Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

For the price of an inexpensive meal for two—including tip…

[SOUND EFFECT: cha-ching]

…you can have access to almost a million acres of public hunting land for an entire year.

05—Public hunting is [when] you hunt on either owned or leased public properties that Texas Parks and Wildlife manages.

Vickie Fite is public hunting coordinator. A public hunting permit costs only 48 dollars, and gives users access to diverse terrains. Once you purchase the permits, Fite says you’re going to receive a book that contains hunting information with phone numbers and information on how to reach these areas.

09—I strongly recommend that you call the areas and find out what they say their forecast is going to be for this year, or what the hunters have been able to do so far this year.

Whether you hunt deer, upland game birds, or waterfowl, you’ll find these opportunities and others on public lands.

15—And, remember, with the forty-eight dollar annual public hunting permit, it offers a great opportunity for day hunts and even weekend hunts during the holidays. And once you purchase the permit, you can take kids under seventeen hunting for free – which is a great deal for families.

Maybe a Thanksgiving hunting trip is in order this year.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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This is Passport to Texas

More than a million Texas families don’t have consistent access to proper nutrition. Texas hunters who participate in the Hunters for the Hungry program help to feed them.

10—Most of the recipients of the meat are agencies that have some sort of feeding program, whether it’s a food pantry, a soup kitchen, or some type of food distribution.

Anitra Hendricks coordinates the program, and says donating your harvested deer is easy.

24—The hunter would have to find a participating meat processor that works with the program—we have several located across the state. Once they locate the meat processor, they take their deer in. There is a reduced processing fee which normally averages between $30 an d $40, they pay that feel, they’ll receive a receipt from the meat processor, and from that point on the meat processor will handle the actual processing and donation of the animal.

Feeding programs around the state receive packages of the donated ground venison to distribute to their clients, or to use as an ingredient in soups or sauces they serve directly to hungry Texans. Last season, hunters donated nearly 168-thousand pounds of venison to the program.

13—In terms of quarter-pound servings, it serves 671, 360 servings. There were approximately 100 agencies that received the meat across the state of Texas.

Find a list of participating processors on our website: passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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At the time this web page was created, the list of participating processors had not been released.

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This is Passport to Texas

Texas deer hunters use corn feeders to draw animals into the open to get a clear shot. That’s because deer are alert and clever creatures that can elude even the best hunters.

Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, Alan Cain, says in order to properly manage the estimated million white-tailed deer roaming our state, hunters have to be able to see them.

24—We live in a state where private lands dominate most of the hunting areas out there. So, it’s not like you have a national forest out west or in some of these big places in the east, where a hunter can get out there and just walk for miles. So, he’s relegated to whatever size property he’s hunting on. So, to make those deer visible, where he has an opportunity to harvest one, he has to do something to attract them out there to that area.

Deer are harder to see in some areas of than others.

18—Any hunter that’s spent time—especially in south Texas—it’s difficult. The brush is so thick; the only place you really have to see sometimes is down the senderos [trails] or roads that are running through the brush country. So that’s where feeders or feed routes [where they feed out of a truck or corn the roads] that keeps those deer visible out there.

Strategically placed feeders allow hunters to be more effective when managing deer populations.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Tracking in the Time of Bounty — TPW Magazine Article

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This is Passport to Texas

We’re on the threshold of deer season in Texas, and by all accounts, it’s going to be a good one because of abundant winter rainfall statewide.

09—And, so we’ve had anywhere, in some places, 13-inches of rain so far this year up to, you know, close to 40-inches of rain.

Early last month I spoke with Alan Cain, a Texas parks and Wildlife regional wildlife biologist for south Texas, and he told me more rain means more food on the ground, which contributes to larger populations of healthier animals.

36—We’re seeing lots of healthy animals this year. We’re just getting into the season right now. We’re just starting our deer surveys up, where the private landowners that we work with are doing their deer surveys right now. For example, on fawn production, we’re hearing good reports—anywhere from the 50% range, up to 90% [of animals will be recruited into the larger population]. And I’m sure when you look in other parts of the state, maybe like the Hill Country, where it’s a highly productive deer herd, their probably approaching that 90 to 100 percent in some areas out there. [results may vary] So, good conditions for deer production—and same for antler growth—we’re expecting good quality bucks out there this year from an antler quality standpoint.

Regular season for deer begins November 6. Learn more about white-tails, as well as hunting rules and regulations when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport fish and Wildlife Restoration program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

The October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine has hunting on the menu, as well as a story about cooking wild game… by yours truly. Editor Louie Bond.

The next step after hunting, of course, is preparing the meat for the table, which is, of course, my favorite part of the season. And, we have a great article well, by you Cecilia Nasti, this month on how to get that venison from the field to the table in the most delicious way possible. Can you tell us something about it?

Well, I have a feeling, Cecilia, when you and I sit down at the table this fall, it’s just going to be a whole different experience for us.

You’ve got that right, Louie.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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