Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you didn’t grow up spending time outdoors, you may have concerns about what it takes to enjoy nature.

There’s a lot of misconception that it’s much more complicated – that it’s not safe. And all those aren’t true, but if someone hasn’t take you out, or hasn’t shown you the opposite, that could really prevent you from taking your family.

Ashley Mathews oversees the Outdoor Families program for Parks and Wildlife. The program offers families opportunities to participate in overnight camp outs where they’ll learn skills to help them get them most out of their experience.

We also want to make sure that these families know how to feed themselves; that’s really important. It’s one thing to get out there, but once you’re out there and you don’t know what to do to get yourselves fed, that’s no fun. So, we have them cook for themselves; we always have a campfire and s’mores – the traditional things we think about camping. And we usually try to take a night hike with the kids.

Although many activities are for the kiddos.…

We don’t forget the parents. We’re going to make you get in a kayak, we’re going to put a fly rod in your hand; we don’t want you to just sit on the sidelines and watch your kid have fun. We want you to get as enthusiastic and as excited about the outdoors as they are.

Find the next outdoor family adventure at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… 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 generation ago, families spent some part of every day together outdoors. That doesn’t happen as much today; Ashley Mathews says that may have to do with location.

My generation of adults have typically been raised in urban settings, and unless we were involved in scouting, have not often been taught those basic outdoor skills that we might have learned on the farms, or out on our families ranches.

Mathews oversees the Outdoor Families program for Parks and Wildlife.

Now that we have children — young children – we might not feel capable of taking them on these outdoor experiences, or we might feel a little foolish is we didn’t excel at it.

A typical Outdoor Family event includes an overnight family camp out, where families learn the skills they need to get the most from their outdoor experience.

It’s a two-day event; we usually start early on Saturday mornings and run through Sunday about lunchtime. Saturday afternoon we break up and go to various classes of their choosing…everything from fly-fishing, to fishing basics, to camping, air rifle, archery, kayaking, and then we have a lot of youth nature activities as well. And then we transition the group to a camp out experience.

We’ll have more about Outdoor Families tomorrow.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

A raptor hunts for food primarily using its talons. Think hawks and eagles.

Raptors are the birds that are living just almost the same level as we are.

John Karger is Executive Director of Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy. He rehabilitates injured and orphaned birds and — when feasible – releases them back into the wild, where they play an important role.

The raptors are prime indicators. When they get sick, we’re going to be sick. Thus in the 1960s we realized that we put a lot of chemicals on the earth. We knew that we did that because the birds were disappearing.

Each October, Karger brings his raptors to Parks and Wildlife Expo to demonstrate their prowess, and more importantly, to stir in visitors a sense of stewardship.

If I could get them to do one thing – just take a moment – realize how incredible nature is, and that it can really give you a sense of awe…a sense of incredible. What I really want people to do it to come to the Expo and realize that the whole outdoor world is there, and it is ours for just enjoying tremendously if we just take care of it.

Learn more about John Karger’s Last Chance Forever Birds of Prey Conservancy at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Visit John Karger’s last Chance Forever Birds of Prey website: http://www.lastchanceforever.org/ (copy and paste into browser)

From their website: Founded in 1978 by Master Falconer and Veterinary Technician John Karger, Last Chance Forever is a nonprofit, tax exempt organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned birds of prey, scientific investigation, and also just as importantly, the education of the public. Each year the project receives between 150-300 birds into the facility for care. An average of 65-80% of all cases are successfully returned to nature. Birds which are deemed non-releasable and are not suffering –when possible– are held to be placed in propagation projects, natural science centers for educational purposes, or humane research projects.

In addition to properly caring for the birds, Last Chance Forever has designed an educational program for presentation to children, civic organizations and interested individuals. This program is seen by over 500,000 people annually throughout the United States. It promotes a common sense attitude towards the interaction of mankind and our environment. Through this program, we also hope to encourage a change in attitudes concerning birds of prey such as hawks, owls, falcons, vultures and eagles.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Fall is an amazing time to go outside and play. The mild weather and remarkable scenery will draw many of us outdoors.

With so many people heading to state parks this fall, the question of etiquette arises. How should we act while exploring these wide open spaces?

Texas Parks and Wildlife has the answer. They have created seven basic guidelines to help you be polite in the outdoor setting. The guidelines are care, caution, courtesy, cleanliness, cooperation, conservation and common sense. These are the seven c’s of camping.

Care is a reminder to be considerate of others.

Caution encourages us to remember that camping can be dangerous. The right way is the safe way.

Courtesy is something that enhances the camping experience; respect the privacy of others and they will do the same.

Cleanliness reminds us to help keep parks and our campsites clean.

Cooperation asks us to work with rangers and follow state park rules.

Conservation calls for us to protect the outdoors for future generations, and common sense prevents accidents.

With these simple guidelines in mind, it’s easy to make a positive impact on state parks and fellow campers this fall.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas state parks have beautiful trails for mountain biking.

I was in west Texas, I’d say, a year ago and rode there. The formations there are like some surrealist painting, and it’s almost too beautiful to ride because you always want to be looking up instead of watching the trail.

Dan Oko, author of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s guide, Bike Texas, tells us about his favorite trails.

Well I call Austin home, so the trail that I ride most of all is the Barton Creek Greenbelt. It’s very challenging. At the far end of the ride from Zilker Park, you reach something called the Hill of Life, which is, I think, a rite of passage for every mountain biker in Texas is to get up that hill without stopping. The most beautiful place I have ridden in Texas is Palo Duro Canyon outside of Amarillo in the Panhandle.

Oko says there’s more to mountain biking than scenery.

I always think of the idea of the balance on the bike as the balance in your life, which is, once you get that sense of balance and the security as a mode of transportation balanced on the bike, then you can feel like everything else in your life can sort of follow that fluidity.

The Bike Texas guide highlights more than forty trails throughout the state, including road bike rides in parks. It’s available online; find a link at passporttotexas.org.

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

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