Passport to Texas

Adrian Sabom

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This is Passport to Texas

Lifelong outdoorswoman, Adrian Sabom, grew up on a working cattle ranch in South Texas. Her parents, passionate land stewards and avid quail hunters, raised her to respect and protect the beauty of wild things. Taking a page from her folks’ “parenting handbook”, Adrian exposes her two kids to rich outdoor experiences.

When they were little we would take them somewhere where you could go our and just romp around. And then we would take them to South Texas as often as we could, and go hunting. Two weeks ago we went down to see my parents and took [the kids] hunting; they love it. You’re out, all day long, and you have such good conversation where you can just talk about whatever. You just don’t get that opportunity that much.

Sabom encourages parents to share the gift of wild spaces with their children so that their children will have them enjoy in the future.

You know, if we live in San Antonio and we just keep them in the city, that’s what they’re going to know. So, we make sure we take them [outdoors] and do things, so they’re exposed to it, so then they appreciate it.

Learn more about connecting with and conserving Texas wild places during Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s We Will not be Tamed campaign. Find details at tpwf.org.

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

Anderson Ranch in the Texas Panhandle

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This is Passport to Texas

Holiday gift giving season is upon us, and if you have nature lovers on your list—the giving is easy—and twice as nice.

A seventy-dollar Texas State Parks Pass is a thoughtful gift for your outdoor enthusiast. Pass holders enjoy twelve months of unlimited visits to more than ninety state parks and historic sites. They also get discounts on camping and recreational equipment rentals. Money spent on the pass supports your Texas state parks.

For thirty dollars each, you can give the drivers on your list a conservation license plate. Twenty-two dollars from every sale goes directly to help fund conservation efforts in Texas.

Give every outdoor lover on your list access to more than a million acres of public land—with the Limited Use Permit—for the ridiculously reasonable price of twelve dollars.

Permit holders receive twelve months of access to Texas’ wildlife management areas, where they can fish, hike, bird watch, cycle, and camp.

When you give one of these gifts, you delight the receiver, and help support state parks and conservation in Texas.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation supports our series and helps keep Texas wild with support of proud members across the state.

Find out more at tpwf.org

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

Billy Hassell’s Powderhorn Ranch

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This is Passport to Texas

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.

John Graves checking fly rod on the Llano River.

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This is Passport to Texas

Planned gifts to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from people who love of Texas will help to ensure the future of our natural and cultural resources for generations to come.

The people that approach us about planned gifts, have such strong feelings towards the mission, and love the idea that they can leave a wild legacy through a gift to the Parks and Wildlife Foundation after they’re gone.

Merrill Gregg, Director of Legacy Giving, says Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine’s October issue has more information about Legacy Giving.

As well as an insert where people can fill in their contact information and send it back to the Foundation. We’ll reach out with additional information on the different types of planned gifts that might be appropriate for you.

Individuals who make planned gifts are remembered via the newly formed John Graves Legacy Society.

And this society is named after John Graves, who was a beloved writer. His book Good-bye to a River, is celebrated by conservationists as raising awareness about the critical need to protect Texas’ natural resources. So, we thought naming our Legacy Society after someone who had left such an incredible legacy on conservation would be a wonderful tribute to him, and also inspire others to embrace that same conservation ethic.

Find a link to more information about Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s planned giving program at passporttotexas.org.

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

Davis Mountains State Park

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This is Passport to Texas

To ensure Texas’ beloved wild places and wild things exists beyond their lifetime, some people make planned financial gifts.

Planned gifts are gifts that an individual can make in their will or estate plan.

Merrill Gregg, Director of Legacy Giving at Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, says the foundation raises private funds to support Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s mission.

We’ve been the recipient of planned gifts that we hadn’t necessarily known about in advance. And it made us realized that, we needed to make our mission more known to people—that they could leave gifts to us in their will or estate plan after they’re gone.

A bequest—a few lines in a will or estate plan that sets aside a cash amount—is the most common gift form, yet there’s no single template for planned giving.

There are also ways in which you can gift life insurance assets, retirement assets; you can give a gift of real estate. You can even leave personal property to the foundation after you’re gone. So, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a cash bequest, or a gift of securities. There are many different ways in which your assets could be used to benefit the mission of the foundation through a planned gift.

We have a link to more information about Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s planned giving program at passporttotexas.org.

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