Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

I’m strong to the finish, ‘cause I eats me spinach. I’m Popeye the sailor man.

By eating water spinach, you won’t become as strong as Popeye. But in the 1970s water spinach was imported to the U.S. from Asia because of its nutritional value.

It does grow very fast, which makes it a good plant to cultivate for food.

For this same reason, many people worry that if water spinach isn’t regulated, it could invade waterways, creating problems such as becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Currently, growing and consuming water spinach is legal, but stores can’t sell it. But Parks and Wildlife is changing their regulations so distributors can legally sell the plant if they buy it from an approved cultivator.

Earl Chilton is a TPWD aquatic habitat enhancement director. He says the regulations are just a precaution.

Here in Texas it may not be that dangerous anyway because it’s been completely unregulated for almost 30 years. It has been sold at HEB and Whole Foods and restaurants without any permits because our law enforcement people and us simply didn’t know about it. We have yet to find it established in the wild anywhere, despite the fact that in the area where they’re growing it, there have been any number of hurricanes over the last 30 years that have destroyed greenhouses and washed plants here and there.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The military…corporate America…and sports teams all depend on good recruiting—something they have in common with the endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chicken.

Historically, this bird went through periods of time when a population would be devastated, and then it would recruit from neighboring populations.

But they’ve had to change their recruiting tactics, says Mark Klym, Adopt-a-Prairie Chicken Program coordinator.

Today those recruits have to come from the zoos.

Development destroyed the prairie chicken’s coastal habitat, reducing its population from a million birds at the turn of the 20th century to just 90 animals today—and that’s up from an all time low of 40 in 2005. Currently Three small populations are being maintained in the wild.

The bird is being reproduced for release. We are confident that we have enough birds that we can maintain these three populations now that we have in the wild. But there are biologists out there working with landowners every day trying to get land back in condition. And we have a number of landowners just waiting and asking for release of the birds on their land.

Klym maintains the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken will continue to rebound, and not go quietly into that good night.

We frequently get emails and calls asking when we expect this birds to go extinct. We don’t expect it to go extinct. This is going to be another good news story.

Learn about the adopt-a-prairie chicken program at passporttotexas.org. The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Plecos or Suckermouth catfish seems extremely beneficial when it’s in an aquarium. It keeps the tank clean by eating algae. But people sometimes dump the plecos into Texas waters. They think they’re saving the fish’s life. But the fish end up thriving in Texas waters and destroying the habitat of native fish.

Gary Garrett, a Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologist, says the plecos is harming endangered species in Texas streams.

Being a tropical fish, they do best in these spring systems where the temperature doesn’t vary that much over the year. And unfortunately in these spring systems, we have many of our fairly rare fishes, even endangered and threatened species there.

Two of those species are the threatened Devil’s River Minnow and the endangered Fountain Darter. And the fountain darter is only found in the San Marcos and Comal rivers.

Luci Cook-Hildreth is a Parks and Wildlife projects coordinator in Inland Fisheries. She says the plecos is much larger than most of the fish it threatens, giving it an unfair advantage. And this could be devastating to the ecosystem.

That one fish that we want to save is part of something bigger. It’s part of a food web. So that losing this one piece of the puzzle has a ripple effect.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. You can find more information at passporttotexas.org. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Invasive Species: Plecos (Suckermouth catfish) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

[SFX—western Diamondback Rattling] Hear that? That’s the sound of a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, the deadliest venomous snake in North America. You hear that sound when you’re out hiking, and you better rethink your next step.

The rattle serves the snake well in warning us that, ‘Hey, there’s snake over here; please mind your business and leave me alone.’

Of course, that’s hard to do when they’re hiding from you. Nevertheless, Andy Gluesenkamp, a Parks and Wildlife herpetologist, says rattlesnakes would rather leave you alone.

Unless you’re a mouse.

Right…well…assuming you’re not a mouse, you’re safe. Now here’s something you might not know—other snakes rattle.

A rattlesnake rattles its tail with a rattle on the end that makes a very distinctive buzzing noise that once you’ve heard it you’ll never forget it. However, a lot of snakes will rattle their tail in the same way, and will even back their tail up against some dried leaves or something to give it more effect.

They’re faking? Well, I guess we’ll call those lying snakes.

Snakes that do that a lot include the Texas Rat Snake; Bull Snakes which are another large non-venomous snake; King Snakes. A lot of other snakes that are otherwise harmless use this tail rattling to try to scare away would-be predators.

Find information on Texas snakes at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…working to restore native habitat in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas Snakes: Rattling Around Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Now that triple digit heat has given way to mild fall weather, you may decide to spend more time outdoors. If you do—my advice—watch your step.

Probably most people who spend any amount of time hiking in Texas have been within arm’s reach of a diamondback and never knew it.

Andy Gluesenkamp is a herpetologist with TPW. Don’t let what he just said about the big, scary venomous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (the deadliest snake in North America) keep you locked up indoors.

Diamondbacks would by and large much prefer to avoid contact than get in some sort of fisticuffs with a large animal like a human.

These snakes play defense. They usually hang out in the vicinity of fallen logs, brush piles, rocks. If they think you don’t see them, they’ll lie perfectly still and let you do a Dionne Warwick and walk on by.

If they feel threatened by you, the first thing that they’ll do is buzz that rattle. [SFX—western Diamondback Rattling]. On rare occasions when somebody reaches their hands into a crevice, or is picking up firewood and grabs a snake or steps on a snake—then they’re going to react violently. And that’s when people tend to get bitten.

Yeah, so don’t do that. We’ll have more fun with snakes tomorrow.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration program…working to restore native habitat in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas Snakes: Closer Thank You Think Play Now | Play in Popup | Download