Passport to Texas

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

You have until the end of the month to nominate candidates for the Lone Star Land Steward Awards.

Lone Star Land Stewards award program is a program that recognizes private landowners for the good work they do on their private lands in Texas.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting. The awards program honors people for exemplary habitat management of private lands.

We feel like we have a great diversity of landowners that have participated and been nominated for recognition. And it just really highlights the diversity of the types of innovative management for wildlife that’s going on in Texas.

Next year marks the 13th year for the awards program.

Anybody can nominate for Lone Star Land Stewards. Landowners can nominate themselves. They come in from other agencies, as well as from our biologists.

Whether you nominate yourself or someone else, time is running out.

November thirtieth is the date that we’d like to have the nominations in for the various eco-regions. We take those, and we have a team of biologists that visit each of the nominated places, and they decide which ones are most worthy of recognition. And then we present the awards in May.

Nominate a landowner. Learn how at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

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

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

The population of southern flounder in the gulf is…well… floundering.

The populations are down in the bay systems across the board for the southern flounder.

Robert Adami coordinates Coastal Bay Team fishing events, where two-person teams of experienced anglers, catch specific species for the hatchery program. In spring, teams reel in spotted sea trout, and in fall, southern flounder.

Sometimes the more experienced anglers can go out to the spots they know are good gathering spots for southern flounder. Usually those guys can get the fish and bring them to us rather quickly. They also know how to handle the fish in terms of care, transportation and trying to get them to us in the best possible health.

Participation is free. Adami says almost as soon as anglers catch them – the flounder start their new lives.

Immediately we’re going to be putting them right into spawning tanks in Sea Center Texas and in Corpus Christi to be used, hopefully, for next year’s spawning program.

Saturday morning Froggy’s Bait Doc in Port O’Conner is the staging area for the event, and next Saturday, Boyd’s One-Stop in Texas City closes this year’s Coastal Bay Team opportunities.

Find full details – including the prizes for participating anglers — at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…which provides funding for Sea Center Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Coastal Fisheries Bay Team Fishing Tournament — Experienced anglers are invited to help us collect southern flounder for our hatcheries. Tournament is open to 30 two-person teams, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All entrants must be 21 or older.

Participants may turn in up to three fish. Anglers turning in fish will be entered in three different drawings for fishing gear. Participants not turning in fish will be entered in a separate drawing for fishing prizes.

All participants will receive a shirt and cap.

The prizes, equipment and program are made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Held at Froggies Bait Doc in Port O’Conner on November 3rd, and at Boyd’s One- Stop in Texas City on November 10th; register at the tournament.

For more information, or if you want to become a member of the Coastal Fisheries Bay Team, send an e-mail to Robert Adami at robert.adami at tpwd.state.tx.us with your name, address and daytime phone number and which tournament you can fish or call him at (361) 939-8745.

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

Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area is 80 miles southeast of Dallas.

Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area [WMA] is approximately 14-thousand acres that lies almost totally within the Trinity River Flood plain. It’s a large block of bottomland hardwood habitat.

Jeffery Gunnels is a wildlife biologist for Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Parks and Wildlife Department acquired Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area in 1987. It was deeded to the state from the Tarrant Regional Water District as a mitigation property when the Richland Chambers reservoir was constructed. That was to satisfy their requirements under the US Army Corps of engineers section 404 permit.

It wasn’t long before a wide array of bird species started arriving.

The WMA is a very good place to find species of birds. On our North Unit we have lots of different wading birds such as great egrets, great blue herons, snowy egrets, lots of ibises, roseate spoonbills and a wide variety of other shorebirds that migrate through the spring. It’s also very, very good wintering waterfowl habitat. We regularly over winter lots of waterfowl and have lots of waterfowl hunting in the fall months.

That’s our show….supported by the Wildlife Restoration Program providing funding for the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…Cecilia Nasti

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

When mist cloaks Caddo Lake it’s easy to understand how the lore and legend about this east Texas destination came to pass.

Native American legend says a giant flood created Caddo Lake. Others say an earthquake was responsible.

Meanwhile, scientists believe the lake formed when floodwaters, blocked by massive log jams on the Red River, backed up into the Cypress Bayou watershed, forming the lake.

One thing that is true: Caddo Lake’s beauty. And visitors to Caddo Lake State Park/WMA not only experience nature at her most beguiling, they also have a plethora of recreational opportunities — from hiking to hunting – to choose from.

With an annual public hunting permit, hunters may harvest deer, eastern wild turkey, and quail during appropriate seasons. Licensed anglers find largemouth bass, catfish and brim plentiful in the lake.

Find more on Caddo Lake SP/WMA at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show, made possible by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program providing funding for the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas.

For Texas parks and wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Caddo Lake State Park / Wildlife Management Area Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Wetlands are an integral part of the natural water system of Texas, and only sustainable when viewed as a whole in which all of the parts are preserved and protected. This thinking is the inspiration behind a new general wetland walk podcast for Texas, and a site specific podcast about the Spring Lake wetlands at Aquarena Center in San Marcos.

Well, it’s a really unique ecosystem because it’s home to five and maybe six endangered species. They’ve just recently discovered the Comal Riffle Beetle in Spring Lake. And so it’s critical habitat; and it’s protected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. And, recreational activities are prohibited in Spring lake. And that does make it a really special place.

Lisa Korth is education coordinator for the Freshwater Resources program in San Marcos. The podcast is a collaborative effort between Parks and Wildlife, Texas State University-San Marcos and Texas Watch.

TPWD [Texas parks and Wildlife] has a framework for interpretation that starts with experience. And it leads to awareness, understanding, caring about and caring for, and ultimately leading to stewardship. So, by creating that first step – that outdoor experience – we are hopefully creating stewards for our natural resources for future generations.

The wetland walk podcast is available for download at passporttotexas.org. Find it under web exclusives.

That’s our show for today… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration program…providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Wetlands Walk -- Endangered Species Play Now | Play in Popup | Download