Passport to Texas

Cactus and wetlands along Powderhorn Lake. Photo courtesy of the Nature Conservancy, Jerod Foster

Membership Has its Privileges Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Volunteers are vital to the work of Texas Parks and Wildlife. If you don’t have time to volunteer but still want to help, there’s always membership in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is the official non-profit partner of Texas parks and Wildlife. And we fund transformational projects that benefit the people of Texas.

Anne (Annie) Brown is executive director of the foundation; membership dues help fund conservation of Texas’ wild things and places, for generations to come.

We have two levels. We have a hundred dollar level, and that’s for individual/family. And then we have a forty-five dollar level. And the difference between those is the hundred dollar level, you receive a subscription to Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, and at the forty-five dollar level you do not.

Supporters receive members-only communication, special invitations, and updates about Texas parks and Wildlife from Director, Carter Smith. The best benefit is the diverse projects members help to fund.

So, Powderhorn Ranch is one of our largest initiatives, and that will hopefully be complete in March of this year. That was a 49-million dollar acquisition. Our pronghorn restoration project in West Texas—trans-relocating pronghorns to their natural area in West Texas. Our Guadalupe Bass program that we do in Central Texas with the department on Central Texas rivers, restocking native Guadalupe Bass to those rivers….

Find information on becoming a Texas parks and Wildlife Foundation member at tpwf.org.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is the official non-profit partner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

And we fund transformational projects to benefit the people of Texas.

Anne (Annie) Brown is executive director of the foundation, which works to ensure the continued vitality of Texas lands, waters, and wildlife for the benefit of all Texans. She invites interested persons to consider membership in the foundation.

It’s really a way for individuals to help conserve Texas wild things and wild places for generations to come. All of the funds that are raised in our membership program go into special projects.

Special requests from parks, such as for bird blinds, or youth hunting programs, and neighborhood fishing opportunities are just a few of the projects membership helps to fund.

So this is really funding that is made available for special projects that benefit the land, water and wildlife in Texas.

Find out how to become a member when you log onto the Texas parks and Wildlife foundation website at tpwf.org.

We try to make it easy. We have two levels.

Membership has its privileges. That’s tomorrow.

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

Kayaking on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Photo credit: ©2011 Chase A. Fountain / TPWD

Spring Break: Kayaking Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Looking for a fun outdoor activity you can do solo or with friends this spring break? James Graham says traveling aboard a kayak is the ultimate means of individual navigation.

It’s what we call people power… it’s a way to experience waters that are less crowded, that are more pristine.

The Houston kayaking instructor teaches folks the finer points of paddling. Since these boats don’t use motors to move, they can access more places than …say… a powerboat…

And that’s one of the things fishermen are really appreciating now…they can get up into some very, very shallow water…the fish aren’t used to people in those areas and you can really enjoy of lot of Texas this way

He says there is a perception that kayaks are dangerous because people see them going over white water rapids on TV…

Well white water is only a small part of the sport…in fact kayaks are more stable than canoes because you are sitting lower in the water, the center of gravity is lower, your balance is better.

Learn more about kayaking and canoeing on the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site.

We record our series at The Block House in Austin, Texas, and Joel Block engineers our program.

That’s our show for today…the Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Texas State Parks Official Guide

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This is Passport to Texas

Most of us are within an hour’s drive of a state park. And when you download the new app for the Texas State Parks Official Guide to your phone or device, your next park getaway is within your reach.

It will allow them to do what we call a ‘filtered search’ to find the perfect park for them that they’d like to explore. And we’re hoping that not only will it make people more inclined to discover more parks, but really bring some younger people and more diverse people to the parks. It’s a really exciting resource that we’re now able to offer.

Texas Parks and Wildlife marketing director Darcy Bontempo says not knowing which parks are nearby, or what activities and amenities are available, may keep some folks from visiting parks. The app can change that.

This is just going to remove those obstacles and make them feel like they’re the expert on state parks. They can get that information easily and quickly. They can even look at videos of the park. Photos of the park… I think what’s going to be exciting is for people to almost customize the park experience. And that can change. In fall you might want to go hiking, and in summer, you might want to go swimming. It just puts the power right there in your hand in terms of you figuring out where you want to go.

Using the new app—which is available for apple and android devices—you can even create a “favorites list” of parks you’ve visited or want to visit.

We’re all about making it as easy as possible for people to get to parks and enjoy parks.

Download the Texas State Parks Official Guide at texasstateparks.org/app

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

Message in a bottle. Photo credit: funtik.cat flickr

Texas Outdoor Stories: Time in a Bottle Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas’ Outdoor Stories

Terri McDonald of Rockport, responded to our request for listeners’ stories about their favorite Texas State Parks, historic sites or wildlife management areas. Her favorite is Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area.

Absolutely love it. There’s no cars…very few people…it’s just like going back in time to a beach a hundred years ago.

The slow pace leaves a lot of time for one of Terri’s favorite pastimes — beach combing.

We’ve found tons of seashells, beautiful driftwood, four messages in bottles…. You just never know what you’re going to find out there.

Terri says she’s contacted three of the people whose message she found in the bottles.

The oldest one was from 1969. A soldier in the Vietnam War had dropped it off of Cape Canaveral. And we found it at the bottom of a dune that had been sheared off by a storm. So it had been buried under sixteen feet of sand for years and years. So we got in touch with him through the help of the Corpus Christi Caller Times Military Reporter. And the poor guy almost had a heart attack. It was a long time ago – he had almost forgotten doing it.

Now it’s your turn. Visit the Outdoor Stories link at passporttotexas.org and send us an email with your memory of the Great Texas Outdoors.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti