Passport to Texas

Caddo Lake

Wetlands: Caddo Lake Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Abundant water and huge old cypress trees makes Caddo Lake ideal wildlife habitat.

06 – Caddo Lake is the mother load for several species of neo-tropical migrants.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist stationed in Nacogdoches. The prothonotary warbler, northern parula, and yellow-throated warbler flock to Caddo.

17 – A dawn chorus of those warblers singing is quite a neat thing. It’s good to be out in a boat, a canoe, a kayak, something where you can get out in the middle of the swamp to hear these things—they’re just loud and explosive. It’s really refreshing to hear things like that singing in the morning.

But warblers aren’t the only creatures that make use of Caddo’s resources. Vanessa Adams is the area biologist at the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area. And says you’ll find white-tailed deer and…

14 – We unfortunately do have feral hog, but that is a huntable population, of course. We see several species of ducks. You’ll see wood duck year round. We get mallards; we have other unusual ducks. In fact, we’ve had white bellied whistling ducks nest here.

There’s more information about Caddo lake on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and provides funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

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

Mother’s Day in a Texas State Park

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Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, recommends giving Mom the gift of the great outdoors.

47 – There’s a dilemma sometimes of ‘what do I do that’s special for my mom?” So, I want to encourage people to think not only outside the box – think outside. Take your mom on a hike, on a scavenger hunt a la Geocaching; sign her up for a Texas Outdoor Woman’s workshop, or sign the whole family up for a Texas Outdoor Family guided camping experience. Or, just go together with the family and enjoy some time along a nature trail. There are moms out there that love to fish, too. She will never need a fishing license inside a Texas State park with the free fishing in state parks program. So, there’s lots of different things to do, from the spontaneous to the planned event. Check the calendar at texasstateparks.org and this year – maybe this maybe mom needs a trip outside.

Thanks, Bryan.

Find myriad outdoor opportunities to share with mom on mother’s day and every day at texasstateparks.org.

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.

Picnics in Parks

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The merry month of May brings with it ideal weather; the perfect weather, in fact, for packing a picnic and heading to a nearby state park.

It’s also when we celebrate Mom. Mother’s Day is May 12th. Why not combine the two and take mom on a picnic? Just don’t let her do the food prep.

Picnicking is our Outdoor Activity of the Month for May, and we’ve created a page with recipes that are easy to make ahead, or prepare onsite. They are courtesy of chefs, food bloggers, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Go Texan program, and the Texas Beef Council.

Your picnic can be as simple as burgers cooked over a campfire and served with chips, sodas, and cookies for dessert. Or it can include more unusual, fresh, and tasty fare such as sugar snap peas with basil, Jamaican jerks wings, or nectarine cobbler (which would cook up beautifully in a Dutch oven).

You’ll find the picnic recipes on the activities page of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. In addition, you’ll be able to check the weather forecast in your area, find food safety tips, as well as much more information to make your Mother’s Day picnic – or any picnic –in a state park a day to remember.

Because not only is life better outside…food tastes better outside, too.

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

Indian Lodge

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Coming up on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series the week of May 12 a story where a cooler head prevailed. Producer, Alan Fisher has details.

63— We profile an employee – Stephanie Rubio – who works at Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains State Park. Stephanie is one of the people who keeps Indian Lodge running. I think Stephanie probably has one of those jobs that if everything is going right you wouldn’t know that she was even working there. But, there was a particular incident in April of 2011, where she had quite a different day at work, and really rose to the occasion. So, in April of 2011, there was a wild fire that started outside of Marfa and tore all the way into Fort Davis. Stephanie was really in charge at that time; she was kind of the only person there to sort of keep an eye on things. And she made the decision to evacuate people out of safety concern. With the fire approaching, she saw the danger – only one road in and out – and made sure that everybody was safe. Everyone who knows her well, said that she’s always very calm and collected; and she really stayed calm through the entire incident. I think afterwards she kind of realized that that was kind of a big deal, but a very modest person. Humble; would never brag about it. Just doing her job.

Thanks, Alan.

Support provided by Ram Trucks. Doing what’s right and good regardless of the degree of difficulty — takes guts. Those are the people who build Ram trucks. RAM.

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

Sirloin with Sugar Snap Peas, © Courtesy Texas Beef Council

Outdoor Activity of hte Month: Picnics in Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

May is Picnicking Month at Texas Parks and Wildlife and our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, recommends heading to a state park with your favorite foods.

56 – Do we really need any incentive to eat while we’re doing something we enjoy? This is one more time to do that. And, it seems like, when you’re outdoors, whether you’ve cooked over a campfire or one of the grills in the picnic area, or whether you packed it ahead of time and put in all your favorite foods and snacks (it can be everything from sandwiches or hotdogs, to venison to veggies), take it with you, and find a beautiful place. It seems food tastes better with a great view. And some of our state parks have fantastic places for picnicking. There’s day use areas that have picnic tables. There are picnic tables in most all of the campsites you can find. And then there are designated areas along lake shores. Or, sometimes maybe you’re on this remote wilderness trek backpacking, and there’s a little rest area or a bench off the trail. Take your lunch there and enjoy it. It can really be a unique dining experience when you get a picnic with a view.

Thanks, Bryan.

Find picnicking information at www.texasstateparks.org.

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.