Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

For the past four years, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, this year at Lake Conroe, has reinvented the way bass tournaments are fished.

11— What they do in this tournament different than other tournaments; the bass that are caught in the tournament are immediately weighed, measured and immediately released in the boat, instead of coming to a staged weigh-in.

Dave Terre is Texas parks and Wildlife Department Chief of fisheries. While bringing fish to shore for display is permissible, 99% of the bass caught, go back into the lake, with an estimated 100% survival.

18—And this is accomplished by putting judges in each of the pro anglers’ bass boats. These judges basically weigh and measure the fish for the angler, then they are recorded—matter of fact, they’re called into a central control tower by radio—and the fish then are immediately released; no harm.

The Pro Angler’s Association sanctions the Bass Classic tournament and, in cooperation with Texas Parks and Wildlife, was instrumental in developing this new judging method to promote conservation of the species.

18—This is a group of folks who are all about conservation. They want to change the way bass tournaments are fished, in this country, and so a couple of years ago we did an impromptu survey of the pro anglers that participate in this tournament. A very high percentage of them feel like this could be the future of the way bass tournaments are fished.

Learn more about fisheries management and see photos from the Bass Classic at www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

It’s easy to forget how the sounds of nature enrich our well-being, or how some man-made 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 Sunday, 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 a collection of sounds at passporttotexas.org, and instructions for making a sound map. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Noé Cuéllar is a sound designer, photographer, and curator originally from Laredo, Texas, who currently lives in Chicago. He worked on a project called “Prairie Mountain Soundscape” for which Chicago-based anthropologist Lise McKean commissioned him to compose a soundscape of Chicago’s both natural and urban sounds. The podcast is above.

“Prairie Mountain Soundscape” is a sound journey through the evaporation and condensation of Chicago’s sound environment, where the audible embodies urban and natural landscapes.
– Noé Cuéllar

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?

This is Passport to Texas

If you’re a seasoned angler, put your skills to good use.

09—We really encourage the avid angler to introduce fishing to at least one new person a year. And there’d be no better time to do that than during National Fishing and Boating Week…

National Fishing and Boating week is now through June 13th, and it’s a project of the non-profit Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, or RBFF. Frank Peterson is president and CEO. He invites anglers who are passionate about sharing the sport with others to join the Anglers’ Legacy Movement.

12—If they go to our website takemefishing.org, they can join the anglers’ legacy movement. We have over 213-thousand ambassadors around the country who have taken a pledge to introduce fishing to someone new.

On average members of the Anglers’ Legacy movement introduce more than three new people to fishing each year.

12—Another interesting stat on our Ambassador program is that over 70% of the people they introduce to the sport are under the age of 18. So they’re helping to ensure the future of angling and boating in this country.

So introduce someone to fishing this week.

05—That would be a great week to just say, hey, I’m going to do something for young people; I’m going to do something for the sport.

Go to www.takemefishing.org for more information about the Anglers’ Legacy Movement. The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series. For Texas parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Summer’s filled with festivals and events; consider attending those that include The Life’s Better Outside Experience: a streamlined, mobile version of Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo.

05—We’re taking a small version of Expo on the road, and going to other parts of the state.

Trey Hamlett is Outreach Events Coordinator for Parks and Wildlife. He says The Life’s Better Outside Experience offers abundant outdoor recreational opportunities that serve as the first steps toward becoming lifelong outdoor enthusiasts.

20—Archery and fishing, hunting and camping—these are things you can do your whole life. And we want to get unengaged urban Texans involved in outdoor recreation. Because if you’re not involved in outdoor recreation, you’re probably not involved in conservation. So, if we can get you to use the outdoors, you come to care about it, and eventually care for it.

There’s an opportunity to try the Life Better Outside Experience June fifth and sixth:

16—That’s in Longview, Texas, at AlleyFest. It’s a fine arts festival that has concerts at night, but is very busy during the day. It’s a family event; we’ll be on the south side of the courthouse the entire block, and it’s going to be a neat deal. You name it; if we do it outside, it’s going to be there.

Find more information about the Life’s Better Outside Experience at AlleyFest in Longview, June 5 & 6, on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

The economic bust of 2008 sidelined Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo, but not its outreach mission: to connect unengaged Texans—especially urban Texans—with the outdoors.

15—We needed to continue our outreach effort. And this was an opportunity to get outside of Central Texas. The only gripe against Expo ever was—it was only in Central Texas. And we’re taking a small version of Expo on the road.

Trey Hamlett is Outreach Events Coordinator for Parks and Wildlife. They’ve named this movable mini-expo, the Life’s Better Outside Experience.

16—We have a shooting sport at each one of these events that’s typically archery. Rock climbing, fishing activities, we do a wildlife CSI, which is critter scene investigation. Outdoor family is involved. The events take on the flavor of the region of the state they’re in.

The Life’s Better Outside Experience partners with established events statewide.

25—We’ve got a fairly strict criteria; they have to be family events; it can’t be a first-time even;, it has to have a history where they can give us information on attendance, demographics, that sort of thing. They also have to have an attendance of at least 5,000 visitors a day so we get the most bang for our buck and the opportunity to talk to a lot of Texans. And then geographic importance, and where it fits into our schedule as well.

There’s more information on the Life’s Better Outside Experience on the Texas parks and Wildlife Website.

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

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