Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Texas Nature Tracker is a program designed to help citizens learn how to monitor and share data on rare species around the state.

10— This citizen science program is a great one to get citizens involved in collecting data on species that we don’t have enough biologists to actually do the work.

Biologist, Marsha May, coordinates the Nature Tracker Program for Parks and Wildlife. Depending on their interests, volunteers receive training for one or more targeted species…

13— Texas whooping cranes, bumblebees, frogs and toads, the box turtle survey, coastal fisheries has one for tarpon, Texas horned lizards, and Texas mussel watch.

Once trained, volunteers monitor the species and report back to May with their data, which in turn provides value to state biologists.

09— The value comes from not having enough boots on the ground to get out there to find out what’s going on with populations throughout the state.

Tomorrow, we tell you about one Nature Tracker volunteer who discovered a destructive invasive species in a Texas Lake.

05—Well, that particular one that you’re talking about is the zebra mussel.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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