Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

[military maneuvers] Establish, fade, roll under actuality & script.

[singing] I was once a captured slave. Now I’m just a black man who came to be….[fade and play under script]

In the 19th Century, Black men who served in the 9th and 10th Regiments of Cavalry and 24th and 25th Regiments of Infantry of the United States Army were known as…

I am a Buffalo Soldier!

It’s said the Indians whom they fought during the Indian Wars gave troops the name because of their hair texture and their courage and ferocity in battle.

He feared and respected the buffalo. And he learned to fear and respect the black soldier as well.

That’s Buffalo Soldier reenactor, John Olivera, who says Buffalo soldiers played a major role in settling Texas.

Seventy-five percent of the soldiers that settled this area were Buffalo Soldiers. The only white men that were with them were the commanding officers. Almost all of the forts were manned and built by Buffalo Soldiers.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department offers Texas Buffalo Soldier Outdoor Educational Programs. Find their schedule on the Parks and Wildlife website.

The Buffalo Soldiers fought not only the Indians, and outlaws, but racism and prejudice. We had a job to do, and we done it.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Planting native trees in your landscape provides pleasing aesthetics, shade in summer, and habitat for wildlife. Late winter is still a good time to add new trees to your yard.

They have the dormant season to spread roots out.

Certified arborist Scott Harris says planting trees before summer arrives gives them an advantage.

You can plant a tree if you really baby it in the summertime; but you won’t gain any growth on it until after that first cool season, anyway. The only thing you’ll gain is getting it behind you. You won’t have a bigger tree for it.

The best trees to plant are natives. Native trees evolved with local wildlife and weather, both of which keep them in check. Non-native trees have no such relationships, which can make them a nuisance.

Unfortunately, they’re still on the market out there, and you can still buy them everywhere. They’ll spread seeds that the people at the parks and preserves will have to spend hours and hours cutting down and taking away so that the natives can thrive, so that the wildlife can thrive, and the environment can function the way its supposed to.

You can find lists of native plants for your landscape on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

When 19th century Texans wanted bacon or sausage, they had to make it–starting with raising the pig. See how it’s done when you visit the Sauer Beckman Living History Farm February 6 for their German Smokehouse Secrets demonstration.

This event, we actually go into not only the curing of bacon and sausage, but they also do some other German food that may not be familiar to everyone.

Iris Neffendorf is manager of the LBJ SP and Historic Site and the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm in Johnson City in the Hill Country.

We decided this year that because of the interest in the past, that we would go ahead and offer this one-day activity, focused heavily on outdoor processing and nineteen hundred food preparations that relate to German traditions on a German farm.

People concerned about where food comes from and how animals are raised will appreciate this demonstration, says Neffendorf.

People are turning a lot more to organic gardening and organic animals and farmyard eggs. So this is what you have here at the living history farm is homegrown, or what we call now, organic types of food.

It’s free to attend the February 6 German Smokehouse Secrets demonstration at the Sauer Beckman Living History farm. Find details on the TPW website.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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February 6, 2010 — Lyndon B. Johnson SP&HS — Old Time German Smokehouse Secrets — Experience some of the 1900s meat processing methods used on an old German farm. Watch the curing of bacon and the art of stuffing of sausage. Visit with interpreters at the farm on methods and ways of handling foods and compare them to today’s techniques. Then tour the buildings and houses where you’ll find a wood stove used daily by park interpreters. Accessible for the mobility, visually and hearing impaired. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (830) 644-2252.

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This is Passport to Texas

Whether you’re an avid angler… or someone who enjoys working with kids… becoming a Volunteer Angler Education Instructor is fun and rewarding.

In the instructor class, we give them all of the tools and the knowledge and skills they would need to teach kids the junior angler program.

Ann Miller oversees the program. She says anglers who become instructors get to share their love of fishing with kids…as well teach them how to fish responsibly.

Many adults out there are anglers themselves, and really want to share that love of fishing with the younger generation. And this gives them the opportunity to do that. Many adults also are working already with different youth groups and our junior angler program is just a wonderful addition to their potpourri of things that they can do with kids.

Miller says she finds that youth group leaders are attracted to the Junior Angler program because of the positive impact it can have on the children they mentor.

They do want to have a positive outlet for their energies and enthusiasm and, kids just love it. So, this is something that they can do to steer kids in the right direction.

Learn how you can become a junior angler instructor by visiting our website at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Fire’s always played a vital role in the creation of healthy ecosystem. Yet, as Europeans settled Texas, fire suppression was the name of the game.

That’s correct. As Europeans settled Texas, the occurrence of fire went down, because nobody obviously wants to have their house burned up.

David Veale is biologist for the M. O. Neasloney (nez-low-NEE) WMA in Gonzales County. On January 16 he leads a prescribed fire workshop at the WMA.

We start off with the historical perspective of fire, you know, what some of the fire intervals were. The native Americans did use fire to manage some of their grassland communities. And, so why it’s important to reintroduce that fire into the landscape; we also talk about what fire can do, and what is the role of fire in vegetation management.

And that’s just the beginning of what participants can expect…although Veale says the workshop is simply an overview.

You know, you can give somebody the information, and you can talk about it on paper, but until they’re actually put fire on their actual place where they’re responsible for that fire, that’s a big hurdle to get over.

Veale recommends after the workshop, landowners and managers consider joining prescribed burn associations.

We have a lot of them popping up throughout the state. And it’s a pooling of resources, it’s a pooling of expertise—it’s really a good thing.

That’s our show… supported by the Wildlife Restoration program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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