Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

The Coastal Fisheries Bay Team Tournament is looking for a few good anglers.

We are getting together with the community, and we’re collecting fish for our hatchery program. So, these guys are out there catching fish, and they are vying for prizes.

Robert Adami coordinates the tournaments, which take On April 5, at Sea ranch Marina on South Padre Island, and on April 12, at the north boat ramp at Port Mansfield.

We do this so that we can continuously be bringing in new fish for our hatchery program. One of the reasons we do that is so that we can get some genetic diversity into our spawning biomass of fish that we have on hand. And we always want to mix up the genetics within our hatchery program.

Sixty people, on a first come first serve basis, will get to participate in the tournament to reel in spotted sea trout. I asked Adami why the hatchery wants only sea trout in spring.

One of the reasons is they have peak spawning in springtime. So, we want to try and collect as many new trout as we can and hopefully put them into the spawning biomass that we currently have—and they’re ready to get going.

You must be 21 or older to participate. Find a link to more information about the tournaments and prizes at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program…supporting genetics research at Texas hatcheries…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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For more information, call Robert Adami, Robert Adami, (361) 939-8745

South Padre Island
April 5, 2008
Sea Ranch Marina

Port Mansfield
April 12, 2008
North Boat Ramp

 

 Coastal Fisheries Bay Team Tournament, 1 of 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Most of us only know mussels—bivalve mollusks—from the grocery store seafood counter. What you may not know is Texas hosts more than fifty species of native freshwater mussels.

They can vary in shapes and sizes. Some of them are very small to, say, an inch or two. And some of them can be very large—nine or ten inches. And they can live anywhere from ten years to a hundred years, depending on the species.

Marsha May oversees the Texas Mussel Watch Program, a citizen science project that enlists people to monitor freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled groups of organisms in the US.

They are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and many species of freshwater mussels can’t handle that change. We’re finding shells in those situations where the animals have died off.

Mussel Watch participants play a vital role in helping researchers understand these organisms. If you want to become a citizen scientist, you must attend a workshop.

We have a few workshops scheduled for the spring. One will be in Tyler, we’ll have another one in San Antonio, and we’ll have another one in Bastrop. And if folks are interested, they can go to our website to find out when these workshops occur.

Find links to Mussel Watch Workshops at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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April 12, 2008 — Old Sabine Bottom WMA — Texas Mussel Watch Train the Trainer Workshop — This workshop is sponsored by the East Texas Master Naturalist Chapter. SBEC and TEEAC credit available for teachers. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; fee $10, includes materials; preregistration required. To register and for more information, contact Irene Hamel at Irene.hamel@tpwd.state.tx.us or (903) 566-9394. (903) 566-1626.

 

 Texas Mussel Watch: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration program

It may interest you to learn that…

Freshwater musselsare the most imperiled group of organism in North America.

Marsha May oversees the Texas Mussel Watch Program for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

We have fifty-two, fifty-three species of freshwater mussels in Texas, and they live in our freshwater streams and lakes and ponds, and even in stock ponds and tanks. And they have
been in Texas for thousands and thousands of years. And they’re just amazing creatures. They clean the systems. They’re nature’s bio-filters, and a very important part of the ecosystem.

Texas Mussels Watch is an ongoing citizen science project that needs your help.

We want to get citizens involved in monitoring their populations throughout the state, because there’s been very little monitoring being done. And, they are a very important organism. To get involved a citizen would have to have to go through training, because you have to have a permit in order to even handle a shell of a freshwater mussel. So, we supply workshops where we train individuals on how to monitor them and how to be very careful with them. And, we really just want to know where they are, and how many there are out there.

Find links to Mussel Watch Workshops at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
______________________________________________________

April 12, 2008 — Old Sabine Bottom WMA — Texas Mussel Watch Train the Trainer Workshop — This workshop is sponsored by the East Texas Master Naturalist Chapter. SBEC and TEEAC credit available for teachers. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; fee $10, includes materials; preregistration required. To register and for more information, contact Irene Hamel at Irene.hamel@tpwd.state.tx.us or (903) 566-9394. (903) 566-1626.

 

 Freshwater Mussels in Troubled Waters: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Amphibians are good indicator species because they live on land and in water during their lifecycle.

Amphibians, because of their very lifestyle, you can imagine are sensitive to a lot of changes in our environment. They’re kind of canaries in the coal mine.

Lee Ann Linam coordinates the Texas Amphibian Watch program. Because of their land/water lifestyle and semi permeable skin, amphibians experience the best and worst of both worlds.

They’re affected by habitat loss, by broader changes in the world around them. Things like climate change that may shift rainfall patterns. Or, they’re sensitive to UV radiation, so those kinds of changes can affect them. They’re sensitive to environmental contaminants that can be absorbed through their skin. So, you can see that they’re kind of a good picture of the overall ecosystem health.

If that’s the case, humans better pay attention.

A recent assessment by an international group of scientists showed that somewhere between one-third and one-half of all the six thousand amphibian species in the world are in trouble. One hundred and twenty-two of them are already extinct as far as we know. And so this is a rate of extinction that perhaps is unprecedented in this period of time.

Help monitor the health of amphibians. Find out how 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 and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Migrating waterfowl worldwide are under scrutiny by public health officials as potential carriers of a highly contagious form of avian influenza known as H5N1.

There has been no evidence; there has been not a single confirmed case in the North American Continent, of highly pathogenic H5N1.

Dave Morrison, waterfowl program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife, says some waterfowl species that winter in Texas may share migratory routes with birds from known influenza hot spots.

We are doing our due diligence. We are part and parcel to the early detection and surveillance efforts that are currently ongoing in the United States this year.

US health officials and wildlife authorities have embarked on a North American waterfowl surveillance program to identify potential problems before they manifest.

Texas is one of the level one states for sampling. Level one means that we have to collect a thousand samples from migratory birds – whether it be migratory birds or whether it be shore birds – we have to get a thousand samples. And what we’ll do is we will actually take swabs of these birds, submit them to labs, the labs will then run tests on these birds to determine does it or doesn’t it have highly pathogenic H5N1.

That’s our show…supported 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.

 

 Avian Influenza--Texas Monitoring: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download