Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

John Karger is not unlike the raptors he rehabilitates.

Well, I’m pretty sharp; I’m pointed. There’s no playing games with me. I’m right down to the business. You either like me or you don’t like me.

Karger is Executive Director of Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy in San Antonio. I caught up with him at this year’s Parks and Wildlife Expo.

I got interested in birds of prey when I was about nine years of age because there was a man in my neighborhood who was a falconer. He actually used the birds of prey to hunt game. He flew the birds quite well, and I was just amazed by how these creatures that would fly away and come back to you. And that’s where my interest in birds of prey started.

Although life took Karger down varied career paths, the pull of the raptors was too great. His passion eventually led to the creation of the Conservancy.

At the conservancy, we are there as a pivotal point for birds that are injured, or sick, or orphaned. And we get these birds in, we repair them, we raise them, and we try to get them back into the wild, helping our own natural resources.

More on Karger’s Birds of Prey tomorrow.

That’s our show for today…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Visit John Karger’s last Chance Forever Birds of Prey website: http://www.lastchanceforever.org/ (copy and paste into browser)

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Fall is an amazing time to go outside and play. The mild weather and remarkable scenery will draw many of us outdoors.

With so many people heading to state parks this fall, the question of etiquette arises. How should we act while exploring these wide open spaces?

Texas Parks and Wildlife has the answer. They have created seven basic guidelines to help you be polite in the outdoor setting. The guidelines are care, caution, courtesy, cleanliness, cooperation, conservation and common sense. These are the seven c’s of camping.

Care is a reminder to be considerate of others.

Caution encourages us to remember that camping can be dangerous. The right way is the safe way.

Courtesy is something that enhances the camping experience; respect the privacy of others and they will do the same.

Cleanliness reminds us to help keep parks and our campsites clean.

Cooperation asks us to work with rangers and follow state park rules.

Conservation calls for us to protect the outdoors for future generations, and common sense prevents accidents.

With these simple guidelines in mind, it’s easy to make a positive impact on state parks and fellow campers this fall.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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

You have until the end of the month to nominate candidates for the Lone Star Land Steward Awards.

Lone Star Land Stewards award program is a program that recognizes private landowners for the good work they do on their private lands in Texas.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting. The awards program honors people for exemplary habitat management of private lands.

We feel like we have a great diversity of landowners that have participated and been nominated for recognition. And it just really highlights the diversity of the types of innovative management for wildlife that’s going on in Texas.

Next year marks the 13th year for the awards program.

Anybody can nominate for Lone Star Land Stewards. Landowners can nominate themselves. They come in from other agencies, as well as from our biologists.

Whether you nominate yourself or someone else, time is running out.

November thirtieth is the date that we’d like to have the nominations in for the various eco-regions. We take those, and we have a team of biologists that visit each of the nominated places, and they decide which ones are most worthy of recognition. And then we present the awards in May.

Nominate a landowner. Learn how at passporttotexas.org.

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

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

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

The population of southern flounder in the gulf is…well… floundering.

The populations are down in the bay systems across the board for the southern flounder.

Robert Adami coordinates Coastal Bay Team fishing events, where two-person teams of experienced anglers, catch specific species for the hatchery program. In spring, teams reel in spotted sea trout, and in fall, southern flounder.

Sometimes the more experienced anglers can go out to the spots they know are good gathering spots for southern flounder. Usually those guys can get the fish and bring them to us rather quickly. They also know how to handle the fish in terms of care, transportation and trying to get them to us in the best possible health.

Participation is free. Adami says almost as soon as anglers catch them – the flounder start their new lives.

Immediately we’re going to be putting them right into spawning tanks in Sea Center Texas and in Corpus Christi to be used, hopefully, for next year’s spawning program.

Saturday morning Froggy’s Bait Doc in Port O’Conner is the staging area for the event, and next Saturday, Boyd’s One-Stop in Texas City closes this year’s Coastal Bay Team opportunities.

Find full details – including the prizes for participating anglers — at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…which provides funding for Sea Center Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Coastal Fisheries Bay Team Fishing Tournament — Experienced anglers are invited to help us collect southern flounder for our hatcheries. Tournament is open to 30 two-person teams, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All entrants must be 21 or older.

Participants may turn in up to three fish. Anglers turning in fish will be entered in three different drawings for fishing gear. Participants not turning in fish will be entered in a separate drawing for fishing prizes.

All participants will receive a shirt and cap.

The prizes, equipment and program are made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Held at Froggies Bait Doc in Port O’Conner on November 3rd, and at Boyd’s One- Stop in Texas City on November 10th; register at the tournament.

For more information, or if you want to become a member of the Coastal Fisheries Bay Team, send an e-mail to Robert Adami at robert.adami at tpwd.state.tx.us with your name, address and daytime phone number and which tournament you can fish or call him at (361) 939-8745.

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

You’ll find thirteen species of horned lizards in North America.

Texas actually has three species of horned lizards.

And the one known as the Texas horned lizard – or horny toad — is disappearing from its historic range.

The Texas horned lizard has really utilized a variety of habitats, because it was once found across most of the state, with the exception of, maybe, far east/southeast Texas.

Lee Ann Linam coordinates the Texas Horned Lizard Watch, and is president for the Horned Lizard Conservation Society. A new survey project is underway through the Society, which encourages volunteers to survey rural cemeteries for the spiny lizard.

A lot of these rural cemeteries actually retain a lot of native habitat. And just recently one of our members of the Horned Lizard Conservation Society, http://www.hornedlizards.org/, came up with an idea, based upon some of his experiences, that these lightly maintained, semi-native habitats might be good habitat for horned lizards.

The information gathered will help researchers understand the animal’s needs, and factors surrounding its decline. There’s more information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife restoration Program… working to increase conservation efforts in Texas.

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

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