Passport to Texas

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

The outdoors can be an intimidating place to learn new skills, especially for women. Texas Parks and Wildlife is trying to change that by offering skills workshops specifically for women.

Ashley Mathews, coordinator of the Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshops, explains the importance of women having experiences outdoors.

It’s important on a number of levels for women to connect with the outdoors either through a solely environmental reason or through outdoor recreation. On a personal level, it’s very rejuvenating to our spirits. Additionally, we tend to be rearing the next generation of individuals who are going to care for our earth and care for our resources and find some value in them. So we have to help those younger children find value and find entertainment and find memories, so they have an appreciation for Texas.

Mathews says women gain more than camping skills at workshops.

It’s a huge self-esteem boost, self-confidence boost. We hear over and over again, I’ve had women tell me I applied for a job that I never thought I could get because I did this Becoming an Outdoors Woman activity and I could do it and so I thought, well I can do these other things too.

Visit passporttotexas.org for more information on the Becoming and Outdoors Woman program.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski.. we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you’re fit, flexible and like crawling around on your hands and knees – make reservations to go on the Wild Cave Tour at Longhorn Cavern State Park.

This is billed as an adventure tour. And, it’s about one and half to two hours in length. And it’s a crawling tour, or what people refer to as a flashlight tour.

Kaye Barlow, Operations Manager at the site, says this tour is physically demanding.

That means it is not recommended for anyone who is physically out of shape, or who is very large. We’ve had people of size that have gone through with no problem, but they’re in good shape.

If you’re strong, flexible and able to crawl extended distances without pain, discomfort, or frequent stopping, you may enjoy this tour. The cavern is nine miles southwest of Burnet in the Hill Country; wild cave participants access parts of the cavern that are not seen on any other tour.

There are small passageways, and getting dirty is definitely part of this tour. It’s not recommended for every guest. Equipment is required, like hard hats, elbow and knee pads, and flashlight. You can bring your own or rent for us. Generally it’s on Saturdays, but we also take reservations at other times during the week, providing you have six people that want to go. And then, we can get a tour guide.

The cost of the tour is $35; $50, if you rent equipment from the park. Find registration information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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September 2007 — Longhorn Cavern SP — Wild Cave Tour — Explore the caverns the way the early spelunkers did. Our experienced guide will take you to primitive parts of the cave not seen on the regular walking tour. You will crawl, climb and scoot through tight spaces. Special equipment, hardhat (required), flashlight, elbow and knee pads, are highly recommended for this tour. Bring your own or rent from us for $15 for the whole package. 9:30-11:30 a.m.; fee $35 per person; reservations required (877) 441-2283 or (512) 756-4680

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Nature, awe-inspiring for its beauty and power, keeps some of its most impressive work hidden from sight.

Nine miles southwest of Burnet, in the Texas Hill Country, the magnificent subterranean world of Longhorn Cavern provides a stunning still-life of stalactites and stalagmites, calcite channels, sparkling crystals and rock “draperies” frozen in motion.

The cavern, now a State Park, began life millions of years ago as a thick layer of limestone, worn away by water – first as seepage, and then as a roaring underground river.

A constant temperature of sixty-eight degrees and a layer of flint for tools, made the space attractive as shelter for the Comanche people who inhabited the area hundreds of years ago. One of the cave’s chambers is fittingly named “Indian Council Room.”

The Confederate Army discovered the cavern in the 1860s, and used it to manufacture gunpowder in secret during the Civil War. And, fascinating still, is the rumor legendary outlaw, Sam Bass, used it as an underground hideout.

Discover the geology and the history of Longhorn Cavern State Park. Find more information at passporttotexas.org.

Tomorrow: Your chance to take part in a Wild Cave Tour.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Did a Phoenix rise from the ashes? This month a segment airing on Texas Parks and Wildlife Television chases a ghost. Producer, Abe Moore, explains.

Well, a couple of years ago, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was thought to have been seen in Arkansas. It was an incredible frenzy.

The whole ornithological community was just electrified by this. The bird had been thought extinct for sixty years.

And now there’s a team here in Texas that spent six months looking for it out in the Big Thicket area in east Texas. So we followed them for six months – went out with them –to look for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

What was it like for you to see these people in action?

Well, I was amazed at the technology.

Turn the volume [knocks]. Double knocks. [knocks] We use playback to call Ivory-Bills. The idea being the bird will hear its own species call and want to come and check it out.

Well, it’s also a profile on more than just the Ivory-Billed – it’s some of woodpeckers that you find in Texas. The common pileated, which people think is an Ivory Billed Woodpecker because they look similar.

Do you have a new appreciation for this bird?

Absolutely! I love the woodpeckers, and now when I hear them in my neighborhood, I’m like – oh, I know that call.

Will you be teaching your kids about these birds?

I already am. Absolutely. She knows the calls of the Red-bellied in our neighborhood.

Thanks Abe. Visit us online at passporttotexas.org to find a complete listing of stations that air the series.

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

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Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

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

Country Music Star, Kevin Fowler, served as spokesperson for the Nobody’s Waterproof boating safety campaign this summer. And Sunday, the “Wildman” makes an appearance at Parks and Wildlife Expo.

We’re delighted to have Country star, Kevin Fowler, at the Expo this year.

Expo Director, Ernie Gammage.

Well, the reason that Kevin was chosen and agreed to become the spokesperson for Nobody’s Waterproof is that this is a message that needs to reach that younger demographic; folks that are really out partying hardy on the water. And those tend to be his fans, too.

And Kevin Fowler is also among Parks and Wildlife’s demographic.

Kevin is an avid outdoorsman; he hunts, he fishes, he boats, and he’ll be at Expo on Sunday afternoon from eleven to one, signing autographs, talking to his fans. And, he’s got a great new poster featuring him and the Nobody’s Waterproof tag, and you can leave Expo with an autographed one.

Find links to Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo, and see the Kevin Fowler poster online at passpottotexas.org.

Bring the family, but leave your doggies at home.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program…working to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

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