Passport to Texas

Whoopers Could Break Record Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The last naturally breeding wild flock of endangered whooping cranes winters along the Texas Coast at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport.

04—they spend from about mid-November to about mid-April here in Texas.

Lee Ann Linam is a biologist with the Wildlife Diversity Program at Parks and Wildlife. We spoke in mid November when the birds were just beginning to show up along the coast following their long migration from their breeding grounds in Canada.

10—We have about 25 or 26 whoopers that have been sighted on the Texas coast. We normally, though, don’t get our final count until late December or perhaps early January.

The flock was nearly extinct in the late 1930s 1940s with fewer than 20 members, but its population has grown slowly thanks to well-coordinated efforts to protect habitat and the birds.

20—We had a peak of 283 in Texas last winter, which was a new record. We had approximately37 to 40 chicks that were fledged and were ready to fly I n late august in Canada, according to aerial surveys. So, if we get good enough survival, then we might hit that magic 300 mark.

The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge has a website that updates whooper arrivals, but…

04—The very best experience is to go down and see whooping cranes for yourself.

That’s our show for today. The sport fish and Wildlife restoration program supports our series and fund conservation programs in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Whoopers Continue to Rebound Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As many as 1,400 whooping cranes migrated across North America to the Texas coast in the mid-1800s. By the mid 1940s, the population that wintered here was down to just 18 birds.

08—In the early days, it was primarily unregulated shooting that was causing loss of whooping cranes. And that was something that was fairly easy to control.

Lee Ann Linam is a biologist with the Wildlife Diversity Program at Parks and Wildlife. Because of well-coordinated efforts to protect habitat on the part of both agencies and private landowners, the birds have rebounded, but challenges remain.

11—But now the issues are pretty complex. Things like drought and climate change contributing to things like reduced freshwater inflows. Even the red tide occurrences are threatening the coast this year.

Healthy estuaries are critical to the survival of this magnificent species.

17—In the long-term, we as Texans have the challenge of figuring out how to keep those entire ecosystems healthy with sufficient freshwater inflows; balancing water needs and water uses, because everyone really is affected. So things like water use planning that are going on too, is an important part of the picture.

How many whooping cranes might we see in Texas this winter? Find out on tomorrow’s show.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife restoration program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

LBJ State Park Christmas Tree Lighting Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When Lyndon Johnson was president, he and the first lady started a tradition: the annual Christmas tree lighting at their Hill Country home in Stonewall.

19—This is one of the special times where community and family and friends can gather together for a traditional tree lighting in the Texas Hill Country. And it was sparked by the president and Mrs. Johnson 42 years ago so that the community could get together and enjoy the holiday spirit.

Since that first tree lighting, the homestead has become the LBJ State Park and Historic Site, and Iris Neffendorf its superintendent.

22—We really go all out here at the state park with decorations. And we open up with a wonderful tree lighting program in our courtyard, with a lighted native cedar tree. And there’s music, and folks that come and do many different things—even a live nativity scene.

This annual event is free and open to the public.

[Music: Here Comes Santa Clause…run through end of show]

20— The 42nd annual LBJ tree lighting is on Sunday, December the 18th at 6 pm. We also do a couple of pre program activities should the public want to come out earlier, and then see how it really turns into a festive event in the evening.

Find full details at www.texasstateparks.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

History of Christmas Trees in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The custom of decorating trees for Christmas took root in German villages during the sixteenth century.

07—A lot of Germans, as you know, settled Texas. And they brought a tradition with them of the tabletop Christmas tree.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites.

12—When you look at interior photographs of Texas houses, you see many tabletop Christmas trees ornamented for the season, particularly in German households in the late nineteenth century Texas.

Ornaments were handmade then, and small gifts often dangled from branches. Eventually, the tabletop conifer gave way to larger trees that became “floor models,” and the decorations sometimes mirrored the day’s events.

22—You saw more and more seven or eight feet trees that were placed on the floor. And because we had just ended the Spanish American war in victory, there was a fashion in the early part of the twentieth century to decorate trees with a few American flags here and there. We have photographic evidence for that.

What kinds of ornaments will hang from your tree this year? Tell us about it at passportotexas.org.

That’s our show… we record our series at the The Block House in Austin, Texas, and For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Wear out the Kids at a State Park Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you have family visiting for the holidays—including a bunch of kiddos—the best place to entertain them and to wear them out at the same time is at a state park. Bryan Frazier explains.

55—State Parks are great places to get out and enjoy during the Christmas holiday vacation that we have here in Texas, because, typically, it’s a pretty moderate climate.

So, you have a chance to get them out of the house and off of the couch, and you’re out in the park and your together as a family. And it’s just something that works out great at a state park.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.