pair of binoculars.

That’s Terry Erwin who oversees hunter education at Texas Parks & Wildlife. The idea, says Erwin, is to help kids become comfortable with the outdoors.

09—They can be out there in the woods observing nature, even if they don’t hunt at the time. But as they gain insight and become older, they may want to start hunting.

Hunting is an activity that fathers and mothers are encouraged to share with their children, but learning at a parent’s side is no substitute for a sanctioned hunter education class. With more than 3-thousand classes offered annually, there’s one to fit every schedule.

07—They go on year round, from January all the way up through December. So that’s not something that’s just a seasonal thing right before hunting season.

You will find a complete list of hunter education classes on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Our show is made possible by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Getting lost is unsettling for adults and downright terrifying for children—especially if they’re in a wilderness area.

:05— We teach them what they need to know to survive out there if they do get lost.

David Owens, assistant manager at Lake Mineral Wells State park, often teaches children wilderness survival skills. He does this by playing games with the kids, and by using acronyms such as S.T.O.P. to help focus their attention.

:23—And the acronym for the STOP sign tells them to: S—stay put; don’t go any further, you may get more and more lost. To T—think; think about initial things they need to do to start with. O—observe; look at their surroundings; make sure they stay in a safe place. And P—plan; plan on how to use the things that they may have brought that can help them out.

Parents should provide their young hikers with a pack containing a whistle to make noise, a mirror they can use as a signaling device, and a plastic trash bag.

:15—A garbage sack can help in many ways. You can make a raincoat out of it; you can also use it to flag down search and rescue people looking for you. I’ve had kids tell me you can make a shade if it’s too hot. So we teach them how to do a lot of those things.

There’s a wilderness survival skills workshop at Lake Mineral Wells SP on May 22. Find details in the calendar section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

REPORTING FROM THE LAKE

REPORTER: We’re here talking to one of the fastest growing invasive species in Texas.

SAL: Hi, I’m Giant Salvinia, nasty invasive species. I double in size every week.

REPORTER: I understand you destroy Texas lakes and ruin fishing.

SAL: Hah, oh, yeah, that’s my thing.

REPORTER: And that would be why Boaters, fishermen and skiers hate you.

SAL: Yep, but they do give me rides from lake to lake.

REPORTER: Folks, giant salvinia clings to boats, trailers and gear. So remove even the smallest piece and put it in the trash.

SAL: Don’t tell them that! Tantrum

REPORTER: Hello Giant Salvinia. Goodbye Texas Lakes. A message from Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Giant Salvinia is a fast growing exotic aquatic plant from South America that’s thriving in Texas waters, killing off native plants and fish.

:11—Everybody’s always looking for possible outlets for some what that we can actually make it work for us instead of against us. But, we just haven’t been able to find any redeeming qualities behind giant Salvinia.

Howard Elder is an aquatic habitat biologist. The agency uses an integrated pest management approach to dealing with Giant Salvinia.

:18—Since it is a floating plant, and it grows so quickly, the winds can push it wherever it chooses. And that is one of the biggest problems that we have—locating the infestations and being able to treat them.

Elder says they can only conduct herbicide operations in the warmer months when the plant is growing. Using Giant Salvinia weevils that eat the plant look promising. But the best defense against its spread is educating anglers and boaters.

:13—Concerned anglers and boaters on infected waters should carefully inspect and clean their boat, trailers, jet skis and any other personal watercraft of all aquatic vegetation before leaving the launch area. Because that is how it gets spread around.

Visit www.texasinvasives.org to learn more about Giant Salvinia and other invasive species changing TX Lakes.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.

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

Giant Salvinia was first discovered in 1998 in a small schoolyard pool in Houston.

:10—Later that year it was found in Toledo Bend Reservoir. And our next sighting was in Lake Texana, and then we found it in Lake Conroe and then Lake Sheldon, east of Houston.

Howard Elder is an aquatic habitat biologist. It’s thought suppliers of tropical plants to nurseries brought Giant Salvinia to the US under a different name. And flood events introduced it to public waters where it flourishes, forming dense floating mats.

:11—Which essentially block out all the sunlight, shading out native aquatic vegetation species, and inhibiting the production of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are critical to the health of any aquatic ecosystem.

Mature plants have leaves that are about the size of a fifty cent piece and are covered with hairlike structures. Plants can be light brown to chartreuse in color. One acre of Salvinia can become two acres in as little as one week, and can grow faster than our ability to remove it.

:08—We have documentation from a recent infestation in Hawaii, where it grew faster than they could remove it with backhoes out of a small pond.

Tomorrow: what Texas is doing to manage this invasive aquatic exotic. Find more information about Giant Salvinia and other invasive exotics at www.texasinvasives.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Women in the Wild may sound like an anthropological examination of early human females, but in truth it’s a workshop to help women interact with the outdoors in new ways.

:08—Women in the Wild is a great way for ladies to come out and try things that they otherwise might be intimidated to try, in a third party setting.

Game Warden Brandi Reeder organized the event, set for May 1 & 2 in Rockport.

:13—We have everything from shotguns, BB guns, archery, fishing and fly-fishing, boat operations, Dutch oven cooking, first aide, self-defense. We just have a wide range of activities in which these ladies can come out here and try.

Reeder says Women in the Wild participants will learn from the best.

:12—Including John Martel who does outdoor photography. And then I have Jay Watkins who’s a pro guide as well as pro tournament fisherman. I have Chuck Naiser who’s going to do my fly-fishing this year; I have an exceptional lineup.

The only requirements are that you’re a woman and at least 21 years old; otherwise, no experience necessary.

:12—The more knowledge that you get, the more confident you feel in your own capabilities to do things. Instead of relying on someone else to help you with it, you can do these activities yourself and be confident that even if you don’t know it—you can learn it!

We have details about registration and accommodations for the Women in the Wild workshop, at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show …with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Accommodations for the weekend are not provided, however, there are many great places to stay in Rockport. Find a partial listing at this website: http://www.rockportnet.com/stay.html

Explore the Outdoors with “Women in the Wild” Workshop

ROCKPORT — Women interested in the outdoors are invited to attend the second annual Women in the Wild workshop, a weekend-long event being held by the Rockport chapter of the Texas Outdoors Woman Network (TOWN) on May 1-2. The event is designed to help familiarize women with the various outdoor activities in the Coastal Bend and encourage them to participate in a fun and safe outdoor environment.

The event will be held at The Lodge in Rockport. The entry fee includes participation in four of the scheduled activities, a t-shirt, a Saltwater Fisheries Enhancement Association membership and meals for the weekend.

Courses offered include beginner and intermediate shotgun shooting, BB guns, archery and self defense. There will also be a fly fishing seminar with Chuck Naiser and a fishing seminar with Jay Watkins. Women will have a chance to learn boat equipment and operation, kayaking, outdoor photography, habitat/species identification, first aid and Dutch oven cooking.

“The intent is to help these women become familiar with new activities without pressure to master any one thing,” said Texas Game Warden Brandi Reeder.

TOWN is an offshoot of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) program. Its goal is to provide outdoors-oriented women a chance to meet and develop friendships with other women who have similar interests. Chapters across Texas regularly hold various activities that allow women to participate in the outdoors in a stress-free and supporting environment.

Women interested in the program need to register before April 15. Entry costs $125 before March 15 and $150 after that. Registration is limited to the first 75 women above the age of 21.

Registration forms are available at the Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement Offices in Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Victoria and online at http://www.townrockport.org/. For more information visit the TOWN Rockport Web site or contact Brandi Reeder at brandi.reeder@tpwd.state.tx.us or (361) 790-2611.

[:20 Wind ambience under script and sound bite] It was unusually windy as sixteen families checked-in at Lake Casa Blanca International State Park in Laredo to learn camping basics at a Texas Outdoor Family Workshop.

We’re going to talk about setting your camp up. As you probably know being from around here, wind makes everything a challenge, especially setting your tent up.

After a demo, and using loaner gear, families were in high spirits as they found their campsites and tested their new skills. [Little girls screaming] Friends, Jazlyn Salinas and Daejia Rodriguez, had a blast wrestling with their tent.

It’s a super windy day over here, and the tent is literally flying all away. So, have you girls been camping before? No. But I love it because it’s super cool.

[:04 hammering] Daejia’s mother Laurie assisted the girls.

I am trying to bang in one of these silver things (laughs); it holds the tent down. (laughs) And I am using a mallet to get it in this hard ground.

[:03 hammering] Rodriguez, who admitted to not being “outdoorsy,” took the wind and hard ground in stride, saying she was glad to have an opportunity to expose Daejia to camping in state parks through TOF.

So that’s why I decided to go ahead and come out here and, who knows, if she enjoys it, then, probably we’ll start camping every summer.

That’s our show for today, with support from Toyota. To learn about upcoming Texas Outdoor Family workshops visit lifesbetteroutside.org. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.