Passport to Texas

Blanco State Park damage

Blanco State Park Reopens Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Over Memorial Day weekend, 12 inches of rain fell in Central Texas, causing the Blanco River—which runs through Blanco State Park—to crest at 40 feet.

13—The water rose very quickly, so it basically tore through the park. The park was destroyed. There were trees up in trees 20 feet high. Our office building—we had seven feet of water in there. So, we have to completely rebuild everything.

Park interpreter, Kate Boysen, says portions of the park reopened for visitation in August.

12— It was a lot of work, and we had a lot of help. We had the Texas A&M Forrest Service, and different fire departments from all around the state come and help us to remove debris, cut down trees, cut trees out of trees…

Staff and volunteers disposed of debris, leveled the ground, and replaced picnic tables and signage. There’s more work to do, but visitors are welcome.

20— The HQ building where you enter, that’s currently open. That’s where you can pay your day use fees and get your registration for camping… And then as you enter the park, the south side of the river, which is the side where the camping is—and then we have a day use section there—and that’s the only side that’s open right now. And that’s the only side that people can access the river from.

For the most up to date information about the current status of all state parks, visit texasstateparks.org.

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

Up early to hunt teal.

Hunting Teal in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Good environmental conditions in teal’s northern nesting areas mean more birds and a 16-day early season in Texas.

16—Blue-wings are the most abundant, and are very common to Texas early and late in the year. Green-wing teal are kind of our winter residents. And Cinnamon Teal, for the most part, are more of a western bird. They’re not real common in Texas, but we do encounter them from time-to-time.

Kevin Kraai, waterfowl program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife, says teal do not behave quite like other duck species.

24—One thing I like to tell hunters is these birds are actively migrating this time of year; it’s very dynamic from one day to the next. So, just wake up and go. You never know if today is the day that the migration is going to be strong. You can go out one day and there will be nothing, and go out the next and be covered up in them. So, I just say wake up and go. Find good shallow habitat, shallow water that has abundant food. And there’s a really good chance there’ll be teal there that day.

The season opens Saturday, September 12 and closes Sunday, September 27, with a six bird daily bag limit.

19—We haven’t looked this good in a long time. Right now we have abundant freshwater, from the Texas High Plains in the panhandle, all the way down to the Texas coast.

Find more hunting information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. Through your purchases of hunting and fishing equipment, and motorboat fuels, over 40 million dollars in conservation efforts are funded in Texas each year.

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

Blue-winged teal

Early Teal in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Early teal season provides waterfowlers an opportunity to harvest ducks before the regular season opener in November. Whether hunters get a nine day or sixteen day season depends on the birds.

15—If the breeding population is above 4.7 million, you’re allowed a 16 day, 6 bird [daily] bag limit season. If it’s below 4.7 and above 3 million, you have a nine day season. Anything below – I believe it’s 3 million – the season’s closed.

Kevin Kraai (CRY) is waterfowl program leader for the wildlife division of TPW. It’s been a good year for teal.

15—We’ve had a sustained long-term wet period [this year]. And the blue wing teal have just responded favorably to that.

A 16 day season opens Saturday, September 12 and closes Sunday, September 27. Kevin Kraai says to make sure you’re prepared.

11—Each hunter has to be certified in the Harvest Information Program. Additionally, they will need to have a migratory game bird stamp, offered by the state of Texas. As well as a [federal] waterfowl duck stamp.

Find hunting information for all game species on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. Through your purchases of hunting and fishing equipment, and motorboat fuels, over 40 million dollars in conservation efforts are funded in Texas each year.

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

Fred Gipson, writer of “Old Yeller”. Memorabilia from Mason, TX Memorial Library.

Old Yeller: Not Just About a Boy and His Dog Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson is—at its heart—a story about a boy and his dog. It’s also about our connection with nature. Gipson gives readers a sense of what it was like to live close to the land in Texas’ Hill Country of the 1860s.

07—He’s talking about hunting—sitting quietly. In which, if you haven’t hunted, you sit for hours listening and watching.

Cynthia Pickens wrote about the book and its author for Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. Through his protagonist, a boy named Travis, Gipson reminds all that nature rewards us when we slow down to enjoy it.

25—To him, it was like a picture show. It was like entertainment. And I don’t think many of us realize that that can be the case. If you go out and sit in nature, and if you sit long enough, you will start to see the creatures and the light in the trees and the water playing over the creeks… It is a form of entertainment. It is lovely and peaceful, and anybody can do that. You can do it in your neighborhood; you can do it in your backyard.

Whether you read it as a child, or have young readers in your home, Pickens says Old Yeller is timeless.

20— I think it’s for any reader, and especially any person who’s interested in the Texas outdoors. I hope it would encourage children to go outside and see nature, because it’s a wondrous place. There’s lots to see if you open your eyes and your ears. And, all parents should give their children a copy of Old Yeller for Christmas [laughs].

Find Cynthia Pickens article that looks back at Old Yeller and Texas author Fred Gipson in the August/September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

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

Fred Gipson, writer of “Old Yeller”. Memorabilia from Mason, TX Memorial Library.

TPW Magazine: Old Yeller Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Perhaps you read the book, or saw the Disney film. Either way, many people, including writer, Cynthia Pickens, found the story of Old Yeller by Fred Gipson moving.

04— It is a universal story: the love between a boy and his dog.

Pickens wrote about the book and its author for Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. She says she read it as a child and again as an adult. I asked what part of the story her younger self found most compelling.

09—The whole scenario of the terrible decision that Travis had to make as a kid, and carry out. I was just in awe that a boy could do that.

If you haven’t read the novel, we won’t reveal the “terrible decision” the book’s young protagonist, Travis, faced. Pickens says the book captures 1860s rural life in the Texas Hill Country, and created a strong sense of place, which she could appreciate better as an adult reader.

24— When I reread the book as an adult, I could certainly see the place and the time. Maybe, as a child, you don’t really focus on those kinds of details, but as an adult reading the book, I’m like, ‘oh, prickly pear flats, and cedar trees, and rocky gulches that they rode through…’ So, when you reread it as an adult, you definitely get that this is a Texas book and that it could have been written by no one but a Texan.

Cynthia Pickens says Old Yeller can inspire a sense of wonder about the natural world in young readers.

Find her article Looking back at Old Yeller and Texas author Fred Gipson in the August/September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

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