Passport to Texas

Learning to shoot during Hunter Education

The Next Steps: Hunting 101 Classes Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Would-be hunters born on or after September 2, 1971 must successfully complete a Texas Hunter Education training—where they learn firearm safety—in order to legally hunt. But the learning doesn’t have to stop there.

In our advanced hunter education efforts, [you’ll learn] everything from dove hunting, to deer hunting and turkey hunting—and all the kinds of hunting that goes on in Texas. You can learn more about the species, about its habits, behaviors. Where to go hunting and the time of year to go hunting for those species.

Steve Hall is hunter education coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Hunters have an opportunity to expand their understanding of the species they hunt.

We’re launching a Hunting 101 program that enables folks to really learn more about individual species or methods, such as bow hunting and muzzle loading.

The new Hunter 101 program will launch this summer.

We’ve been testing dove hunting 101, turkey hunting and hog hunting 101workshops already. So, we’re going to launch this summer 2016 –mostly for dove hunting, in preparation of the dove hunting season. And we’re doing that in partnership with the Texas Dove Hunter’s Association. All of these Hunting 101’s will be in partnership with conservation organizations. All of them, of which, are located in Texas as well.

Find hunter education information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Texas Fisheries Coastal Ecosystems Map

Get to Know Coastal Fisheries Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Texas Parks and Wildlife achieves its conservation and regulatory goals via input from its various divisions, including Coastal Fisheries.

We work mainly on the coast with saltwater fishing, conservation, habitat, wildlife, marine life – anything that’s along the coast.

Julie Hagen is social media specialist for Coastal Fisheries. Researchers from the division’s eight field offices do their work on the water.

They are going out into the bay systems, into the Gulf. And they’re monitoring our marine resources: the fish, the habitat… They’re constantly going out and doing surveys. And so, they’re testing the water for salinity; they’re gathering fish and different marine life, collecting their weight, their sizes, and their ages. We’re collecting all that data for a very large dataset that we use for marine monitoring resources.

Once collected, the data doesn’t languish on a spreadsheet collecting dust.

With all the data that we get, we can go back, and if we need to make any changes to the regulations—we can do that. For instance, we were seeing the flounder population decreasing over the past few decades. So, we made some changes, and we’re seeing the population go up.

Monitoring, surveys and adjusting regulations allows TPW to maintain healthy coastal ecosystems for all.

So, we’re constantly making sure that we have the right regulations in place so that we can still go out and fish, but that we’re also not harming the resource.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program support our series.

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

Learning to cook wild game and fish at Central Market Cooking Schools

Statewide Wild Game and Fish Cooking Classes Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cooking what you harvest can be intimidating for the new hunter. Of course, first thing is proper care in the field. And we have instructions for that on the Parks and Wildlife website. But in the kitchen? How do you coax the best flavor from these wild proteins?

If you haven’t eaten game, it does taste different than commodity meats, but that’s not a bad thing. Wildlife eat a diet more varied than domestically raised animals—and those flavor profiles show up in the meat. Because game is free range, the meat is naturally lean, and requires different preparation methods.

Before fall hunting season begins, sample and even try your hand at cooking wild proteins at the game and fish cookery classes at Central Market Cooking Schools, in collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The cooking schools are in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, Plano, and Southlake. And classes are coming up in July, September and November. Most are hands-on, and each covers the best preparation methods for the featured game. You’ll learn recipes for quail, duck, venison, and wild boar, as well as fish and seafood.

A Parks and Wildlife representative will be on hand to talk about wildlife management and conservation, as well as public hunting lands, and how folks can get started hunting and fishing in Texas. Classes fill fast. Learn more when you log onto passporttotexas.org.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

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Copy and paste this link into your browser to find a cooking class near you: http://www.centralmarket.com/cooking-school.aspx

Image courtesy www.takemefishing.org

Angler Legacy Program Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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If you’re a seasoned angler, put your skills to good use.

We really encourage the avid angler to introduce fishing to at least one new person a year. And there’d be no better time to do that than during National Fishing and Boating Week…

National Fishing and Boating week is now through June 12th, and it’s a project of the non-profit Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, or RBFF. Frank Peterson is president and CEO. He invites anglers who are passionate about sharing the sport with others to join the Anglers’ Legacy Movement.

If they go to our website takemefishing.org, they can join the anglers’ legacy movement. We have over 213-thousand ambassadors around the country who have taken a pledge to introduce fishing to someone new.

On average members of the Anglers’ Legacy movement introduce more than three new people to fishing each year.

Another interesting stat on our Ambassador program is that over 70% of the people they introduce to the sport are under the age of 18. So they’re helping to ensure the future of angling and boating in this country.

So introduce someone to fishing this week.

That would be a great week to just say, hey, I’m going to do something for young people; I’m going to do something for the sport.

Go to takemefishing.org for more information about the Anglers’ Legacy Movement. 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.

Kids enjoying a day of fishing

National Fishing and Boating Week Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Experience the thrill of reeling in a fish, or the joy of boating with family and friends during National Fishing & Boating Week, June 4 through 12th.

We’re going to encourage people to get out on the water.

Frank Peterson is President and CEO of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase participation in fishing and boating.

By helping increase that participation, [we] build awareness for the need to conserve and protect our aquatic resources.

The way anglers and boaters help protect aquatic resources is by doing what they love to do.

By using the resource and buying equipment and buying licenses, putting fuel in their boat, registering their boat… there is excise taxes paid on that equipment that goes directly toward sport fish restoration.

Peterson says National Fishing and Boating Week kicks off in Texas and across the country on June 4th…and in Texas you can always fish free at State Parks.

A lot of states are starting to do that now, and we encourage that. Because the more people we can get fishing at a younger age, the more they’ll fish as an adult. And through participation they’re helping conserve that resource, and that’s very important so that resource is there for the future.

Go to takemefishing.org for more information.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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