Passport to Texas

Big Bend Tree Lizard, image by Michael Smith

Tech/Wildlife: iNaturalist Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next time you observe an amphibian or reptile share it with Herps of Texas (HOT) online at iNaturalist (http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/herps-of-texas).

10 — We chose to go with the platform iNaturalist, because it is accessible, and at the same time, allows us to capture the data we need for our database.

Cullen Hanks manages the Texas Natural Diversity Database at Texas Parks and Wildlife. He says identifying the species before posting it online isn’t necessary.

26—By doing so, it encourages the community to help them validate that observation by figuring out what the species ID is. iNaturalist covers what kinds of species? You can post any species of plant or animal to iNaturalist. You can post something even if you don’t know what species it is. For example, if you see a lizard and you don’t know what species of lizard it is, by posting it, the community will help you identify that species.

This crowd-sourced information helps Cullen map known herp populations across the state.

12—And we found this is a great platform that allows people to share these observations that they’re seeing out there, but it also – by setting up a project – it allows us to capture the data we need so that those observations have value to conservation.

Learn more about Herps of Texas on iNaturalist in an article by Cullen Hanks in the November issue of Texas parks and Wildlife Magazine.

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

Zebra mussels on water intake pipe.

Invasives: Impact of Zebra Mussels Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Zebra Mussels, originally from Eastern Europe, ended up in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s in the ballast of ships. Since then…

05— They’ve been pretty steadily moving across much of the eastern and central portion of the United States.

Inland fisheries biologist Brian Van Zee says zebra mussels arrived in Lake Texoma in 2009; now they occupy waters in north and north central Texas – most recently in Lake Belton.

10—They’re primarily moved from water body to water body by boaters, who don’t take the time to clean, drain and dry from an infested lake to a non-infested lake.

Zebra mussels attach to hard surfaces, including rocks, docks, boats and even other animals. As filter feeders, they impact the aquatic food chain, and clog water intake pipes of municipal utility districts, causing significant increases in maintenance and operational costs. So boaters: clean, drain and dry.

20—On a general rule of thumb, we recommend boaters dry their boats for a week before they go from one lake to the next, if at all possible. If they just pull the plug out of the bottom of the boat, lower the engines down, and make sure there’s no water in them, and make sure the live wells are empty, and open those compartments up and let them dry in between going from one lake to the next, you really reduce that risk of moving zebra mussels from one lake to another.

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

Zebra Mussels

Wildlife/Citizen Science: Helping Biologists Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Mussel Watch volunteers collect data on rare and at risk mussel species.

20— Texas Mussel Watch Volunteers get out there in water bodies in their local communities, and they record all of the freshwater mussels that they observe at that site. And it takes a really special person to do that, because they’ve got to get in the water, muck around in the mud…. They’re just really special volunteers.

Program coordinator, Marsha May said during routine monitoring, one of her volunteers made an important discovery.

30— Near the end of September, one of my volunteers sent me an email with fabulous photographs of a species she found in Lake Belton attached to another native mussel, and really to me it looked to me like Zebra Mussels. I wanted to be absolutely sure, because that’s not something you take lightly. I sent the email with the photographs on to Inland Fisheries and they sent some folks out to Lake Belton and confirmed that they were Zebra Mussels.

Zebra mussels are a highly destructive non-native invasive species, and we’ll learn more about them tomorrow.

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

Horned lizard

Wildlife/Citizen Science: Texas Nature Trackers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

Deer hunters in the field.

Hunting: Hunters as Conservationists Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hunting is not only a tradition in Texas—it is also a commitment to wildlife conservation.

16—Hunters started to see declines in certain game species populations and habitat. And realized if they want to enjoy perusing game (it doesn’t even have be for harvest), just if they want to see that perpetuated so their kids, and future generations can enjoy that, they realized they needed to protect it.

Alan Cain, Texas whitetail deer program leader, says in the early 20th century, hunters chose to conserve wildlife through taxation.

22—In 1937, you had the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act – called the Pittman-Robertson Act – [signed into law]. Basically it’s a user pay system where the hunters said, ‘okay, we’re going to tax ourselves to help pay for wildlife conservation.’ And that’s been a huge success. In my opinion, that’s why North America has the best wildlife management conservation model in the world – because hunters pay for that.

Hunters pay with the licenses they buy, and the excise taxes levied on firearms, ammunition and other equipment, which goes directly to fund conservation.

11— And then the second part of that is that hunters not only play a role in funding conservation that benefits everybody, but they also play a role in managing deer populations out there.

By removing deer from the landscape, they help keep habitat in balance for all wildlife.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds whitetail research in Texas.

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