Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

It’s fall hunting season in Texas, and various game species are “on the menu.” According to the most current statistics, hunting is good business.

Break duck hunting out if you will. There’s about almost fifty million dollars of economic impact to the state through retail sales.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader. He says the statistics he’s quoting are ten years old, and he expects new data soon. Nevertheless, overall, hunting has been good to Texas and Texans.

The economic impact to Texas, based on 1996, was over a hundred million dollars, and it supported about a thousand jobs and earnings of almost twenty million dollars.

It’s the small Texas towns, says Morrison, that really feel hunting’s positive economic impact.

And you look at some of these small towns…you go down to Katy…on opening day of duck season. There are people everywhere. The motels are full. People never need to lose sight that even though it is for enjoyment and recreation, it is a very, very big business.

Not only does hunting support the economies of many small towns, the various fees paid by hunters support conservation in the state.

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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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Since 1990 Texas Hunters for the Hungry has distributed 1.5-million pounds of donated game to Texans in need; it’s easy to do.

Take it to one of our participating meat processors, pay a reduced processing fee – it’s usually around thirty dollars – the meat processor takes that deer, grinds it into burger, bags it, and freezes, and calls a food assistance provider in their community to come pick it up. And then it gets distributed that way.

Karen Meyer coordinates the Hunters for the Hungry program. Not all processors charge a fee, or the same fee.

Through a grant from the NRA Foundation, we’ve been able to subsidize processing fees for some of the high schools that have meat processing facilities where they’re teaching a vocation to the students. There are even a couple of processors that participate in the program that don’t charge anything.

Processing fees are tax deductible. Your donation helps people you would expect, and some you would not.

People that lost their houses in the Abilene area from the wildfires they had last year; a couple years ago Katrina and Rita evacuees; people from all walks of life might end up being a recipient of it.

Donate wild game to Hunters for the Hungry. Learn how at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…supported in part by the Wildlife Restoration Program…providing funding for the Private lands and Public Hunting Programs…

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

One thing you can say about food banks is…

They’re always needing meat.

Karen Meyer coordinates the Hunters for the Hungry program through the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies. Started in 1990, Hunters for the Hungry encourages outdoorsmen to donate deer they have harvested.

It’s gradually grown significantly over time. In the early years, there was probably less than fifty thousand pounds of meat donated a year. And now we’re reaching near two-hundred thousand pounds a year.

The donated meat goes to hunger relief agencies across Texas where, says Meyer, approximately six million, quarter pound servings of nutritious venison has been distributed to hungry Texans.

Different agencies that receive the meat use it in different ways. Some give it out directly to families; some use it in their kitchens. I know that one organization makes use out of it in their soup that they prepare every day. And so, that probably serves a lot more people than a quarter pound serving per person.

If you’re a hunter with a freezer full of venison, but who still has a deer tag, consider harvesting an animal for Hunters for the Hungry. Find a link to details at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration Program, which fund our Private Lands and Public Hunting Programs…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE TO FIND A PROCESSOR NEAR YOU

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Be it fishing, hunting, bird watching, what we need is children to be away from the TV’s and outdoors.

That’s the goal of Operation Orphans. The group–founded by Game Warden Gene Ashby in 1960–mentors children by taking them hunting. Tom Hewitt, is the organization’s director.

We bring in children from homes all over the state. All of these are disadvantaged children. And all of these children are able to spend a day with a mentor, having a day of fellowship. The harvesting of the animal is just land-yap and it is something special.

Volunteers with this unique organization have worked with over sixteen thousand children. Hewitt says the child, not the hunt, remains top priority.

The main focus of our program is number one, safety. Teaching the children the love of the outdoors, introducing them because so many of these children are city children. They have never been in the outdoors. So our day, again, is mentoring of the children, teaching them about the outdoors and having a day of fun.

Operation Orphans have harvested nearly sixteen thousand animals. They donate every animal they harvest to the home where the child came from.

It’s a win – win situation.

Find out more about Operation Orphans at passporttotexas.org.

Our series receives support from the SFWR program, working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas. We had research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Cut and paste the following link into your browser for more information on Operation Orphans: http://www.operationorphans.org/

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Non-hunters may not approve of hunting. Perhaps this will offer a new perspective: hunters fund conservation efforts in Texas.

There’s no question. Because there’s an excise tax put on sporting arms and ammunition that goes into conservation that states use to manage WMAs [Wildlife Management Areas] and run programs.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader. The various stamps hunters need to harvest certain species fund conservation.

If you look at the duck stamp since 1937, look at all the land that has been purchased and is out there in perpetuity for wetlands.

Morrison adds you don’t have to be a hunter to buy a duck stamp.

If people may not necessarily agree with hunting, or they don’t hunt themselves, one of the smartest things they can do is go buy a duck stamp. Because that duck stamp goes into acquisition of habitat that certainly benefits ducks, but benefits a whole wide range of species. Even if you don’t hunt, buying a duck stamp will show that you, too, are concerned about conservation, and that you are doing your part by spending that fifteen dollars, which in turn, is going into purchase land for our grandkids to be able to watch waterfowl as they migrate south.

Learn more about hunting and conservation when you visit passporttotexas.org.

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.

Waterfowl Stamp & Conservation Play Now | Play in Popup | Download