Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Traveling overland in the punishing climate of the desert southwest during the mid-nineteenth century took its toll on the US Army.

12—Following the Mexican-American War, political and military minds had seen the lack of water on the western frontier. They were truly losing soldier, horses and mules because of dehydration.

Doug Baum, is owner/operator of the Texas Camel Corps, a business that offers camel treks through Monahans Sandhills SP and Big bend SP, under conditions similar to what the original camel corps experienced.

10—As early as we were fighting at the Alamo…this idea was proposed. And it would be twenty years, before camels were actually purchased and unloaded on the coast of Texas.

On May 13, 1856, the first group of camels arrived from Tunisia at the Port of Indianola in Lavaca County. After some training, the army caravanned the animals to their permanent home at Camp Verde, between San Antonio and Kerrville.

03—They arrived in 1856 and promptly went to work.

Camels’ ability to go long distances without water, and in sweltering Texas heat, allowed the army to successfully explore the Big bend Region.

The Corps operated until the end of the Civil War, when it was disbanded and the camels sold to private citizens and the circus.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

An artificial reef is marine habitat created by man and placed on the ocean bottom for the benefit of marine life.

12—Nature has a way of providing its own habitat, but in the case of the Gulf of Mexico – offshore Texas – most of the substrate is soft, murky, muddy, and there’s very little hard substrate out there.

Dale Shively coordinates the artificial reef program for Texas Parks and Wildlife. He says that hard substrate is necessary for the development of reefs. What’s fascinating is that once they deploy the substrate material, within days marine life begins attaching to it.

10—In a very short period of time, the substrate is covered with barnacles and sponges and some types of coral. And that begins the basis of the food web as we know it.

Without artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, the waters wouldn’t be nearly as productive and vital as they are.

All kinds of items end up on the bottom of the gulf as artificial reefs: from oil rigs to concrete rubble to decommissioned battleships.

But what does any of this mean to the average Texan? Why should we care about this effort to create artificial reefs?

13—The importance of the reef program is, number one: preserve and enhance the marine environment. And by doing that, we also create fishing and diving opportunities for not only Texans, but also citizens throughout the US.

That’s our show for today…we receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

What’s a West Texas family supposed to do when it gets really hot and they want to go swimming, but they don’t own a pool? Our State park guide, Bryan Frazier has the answer.

68—Summertime in Texas is swimming time. And in West Texas, the water is few and far between, but our swimming pools that we have in State Parks are great in West Texas. And two immediately come to mind, and one is Abilene State Park, and you can ask just about anyone who’s been going to Abilene State Park since the 30s, and they’ll talk about the wonderful CCC built swimming pool, and how cool the water is, and how nice it is; the big stone masonry that makes that pool great. And there’s no separate fee for the pool use in Abilene; it comes with your entrance fee which is $4 per person for people ages 13 and older. And if you’re a kid 12 and younger—there’s no cost. The other one I want to mention in West Texas is Balmorhea State Park. There is no place in the world like Balmorhea State Park. Not only build by the CCC in the 30s, it’s the world’s largest natural swimming pool, with 22-million gallons of fresh water going through there. You’ve got rare catfish in there, an old fashioned high dive—its 25 feet deep—72 degrees year-round. It’s good for swimming, scuba diving, you name it. So, West Texas—it’s warm—but there’s lots of water out there, so get out there an enjoy it.

Thanks, Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

11—Anyone who recalls the aerial photographs of the Rio Grande not reaching the gulf of Mexico several years ago, should take that as a wake-up call.

Andrew Sansom, Director of the River Systems Institute at Texas State University in San Marcos, contributes the article Keeping Rivers Flowing, in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine’s tenth anniversary water issue, on newsstands now.

17—People tend to believe everything’s okay as long as the water comes out when they turn on the tap. So, by bringing people’s attention to the issues presented to us from the aquifers to the estuaries, we do a great service.

Sansom suggests that unless we change how we think about and use water, we could—in our lifetimes —unintentionally “dewater” some of the state’s most iconic and biologically diverse rivers.

16—Everything is connected. People don’t often grasp the reality that when we approve hundreds of new wells in the hill country we potentially adversely affect the estuaries on the rim of the Gulf of Mexico.

It is with the utmost urgency that we begin to think beyond our own faucets, says Sansom, and understand that up steam and downstream—the headwaters and the tidewaters—are all part of the same cycle…or flow…of life.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program funds our series…and supports conservation of Texas’ natural resources.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

A lot can change in 10 years, but one constant is Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine’s annual water issue. Dr. Larry McKinney, Director of the Harte Research Institute, and former Director of Aquatic Resources at Parks and Wildlife, has been involved from the beginning.

14—When we wrote the first article in that series, we were in the middle of just trying to get the Texas Legislature to come up with a method for including environmental issues—and all the other concerns—for evaluating water needs in the state of Texas.

Dr. McKinney says although we’ve made progress since that first issue, we’ve further to go to solve the problem.

17—I think now, more and more people understand that we have to have water for the environment; I hear that from our political leaders. I see a commitment in our legislature to move in the right direction. So, it’s all positive. The question is: can we move quickly enough to make sure that we hit that balance before we get into a situation where the options are very, very limited.

How much time does Texas have to achieve a balance between human and environmental water needs?

14—We have to solve this within the next ten years, because by then the population will have reached such a level that our options to balance the environmental water needs with industry and agriculture and municipalities will be frankly gone. We will not have another chance.

Go to texasthestateofwater.org for more information.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program funds our series…and supports conservation of Texas’ natural resources.

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

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