Passport to Texas

How to Plant and Where to Play Your Trees.

Tree Planting Tips from Arborist Scott Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Trees provide habitat for wildlife, as well as shade and beauty for us. If you’re adding new trees to your landscape this year: know the rules.

People frequently ask how close they can put a tree to the house, because shade on the house obviously is a huge energy savings. The general rule of thumb is you go no closer to the house than the eaves are high. So, if you measure up to the eaves of your house, and they’re ten feet high, then you need to get ten feet back from the house.

Scott Harris, a certified arborist in Austin, recommends planting native trees. For your tree to get the best start in life, he recommends the following:

You always want to plant your trees at the exact level they were in the pot. Don’t dig a big deep hole, dig a big wide hole. Always use the same soil you took out to backfill. But, you can put your compost underneath the mulch, and then all of that organic goodness will dribble down in the way that nature intended.

Water your new trees infrequently and deeply; this helps them to develop extensive root systems.

If you just have a little bit of water in one area, that’s where the roots are going to go. But if you water very deeply, it’ll spread into the surrounding soil, and the roots will follow that moisture out.

A robust root system helps trees remain vigorous and able to better withstand Texas droughts.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

by Tree planting photo by woodleywonderworks via Flickr, Creative Commons

Still Time to Plant Trees Before Summer Heat Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Theoretically, you can plant trees all year long. However, for the best outcome, do so while temperatures are cool.

It’s just much easier on them.

Scott Harris is a certified arborist in Austin. Although fall the best time to plant trees, the best tree planting window in Texas runs from October through March.

Getting the trees in the ground in the fall [and winter], they have the entire cool season, dormant season, to spread roots out before the big demands on roots and water start in the spring.

There’s still time to get your trees in the ground to take advantage of cool winter temperatures and spring rains. On another note: just because a tree will grow in Texas, doesn’t mean it should grow here. Harris advises we stick with natives.

The biggest thing to avoid is non-natives. Our natives have all of the features you would want, but they’ve spent thousands and thousands of years getting used to being here, and with all of the wildlife used to having them, too. It’s all a web, and you can’t tell which string you can pull out without upsetting things.

Tomorrow tree planting tips to help your newly planted tree thrive.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Dead crab in abandoned trap, San Antonio Bay. Image
Art Morris, © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

2018 Crab Trap Removal Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Commercial crab fishermen use baited wire traps to lure their prey. Sometimes traps end up missing due to storms, or they are simply discarded.

These traps continue “ghost fishing” for months or years—capturing fish and other marine creatures, including endangered species, thus taking an environmental and economic toll on gulf fisheries.

In February of 2002, Texas Parks and Wildlife conducted the first abandoned crab trap removal program. During a 10-day period in February volunteers like you, join Texas Parks and Wildlife staff and partners, in removing derelict traps.

More than 32,000 crab traps have been removed from the gulf since 2002, saving tens of thousands of marine organisms.

This year’s cleanup is February 16th through the 25th. The big cleanup “push” is Saturday, February 17 from 10 to noon. The cleanup is the only time citizens may remove these traps from gulf waters.

Texas Parks and Wildlife facilitates roughly 20 coastal sites, and provides disposal facilities, tarps, gloves, crab trap hooks and other items to help volunteers remove troublesome traps.

To volunteer for this year’s program visit the Abandoned Crab Trap Removal page on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport Fish restoration Program supports our series.

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

Jacob Krebs. Image: Fredericksburg Standard–Gillespie Life

This is Passport to Texas

A tragic accident in 2013 took the life 18 year old Harper High School Senior, Jacob Krebs. Texas Parks and Wildlife, biologist, Joyce Moore.

Will and Mary Krebs raised him to be active in all facets of the community. He was an Eagle Scout. He was a re-enactor at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg. Then he was a phenomenal athlete. He would run eight miles without any problem. He was training constantly. When Jacob died, Will Krebs came to me and he said, Joyce, I would like to memorialize my son. Could you help me? And so I said we should ask the Harper Wildlife Association if they would help us do this.

And they did, by creating a Youth Hunt for Wounded Warriors in Memory of Jacob Krebs. All participants had a connection with the military. Jacob’s mother, Mary.

Jacob loved hunting and he also loved wounded warriors. He was so proud to acknowledge any veteran that he saw. He’d walk up to him and tell him thank you. And in memory of Jacob as well as the kids of veterans, we decided to honor them and have a youth hunt.

Mary Krebs says, Jacob’s impact didn’t end there. He was also an organ donor.

Jacob saved the lives of four people on April the 2, 2013 and he has greatly enhanced the lives of at least 80 more around the United States through tissue, bone and cornea donations.

Learn about Jacob Kreb’s lasting legacy next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS.

Check your local listings.

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

Buffalo Soldier reenactors.

Recognizing Texas' Buffalo Soldiers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

[singing] I was once a captured slave. Now I’m just a black man who came to be…

In the 19th Century, Black men who served in the 9th and 10th Regiments of Cavalry and 24th and 25th Regiments of Infantry of the United States Army were …

I am a Buffalo Soldier!

It’s said the Indians whom they fought during the Indian Wars gave troops the name because of their hair texture and their courage and ferocity in battle.

He feared and respected the buffalo. And he learned to fear and respect the black soldier as well.

That’s Buffalo Soldier reenactor, John Olivera, who says Buffalo soldiers played a major role in settling Texas.

Seventy-five percent of the soldiers that settled this area were Buffalo Soldiers. The only white men that were with them were the commanding officers. Almost all of the forts were manned and built by Buffalo Soldiers.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department offers Texas Buffalo Soldier Outdoor Educational Programs.

Find their schedule on the Parks and Wildlife website.

The Buffalo Soldiers fought not only the Indians, and outlaws, but racism and prejudice. We had a job to do, and we done it.

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

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.