Passport to Texas

Winter Rainbow Trout Stocking Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Winter is no time to put up those fishing poles. That’s because each December Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Inland Fisheries Division stocks rainbow trout statewide.

07—Rainbow trout are a cold water fish, so the winter is the only time that we really have water here that will support them.

Carl Kittle oversees the trout program for inland fisheries. The trout, farm raised in Missouri, arrive at Texas four hatcheries via tank truck.

20—And then we redistribute them from our hatcheries to each of the stocking locations. We have over 120 locations where we have stocked trout in Texas. And how many trout are we expecting to stock this year? Our plan would be to stock about 280-thousand trout. However, this year is unique because of the ongoing drought.

Ah, yes…that pesky drought. The agency may reduce the number of fish and locations it stocks based on how long the drought continues and on conditions going forward.

15—Two things that can happen are that the water level can be so low that there’s no way for fishermen to get at the water. Or, more common what we’re running into right now—is that we don’t have enough clear water in place in a pond to be cool and high in oxygen and support the trout.

But all is not lost. There will be rainbow trout stocked for your fishing pleasure. Learn more on tomorrow’s show.

We receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which funds trout stocking programs in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

LBJ State Park Christmas Tree Lighting Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When Lyndon Johnson was president, he and the first lady started a tradition: the annual Christmas tree lighting at their Hill Country home in Stonewall.

19—This is one of the special times where community and family and friends can gather together for a traditional tree lighting in the Texas Hill Country. And it was sparked by the president and Mrs. Johnson 42 years ago so that the community could get together and enjoy the holiday spirit.

Since that first tree lighting, the homestead has become the LBJ State Park and Historic Site, and Iris Neffendorf its superintendent.

22—We really go all out here at the state park with decorations. And we open up with a wonderful tree lighting program in our courtyard, with a lighted native cedar tree. And there’s music, and folks that come and do many different things—even a live nativity scene.

This annual event is free and open to the public.

[Music: Here Comes Santa Clause…run through end of show]

20— The 42nd annual LBJ tree lighting is on Sunday, December the 18th at 6 pm. We also do a couple of pre program activities should the public want to come out earlier, and then see how it really turns into a festive event in the evening.

Find full details at www.texasstateparks.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Holiday Trail of Lights in La Grange Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thousands of twinkling lights illuminate a quarter mile walking trail this holiday season at the Monument Hill and Kriesche Brewery State Historic Sites in La Grange.

24—The trail of lights is open to the public five nights during the first part of December. That’s December third, ninth, tenth, sixteenth and seventeenth, from 6 pm to 8 pm. And our park is decorated with lots of lights and different ornaments throughout the grounds. Kriesche house is open, it’s decorated for Christmas. We have entertainment, refreshments, and Santa Clause is there for children to tell their wishes to.

Dennis Smith is park manager.

12—[It’s] just a really pretty site here. We sit on a 200 foot bluff that overlooks the city of La Grange—and see the night lights of the city. It’s just a really spectacular opportunity for people to come out and enjoy a great Christmas celebration.

Smith says the trail of lights is the perfect family activity for the holiday season.

20—Every year we have comments from families that say we’ve been coming out here for the last 20 years. Families that come from Houston, Austin, San Antonio—just to come back to the trail of lights each year. We see more and more of that as we go by, and are just really glad to see these families keep coming back with more generations of their families to help celebrate the season.

Find complete details about the tail of lights at Monument Hill and Kriesche Brewery SHS in La Grange, including entrance fees at www.texasstateparks.org.

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

Leonid Meteor Shower Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On November 17th, the sky will start to fall over Texas.

04—The Leonid Meteor Shower is a shower that occurs every November.

Anita Cochran, assistant director of the McDonald Observatory, explains this phenomenon.
20—It is a result of the debris left over from the passage of the Comet Temple Tuttle which comes passed the sun and passed the earth every thirty-three years. The earth’s orbit will intercept the orbit of the dust trail that was left when the comet passed the sun.

Those dust particles burning up in the earth’s atmosphere will create this year’s shower.

In 1833, the Leonid Meteor shower rained down thousands of meteors an hour. This caused some people to believe that these meteors signified the end of the world. This year, the shower won’t be as drastic.

21—There are times when we go through, and it’s approximately every thirty three years, when we see a huge storm because we go through the peak of it. We might see hundreds of meteors per hour. In this particular year, the peak of it will occur when it’s daytime in the United States and when people should go out and see it, which is the end of the night – they’ll only be seeing about ten meteors an hour.

Information on where to see the Leonid Shower at passporttotexas.org

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

More Halloween in State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Halloween and state parks go together. Our State park Guide Bryan Frazier has details about a “Spooktacular” event at Sea Center Texas, and an event at Inks Lake SP featuring creatures of the night—and a star party.

This is a real novel idea; park staff dress up like animals that come out at night. And they’re going to talk about some of the things that these animals do. Then they’re going to do a night hike, there’s going to be a costume party. Then there’ll be a star gazing party that they’ll have there because of the open night sky in the Hill Country.

This is their fifth year; they’re having the annual Sea Center Spooktacular. It’s very kid oriented; they’ll have a costume contest, they’re having treats. They can tour and see the aquarium, and the hatchery—the real, functioning hatchery that we have at Sea center. So, it’s a great opportunity to get kids plugged in. It gives them a safe place to go and do something for the Halloween event.

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.