Passport to Texas

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

Mark your calendars for August first. If all goes well – that’s the day the Texas Clipper officially joins the Ships-to-Reefs program.

The idea behind this project is to place a ship about seventeen miles off of South Padre Island for the purpose of enhancing marine life, but also as a premier dive attraction out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dale Shively coordinates the artificial reef program for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

We are designing it for diving. So, we’re making it very diver friendly. We’re opening up the insides of it, where the divers can go tour the inside decks, especially on the super structure. And, we’ve left as much of the ship intact as possible.

Once marine life starts calling the Clipper home, divers will have more to enjoy.

Organisms will start to settle on it; fish will be attracted to it just because it’s a structure. And then as the food chain develops and the microorganisms that grow on the structure itself increase, then you will see more and more fish.

And more fish means increased angling opportunities.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…working to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas…

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

Smiley Nava served as borderlands biologist at Texas Parks and Wildlife before retiring last year. His job involved understanding and developing conservation strategies for the natural resources along the shared border between Texas and Mexico.

We have ecosystems; we have natural resources that we share between Mexico and the state of Texas. We’re talking about an area that is a little over 12-hundred miles in length – from El Paso, Ciudad Juarez – to the mouth of the Rio Grand. And that’s all inclusive of the area that is my project.

Nava identified local, state and governmental partners in Mexico to join this mission. During his tenure, Nava said one border city, in particular, lead the way.

The City of Nuevo Laredo, they have an ecological department. It’s a sub directoria de la ecología – as it’s called — subdirectory of ecology. They make sure that there’s conservation implemented… if they’re clearing out trees that they’re replanted with native vegetation. And they’re very proactive… They’re setting the example and showing their other cities along the border how this can work and be beneficial.

Learn more about Borderlands Ecology and other conservation topics on our website, 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 Wildlife Restoration Program

The 12th annual Lone Star Land Steward Awards were handed out last month in Austin to private landowners for the innovative ways in which each manages land for habitat and wildlife.

The highest honor, the Leopold Conservation Award, was presented, in partnership with the Sand County Foundation, to a north Texas couple.

We are pleased to award it this year to 77 Ranch in Navarro County. Gary and Sue price are the owner operators. They’ve done tremendous work in restoring Blackland Prairie, grassland prairie, over many years, and are very deserving of the highest recognition.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting.

They have been working at this for about thirty years. They’ve taken a lot of old, worn out cotton farms; they have reintroduced native grasses… He’s a leader in the community, Mr. Price. And they are true land stewards to the absolute definition of the term. They’ve done a tremendous amount of work on their own place, and have had a lot of influence, I think, on many other landowners as well. :22

The Leopold Conservation Award comes with a $10,000 prize and the Leopold crystal award.

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 Wildlife Restoration Program

In a state where more than ninety percent of the land is privately owned or managed, it’s essential to recognize and honor the work of private landowners for their achievements in habitat management and wildlife conservation. In Texas we present them with Lone Star Land Steward Awards.

We recognize up to ten winners in each of the eco-regions.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting.

We also recognize a corporate winner, one from our wildlife management associations, and this year we’re recognizing a special category for conservation development.

In partnership with the Sand County Foundation, http://www.sandcounty.net/, Texas Parks and Wildlife bestows the Leopold Conservation Award to an especially deserving land steward.

And, so we have partnered with them to provide the Leopold Conservation Award in Texas to our overall statewide winner. The Leopold Conservation Award is really our highest recognition in Lone Star Land Steward.

Eco-region award recipients and the wildlife management association recipient receive $1,000 from the Foundation; while the Leopold Conservation Award recipient receives $10,000 and the Leopold crystal award.

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 Wildlife Restoration Program

Texas Parks and Wildlife recognizes and honors private landowners for habitat management and wildlife conservation with the Lone Star Land Steward Awards Program.

A land steward is just somebody who just manages and takes care of their land. These folks are very committed to conservation, and maintaining healthy lands under their management.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting.

Each year we open the nominations in June, and anybody can nominate a landowner for recognition in Lone Star Land Steward. So we receive nominations through November. Our biologists in each of the eco-regions visit each of the nominees, and then make a recommendation to those that should be awarded the Lone Star Land Steward award for that eco-region.

Biologists visit nominated landowners who have managed their property for a minimum of 5 years, to evaluate their practices.

They talk with the landowner or the manager. They try to evaluate what types of management actions that they are undertaking. They look at their motivations and really what makes them special in terms of taking care of the resources under their control.

Passporttotexas.org has links to nomination forms.

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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