Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Located on the Bolivar Peninsula, High Island is migratory stopover habitat for neo-tropical birds.

I always tell people it’s kind of like you go on vacation and you have to stop and get gas and get food, and it you can’t stop you can’t get where you’re going. So, for these birds, stopover habitat like High Island is very important.

Winnie Burkett is sanctuaries manager for Houston Audubon, and says the habitat on High Island—which, by the way, isn’t an island—concentrates birds.

It’s called High Island because it’s the surface expression of a salt dome. High Island is 38 feet high, and it’s the highest point between Mobile Bay and the Yucatan Peninsula. And, high habitat is not common on the coast, so we have woods where all around High Island is salt marsh. And that really concentrates the woodland birds here at High Island.

Not only is High Island a great place for the birds, it’s a great place for birders.

If they want to see a lot of different species, High island is a really great place for them to come, because they’re all concentrated in one place. Where they’d have to travel all over, eastern north America to see the 28 varieties of warblers we get here. They can come here on a good day and see most of them.

We have more birding information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… we had help today from Tom Harvey…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 Restoration Program

Take time this month to catch up with the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series. As series producer, Alan Fisher tells us, some of the segments this month will reel in anglers.

Coming up in June, we have a story called “Where to Wade.” You know, there are a lot of different ways to catch a fish on the coast. One of the most involved ways it to wade right out into the bay or surf.

(surf/water ambience) Wade fishing you can always go most times where a boat can’t. You can walk and get to ‘em pretty easy, and you ain’t got to worry about spooking ‘em. (reel sounds and water)Is it going to be a keeper? (water) Oooo. Oh, that’s a keeper trout right there. Uh huh. Look at that. Pretty fish. Pretty fish. (water)

Later in June we’ll visit Tyler state park—lovely patch of pine forest in Northeast Texas, just an hour and a half east of Dallas, but it feels much further away. Also in June, we’ll learn where striped bass come from.

Well, the end result is that we’re producing basically seven and a half million fish that would not be here otherwise because these fish, for the most part, do not reproduce naturally in the state of Texas.

We’ll wrap up June with a look at paddling trails which are preplanned routes that are making Texas waters more accessible to canoes and kayaks.

You can catch the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series on PBS stations statewide.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…reminding Texans that June 7 is Free Fishing Day in Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TP&W TV-June Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Take time this month to catch up with the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series. As series producer, Alan Fisher tells us, some of the segments this month will reel in anglers.

Coming up in June, we have a story called “Where to Wade.” You know, there are a lot of different ways to catch a fish on the coast. One of the most involved ways it to wade right out into the bay or surf.

(surf/water ambience) Wade fishing you can always go most times where a boat can’t. You can walk and get to ‘em pretty easy, and you ain’t got to worry about spooking ‘em. (reel sounds and water)Is it going to be a keeper? (water) Oooo. Oh, that’s a keeper trout right there. Uh huh. Look at that. Pretty fish. Pretty fish. (water)

Later in June we’ll visit Tyler state park—lovely patch of pine forest in Northeast Texas, just an hour and a half east of Dallas, but it feels much further away. Also in June, we’ll learn where striped bass come from.

Well, the end result is that we’re producing basically seven and a half million fish that would not be here otherwise because these fish, for the most part, do not reproduce naturally in the state of Texas.

We’ll wrap up June with a look at paddling trails which are preplanned routes that are making Texas waters more accessible to canoes and kayaks.

You can catch the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series on PBS stations statewide.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…reminding Texans that June 7 is Free Fishing Day in Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TP&W TV-June Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

The key to healthy habitat and wildlife populations rests in the hands of landowners. In Texas, we honor their skillful management.

Lone Star Land Steward is an award program where we recognize those landowners in Texas who are doing an exemplary job of managing their habitats and their wildlife.

Linda Campbell oversees the state’s Private Lands and Public Hunting program.

We have all kinds of focus on these landowners. We have a great diversity of people. We have a regional award for each of the ten eco-regions. And then we have an overall award, the Leopold Conservation Award, for the overall statewide land steward.

Nominations for the awards opened June first, and will continue until the end of November.

Nominations can come from the landowners themselves, or those that assist them. We will take nominations from any member of the public. All of those nominations are evaluated, and we do site visited on those. We just want to make sure that we hold up those who are doing such an excellent job managing the resources of Texas.

Find a list of current winners and a link to nomination forms at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…funding the Private Lands and Public Hunting programs… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Lone Star Land Steward Nominations Play Now | Play in Popup | Download