Passport to Texas

Carter Smith © Lynn McBride, the Nature Conservancy

Looking Back on 50 Years at TPWD Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fifty years ago the State Parks Board and the Texas Game and Fish Commission merged.

03— To create what is now the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Carter Smith is Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director.

37—There was a lot of angst and anxiety over that merger and acquisition and what would that mean: Would the state’s fish and wildlife and their conservation somehow be diluted by the merger with the State Parks Board, or would state parks suffer because of too much emphasis on fish and wildlife and law enforcement and other programs? But I think any objective person looking back on the past 50 years and all the attendant accomplishments and milestones that have come from the creation of this department would have to call it an unqualified success.

State park acreage has increased tenfold since the merger; the agency reintroduced desert bighorn sheep to their traditional range in Far West Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife developed a world class Largemouth Bass fishery, and created myriad opportunities for Texans to enjoy the outdoors. And that’s just a fraction the accomplishments from the first fifty years.

15— There’s been some extraordinary synergies that have come from the creation of this fine agency that is so rich with lore and legacy and history and heritage and meaning to all Texans. And Looking back it seems like an awfully good idea at the time.

Tomorrow: Looking ahead to the next fifty years. Until then, spend time outdoors and share it with others, because Life’s Better Outside.

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

Cedar Waxwing: Ben Thomas, Georgia

Birding: Great Backyard Bird Count Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Birds indicate the health of our environment, says Pat Leonard, who coordinates the Great Backyard Bird Count for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a joint project with the Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada.

07— And, so, by understanding what’s happening to them – both good and bad –we have a measure of what we should be doing to preserve the environment.

The bird count, in its sixteenth year, is a citizen science project where birders around the world tally species not only in backyards, but anywhere there are birds—and then report their findings online.

17—What we’re going to do for the 2013 count, is integrating it with another big online bird checklist program we run with Audubon called eBird. What that will allow us to do is have much more valuable data, because the locations that people put in for their birding activity is much more precise.

Birders must register with the website bird count dot org to input their findings. Researchers use the data to study the various species and their habitat. And Pat says Texas participation is high.

18— Texas is such a birdy state. And in the count we had for 2012, it was number two after California for the most species. Corpus Christi was actually number one in terms of localities reporting the most species. They had 184. You can’t say birds, bird count, and leave Texas out of the equation.

Go to bird count dot org for more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count, February 15 -18.

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

Image courtesy of Lois Miller © Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Birding: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Winter is a great time for birding in Texas, and much of what we know about birds comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York. It’s a world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds.

06— We are a part of Cornell University, but we are also a semi-independent unit of the university.

Pat Leonard works at the lab, which she says is also a nonprofit membership organization with 45-thousand members nationwide supporting their work.

12—So, there’s that outreach to the public side, but then we’re also a research institution. We have people here studying feeder birds, we’re studying specific species, bird biology, bird behavior, bird sounds…

Here’s where it gets interesting. In addition to studying birds, Pat says the Cornell lab of Ornithology also studies whales and elephants.

26—Because of our interest in sounds and communication of animals, we develop a lot of high tech tools for gathering and recording sounds that can be studied later. Some of those devices are used on land to capture bird sounds and to track migration, for example. But we also have devices that we put under the
ocean to track whales, particularly the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, and then we also put them out to track forest elephants in Africa.

While the Lab’s research may seem broad, Pat Leonard says it always comes back to biodiversity and preserving places for these types of animals to continue to survive.

Tomorrow: a citizen science project that’s for the birds.

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

Birders at Blind, image © John W. Liston

State Parks: World Birding Center Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Winter is one of the best times for birders to visit the World Birding Center in the Rio Grande Valley. Our state park guide Bryan Frazier says this sub tropical region boasts myriad species that you won’t see at any other place or time of year in Texas.

58— You’ve got about 500 species of birds that either reside there, or travel through there and spend some time there. And winter months, particularly in January, is about the best time to see most of them. And we’re talking about everything from birds of prey like Swainson’s hawks and falcons, to colorful sub tropic species like Altamira orioles and groove billed Anis. And Green jays – just spectacularly colored birds that draw people from all over. These are one of the few places you can see them – and one of the only places in Texas where you can see them. And, wintertime, in general, is the best time to go down there. Head to the Rio Grande Valley, and you can visit Estero Llano Grande SP in Weslaco, Resaca de la Palma SP, just outside of Brownsville, and
Bentsen Rio Grande Valley SP…the food and the culture there in South Texas is rich and diverse and unique. And the birding opportunities are second to none.

Thanks, Bryan.

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.

Giant Salvinia photo by Larry Hodge

Invasives: Aquarium Animals and Plants Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[Nats aquarium] Pet stores like Rivers and Reefs in Austin sell fish and plant species from all over the world.

10—Most of your Tetris species are from South America. Even your average gold-fish comes from China. Some of your Amazon sword plants obviously come from South America from the Amazon River.[ambience trails]

Manager Rachel Pohl says that’s why people should be careful not to dump their aquariums in rivers or lakes or even flush live fish down the toilet.

08—Some of these fish get into our rivers and start eating our fingerlings in our rivers, and it starts unbalancing the native population because they don’t have a predator here.

And it’s not just fish. Parks and Wildlife aquatic habitat biologist Howard Elder says the extremely invasive giant salvinia started out as a decorative aquarium plant… but it didn’t stay there.

09—Giant salvinia was found in a Houston school yard in 1998. It has since been found in 17 public reservoirs.

And it’s not pretty anymore.

10—The plant can produce dense mats that actually block out sunlight and displace native vegetation and fish species as well as many wildlife species.

So, enjoy your aquarium, but if you tire of it, don’t dump your fish and plants…check to see if a pet store will accept unwanted fish or at least tell you where you can take them.

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