Passport to Texas

TPW TV: Caprock's Bison Refuge Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Legendary Texas rancher, Charles Goodnight helped preserve the last of the southern plains bison… the descendants of which are the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park.

Texas parks and Wildlife TV Producer Bruce Beirmann says expect a segment this month that explores the herd’s legacy and their new enclosure.

56—Just recently, the park opened up a whole other pasture so they now have a thousand acres to roam.

You have to go see these bison. It’s the one place where you can still get right up to them [but you must remain in your vehicle] and experience it. It’s an experience you don’t want to miss.

Thanks, Bruce.

The show air the week of January 13

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

History: Butchering and Curing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They’re going whole hog at Barrington Living History Farm. On January 12 & 13 they’ll present a hog butchering and curing program to the public.

05—Butchering is just one part of many things that we do seasonally throughout the year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at the farm, located at Washington-on-the-Brazos SHS. The program takes place outdoors in January just as would have happened in 1850s rural Texas.

15—So, all the meat that will be produced, and the sausage and the fat that we will save for soap or cooking all needs to be at a constant temperature, which is cold—like your fridge. So that we can start the curing process without worrying about it spoiling.

The public will not witness staff dispatch the Ossabaw Island Hog: a heritage breed. After that, Barb says the rest is for public view, which is mostly a demonstration, but…

18—People are able to do a tiny bit if they choose—like helping us scrape the hogs. But cutting up the carcass into specific portions of meat is only done by staff. A lot of people come right at 10, and we normally have a big group waiting. And then on Sunday, we focus on more of the preservation aspect.

Visitors may return Sunday to see how staff cures the meat for storage.

The butchering and curing program at Barrington Living History Farm is January 12 & 13, beginning at 10 a.m. both days. Find complete details at texasstateparks.org.

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

Barrington Living History Farm, Image by Rob McCorkle

History: Texas Farm Life 1850s Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Life in rural 1850s Texas wasn’t a charming, simple existence. Eating, for example, was an exercise in long-range planning.

11—One part of being a farmer, not only is growing what you’re going to need to eat today, or tomorrow or the day after. But you’re projecting ahead, maybe six months or a year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at Barrington Living History Farm SHS at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The farm belonged to Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. Being president didn’t mean Jones was on easy-street.

23—Even for this family, which is upper middle class, they’re still worried about survival on a more intimate basis than we are. You know, just even getting hot water is a chore, not only in hauling, but then you have to heat it up. So, all the daily chores than we have today, and a lot more forethought—as well as just physical labor. Men, women and children—everybody’s working towards family survival.

Dispatching livestock and then curing the meat for use throughout the year was a chore that rural Texas families performed during cold months, because they lacked mechanical refrigeration. This month, visitors to Barrington Living History Farm have an opportunity to witness parts of that process.

02—We get a lot of interest in this event.

And if you’re interested, we’ll have details tomorrow.

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

Texas Outdoor Family Workshop

State Parks: Texas Outdoor Family Grants Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Need guidance when it comes to spending time outdoors? The Texas Outdoor Family program can help.

23—And it basically just helps teach people how to camp, or remind them of the skills of pitching tents and building fires safely, and how to take their family outdoors. It’s something that we believe very strongly in here at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Our state park guide Bryan Frazier says there are now ninety thousand additional reasons why the program is better than ever.

31—Texas Outdoor Families, through our interpretive services, here at Parks and Wildlife, received a ninety-thousand dollar grant from the National Outdoor industry Foundation. And that can actually parlay into a few hundred thousand dollars down the road. So, it’s a really important thing for lots of reasons. Not only does it recognize this program as significant, but it helps fund this program that state tax dollars now can be used in other ways. What it does, is it essentially allows us to stretch our budget. So, Kudos to our interpretive services and Texas Outdoor Families for getting this grant.

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.

Conservation: Flagler Ranch Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Flagler Ranch is 36 hundred acres of Texas Hill Country. Since George Matthews purchased it in 1992, he’s used an ecosystem management approach. Before his stewardship, the land had suffered 100 years of abuse.

03—As far as being overgrazed by cattle and sheep and goats.

Louis Scherer III manages Flagler Ranch, which he said, had too many white tail deer.

15—And through MLD3 permits, we have got the whitetails population down to one in twelve per acre. Since we’ve done that and the other management practices, our weight per animal, and antler growth has almost doubled.

Flagler Ranch was a Lone Star Land Steward eco-region award winner for the Edwards Plateau in 2010. Jerry Turrentine is a consulting biologist for the ranch.

17—We’re trying to integrate various techniques into an overall ranch management plan. We’re looking at food plots. We’re going to bring back some rare plants through some plantings. We’re going to do some reintroductions of forbes and grasses…we’re trying to be a learning area for other ranches in the plateau.

Water is vital in any ecosystem, and Joyce Moore with TPWD says Flagler Ranch has done an exemplary job of collecting it.

10—And so what the Flagler ranch has been doing, which is very innovative, is they’ve been placing these spreader dams along these drainages to capture every bit of rain that Mother nature does provide.

Learn about the Lone star Land Stewards Awards on the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

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