Passport to Texas

Conservation: Kerr's August First Friday Tour Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Kerr Wildlife Management Area is a research and demonstration site for the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion…and August third begins the first of a three-part monthly series called First Friday Tours.

06—Our First Friday Tours are a series of seminars that we offer annually as part of our outreach program.

Wildlife biologist, Ryan Reitz, says the first part of the free series focuses on the basics.

31—We’re starting out with the basics here, on our first part of our three-part series. And we will be discussing those elements of habitat—those things critical in the successful management of any wildlife species: food, water and cover. We’ll be discussing these in detail. We’ll be addressing the diets of native species—and even exotic species. We’ll be discussing how important water is on the landscape. And we’ll be discussing development strategies and cover requirements—how these plants provide both food and cover to our wildlife resources.

It’s free to attend, but Reitz says you need a reservation.

13—We do ask that everyone interested in attending call in for reservations. You can call the Kerr WMA. Our office number is 830-238-4483, and sign up for a spot on our First Friday Tours.

Again, the First Friday is on August 3.

If you’re not in the Edwards plateau ecosystem, go to the TPW website and find your nearest WMA, and programs offered specific to your area.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and celebrates 75 years of funding diverse conservation projects throughout Texas…

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

World Listening Day 2012 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s easy to forget how the sounds of nature enrich our wellbeing, or how some manmade sounds can have the opposite effect. The World Listening Project recognizes these relationships.

08—The World Listening Project is a not for profit organization whose goal is to help people better understand our relationships with the sounds around us.

Dan Godston lives in Chicago and is involved in the World Listening Project. He says Wednesday, July 18 is World Listening Day, and one way to observe it is by taking a sound walk in a state park.

05—And a sound walk is where you’re focused on what you hear in your sound scape, your sonic environment.

In parks you might hear birds, rustling leaves, water, buzzing insects, the sound of mountain bikes whizzing by, people’s voices, and the crunch of a hiking trail beneath your feet.

Traffic, the clanging and growling of industry and manufacturing, and the thumping bass of car stereos heard from blocks away, are also part of the sonic environment, and often considered sound pollution. Just as bright city lights obscure our view of stars in the night sky, excessive man made sounds muffle our ability to connect with the natural world.

10—As stewards of this planet, we should try to be careful about what’s happening to biodiversity, and certainly, I think, having the range of sounds relates to that.

We have instructions for making a sound map at passporttotexas.org. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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HOW TO MAKE A SOUND MAP

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Make a Sound Map!

What You Need:
•Paper
•Clipboard, tablet or something to write on
•Something to write with like a pencil or pen

Directions:
1.Find a comfortable spot to sit outdoors.
2.Mark an “X” in the center of the paper. This shows YOU on the map.
3.Close your eyes and listen for at least one minute. Listen for sounds from animals, birds, people and other activities.
4.Keep listening, but now draw pictures or symbols on the map representing all the sounds you hear, and where they are coming from.
5.At the top of your page, write down the date, time and where you were (school yard, park, etc.)

What Did You Discover?
Did you hear something from each direction around you? Could you hear at least 10 different sounds? Could you identify all the sounds you heard? If you did this with a friend, compare your maps!

Stuff to Think About:
•What would happen if you sat somewhere else?
•What would be different at another time of day? Another season?

Boat/Fish: National Fishing and Boating Week Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Time on the water is time well spent. It’s not only an ideal way to connect with friends and family, it’s also a way to protect Texas waters.

First lines of defense for America’s waterways are the anglers and boaters that are out there. And it’s important that we maintain that strong commitment to taking care of the resource by being sure there are a lot of folks out there that enjoy using it.

Texas is one of the top states in terms of angler participation and the number of licenses sold. There are some tremendous fishing resources in Texas in both saltwater and freshwater.

Our state provides a great example for many other states as the right way to manage resources as well as how to be in touch with the anglers and boaters that are out there using it.

National Fishing and Boating Week, June 2nd through 10th.

It’s a time to celebrate being on the water …a time to unplug from the workaday world…where there’s nothing that gets in the way of communicating with your family and friends. It’s simply a great way to reconnect with those who matter to you, while engaging a resource that’s precious to everyone.

That’s our show, made possible by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

State Parks: National Trails Day Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Saturday, June 2 is National Trails Day. It’s a day when we encourage everyone to lace up a pair of sturdy shoes, slather on some sun screen, fill a reusable bottle with water, and grab a healthy snack. Then head to a state park to find miles of trails waiting for your arrival. Our State Park Guide Bryan Frazier tells us more.

37—Our very own research in state parks—from park visitors on site—says that the number one most sought after amenity and experience when they get to a park is hiking trails. We have more than 25 state parks in Texas, all over the lone star States, where we will be doing nature hikes and birding hikes and interpretive hikes. And they’ll be uphill and they’ll be downhill. And they’ll be on boardwalks and even on the beach. So it’s a great time to get out and enjoy—not only a little bit of healthy exercise—but to see once again just what makes Texas Texas—and state parks are great places to discover that.

Thanks Bryan

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bastrop State Park is Open Again! Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nobody will forget the Central Texas wildfires of 2011; they burned tens of thousands of acres of land including nearly all of Bastrop State Park, in the Lost Pines region. Our state park guide, Bryan Frasier says, you can’t keep a good park down.

57—Everything in Bastrop State park is open again, and it’s ahead of schedule. All of the CCC built cabins, the dining hall and refectory and the swimming pool. The campgrounds are also open, because the utility lines, the water, electric and sewer hookups—those were all saved. And so, we’re able to get those back online. Those campgrounds are open; the trails are open. And we’re planning a grand opening and celebration, about the anniversary for the fire for Labor Day, so we want people to stay tuned for that. We’ll do a big ribbon cutting and a grand re-opening of the park. But right now we want to let people know that Bastrop State Park is open and it looks great! The staff out there has done a great job—it’s taken a lot of state park volunteers to make that park look good. And people can hike on the trails and stay in the cabins and bring their RVs to our full hook-up campsites out there, and once again enjoy the incredible destination that is Bastrop State park.

Thanks Bryan. Make reservations when you log onto texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.