Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

A prescribed burn is a purposely set controlled fire.

Prescribed burns have long been recognized as a management tool.

Prescribed burns can be a cheap and effective way to manage habitats. Texas Parks and Wildlife offers free workshops to help private landowners learn more. David Synatzske is the manager of the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area

Most of ours are generally a one or two day workshop where we’re introducing landowners to the potential of fire for them. It’s more of a maintenance kind of activity rather than a restoration type of activity. Restoration fires are something that involve a lot more thought, a lot more preparation than your maintenance type fires. And we’re just trying too provide the knowledge there that this is a tool that’s available for our land managers and something for them to consider in their use of management whether it be brush management, population management, mechanical verses prescribed burning verses any of the other practices that might be out there available to them.

Parks and Wildlife will not conduct burns for landowners, but can provide biologists to assist landowners in surveying their property to see if a burn is right for them.

Find information on these free workshops at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we had research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… providing funding for the operations and management of the Chaparral WMA.

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

Prescribed Burns, Part 2 of 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Fires can be very healthy for habitats

If you’re just getting started in prescribed burning, it’s a very valuable tool. It’s something that was one a way of maintaining the environments that we had.

David Synatzske is the manager of the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area. He says there are two main types of burns.

Basically, there are restoration fires where you are trying to restore habitats; where you’re trying to get back to what habitats were at one time. Then you have maintenance fires, fires that maintain the existing habitat.

Those fires are used to accomplished different goals.

People burn for different reasons. Some people burn to open country up, to control brush encroachment. Other goals might be to simply create a change in under story, to create more grass or to create more forbs.

There are different ways of conducting burns.

If you have a fairly open type of habitat and you only want to control the undergrowth, you may burn it with a backfire as opposed to a head fire.

The season the burn is conducted also has a dramatic impact on the results. More on that, tomorrow.

That’s our show…we had research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… providing funding for the operations and management of the Chaparral WMA.

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

Prescribed Burns, Part 1 of 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

From virtual sinkholes to setting fires with a purpose: The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series offers a wide range of fascinating fare in February. Writer Producer Ron Kabele:

Don Cash worked on a really cool story. Devil’s Sinkhole is this sinkhole that’s out in Central Texas. The problem is, it’s relatively dangerous. So a bunch of people got together and they decided what they wanted to do is create this 3-D, virtual tour of the sinkhole—and they did it through this really new age-y thing called Lydar.

So, the objective of what we’re doing is we’re shooting a laser model to recreate this space digitally where we can show people what it’s like to be at the bottom of this hole without having drop down 150 foot on a piece of rope (laughs).

And finally, Prescription to Burn is all about prescribed burns.

Most of the ecosystems did evolve with fire. The plants are adapted to fire. In the absence of fire, the ecosystem gets out of balance.

I heard a biologist here say one time, that one of the worst things that ever happened to forests was the program started by Smokey the Bear.

Thanks, Ron.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…providing funding for the Private Lands and Habitat Enhancement Program.

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

To find a PBS station near you that air the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series, click here.

TPW TV February Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Light Goose Conservation order goes into effect after the regular goose season ends.

In 1999 the light goose conservation order was put in place. And it’s an effort to try and reduce the total population of light geese; to address the overpopulation in the arctic. Trying to bring that population back in line with what the habitat can support.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader, at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

During the conservation order basically all bets are off. Unplugged guns, electronic calls, no bag limit, shooting hours extended to half hour past sunset. Basically the gloves come off and you just try to do what you can do.

He reminds hunters, the conservation order is a management action and not hunting season.

We’re doing this as a management practice. And if you’re going to take large numbers of geese, make sure that they’re put to use. Don’t just leave them, don’t just sit there and pile up dead goose after dead goose, make sure that you never put yourself in a position to look bad to the public.

The conservation order goes into effect January 28th in the east, and February 6th in the west, and runs through March 30th in both regions.

That’s our show… made possible by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Light Goose Conservation Order Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The February issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, on newsstands now, offers readers an insightful article highlighting the plight of a vanishing Texas prairie; Managing Editor Louie Bond.

Texas is home to twelve million acres of gently rolling land called Blackland prairie, or it was at one time, which we visit in the February issue. Pioneers called the Blackland soil “nooner” soil, because it was often too gummy to plow in the morning, and hard as concrete by mid-afternoon. But Blackland Prairie can also be beautiful, as writer Henry Chapel discovered when he visited a rare one hundred and ten acre parcel that was chest deep in a riot of wildflowers. Unfortunately, due to grazing and the success of the cotton crop, Blackland prairie is the most rare and endangered habitat in Texas, if not in all of North America. As much as 98 percent of it is gone. As author Mark White says, if we think of the Blackland prairie as a person, all that we have left is the sliver of a fingernail.

The February issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is on newsstands now. Or, you can subscribe to this monthly publication. Find out how at passporttotexas.org.

While you’re there, you’ll also find a link to more information about the Blackland prairie.

That’s our show… We record our series in Austin, Texas, at the Production Block Studios…our engineer is Joel Block…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW Magazine February Preview Play Now | Play in Popup | Download