Passport to Texas

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

After whetting their appetite for the outdoors during a Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop, many women seek outdoors opportunities closer to home. The Texas Outdoor Women’s Network, or T.O.W.N., provides an outlet for nature loving women to connect.

It has increased my knowledge, my confidence and my friends.

Susan LaMere, coordinator of the Fort Worth Chapter of T.O.W.N, says women benefit when they find friends who share interest in the outdoors.

I’m a personal trainer, so in my opinion, being active period is a benefit and I think that lot of people don’t want to exercise by themselves. They may not go out and ride their bikes but they may go out with other people. One in particular, she’s 60 years old and she did not know how to ride a bike two years ago. One of the other women in the group taught her how to ride the bike and now, you know, she just loves it.

LaMere believes T.O.W.N. allows women to try new things while making close connections.

It’s a ready made group of people who are going to accept you for who you are, you know, whatever you want to do. I say over the past few years, some of these people have become very close friends of mine.

LaMere says that the group is open to any woman interested in learning.

We just want to expose people to the outdoors.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas. 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

A prescribed burn is a purposely set controlled fire.

Prescribed burns have long been recognized as a management tool.

Prescribed burns can be a cheap and effective way to manage habitats. Texas Parks and Wildlife offers free workshops to help private landowners learn more. David Synatzske is the manager of the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area

Most of ours are generally a one or two day workshop where we’re introducing landowners to the potential of fire for them. It’s more of a maintenance kind of activity rather than a restoration type of activity. Restoration fires are something that involve a lot more thought, a lot more preparation than your maintenance type fires. And we’re just trying too provide the knowledge there that this is a tool that’s available for our land managers and something for them to consider in their use of management whether it be brush management, population management, mechanical verses prescribed burning verses any of the other practices that might be out there available to them.

Parks and Wildlife will not conduct burns for landowners, but can provide biologists to assist landowners in surveying their property to see if a burn is right for them.

Find information on these free workshops at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we had research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… providing funding for the operations and management of the Chaparral WMA.

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

Fires can be very healthy for habitats

If you’re just getting started in prescribed burning, it’s a very valuable tool. It’s something that was one a way of maintaining the environments that we had.

David Synatzske is the manager of the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area. He says there are two main types of burns.

Basically, there are restoration fires where you are trying to restore habitats; where you’re trying to get back to what habitats were at one time. Then you have maintenance fires, fires that maintain the existing habitat.

Those fires are used to accomplished different goals.

People burn for different reasons. Some people burn to open country up, to control brush encroachment. Other goals might be to simply create a change in under story, to create more grass or to create more forbs.

There are different ways of conducting burns.

If you have a fairly open type of habitat and you only want to control the undergrowth, you may burn it with a backfire as opposed to a head fire.

The season the burn is conducted also has a dramatic impact on the results. More on that, tomorrow.

That’s our show…we had research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… providing funding for the operations and management of the Chaparral WMA.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

A great way to show your family you care about them this Valentine’s Day—or any day—is to take everyone on an outdoor adventure to a nearby state park.

Doug Huggins, assistant complex superintendent at Bastrop State Park, located in the Pineywoods Region, says February, with its cool, crisp air, and minimal insect activity, is an ideal time to take the family outdoors. It’s recreational and educational.

Well, I believe nature is an educational tool, especially for your children. In the classroom you can look in a textbook… you might be able to look out the window, but whenever you’re in a park and you have the knowledgeable staff there to assist you in learning more about the natural environment, it adds a little bit of depth to the learning and the education that young folks need to be well-rounded in society.

I think it’s important that our message of conservation and public access and public use of our public lands is embedded in our younger children… they are the future or next generation or group of people that will be benefiting from what parks have to offer.

To find more about Bastrop State Park and other state park activities visit passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Unstructured outdoor play used to be the norm—but not anymore. And that’s unfortunate, as time spent outdoors enriches children’s lives.

It broadens their world; reduces the stress tremendously—it’s an amazing thing. Their attention is improved; they’re more creative in school. The kids who get outside and play, and especially play in nature are more resilient; they’re better problem solvers. They cooperate better with other kids.

Nancy Herron coordinates outdoor learning programs for Parks and Wildlife. Many parents feel the world has become a dangerous place, and no longer insist their kids spend time outdoors, because then they’ll be away from mom’s or dad’s watchful eyes. But getting the kiddos outside is something parents should reconsider.

I think it’s going to be a conscious effort for parents to take their kids outside. It might be a trip to the park; it could be looking at how your community is built. Are there safe places to play where you can look out the window and see where they are?

Make getting outside a family activity; it’s is as easy as…

Deciding that an hour a day or a half hour a day we’re just going to take as family time. And why can’t that family time be outside. And just make it a part of your schedule.

We have links to outdoor family activities at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… remember: life’s better outside… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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