Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Lake Somerville Complex includes the Birch Creek Unit, Nails Creek Unit, a trailway that connects the two parks, and a wildlife management area. Kim Ochs manages the complex.

Birch Creek is on the northwest side of lake Somerville; it lies in Burleson County, but we are about twenty miles from Caldwell and about seventeen miles from Somerville. We are in a rural area, but we get a lot of visitation from the Houston area.

What city dweller would not jump at the chance to escape the urban jungle for this rural oasis with its ample camping opportunities?

Over at Birch Creek, including our water only sites, which are just for tents, we’re going to have a total of 129. Nails Creek is a little bit smaller unit, and they’re going to have about 70 sites with their water and electricity.

This area also offers year-round equestrian trails, wildlife-viewing opportunities, and, of course—water recreation, which begins in spring with fishing.

You can almost set your clocks by it—from Memorial Day through Labor Day—it’s going to be the skier, the boater and the jet skier that’s going to come out here. After labor Day, this Lake is unique in that there are hunting opportunities provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers; and then, during the winter, once again, fishing takes over.

We have a link to the Lake Somerville State Park web page at passportotexas.org.

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

 

 Lake Somerville State Park: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Camping is a great way to spend time outdoors [Crackling Flames from a Campfire] and building a campfire adds a little ‘spark’ to the experience. But before you light a match, you need a proper site and materials.

When you want to build a fire you certainly have to find a location to build it. You have to gather the material and make sure that it’s not wet. You want the ground or the level where you’re going to build the fire to be dry. You clear the leaves away and if possible, gather some rocks to make a fire ring that will contain that fire.

Terry Erwin is Hunter Education Coordinator, and says there’s a certain order to building a good campfire.

Start with a bird’s nest of material so if you put your spark in there, gather some cedar bowls or cedar bark and when you spark it, you can blow on the spark and that will enhance the fire. Start with little sticks and graduate to bigger sticks until you add twigs, grass and bark shavings and things like that on the fire to get it started. Then you can add the larger sticks and get it going at that point.

Extinguish your campfire by drenching it with water, repeating this step until all embers are dead. If an ample supply of water is not available, cover the embers with a thick layer of soil.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Alanna Jones… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

 Camping 101: Building a Campfire: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

High Island took a beating from Hurricane Humberto in September 2007. The storm destroyed habitat important to migratory bird species.

We lost a lot of trees. And some of them were uprooted, and some of them were twisted off and broken. So, we’ve had a lot of changes in our habitat at High Island.

Winnie Burkett is sanctuaries manager for Houston Audubon. Despite the habitat upheaval, the birds that visit High Island are fine.

They don’t mind the fact some of the trees are gone. There are plenty of mulberries, even though some of the mulberry trees are laying on the ground. There are plenty of bugs in the leaves; there are plenty of caterpillars around. So, as long as they have the food and water, they’re fine.

Birders who won competitions in the Great Texas Birding Classic—the biggest birding event in Texas—wanted to ensure the birds remain fine by selecting High Island to receive prize monies to improve habitat.

In the last couple of years, we’ve gotten prize money from the Birding Classic for diversifying the under-story in the woods. And, what we’ve been doing is the volunteers cut out the invasive exotics, like privet mostly, and then we replant with native trees and shrubs that we’ve purchased with funds that we’ve gotten from the birding classic prizes.

Diversification is important if birds are going to have a wide variety of food throughout the year, and the work of volunteers and prize money from the Great Texas Birding Classic is making that possible on High Island.

That’s our show… we had help today from Tom Harvey…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

 High Island Recovery, 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Rae Nadler-Olenick traveled to Brackettville in 1994 to attend the National Speleological Convention, where she met an attractive, interesting man who later became her husband.

This is her Outdoor Story.

I happened to be talking to him on Friday, and he said, ‘Hey, are you going to the Devil’s Sinkhole tomorrow?’ Now, the Devil’s Sinkhole had just been opened after years of being closed. Well, I hadn’t made up my mind yet, but he offered me a ride. Yeah. I’ll go to the Devil’s Sinkhole with you. Yeah. That made up my mind. And the drive was substantial from Brackettville, and that gave us some opportunity to talk. When we got to the sinkhole, we geared up and went down. Anyway, we went down to the bottom. And, we found ourselves on bat guano. Spongy, spongy bat guano, so this wasn’t real romantic in a way, but (laughs), we walked around that area, just kept talking, and we found out we had a lot in common. We kind of clicked. And we climbed out side-by-side, and we’ve been together ever since.

Just goes to show you how nature brings people together.

Well, it certainly did on that occasion.

That’s our show for today…Remember: Life’s Better Outside…

Yes. Yes, that’s what this is all about.

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

 

 Standard Podcast [1:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Susan Gonzales’ family knew nothing about the outdoors…

We’ve always wanted to go camping, but we didn’t know where to start.

So, she brought her husband and children to Steeplechase Park in Kyle last month for a Texas Outdoor Family Workshop.

Now we feel more comfortable to be outdoors. We know what to do—the things that we’re going to need, what to bring, and cook, and stuff like that (laughs).

The Kyle Parks and Recreation staff, and students from Texas State University in San Marcos, mentored the families. Susan’s daughter Marisol tells us what she learned.

Mmmm… How to use a compass, and how to set up a tent, and fish and all that.

Susan Gonzales says her family will use their newfound outdoor skills at Texas State Parks.

I got a really great guide—the Texas State Park Guide—so we’re going to look through it, and sit down and see what we like and what we want to go see. So, do you think that you’re going to talk other friends and family into joining you? Oh, definitely yes. It’s a great experience that I’m having today, so I’m going to definitely tell them about it.

That’s our show for today, with support from Toyota, reminding you to do whatever it takes to get your kids outside. For tips and ideas, go to lifesbetteroutside.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

 

 Texas Outdoor Families--The Gonzales Family: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download