Passport to Texas

No one holds a candle to Texas State Park volunteers

State Parks: Volunteering at Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas State Parks rely heavily on volunteers.

07—Over the last several years it’s been pretty consistent; we clock about six hundred thousand hours of volunteer time.

And that’s just manual labor, says Lori Reiley, state park volunteer coordinator. Those 600-thousand volunteer hours translate into big savings for state parks.

06— Our volunteers make up about a third of our workforce. So, we really couldn’t function as well without them.

Volunteers do everything from mowing lawns and scrubbing toilets to taking entrance fees and leading interpretive programs. Reiley says state parks encourage and welcome new volunteers.

16—We could always use their help. And while we get the occasional civic organization or nonprofit that wants to volunteer for service projects, we really could always use more individuals just on a regular basis to come out and volunteer in the parks.

Find out how you can volunteer at state parks on the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

We record our series at the Block House in Austin; Joel Block engineers our program.

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

Michael Forstner, Image courtesy www.bio.txstate.edu

Texas Outdoor Story: MIchael Forstner Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

An encounter with a rare Texas sea turtle inspired Texas State University Biologist Dr. Mike Forstner to pursue a career in the great outdoors.

52 – I can remember a day standing on a jetty just off of South Padre Island. We’d been fishing most of the day. As I stood on the jetty, and all of us have seen our coast in a situation like this, I realized that the water column had slowed down, the waves had slowed down and it had begun to clear. I saw a Kemp’s Ridley swim up ending an otherwise perfect day. I was 11 years old. Ultimately, I think that day led me forward to a career that I spend outside. That day was perfect. We caught fish, we had a good meal and I saw an animal that I knew was incredibly rare. It’s not just being outside, it’s knowing about the outside, and understanding it that brings you to the knowledge in which it’s one of the most important aspects of your life.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

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

Kevin Fowler with Texas Parks and Wildlife video crew shooting Take Care of Texas PSA

Conservation: Take Care of Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[Radio PSA – Kevin Fowler]

Country rocker, and native Texan, Kevin Fowler jumped at the chance to write and donate the jingle for the Take Care of Texas public service campaign.

09— You know, I’ve always been a big outdoorsman – a big hunter, a big fisherman – and I’m big into land stewardship and water conservation. Just Texas and the environment; and it just seems like the perfect fit.

The campaign, from the Texas Commission on Environmental quality, with support from Texas Parks and Wildlife, encourages personal responsibility when it comes to conserving our natural resources.

09— You know, I’m a born and bred Texan. And I love Texas and I love Texas outdoors. And I think we should all do the best we can to take care of it, and pass it on for future generations.

Fowler recorded both a television and radio PSA for the campaign, which you can find on the Take Care of Texas website. The site provides helpful tips for conserving water, energy and reducing waste around the house and office.

09— [music] You’ve got to take care of Texas; it’s the only one we’ve got. For more tips on keeping Texas great, visit Take Care of Texas dot org.

Take the Take Care of Texas Pledge on Take Care of Texas dot org and receive a free Texas State Park Guide and a Take Care of Texas sticker in the mail.

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

Paddling Trail, Image courtesy www.dallasnews.com

State Parks: Paddling Trails Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas is home to more than 50 inland and coastal paddling trails – some of which are in state parks.

10— We took one at Caddo lake last summer. It is a swamp-like creature. It is neat, though. And then, I’ve been down to some at the coast; those are nice down there, too.

Terry Rodgers is park superintendent at Inks Lake State Park in the Hill Country; arguably one of the most popular parks in the system. He says its 831 acre lake is not yet part of the TPW paddling trails system, but – he adds — that doesn’t leave would-be paddlers high and dry.

13— We stay busy at Inks trying to educate people. We have a canoe clinic, where actually we teach people how to paddle and then we take them out on a little interpretive tour of Devil Waterhole and some of the different areas there.

The paddling trails team is identifying potential trails on Inks Lake. Meantime, there are opportunities for paddlers of all skill levels to get on the water at this scenic park – day or night.

17— We have a program that is just really neat. We call it the moonlight paddle; we take people out at night. Those are for the more experienced canoers and kayakers. You have to be 18 years [old] and we prefer [you] to be experienced. And so, it is a blast; it’s very educational, too.

Registration is required for these paddling programs.

Support provided by Ram Trucks. Doing what’s right and good regardless of the degree of difficulty — takes guts. Those are the people who build Ram trucks. RAM.

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

Divers exploring artificial reef in Texas Gulf

Fish/Conservation: Value of Artificial Reefs Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We call outdated oil rigs, decommissioned ships and other materials placed in the Gulf of Mexico (where they become marine habitat) artificial reefs.

06— Smaller type of organisms will attach to that and begin the basics of a food web.

Dale Shively oversees the Artificial Reef program for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Small marine organisms — which are always in the gulf, but diffuse — become concentrated on reefed materials, which in turn attract a variety of fish species.

06— So, you’re basically giving the marine environment a base, or foundation to get started on.

Artificial reefs – in federal and state waters – create improved angling and diving opportunities; that brings dollars to coastal communities.

13—By creating artificial reefs, we’ve helped to increase those populations of marine life, and basically give divers and anglers more opportunities to experience those types of things out in the gulf.

These man made reefs will last for many decades, enhancing the ecosystem and angling for generations to come.

11— Unless they’re a migratory species, once fish and marine life have acclimated to that area, and start to reproduce, then they’ll stay there and will spend most of their life in that one particular area.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motorboat fuel.

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