Passport to Texas

Jim Remley and his new puppy, Lilly

TPW Magazine: Ducks and Dogs Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

A great hunting dog will leave an indelible mark on the heart of the hunter who owns it.

06—I hesitated to use the word love. But I don’t think there’s a better word than love for it.

David Sikes is the outdoor writer at the Corpus Christi Caller Times. He wrote about hunters and their dogs for the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

13—I’ve been duck hunting for a few decades now. So, I’ve sat beside many, many dog owners and their beloved hunting dogs, and I’ve become fascinated just by the relationship that they have.

Sikes says these highly trained animals are also loyal family pets. But when they’re in the field, they have a job to do. And when done well, they’re a source of pride.

26—The dog owners take such a sense of pride in what the dogs can accomplish. And, of course, they only take partial credit for that. Because they give the dogs credit for their intelligence. They do. The dogs that seem to perform best have more intelligence and more heart. And just more drive than others. And most of them, like some of the subjects of this story, have a special place for those special dogs they’ve had over the decades.

Such as Jim Remley’s black lab Kareem, or Rob Sawyer’s Chesapeake, Nellie, or even Harvey Evans’ Chesapeake named Taffy that also helped him sell crackers in the 1950s. Read about all of them in David Sikes piece in this month’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

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

TPW TV: The State of Quail Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Grassland birds throughout North America, including the bobwhite quail, have been in decline.

06—Over the past 20, 30 years—we’ve seen serious declines across its entire range, including Texas.

Robert Perez is upland game bird program manager for Parks and Wildlife. He and others concerned about this enigmatic species’ survival appear in a segment called The State of Quail on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS.

07— Fundamentally, conservationists agree that the root cause is the changes in the quality and quantity of habitat.

During the segment, airing next week, watch conservation groups and private landowners, like Jim Willis, collaborate to improve habitat for quail, by planting native grasses, which provide shelter, seeds and insects for the birds.

19— This is a sample of a native grass. This plant contributes to the health of the land. This is the way you conserve moisture. Man has come in and ripped out a lot of this native grass and planted what we call improved grasses, which is really not improved, they’re invasive species, like Bermuda grass, and Bahia grass, and they don’t give back to the soil. They take from the soil.

The State of Quail airs the week of November 15 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Check your local listings.

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

Stephanie Salinas’ first hunt.

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This is Passport to Texas

Ten years ago I went on my first deer hunt as an observer; it’s something I’ll never forget. Last year, my colleague, Stephanie Salinas, did more than observe. She shot her first deer and wrote about it for the November 2015 issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

49- I had a lot of mixed emotions. I took Hunter Ed, and learned a lot of things. I had never shot a rifle before going out there, so I actually went to the range and practiced. So, now let’s go to the day. Yeah, there was one buck that emerged; I thought if I’m going to do this, that’s going to be the deer. It was kind of like a connection. It’s really odd to explain. I knew that he was going to be the one that I took. So, when you made that decision, and you committed–what happened when you pulled the trigger? Once I got positioned, and I knew that was the one I was going to get, as soon as I pulled the trigger, I didn’t hear anything. Everything stopped. It was a moment in time that froze. And it was just me and my breath and realizing
what had happened.

To learn the rest of the story, read Stephanie Salinas’ account of her hunt in the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Hunting and fishing forever!

Legacy of a Lifetime License Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hunting and fishing are deeply rooted traditions for Gabe Kulhanek of El Campo.

04-It’s just as stress relief to go hunting and fishing and get away from everything.

The outdoors has been a lifelong pursuit for him, and something he shared early on with his son.

11-He started hunting when he was probably four and a half years old. He shot his first deer at five years old with his own rifle. I never shot anything for him. He’s always killed his own deer whenever he hunted.

This past June Texas Parks and Wildlife drew Gabe’s name as the winner of a Lifetime Super Combo License, giving him the right to hunt and fish in Texas without ever having to buy another state license. Instead of keeping, it, he transferred it to his son, Joshua, as his legacy.

05-It would benefit him more than anything, and it’s something he can have and cherish the rest of his life.

Entries for the Lifetime License Drawing are five dollars each and available online or at retailers. Enter as many times as you like; fees go toward conservation in Texas. The next drawing is December 27, 2015.

04-It’s a good opportunity. I never dreamed I would win it — it was the first time I entered.

Is luck on your side? Find more information on the Lifetime License Drawing on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Lifetime License Drawing

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Tim Brockway is an avid fisherman.

02-I fish about four days a week.

This competitive bass angler from Kaufman says he used to always buy an annual super combo license for hunting and fishing.

02-Because I think the money goes to a good cause.

The cause is conservation and habitat management in Texas. But, in 2010, Tim — a retired firefighter — spent five dollars online to enter Texas Parks and Wildlife’s twice-a-year Lifetime License drawing–and won.

25-I told the guys up at the fire station: Hey, I bought a five dollar chance to win a lifetime license. And I get a call a few months later — and I would have bet anything one of the guys got their wives to call and mess with me — and I actually didn’t believe them. I got off the phone and I called our local game
warden that I know real well. He said: ‘Give me the phone number they called you from and the person’s name and I’ll check on it.’ Whenever I gave him the phone number and name, he said: ‘Congratulations; I know the person and I know the number.’

Money from every five dollar entry goes toward conservation in Texas, which improves hunting, fishing and the outdoors for everyone.

09-I know your entries went up by about 30 right after I won mine from people at the fire station. I said: Come on guys; it’s five bucks. You spend that much on a hamburger. It’s well worth the chance.

The deadline for the next drawing is December 27, 2015. Entries are currently available online or at license retailers. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.