Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas parks and Wildlife

Ken Burns’ six-part documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea airs on PBS stations nationwide this fall. Inspired by Burns’ series, Amarillo’s PBS affiliate, KACV-TV produced a one-hour documentary The Natural Wonder of Texas: Palo Duro Canyon, set to air September 12.

We’re going to try and hit the highlights. And hopefully, people will see that small part of it and do some research of their own, or come visit the canyon.

Marcie Robinson is a producer at KACV-TV. She says viewers will experience this magnificent, historic canyon from the ground up.

We delved really, really deeply into the geology of Palo Duro Canyon; the lowest layer of the canyon is 250-million years old. And then on into the Indian, early civilizations, primitive Indian cultures. And then, into the Apaches, Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne. And then, another thing I had no idea about was that the CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps], during the depression, built a road into the canyon, and built cabins in the canyon, the El Coronado Lodge, and most of the buildings that you see now that people use in the Palo Duro Canyon were built by the CCC during the depression.

Once The Natural Wonder of Texas: Palo Duro Canyon airs locally, it will be available for all Texans to enjoy on the KACV-TV website. We have a link to it on our website, passporttotexas.org.

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

Texas Outdoor Family Workshop at Palo Duro Canyon September 19-20, 2009

Palo Duro Canyon Documentary, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo is on hiatus for two years until the economy picks up. Until then, a regional mini-Expo called the Life’s Better Outside Experience will take it’s place.

The purpose of the regional expos is to reach what we refer to as the unengaged Texans—people who don’t really spend time in the outdoors. Whether it’s bird watching or camping or hunting or fishing or mountain biking or whatever. So, those are the folks that—families especially—that we hope to reach with these Life’s Better Outside Experiences.

Ernie Gammage is Director of Urban Outdoor Programs. The Life’s Better Outside Experience will piggyback onto existing events throughout the state, reaching people that would not have made the trip to Austin for Expo.

I think if there was ever a single complaint about Expo, it was that it always took place in Austin and Central Texas. And so now, we’ll be able to visit other parts of the state and introduce opportunities in the outdoors to folks that live there.

Gammage says putting Expo on hiatus for two years was a hard decision to make, but it was the right thing to do.

The Expo was an enormous event—40,000+ people every year. So, we know we’re not going to reach the number of Texans we did in that single weekend in Austin. But, there are certainly going to be other benefits that we’ll evaluate. And then in a couple of years we’ll look at it and say do we want to keep doing these regional expos, or do we want to go back to the big Expo here in Austin.

Find information about the Life’s Better Outside Experience at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… remember…Life’s better outside…for Texas parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo in Transition, 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

For the past 17 years, the first weekend in October has been reserved for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo—but not this year.

Well, like many, many other events around the country, we have been a victim of the economy. It’s just been very difficult to raise the money that it takes to put the Expo on.

Ernie Gammage, Director of Urban Outdoor Programs says because of the economy, Expo is on hiatus for two years. The event cost a half million dollars to produce and most of that came from sponsor underwriting.

With every challenge comes and opportunity. And our opportunity now is to find places to take an Expo-like event—and we’re calling this the Life’s Better Outside Experience. And we’ll actually be taking these regional events on the road starting next year, and we’ll be holding them in San Antonio, Houston, Corpus Christi and Longview.

The Life’s Better Outside Experience will become part of existing events around the state, such as festivals and rodeos, and will be like regional mini-Expos.

They’ll be very much like a mini-Expo. There’ll be rock climbing, and archery, and fishing activities…and information about state parks, and a chance for people really to find out what’s in their own backyard.

We’ll have more on the Life Better Outside Experience tomorrow.

That’s our show… remember…Life’s better outside…for Texas parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Parks & Wildlife Expo in Transition, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

While the mockingbird might be the official state bird of Texas, every July it’s the hummingbird that earns a place of distinction in the state.

July is usually the start of our hummingbird migration when we’ve got thousands of ruby-throated hummingbirds heading this way from the northern regions.

Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Mark Klym heads up the annual Hummingbird Roundup Survey in Texas, where some 18 different species of hummingbirds have been documented.

The round-up really provides us with information about the hummingbird population here in Texas and gives us an idea of where they’re being found.

While the bird count takes place year-round, the birds are more prevalent in the state from July to October.

This would be a good time to start looking at possibly increasing your number of feeders if you have a yard that is going to be actively used by hummingbirds…the best way to get hummingbirds in your yard is to prepare a good hummingbird garden. Lots of plants that will feed the birds, salvias, Turks cap, trumpet vine.

Take part in the annual Hummingbird Round-up and receive your own survey kit…find out how… when you visit passporttotexas.org.

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

Hummingbird Roundup Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

[SFX – hummer] Summer is a great time for hummingbird viewing in Texas.

Obviously the places people see them most often is around feeders.

Mark Klym is in Wildlife Diversity and a hummingbird enthusiast. You can attract hummingbirds to your yard with a hummingbird feeder filled with a solution of one part sugar to four parts water. Once you’ve hung a feeder, Klym says to keep the contents fresh.

During the summer months you want to change that every two to four days. During the winter months, you might get away with four to six days, but certainly no longer than that.

If you’d prefer to see hummers in the wild, you’re in luck: we have eighteen species of the bird in Texas. But you have to know where to look.

If you’re looking on the wild, you’re going to want to look in areas where there are a number of flowering plants available. The do require shelter, so they’re going to be around evergreen or well-leaved trees – depending on the season. And they’re also going to be found where there’s water. Water is a critical element of their environment, and they’re going to be found where there’s water.

We have a link to more information about hummingbirds, and hummingbird festivals in Texas at passportotexas.org.

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

Hummer Time, and the Living is Easy Play Now | Play in Popup | Download