Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas From Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Before Houston and surrounding communities took root, and farmers turned wild land into farmland, the area was covered in tall grass prairies.

We’re restoring these croplands back to the historic tall grass prairies that they were fifty, a hundred years ago.

Robert Comstock is superintendent of Sheldon Lake State Park, outside of Houston. Four hundred acres in the park have been identified for restoration, and volunteers have already replanted 100 acres with native grasses.

And they’re what we call rescuing grasses from, say, highway projects, construction projects all throughout the city. They bring them out here, and cut them up, and pot them into smaller pots, and then grow them out, and then transplant them into the prairie.

Comstock says he’s already seen an increase in wildlife.

That’s what’s most exciting about this. A year or so after we did the first one hundred acres, our bird census has already documented close to a dozen species of birds that we’ve never seen before in the park. So there’s tangible results right then and there that we’re doing is good and is improving the environment and the habitat in the area.

Volunteers are always welcome to help with this project. Find more information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…made possible by a grant from the sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program…working to restore native habitat in Texas.

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

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August 2009 — Sheldon Lake SP — Prairie Restoration — Every Tuesday. Volunteers are needed to help with the ongoing restoration of 80 acres of tall grass prairie. Activities include separating and potting rescued grasses, planting mature grasses and collecting seed. No training necessary, work gloves and boots recommended. Meet at the Park Office. 8-11a.m. (281) 456-2800.

Sheldon Lake State Park Prairie Restoration Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

So, there’s the beetles…and there’s some egg sacks in there.

That’s Mike Janis, a natural resource specialist at the Matador WMA in the Texas Panhandle, opening a container of 200 salt cedar leaf beetles from the USDA. In early June, researchers released one-third of the insects at Matador, hoping they will multiply and devour troublesome salt cedar trees—a water-thirsty non-native that’s overtaken about half of a million acres in Texas.

The salt cedar was introduced to the U.S. in 19th century to control riverbank erosion. But, Chip Ruthven, leader of the project, says the cedars became a problem in themselves.

It forms dense thickets and out-competes native plants, which are generally highly beneficial to wildlife from a food and a cover standpoint. Then they’re also heavy water users as well.

Jerry Michels is a research professor at the Texas AgriLife Extension. His team has been trying to establish a beetle population in the panhandle near Meredith Lake.

We’re hoping, we’re optimistic that this summer might be the year that they really explode up here.

Researchers don’t expect problems with beetles destroying other plant communities because they’re picky eaters. They only eat salt cedars. The beetles seem to be a cheap, effective tool to keep salt cedars in check, but Michels says beetles alone won’t terminate the trees.

I think that salt cedar control if it is going to be effective is going to have to be a combination of different techniques.

Such as herbicides and bulldozing. That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Biological Control for Salt Cedar Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

He’s gonna get out of here. He’s going to get flushed. What a smart little guy!

Many people love the Finding Nemo* scenario…the aquarium trapped fish being released back into the wild. The problem is many of the fish in Texas aquariums aren’t from Texas.

Luci Cook-Hildreth is a Texas Parks and Wildlife projects coordinator in Inland Fisheries.

Even really really smart people sometimes don’t understand that a fish is not just a fish and water is not just water. They go, “I have a creek in my backyard, and I have a fish that’s too big for my tank. Well, why don’t I just set him free?” And they don’t understand that there’s a lot of biological and ecological ramifications to that decision.

Many of these fish end up thriving in Texas waters and out-competing native fish populations.

Cook-Hildreth says controlling what fish people own is practically impossible because of the Internet. Despite state laws, there seems to be a constant supply and demand for illegal species. And these fish can sometimes be expensive.

Folks that are interested in selling illegal fish have the potential to make thousands of dollars on these fish. And we can slap a fine on them, for 200 or 300 dollars, and it’s really just the cost of doing business for these folks.

So remember, by releasing your fish into the wild, you might just be endangering a lot more.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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*Finding Nemo is a Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios animated movie.

Aquarium Fish Cause Trouble for Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download