Passport to Texas

Nathan Adams and his kiddos searching for Pokémon.

Pokémon Guide to State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Since adding a Pokémon Guide to the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine APP, the publication’s art director, Nathan Adams and his sons, have spent a lot of time in Texas State Parks.

So, every day when I come home, my boys who are six and 10, they want to see what’s been added to the APP–what new parks have been added. And as they flip through the APP on my iPad or my iPhone, [they give me] a laundry list of ‘here’s where we have to go this weekend.’

Through augmented reality, the Pokémon GO APP by Niantic, Inc., populates the outdoors with creatures suited to their locales. Texas Parks and Wildlife’s guide helps to find them in Texas State Parks.

They’re tied to geographic locations. So, if there’s a lot of water in a park, for example, then more water type Pokémon would be there. If there’s a lot of rocks in the park, then you’d have more rock-type Pokémon. So, what you’d find at Hueco Tanks is going to be very different than what you’d find at McKinney Falls.

Parks can harbor some rare Pokémon, but that’s not all.

More than that, going to the park lets you encounter non-virtual creatures who are stunning and beautiful in their own right, and are not pixilated. My children refer to it as Pokémon IRL—or Pokémon in real life. Where suddenly it’s like: ‘Hey, Dad—what is that?’ And it’s caused them to look at other things. It’s caused them to be outside more.

Download the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine Pokémon APP for free from the Texas Parks and Wildlife website…and get outside.

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

Even Pokémon love Texas Wildlife

Hunting for Pokémon in State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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When Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine art director, Nathan Adams’, tech-obsessed sons started to willingly spend time outdoors, he grew curious about their uncharacteristic behavior.

The kids are going outside. They’re going on long walks. And I’m like—what are we doing? ‘Oh, we’re catching Pokémon.’ And I was thinking the card game. But it’s this new video experience.

The Pokémon GO APP by Niantic Inc., became an overnight sensation upon its release in early July. App users search for Pokémon characters in “augmented reality”. This gave Adams an idea.

Because they [his sons] were doing lots of walks and lots of outdoor activities, I thought, ‘Do these exist in parks?’ And lo and behold they did! Hence the idea: can we tie our existing magazine app and our existing parks content to this new phenomena that’s bubbling through the zeitgeist of Pokémon GO?

Under his direction, Adams’ unleased two twenty-something interns on the project, and they created a new digital guide in the magazine’s free mobile app that offers tips and tricks for Pokémon hunting adventures in Texas State Parks.

And so, if you download the APP, which is free, you’ll find maps of over 25 parks—and we’re adding to it regularly—where you can find poke stops, poke gyms and Pokémon that have been seen or captured in that park.

Download the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine Pokémon APP for free from the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Billy Hassell’s Powderhorn Ranch

The Wild Art of Billy Hassell Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Billy Hassell may live in Fort Worth, but this full-time artist says nature is both his muse and his subject.

I grew up in a time when there was still come open spaces and creeks. And, I got to experience a little bit of nature even though I grew up in a pretty urban environment. I guess my love of nature was born from those experiences, and I’ve been searching for that throughout the rest of my life. I’ve been seeking out opportunities to be out in nature and find places to inspire my work.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation commissioned Billy to create a series of prints to celebrate wildlife habitat conservation in Texas. His first: Powderhorn Ranch, 17 thousand acres of coastal prairies and marsh along Matagorda Bay.

We decided on five land projects [30 prints each] around the state of Texas—Powderhorn being the jewel in the crown. It’s very heartening to me seeing large areas of land like this preserved for the future.

Billy is in awe of Powderhorn’s complexity.

And as I learn more and more about it, I’m fascinated by the complexities of it, and how practically every plant and every little creature plays a role in the overall balance of a place.

Proceeds from Billy Hassell’s lithographs help Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation keep places wild places wild forever. See photos of his prints, and where the prints are displayed at tpwf.org.

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

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Galleries that will carry the Keeping it Wild lithographs include:

Conduit Gallery, Dallas
www.conduitgallery.com

William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth
www.williamcampbellcontemporaryart.com

William Reaves Fine Art, Houston
www.reavesart.com

Questions? Contact TPWF at 214.720.1478.

Scary fun is in store during the Halloween season in Texas State Parks

2016 Halloween Hijinks in State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Make plans to visit state parks this month for a wide range of Halloween activities for the whole family.

On Friday, October 21, Galveston Island SP hosts a Zombie Apocalypse Hike. Rangers weave in scary fun with real life survival skills during an hour-long hike.

On Saturday, October 22, South Llano River SP in the Hill Country, where owls, bats, snakes and spiders take center stage for two-hours of show and tell with these kinda creepy, but very beneficial, critters.

Also on Saturday, October 22, Estero Llano Grande SP in the Rio Grande Valley celebrates its 10th Annual Spooky Science Fest. This year’s theme is Jurassic Estero; complete with a dinosaur program for the kids, as well as hayrides, costume contests, food vendors, and more.

And on Thursday, October 27th, it’s Halloween at the Hatchery at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. Local businesses and organizations will hand out candy, and the center will be decorated throughout with a Halloween theme.

Find details for these and other events in the calendar section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

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

Whitetail buck

Hunting and Fishing Licenses Help Feed Hungry Texans Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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If you harvest multiple deer this season, perhaps you’d consider donating one of them to Hunters for the Hungry—a program of Feeding Texas.

Well, this is a wonderful program that helps us fight hunger.

Hunters and meat processors provide more than 9 million servings of venison to Texas families annually.

Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, says this year hunters and anglers have another way to donate to Hunters for the Hungry when they buy their license.

So, this is an opportunity for all sportsmen, who want to give back to their communities, they don’t have to donate venison directly—but they can make a financial contribution when they check that box on the hunting or fishing license. [Now], for the first time, this program has a revenue stream to support it. So, for us, this is an opportunity to grow this program in a way we’ve never been able to in the past.

Celia Cole of Feeding Texas tells us how she envisions these tax deductible donations being used.

My biggest hope is that we will be able to minimize the cost to the hunter and the processor of the donation. Ideally, we would want them to be able to request reimbursement from us for the cost of processing the meat. And then, it would be zero cost to the participating hunters and processors.

Purchase hunting and fishing licenses online from the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, or from license retailers statewide.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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