Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Getting lost is unsettling for adults and downright terrifying for children—especially if they’re in a wilderness area.

:05— We teach them what they need to know to survive out there if they do get lost.

David Owens, assistant manager at Lake Mineral Wells State park, often teaches children wilderness survival skills. He does this by playing games with the kids, and by using acronyms such as S.T.O.P. to help focus their attention.

:23—And the acronym for the STOP sign tells them to: S—stay put; don’t go any further, you may get more and more lost. To T—think; think about initial things they need to do to start with. O—observe; look at their surroundings; make sure they stay in a safe place. And P—plan; plan on how to use the things that they may have brought that can help them out.

Parents should provide their young hikers with a pack containing a whistle to make noise, a mirror they can use as a signaling device, and a plastic trash bag.

:15—A garbage sack can help in many ways. You can make a raincoat out of it; you can also use it to flag down search and rescue people looking for you. I’ve had kids tell me you can make a shade if it’s too hot. So we teach them how to do a lot of those things.

There’s a wilderness survival skills workshop at Lake Mineral Wells SP on May 22. Find details in the calendar section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Later this month a handful of lucky sportsman will participate in a Texas Parks and Wildlife special permit hunt for alligators in South Texas at the Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area, Choke Canyon Reservoir.

:09—By conducting these hunts, we can collect harvest data and learn more about this species which will, in turn, help us to manage the species and to conserve it.

Chris Mostyn is a wildlife biologist at the Daughtrey, a 44-hundred acre WMA that surrounds the Choke Canyon Reservoir.

:16—Choke Canyon reservoir is public water, and it is unlawful for anyone to use firearms or harvest alligators in open waters by any means…unless under the special permit that we use to harvest alligators through Parks and Wildlife at the Daughtrey.

Information on drawn hunts is available in a publication called Special Drawing and Regular Permit Hunting Opportunities.

:24—There’s application cards in the back for the alligator hunt category hunt here at the Daughtrey. You simply just need to apply and send the application card with the appropriate fees to TPW where each hunter will be put into a computerized random selection process. And if you are selected, you will be able to participate in the alligator hunts.

Although the drawing for this opportunity is over, you can apply for other alligator hunts that happen later in the year at other WMAs.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

:04—You know, I think my dogs like me more now since I took them on all those hikes.

Melissa Gaskill hiked over three hundred miles with her dogs while conducting research for her book, Best Hikes with Dogs Texas Hill Country and Gulf Coast.

:13—I really love the Lake Georgetown Trail. I also love the Hill Country State Natural Area. That one was really great. And then, some of the East Texas trails in the Big Thicket, in the National Forests. You get into deep thick woods and you find all kids of swampy areas.

Some of her favorite hikes were in Texas State Parks.

:26—In my experience, all the hikes that I made in state parks – it was really easy to stay on the trail. You know there’s lots of nice amenities, the staff is always really helpful. They’re always really excited you’re there and willing to share what they know. And there’s so much variety. I hiked in Galveston Island State Park, which is basically just walking through a coastal marsh – tons of wildflowers and you see waterfowl. Nice vistas, they had a viewing tower that you could climb up. And then, you know, you hike in Enchanted rock and you’re climbing a giant rock.

Gaskill says Texas has a lot of variety to offer hikers and their furry friends.

:05—Among these trails, there’s just about anything you could want from flat coasts to mountains and everything in between.

Find more information about hiking on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

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