Passport to Texas

School of fish attracted to reefed oil platform.

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This is Passport to Texas

The Gulf of Mexico has a lot going for it, except for hard substrate, which is necessary to attract marine life.

So, the little bit of hard substrate that we do have out there, we want to maintain and enhance that.

Dale Shively program leader for the artificial reef program at Texas Parks and Wildlife says they use various materials—from decommissioned ships and old oil platforms to construction rubble—to create substrate.

We don’t dump anything. We deploy materials. The materials that we use have been vetted, they are stable, complex and durable. They’re environmentally safe, and they add to the complexity of the environment that’s there.

Shively says it doesn’t take long before the artificial materials “come to life.”

The material immediately attracts marine organisms—especially fish. That’s one of the features. But, what we look for is long-term settling of organisms at that reef site. In a short period of time they will what we call ‘foul’ the material by growing on it. You’ll get barnacles, and crustaceans and other marine life. Once they settle and actually grow onto the structure that creates the basis of the food web. And from there, you develop a complex reef environment.

And that enhanced food web means better fishing for all.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Big Time Texas Hunt at Black Gap WMA

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Hunting is not only a tradition in Texas—it is also a commitment to wildlife conservation.

Hunters started to see declines in certain game species populations and habitat. And realized if they want to enjoy perusing game (it doesn’t even have be for harvest), just if they want to see that perpetuated so their kids, and future generations can enjoy that, they realized they needed to protect it.

Alan Cain, Texas whitetail deer program leader, says in the early 20th century, hunters chose to conserve wildlife through taxation.

In 1937, you had the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act – called the Pittman-Robertson Act – [signed into law]. Basically it’s a user pay system where the hunters said, ‘okay, we’re going to tax ourselves to help pay for wildlife conservation.’ And that’s been a huge success. In my opinion, that’s why North America has the best wildlife management conservation model in the world – because hunters pay for that.

Hunters pay with the licenses they buy, and the excise tax levied on firearms, ammunition and other equipment, which goes directly to fund conservation.

And then the second part of that is that hunters not only play a role in funding conservation that benefits everybody, but they also play a role in managing deer populations out there.

By removing deer from the landscape, they help keep habitat in balance for all wildlife.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and funds whitetail research in Texas.

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

Billy Hassell’s Powderhorn Ranch

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Billy Hassell may live in Fort Worth, but this full-time artist says nature is both his muse and his subject.

I grew up in a time when there was still come open spaces and creeks. And, I got to experience a little bit of nature even though I grew up in a pretty urban environment. I guess my love of nature was born from those experiences, and I’ve been searching for that throughout the rest of my life. I’ve been seeking out opportunities to be out in nature and find places to inspire my work.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation commissioned Billy to create a series of prints to celebrate wildlife habitat conservation in Texas. His first: Powderhorn Ranch, 17 thousand acres of coastal prairies and marsh along Matagorda Bay.

We decided on five land projects [30 prints each] around the state of Texas—Powderhorn being the jewel in the crown. It’s very heartening to me seeing large areas of land like this preserved for the future.

Billy is in awe of Powderhorn’s complexity.

And as I learn more and more about it, I’m fascinated by the complexities of it, and how practically every plant and every little creature plays a role in the overall balance of a place.

Proceeds from Billy Hassell’s lithographs help Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation keep places wild places wild forever. See photos of his prints, and where the prints are displayed at tpwf.org.

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

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Galleries that will carry the Keeping it Wild lithographs include:

Conduit Gallery, Dallas
www.conduitgallery.com

William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth
www.williamcampbellcontemporaryart.com

William Reaves Fine Art, Houston
www.reavesart.com

Questions? Contact TPWF at 214.720.1478.

The Texas Landscape Project

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The story of Texas conservation is a rich, evolving, and interconnected tale.

John Muir said back in 1911 or so: ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.’

David Todd “connects the dots” through Texas’ land, water, energy, wildlife, and people in the atlas The Texas Landscape Project. To do so, he dipped into a vast reservoir of existing research.

There’s a lot of what we call ‘Big Data’ out there. And that means digital information that’s on the web that state agencies, federal bureaucracies, academic institutions, individual researchers, citizen scientists put out there. And a lot of it hasn’t been mapped yet. And some of those connections haven’t been explored as much as they might be, or shared with the public. And so we’re trying to do that with this book.

With graphics from co-author Jonathan Ogren, readers can visualize Texas’ conservation past, present and future.

We try to touch on environmental issues across the state. So, if you’re an East Texas resident, you may be interested in the stories about the Big Thicket. If you live down on the coast, you might be interested in the stories of the recovery of the brown pelican or Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle. Or, if you live out in the Big Bend, you might be curious about the recovery of the Bighorn Mountain Sheep. So, we try to give examples of important conservation efforts that have happened in your corner of the state. And I’m hoping that’ll be a nice place for folks to enter the book and maybe start to explore what’s in there.

The Texas Landscape Project at texaslandscape.org.

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

Participate in the Texas Pollinator Bioblitz this month and #savethepollinators.

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This is Passport to Texas

Calling all citizen scientists. We want you to participate in the Texas Pollinator BioBlitz, October 7th through 16th.

[We have] two goals in mind: to increase awareness about pollinators, and about the habitat that they require.

Johnnie Smith is Texas Parks and Wildlife Conservation Education Manager. Pollinators include bees, butterflies, beetles, moths and other critters that move pollen while foraging.

If you participate in the pollinator bioblitz, you’re going to have an opportunity to observe pollinators at a site that you visit, like your local zoo or aquarium or nature center. And observe the pollinators that are there. Grab a picture of the pollinators you find, and you can post them onto Instagram. We’re asking all of the participants to use the hashtag #savethepollinators.

State parks offer pollinator observation opportunities, too. And, you can also post findings, on iNaturalist.org. Texas Parks and Wildlife’s website, has pages dedicated to the Pollinator Bioblitz.

Where people can learn what pollinators might be in their area. Links to what might be blooming in your area right now—that’s hosted out of the Wildflower center—and then also, to be aware of habitat you have that supports pollinators. And if you don’t have habitat in or near your home, school library… We’re encouraging people to try and get organized in planting pollinator habitat.

The Texas Pollinator BioBlitz is October 7 through 16. Participating is as easy as stepping outside.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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