Passport to Texas

Boater Education: Then and Now Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

The Texas Boater Education Program has stressed boating safety and responsibility for more than 30 years.

06— Boater education started with a little mail-in home study program called The Skipper’s Course back in the late 70s.

Tim Spice oversees the Boater Ed program at Texas Parks and Wildlife. Spice says the Skipper’s Course prevailed until 1997 when legislation passed mandating boater education.

17— If you remember when jet skis or personal watercraft started – that was in the mid-90s. And people were afraid about young people operating them with no education or training. So, the Texas Legislature and the public passed a law that teenagers 13 to 17 had to take boater ed.

The new Boater Ed program was modeled after TPW’s successful Hunter ED program, and standards established by the Coast Guard, through the National Association for State Boating Law Administrators.

12— And that’s the basis for the boater education program then and now. It’s a classroom course with a test at the end. It’s modernized little bit over the last five to ten years with online.

The legislative session of 2011 brought more changes to Texas boater education; and we’ll talk about that tomorrow.

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.

Jesse Griffiths makes duck yakitori.

TPW TV: Duck Yakitori Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

This week the TPW PBS TV series has a segment to inspire everyone to get grilling. Producer, Whitney Bishop.

59 – What we have coming up is Austin chef and butcher, Jesse Griffiths, and he’s going to be grilling some teal for us.

This show airs on PBS stations the week of June 23; check local listings.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and funds conservation projects in Texas.

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

Bryan Frazier hikes off into the sunset.

State Parks: Bryan Frazier Says "Good-Bye" Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

We say good-bye today to our State Park Guide, Bryan Frazier, who accepted a new job as Travel Director with the Texas Department of Transportation. If ever you thought Bryan’s love of parks was for the radio only, you didn’t know Bryan.

56 –Being outdoors has always been, since childhood, a meaningful experience. No building or structure can rival what nature has. And, the things that we have in nature are not only unique, they’re irreplaceable. And the time spent outdoors is time well spent. I love hiking, wildlife watching, and I especially love fishing. So, it’s all of those things, and then I have a reference point that it was done with my family when I was a child. So, the time is not only something I enjoy doing, but it’s nostalgic, too, I think of times with my dad and my brother when I was a small child, and how much fun it was, and the lessons learned, and the conversations had — all while outdoors. So, you take that whole package; it does something to the human soul…being outdoors… like nothing else can.

Thanks, for everything, Bryan. And good luck!

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.

Vote on Your Favorite Conservation Plate Design

Conservation: New Conservation License Plate Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Twelve years ago a bluebonnet showed up on a conservation license plate; money raised from the sale of these plates support state parks.

04— The bluebonnet plate has been wildly successful for us, and it’s something we’re going to continue.

Thomas Wilhelm, with State Parks, says 22-dollars of the 30-dollar cost of the plates go back to parks. Since two plates to support state parks are better than one, a new conservation plate is in the works.

13— Well, right now we have three designs that we’re looking at: one is a campfire scene, one is a nighttime tent scene, and then one is a hiking scene.

The new plate is intended to appeal to people who may like to support parks with images related to camping or hiking.

09— The goal was: how can we bring new people in that may want to support state parks, but may not be comfortable putting a wildflower on their 3/4 ton pickup truck.

You can go online and vote for your favorite.

11— Voting is running from now through August 31st. Go to conservationplate.org, or just visit the TPWD website and we’ll have links to a place where they can place their vote.

The winning design will become the new conservation license plate.

10— We’re hoping to have the plates available for purchase starting Spring of 2014. They’ll be available to purchase either online, or at the local DMV when they register their vehicles.

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

State Park Volunteer patch

State Parks: Become a Volunteer Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Maximize your time outdoors when you volunteer at a Texas State Park.

03—We basically have three different categories of volunteers.

These categories include locals who sign up for special projects, friends groups that fundraise for specific sites and—says Lori Reiley—the third category is park hosts.

13—And that is a program designed for—traditionally—retirees who travel around the state and in exchange for a campsite, they do twenty-five hours of labor in the park every week.

Reiley coordinates the state park volunteer program, and says people accepted as hosts, are required to make a time commitment.

12—The time frame is a minimum thirty-day commitment. And, the maximum is typically three months, but it can be extended depending on the park needs. The superintendent has the authority to extend that.

Most Texas State Parks offer host programs with plenty of work to help fill the twenty-five hour labor obligation.

17—We have everything from general grounds maintenance, or it could be cleaning the restrooms. What we really like is when we find people with special skills: carpentry, or graphic artists, or educators doing interpretive tours or education programs. So, it’s a variety.

Find more information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website.

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