Passport to Texas

Know Boating Rules Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last year, low lake levels from the drought kept boats and other watercraft in dry dock most of the summer… but thanks to spring rains…

02—We have a lot more water now, so the lakes have changed.

That’s good news as we approach Memorial Day weekend —the unofficial start of summer boating season.

More water means easier, safer navigation of lakes, says Tim Spice, manager of boater education for Parks and Wildlife. Being savvy about safety also keeps everyone protected when on the water.

31—We can identify two major factors that you as a boater can affect in how you operate a vessel, and the things that you do in and around the water. One is wear a life jacket. Eighty percent of those people that die from falling in the water would be alive if they had a life jacket on. And then the second thin you can do is to not drink alcohol. Alcohol affects your judgment, and you can lose your driver’s license—your vehicle driver’s license—the court can take that away from you if you are found guilty of boating while intoxicated.

On tomorrow’s show the rules of the road as they pertain to boating, and what items you need to have on board before setting sail.

07—The rules on the road are all designed based on the type of vessel and the maneuverability of the vessel.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and works increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

TPW Magazine June Preview Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Summer has arrived—at least when it comes to the June edition of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Editor Louie Bond is here to offer a peek inside the issue, and offers a glimpse of ten state park hidden gems and a boatload of coastal fishing fun.

51—We’re going to go out fishing with one of our favorite newspaper columnists, David Sykes. He’s going to take us out in search of flounder. And along the way, tell us how flounder are doing. We’re also going to take a look at sea turtles. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love sea turtles—and certainly we do, too. And Rusty Middleton is going to take a look at how sea turtles are doing these days. And then our own Rob McCorkle, is going to take a look ten hidden gems—parks that aren’t as iconic and maybe aren’t as well knows as Garner, Palo Duro, or Enchanted Rock, but these are wonderful places where it might be easier to get reservations. You may be able to participate in things that you had no idea even occurred. They may even be in your own backyard. So we want to shine the light on some great parks that you might now have heard of. But the main thing in June is just to get outside; the kids are out of school, so it’s time to go out and explore Texas State Parks.

Thanks, Louie.

Find more stories about the great Texas outdoors at tpwmagazine.com.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Bastrop State Park is Open Again! Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nobody will forget the Central Texas wildfires of 2011; they burned tens of thousands of acres of land including nearly all of Bastrop State Park, in the Lost Pines region. Our state park guide, Bryan Frasier says, you can’t keep a good park down.

57—Everything in Bastrop State park is open again, and it’s ahead of schedule. All of the CCC built cabins, the dining hall and refectory and the swimming pool. The campgrounds are also open, because the utility lines, the water, electric and sewer hookups—those were all saved. And so, we’re able to get those back online. Those campgrounds are open; the trails are open. And we’re planning a grand opening and celebration, about the anniversary for the fire for Labor Day, so we want people to stay tuned for that. We’ll do a big ribbon cutting and a grand re-opening of the park. But right now we want to let people know that Bastrop State Park is open and it looks great! The staff out there has done a great job—it’s taken a lot of state park volunteers to make that park look good. And people can hike on the trails and stay in the cabins and bring their RVs to our full hook-up campsites out there, and once again enjoy the incredible destination that is Bastrop State park.

Thanks Bryan. Make reservations when you log onto texasstateparks.org.

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.

Archery and the Hunger Games Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Hunger Games is a high octane movie that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats; but that’s not all. Archery plays a significant role in the film, which may have contributed to an uptick in the public’s interest in the sport.

09—Every few years it seems like a big movie comes out and archery is in the movie. And, usually the hero is doing the archery—so that’s good. Great for business, I guess.

Burnie Kessner oversees the archery in schools program for Parks and Wildlife. He cautions young people who’ve been inspired by the motion picture, to seek guidance before doing any shooting.

12—Go to your local archery shop; find one that’s nearby. Talk to them, and they’ll really make sure you’re getting fitted with the equipment correctly, and you can probably try different equipment. They’re the experts who can really get you started right.

In addition to safety considerations, Bernie Kessner says know the laws where you live before shooting an arrow into the air—or anywhere.

18—If you live in town, it may be against a city ordinance or something to just walk out in your yard and shoot a bow and arrow. So, you really ought to check local laws and codes and things like that. And there are safe dedicated places to do archery. So, figure out where those are—or that local archery shop will tell you.

For more information on archery visit the TPW website.

The Wildlife and Sport fish Restoration program supports our series and works top increase shooting sports in Texas.

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

Wildlife Trails Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When you’re ready to discover all the wildlife Texas has to offer, hit the road with one or more of nine Great Texas Wildlife Trail maps.

The Great Texas Wildlife trails were a way that Parks and Wildlife developed to market our nature tourism attractions to both tourists and people who live here.

Shelly Plante is nature tourism director for parks and Wildlife.

Through this series of maps, we now have over 950 sites statewide that show you the best places to see all kinds of wildlife: from Bighorn Sheep to Monarch butterflies to migratory songbirds to nesting shorebirds on the Texas coast.

The maps provide easy driving loops for out of state and in state visitors; each lets the user know where to go and what they may see once they arrive.

I would like people to see how diverse Texas is. Over 950 sites are in these maps. And, we also have community information so that you can find out where to eat, where to stay. We want people to spend some time here and to see how easy it is to see some wildlife. I mean, Texas is a big state and there are such a large variety of natural attractions. These maps—I hope—make it easy for people to see how wonderful our state is, and how easy it is to get out there.

Find the Great Texas Wildlife Trail Maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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