Passport to Texas

Outdoor Annual App

CLICK HERE TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN THE APP IS AVAILABLE.

Hunting | Tech: Outdoor Annual Goes Mobile Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

People who buy hunting and fishing licenses rely on a printed booklet called the Texas Outdoor Annual.

04— And inside the printed booklet they’ll find hunting and fishing regulations.

You’ll find those regulations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, too.

04—[But] our website is hard to take with you if you’re in the blind and you do not have cell service.

Developing efficient ways to access information is among Tim Peterson’s priorities. He’s director of creative and interactive services at Parks and Wildlife. Making an electronic version of the outdoor annual, with simple, intuitive navigation—accessible in cell-challenged locations—necessitated creation of an app.

22— Well, as you know, smart phones and tablets have become more popular among the general population, but we’ve also noticed that our hunters and anglers are also using those devices. And we are offering it, really, as another way for them to learn about regulations while they’re in the field, and also be able to do searches based on location.

The FREE Texas Outdoor Annual app is available for download for both apple and android devices wherever you get apps. Tim returns tomorrow to tell us about one of the many features of the app.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

On a Texas dove dunt

Hunting: Preparing for Dove Season Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Unlike hunting other game where one or two people sit quietly in a stand or blind, dove hunting is social.

12— Yeah. And one of the big traditions that we do see in Texas is family and friends getting together for the opening of dove season. It seems to be a very popular thing to do around Texas. And you can talk and have conversations while you’re dove hunting.

Biologist Shaun Oldenburger says before you hunt dove on your own or with others, you have to have all your ducks in a row, so to speak.

22—Make sure – obviously – you have your right hunting license. You are going to need a migratory game bird stamp – a Texas stamp. And you’re also going to have to go and get HIP certified before you go dove hunting or you go hunt any other migratory game bird in the state of Texas. A lot of times September first approaches us pretty quick; we just want to make sure folks get the right licenses before they head into the field, and to also go out and actually practice with a shotgun before September first.

Opening day for dove in the north and central zones is September first, Labor Day. It opens September 20 in the south zone.

08— Per Fish and Wildlife Service regulations, the season will be 70 days this year. And the bag limit will be 15, which includes both mourning doves and white-winged doves.

Find complete dove season information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

David L. Yoes of Coppell Tx is hunting dove in Hays county.

Hunting: Dove Season Forecast 2014 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Despite exceptional drought along the Red River in North Central Texas and the extreme Panhandle, ample spring rains elsewhere promise good dove hunting this season.

14— Last year at this time about 45% of the state was either in an extreme or exceptional drought. [When] we get to those levels we see large-scale [negative] changes with habitat. And this year, we’re only at about 20%; so we’ve had a lot more precipitation around the state.

Biologist Shaun Oldenburger says the season includes mourning and white-winged dove—but don’t expect to hunt them in the same place.

08—With white-winged dove, over 90% of our white-winged doves in the state of Texas breed in suburban or urban locations compared to most of our mourning doves which tend to be more rural.

For white-winged dove, consider setting up in grain fields and pastures nearby urban and suburban areas…

15— …that may have good croton, or sunflower crops and then vetch, pigweed – stuff like that. For mourning dove, we look for perching habitat, we look for water and we look for food. And if you have a combination of those things, you usually can have a fairly decent hunt in those types of locations.

Find more information about dove season on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Chef Lou Lambert and his trusty kitchen helper.

Hunting/Cooking: Low and Slow to Cook Game Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cooking venison for the first time can be intimidating, but Lou Lambert, chef-proprietor of Lamberts Downtown Barbecue in Austin and Lambert’s Steaks and Seafood in Fort Worth, is here to help.

60— I grew up hunting and fishing and still do today. But I think most of the lessons I learned about cooking game were more failures than things that worked out well when my mother was cooking.

So, lack of fat and more movement tells you that you have to do a slow, moist heat cooking method, unless you have it ground into sausage, or pounded for chicken fried [steaks], most of that deer – 80% — you need to either do a braise or a very slow barbeque smoke method.

Find wild game recipes 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.

Larry Burrier with some homemade wild game jerky.

Hunting/Food: Making Wild Game Jerky Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

May is when Parks and Wildlife celebrates al fresco feasting; also known as picnicking. And, if you’re Larry Burrier, you always pack along some homemade wild game jerky.

08— First off, it’s more nutritional and better for you than everyday snacks. Plus – the most important thing—you know what’s in it.

People who say they don’t like jerky because it’s like trying to eat a leather belt, haven’t had good jerky says Burrier.

08— It’s supposed to be pliable. If you can take a piece of that meat and bend it without it cracking or breaking, that’s when it’s jerky. You don’t want it hard.

From-time-to-time Burrier teaches traditional jerky-making classes at Lockhart State Park. He says making this treat from wild game you’ve harvested brings your food full circle when you eat it outdoors – where it originated.

08— It’s self-sustaining. It teaches them how to live off the land. What to do with the meat after you harvest it. Of course, this state has so much game in it, it’s ridiculous.

Ridiculously delicious, that is. Find a jerky recipe to use with any animal protein, and that requires no special equipment to make, at passporttotexas.org.

We record our series at the Block House. Joel Block engineers our program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Larry Burrier’s Country Style Jerky in the Oven
From Texas Link to Jerky Making
Recipe for use with 8 pounds of venison or lean beef.

Wet Marinade:
2 teaspoons curing salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons black pepper
8 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups Worcestershire Sauce
3 cups water

Mix all ingredients together to make marinade for your meat.

Directions for preparing meat and making jerky:

1. Trim fat, gristle and membrane from the meat
2. Freeze the trimmed meat for approximately 2-3 hours to make slicing easier.
3. Slice meat into 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices.
4. Place meat in marinade mixture; cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Once fully marinated, spray your oven with nonstick cooling oil spray, and preheat oven to 140 degrees (or lowest setting for your oven).
6. Place a cookie sheet or aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven to catch the drips.
7. Skewer meat strips with metal or wooden skewers and hang along racks 1/4 inch apart to provide for better heat and smoke circulation (see picture).

8. close the oven door, but use a utensil like a wooden spoon to hold open the door slightly for the first hour, as that allows more air circulation and moisture to escape.
9. After an hour close the door completely and check every hour until your jerky is dried, but flexible enough to bend. Store in air tight containers in your refrigerator.