Passport to Texas

Volunteering is philanthropy.

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The staff at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation brings partners and donors together to fund meaningful projects in Texas.

09— Projects like the pronghorn restoration program that we’re partnering with the department and Borderland Research Institute out in West Texas.

Wildlife restoration and land acquisition are just two of the areas the Foundation focuses its fundraising. Anne Brown is Executive Director.

15— I think anytime these days when you have multiple partners who commit to a project identified as a priority and then help give the funds or raise the funds that signals to the donor that this is a project that’s important to a wide variety of conservation organizations.

Brown says the work of the Texas Parks and Wildlife speaks for itself and moves people to support the cause with philanthropic gifts.

20— The word philanthropy is so large; sometimes people think philanthropy and they only think of it as a big gift. And I always like to define philanthropy as you’re either giving of your time, your energy, or your resources. And that’s all philanthropy. A five dollar gift is philanthropy. A five million dollar gift is philanthropy. And the time that you spend with an organization is philanthropy.

Learn about the work of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation in the April issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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

Vintage photo: Pronghorn Restoration

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We have everyday tasks to accomplish just to get by, but we also aspire to achieve things beyond the ordinary. Texas Parks and Wildlife has those dreams, too. And the TPW Foundation helps turn those dreams into reality.

03— Our mission is to provide private support to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to manage and conserve natural and cultural resources of Texas.

Anne Brown, Executive Director of the Foundation, says she and her staff identify potential donors who will make gifts to help fund the agency’s priority projects.

18— The first thing we do is we sit down with the department and their staff, and based on the direction they’re getting from the commission – what are important projects that rise to the top as a priority for Texas as a whole. And then, a part of that piece is also having partners. And then the foundation plugs itself in to raise those private dollars to make those projects possible.

Species restoration and land acquisition are among aspirational projects in need of funding. Strong relationships with partner organizations attract donors to the table for that purpose.

21— We have universities – typically on the research arm. We’ve got other partners involved, which s would be private landowners, or organizations similar to the foundation – private 501(c) 3s. And what we’re all about is leveraging those public dollars and private dollars. So, when you’re a donor, that’s a win-win.

You don’t have to be a big spender to be a philanthropist for Texas. That’s tomorrow.

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

Habitat: Tree Planting Tips Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Trees are habitat for wildlife. And if you’re adding new trees to your landscape, you need to know the rules.

19—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 it’s ten feet high, then you need to get ten feet back from the house.

Scott Harris, a certified arborist in Austin, recommends planting only native specimens.

21—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.

By watering infrequently and deeply, we can help new trees develop extensive root systems.

12—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.

Strong root systems help trees remain strong and withstand drought.

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

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

Lone Star Land Steward statewide winner 2007. Gary and Sue Price

Conservation: Land Management Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The concept of land management and restoration varies depending on landowner objectives.

09—It depends of whether you’re trying to restore forest, whether you’re trying to restore woodland, whether you’re trying to restore marsh or whether you’re trying grassland.

David Riskind is director of the natural resources program for state parks. Landowners managing for conservation purposes use similar strategies as other landowners, with one important difference.

38—They use a lot of the same strategies as other landowners do. Whether you’re in the forest business, the timber industry, the grass industry. But your objectives are different. In other words, you might weight it towards endangered species; you might weight it toward watershed protection, it might be toward songbird protection. But increasingly today, more and more people are getting involved in what’s called eco-system management. That is, you have an integrated approach. You include soil, you include wildlife, you include watersheds, you include hydrology and you include man as well.

Ecosystem management means addressing the long-term consequences of today’s decisions, and thinking of resources as interrelating parts of systems rather than as individual components to be managed separately.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series and supports diverse conservation projects in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

A Milestone in Texas Parks and Wildlife’s History: Bighorn Sheep Restoration

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Looking for an informative summer read? Mike Cox, discusses an article that details Texas Parks and Wildlife’s fifty most significant milestones for the July issue of TPW magazine.

04 – I think we could have done probably 25 more, maybe a hundred more.

Cox, a TPW spokesman, says milestones range from creation of the department in 1963… to the Connally Bonds that allowed the purchase of land for parks… to desert bighorn sheep restoration… to creation of the great coastal birding trail… to the Lone Star Land Stewards Awards Program and more.

16 – The department has really done a lot of good things, and I think everyone is looking forward to what the department can do in the next half century for the people of Texas.

And what might the next fifty years bring?

18 – Hopefully we’ll have a big impact on water… not only quality, but the availability of water… especially as we’re in the middle of a horrible drought. I think that’s something that we’ll look back on 50 years from now and say: ‘Whew – it’s a good thing that agencies like Texas Parks and Wildlife were involved in programs like that to help try to turn things around.’

The July issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine with Mix Cox article on TPW’s 50 Milestones is on newsstands now.

Support provided by Ram Trucks. Doing what’s right and good regardless of the degree of difficulty — takes guts. Those are the people who build Ram trucks. RAM.

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