Passport to Texas

Big Buck at Choke Canyon State Park

Hunt | Habitat: Texas Big Game Awards Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Big Game Awards started in 1991 as a partnership between the Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife as a means to document the native big game resources we have in the state.

05—And also, to celebrate our hunting heritage and recognize young and new hunters.

Justin Dreibelbis is Hunting Heritage Program Director at the Texas Wildlife Association.

12— We have scored entries that have to meet a certain scoring criteria for that particular region. And then we also have unscored categories which are our youth division and our first harvest division.

Texas Big Game Awards recognizes white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, Desert Bighorn Sheep and… this was a surprise… javelina.

08—At this point it’s still kind of a well-kept secret. But it’s something that we do want to publicize that javelinas are actually able to be scored and entered into TBGA, too.

The awards showcase quality big game in Texas, and prove thoughtful land management can produce big healthy game animals, especially deer, anywhere. And, Justin says that makes landowners take notice.

19—It kind of opens up people’s eyes to going, hey, you know what – we’ve never grown any big deer around here before, but it’s possible. And that’s something we’re constantly telling people: if you let a deer get old enough, and you manage the habitat so that it has plenty of groceries at every point during its life, you have the ability to grow a big deer anywhere in the state.

More on the Texas Big Game Awards tomorrow. That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas Mule Deer

Hunt | Habitat: Texas Wildlife Association Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Healthy habitat means healthy wildlife. The non-profit Texas Wildlife Association – a TPWD partner – ensures both by empowering private landowners to embrace good land management practices.

15—With private land, making up, upwards of 95 percent of the land in Texas, [landowners] they’re the ones making the real decisions that affect all the people that live in our state. And, so, we need to give them the tools and resources they need to make wise use of the land that they’re the stewards of.

Justin Dreibelbis is Hunting Heritage Program Director at TWA. The organization documents the result of good land management practices through its annual Texas Big Game Awards Program, which proves quality bucks, for example, are not the sole domain of South Texas.

13—Our Texas Big Game Awards has helped us document those exceptional big game harvests around the state; we’ve been doing it since 1991 as a record-keeping program for the state, identifying those exceptional big game animals that are taken each year.

He says TWA reviews this large dataset and the variables associated with producing exceptional big game animals.

08— And so that data set allows Parks and Wildlife to go back and look at trends with rainfall and land use and make large-scale management decisions around the state.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

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

Merry Christmas from Texas State Parks.

Parks: Christmas Events in Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get close to nature this season at holiday events in state parks, historic sites or natural areas. When I spoke with Thomas Wilhelm, 60 events were on December’s calendar.

06—We keep an updated list on our events calendar, so there’s probably more there now.

Wilhelm works for state parks, and says there’s sure to be a holiday event nearby to help put you in the spirit of the season. If you’re in East Texas or traveling there…

20—Tyler SP is doing their Winter Wonderland Hike [Pineywood Christmas Celebration]. They are inviting people to come in, decorate their campsites, and if you decorate your campsite, you get to stay for free in the park. And then, they’re inviting people to come in and drive through the campsites, or hike through the campsites, and see all the decorated areas. And, if you’re participating in the event, you don’t pay entrance fees to come and check it out.

That’s December 13. Also on the 13th, in Central Texas-ish, Washington-on-the-Brazos, and the Barrington Living History Farm offer special events.

18—The full name of the event is Christmas on the Brazos. The day starts with readings of Christmas stories and literature in the morning. Then, later on in the day they’ll have music, and a variety of vendors selling crafts; a great opportunity to not only get into the Christmas spirit, but also do a little Christmas shopping.

That’s just a taste. Visit passporttotexas.org to find a link to the Christmas in the Parks brochure.

Our Show is funded in part by RAM Trucks…guts..glory..RAM.

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

Relocating Desert Bighorn Sheep, photo by Earl Nottingham, TPWD

TPW TV: Home Again (Desert Bighorn Sheep) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There’s a special quality about Far West Texas; and, as Froylan Hernandez can tell you, when the Desert Bighorn Sheep is on the landscape, it’s awe-inspiring.

08—When I’m up on top of Elephant Mountain, my first glimpse of them, it’s overwhelming. Even if it’s just a single animal.

Hernandez is Desert Bighorn Sheep Program Leader for Texas Parks & Wildlife. Meet him on an upcoming segment of the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series airing the week of December 8.

20—Historically, the native Texas Desert Bighorn Sheep occurred in about 16 mountain ranges out here in the Trans Pecos. Mainly due to unregulated hunting, diseases associated with the introduction of domestic sheep and goats, and net wire fencing – they brought the demise of the Desert Bighorn. And by the early 1960s, they were all gone from Texas.

For more than fifty years, Texas parks and Wildlife and partners have worked to restore the Bighorn to its home range in Texas.

08—Luckily, the population in Texas is now big enough, we’re using those sources to transplant the animals to Big Bend Ranch State park.

And Big Bend Ranch SP superintendent Ron Trevizo welcomes them to a new home on the range.

07—When we started talking about the release coming in – to release the Desert Bighorn Sheep at Big Bend Ranch, I’m like – Yea, that’s great!

See how agency biologists translocate Desert Bighorn Sheep to Big Bend Ranch SP on a segment of the TPW PBS TV series, the week of December 8.

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

Le Conte’s Sparrow, image by Greg Lavaty, from www.audubon.org

Birding: Finding a Christmas Bird Count Near You Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Counting birds at dawn during the Christmas Bird Count guarantees you’ll see lots of them. Yet, a big bunch of birds can lead to confusion.

04—Especially if you get into a big flock of robins or grackles; you just have to start estimating numbers. But, it’s really fun when you start getting big numbers of species. You know, you’ve only been out for an hour and you already have 30 species of birds; that’s really fun.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. This year’s count is December 14 through January 5.

07—There are over a hundred Christmas Bird Counts in Texas; so, chances are there’s one in existence in your area.

Counts take place inside 15-mile radius circles. Cliff says the best way to find a nearby count is online.

09—Search for Christmas Bird Counts in Texas, and figure out which one is nearest you. Also, you’ll see who the compiler is, and you can get phone number or email and start coordinating with that person.

Compilers act as “captains” of their circles, and relay data from the count back to Audubon, which analyzes it. Birders of all skill levels are welcome.

23—And what they’ll do [if you’re a novice] is stick you with some seasoned vets, and that’s really good because you learn a lot when you’re out in the field with someone whose been doing this awhile. So you go out with this team of observers and you basically beat the bushes and try to see as much as you can see. It’s a lot of fun.

The data volunteers collect help researchers better understand trends as they relate to our feathered friends.

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