Passport to Texas

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

Everyone likes a little praise now and then. And anglers—young or old—get it when they submit details of their catch to the Angler Recognition Program.

Everybody gets something. If it qualifies for no records or awards at all, you’ll get an outstanding angler certificate which is frameable. And all children get some type of pin; an angler recognition pin that’s our logo.

Joedy Gray oversees the program, and says he especially wants see kids getting involved.

I’m trying to encourage youth to get out there. A lot of kids will catch their first fish—maybe a two or three inch sunfish—and if they weigh that on certified scales, it will be water body record in a lot of instances.

If you’re going for a water body record, you will need a certified scale, but not if you’re submitting your fish for a catch/release total length record.

So that way you don’t need to weigh it. You just need to take a picture of the fish next to a tape measure. Then turn the fish loose and it will be eligible for a state record or a water body record. That opens all the bay systems up, and that opens up all the reservoirs to possibilities of records for both adults and juniors.

Find everything you could possibly need to know about the Angler Recognition Program on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… The SF Restoration program supports our series…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Angler Recognition Program, 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Spending the day fishing is usually its own reward. But if you want to make it more interesting, submit proof of your catch to the Angler Recognition Program.

It’s a program where you get recognition for trophy catches. For rod and reel… bow fishing and unrestricted gear—jug lines and things like that.

Joedy Gray oversees the program. Nearly any length or weight fish caught in fresh or saltwater, that’s been accurately documented, will be considered for recognition—with a few small exceptions.

Whatever you do, don’t bring me any small fish like anchovies, or minnows or mosquito fish.

In the past, before weight and length requirements were instated, Gray received lots of stats on tiny fish. Today, new minimums are in place.

For bow fishing we put a minimum weight requirement of a half a pound. And for other fish for rod and reel records, we’re using two ounces…or point one two five pounds.

Gray says anglers whose fish are certified as records will receive recognition.

You can get recognition for state record catches, or large catches, water body records, catch release records…you’re going to get something. Any kind of record submission is going to get some kind of award, or certificate or pin.

Find complete details about the Angler Recognition Program on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… The SF Restoration program supports our series…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Angler Recognition Program, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Anglers the world over know they can reel in really big bass in Texas.

We have more big bass caught in Texas than anywhere I know of. I’m talking about anywhere in the United States or anywhere in the world.

David Campbell coordinates a bass spawning program at Parks and Wildlife, called the Toyota Sharelunker program.

I know there’s been some bigger fish caught in California, Florida—but it’s the numbers of big fish. And the anglers can go to almost any reservoir in the state of Texas and have the potential of catching a thirteen pound plus large-mouth bass. I don’t think that Anyone else can come close to that.

Now through April, anglers that reel in largemouth bass weighing 13-pounds or more are encouraged to donate them to the Toyota ShareLunker program. The donated bass enter into a spawning program, with the hope of creating bigger bass—maybe even a world record.

We had somewhere in the neighborhood of three quarter of a million fry from the sharelunkers through the years. We’ve had some years we didn’t have any spawn. Then some years we might have five, six or seven spawn.

That’s a whole lot of potential. Find information about the Toyota Sharelunker program when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website.

That’s our show for today…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…providing funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Toyota Sharelunker Program Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The red-cockaded woodpecker is an endangered species found in the East Texas Piney Woods region.

Ricky Maxey, a wildlife diversity biologist for TPWD, says the red-cockaded woodpecker is unique because it’s the only woodpecker that makes its home in live pine trees.

It is a keystone representative of the upland pine savannah, so it’s a really fascinating specialized bird.

Because of demands for timber and an increasing urban landscape, there are fewer mature pine savannah forests. And it’s because the woodpeckers are so specialized that they can’t adapt to the changing habitat.

It does not adapt to loss of its habitat because it occupies a very specialized niche. That’s one of the primary reasons why this bird became rare to the point that it had to be listed under the endangered species act.

Maxey says, right now, the woodpeckers have a stable population thanks to forest conservation efforts by TPWD and the U.S. and Texas Forest Services among others. But even private landowners can do their part by creating suitable habitat for the woodpeckers.

If you’re a landowner, you can produce habitat for this species. We’ll be glad to work with any landowner to provide management recommendations to do just that.

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

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

The lesser prairie chicken isn’t endangered, but its getting close. Heather Whitlaw is a wildlife diversity specialist for Texas Parks and Wildlife in the Texas panhandle.

She says, last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services increased the priority of the lesser prairie chicken as a candidate for becoming an endangered species. Since 1998, the lesser prairie chicken has been a number 8 priority.

Then in December, 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Service looked at all the new things going on in prairie chicken range and made the decision that they needed to move that number up to a 2, which indicates to all of us in prairie chicken conservation that we’re very close to a listing.

Whitlaw says some of the new threats in lesser prairie chicken habitat include wind turbines and oil and gas developments.

A nesting lesser prairie chicken, female specifically, perceives a tall structure or a big group of tall structures like wind turbines on the landscape as a threat, maybe something they perceive as where they’re predators might perch.

But as they are slowly pushed off the prairies, the chickens have nowhere else to go.

And because all lesser prairie chickens currently live on private land, researchers are continuing to work with land owners to keep this species from becoming endangered.

That’s our show, made possible with a grant from the Wildlife Program…working to restore wildlife habitat in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Lesser Prairie Chicken Play Now | Play in Popup | Download