Passport to Texas

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

Working with boating safety educator Jack Dyess, Ron Kabele, a writer/producer with the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series, created a segment that will make everyone think twice about before getting on the water.

I was trying to come up with an idea of how to present boating safety. And then Jack told me that, ‘well, you know you go out on the fourth of July, and there are going to be about two dozen people who die on that day from different kids of accidents, and one of them is boating accidents.’ One of the things he said was that you can reduce the chance of a fatality in your boat by eighty percent simply by putting on a life jacket.

I have never, nor do I know anyone who has ever, retrieved a drowning victim who was wearing a life jacket. Not once. Not one of the people thought that they were going to drown that day. Not one of them thought that they were going to need a life jacket. But they’re just as dead. If you want to reduce the odds of there being a fatality on your boat by eighty percent, all you have to do is require that everyone put on a life jacket.

And these days the life jackets aren’t those red, bulky, ugly things…the new generation life jackets…they’re very lightweight and they expand when they hit the water. So you can be safe and it not really affect your having fun. There’s really no excuse anymore for not wearing a life jacket.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS stations. Check your local listings.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Support Fish Restoration Program…funded by our purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Work on your camping and hiking skills during an advanced backpacking program at Purtis Creek State Park, southwest of DFW. It’s a chance for kids and adults to get out and play… regardless of experience.

It’s a program for individuals of families that are interested in backpacking who may or may not have some previous experience. It’ll allow them to develop some skills on a short hike with an experienced leader. Purtis Creek State Park backpack trails offer a wide variety of trees and plants, and also opportunities to see some abundant wildlife, including beavers, Blue Heron, and some Egrets.

Lisa Male, Park Interpreter, tells us more about the event.

The hike is about a mile and it’s a pretty much level hike. Sites are wooded and they all have access to the lake. Bring all the necessary equipment, such as the backpack, camping stove, food, sleeping bag, tent. Our overnight program will be based on the “Leave No Trace” program. It’s designed to give visitors and opportunity to develop a respect for nature and wildlife.

This outing will provide the foundation and experience you need for future outdoor adventures.

We just want to encourage people to come out and take advantage of this program. It’s a great opportunity for people to gain some basic skills so that they can progress into more adventurous environments.

The advanced backpacking program is June 16th & 17th, and reservations are required. Find complete details about the program, including cost at passporttotexas.org.

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

June 16–17, 2007 — Purtis Creek SP — Advanced Backpacking — Bring backpack, tent, food, stove and all other necessary items for overnight campout. After a short review of equipment, go on a ranger-led hike into the backpack trails to spend the night in our primitive sites. Overnight program will focus on Leave No Trace camping. Hike is up to 1.5 miles. Equipment list available by contacting the park. 4 p.m. Saturday-9 a.m. Sunday; call for fees; reservations required (903) 425-2332.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife recognizes and honors private landowners for habitat management and wildlife conservation with the Lone Star Land Steward Awards Program.

A land steward is just somebody who just manages and takes care of their land. These folks are very committed to conservation, and maintaining healthy lands under their management.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting.

Each year we open the nominations in June, and anybody can nominate a landowner for recognition in Lone Star Land Steward. So we receive nominations through November. Our biologists in each of the eco-regions visit each of the nominees, and then make a recommendation to those that should be awarded the Lone Star Land Steward award for that eco-region.

Biologists visit nominated landowners who have managed their property for a minimum of 5 years, to evaluate their practices.

They talk with the landowner or the manager. They try to evaluate what types of management actions that they are undertaking. They look at their motivations and really what makes them special in terms of taking care of the resources under their control.

Passporttotexas.org has links to nomination forms.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

You may know about bird houses… but Bat Conservation International, known as Bat Conservation International, wants you to know about bat houses, too.

A bat house is a structure that’s generally made out of wood and it has chambers inside of it. Rather than having an opening on the side, as you would for instance in a bird house, a bat house is open on the bottom. So the bats are able to fly in from underneath and them climb up into these chambers inside of the wooden house. You may have a bat house that holds 50 or fewer bats, or you may have a bat house that could hold 300 or more bats. Bats are very small, so a lot of bats can roost in a very small space.

Barbara French is a Biologist and Science Officer for Bat Conservation International.

We generally recommend that they are on a pole. Sometimes they’re on a side of a building, but it’s better that they’re not in trees because they don’t seem to do as well when they’re put in trees as they do if they’re on a poll.

Ready to get started? Bat Conservation International makes it easy.

At BCI, we sell a bat house builder’s handbook. It has a lot of information on how to build a bat house with all of the instructions and all of the information you would need to build one in there.

Details about bat houses and the builder’s guide are available at www.batcon.org.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help fro Loren Seeger…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, boasts a bat population numbering 1.5 million, making it a unique and appreciated tourist attraction. But that wasn’t always the case, says Barbara French.

There were modifications done to the bridge that ended up making just the perfect sized crevices underneath the bridge. There probably had been bats there for sometime, but they began moving in, in larger numbers then. It drew the attention of, you know, many different kinds of people and people began being worried, and thinking that this was a danger to the city. They were actually considering exterminating those bats.

French is a Biologist and Science Officer for Bat Conservation International. She says Austin had a change of heart about the bats thanks to Merlin Tuttle.

Merlin Tuttle, who is the founder of Bat Conservation International, was headquartered in Wisconsin, and he came here and talked to a lot of officials and explained that the bats were actually a tremendous benefit and was able to protect the colony. Once the colony started growing and once people started realizing just how important these bats were in helping to control the insect pests, they became more interested in having the bats. As it became a unique site and known to people around the country, and then even around the world, people began coming to Austin to visit just specifically to see these bats.

Learn more about Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge bats at www.batcon.org.

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

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