Passport to Texas

Texas River Otter

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This is Passport to Texas

A few months ago we aired a program about Texas river otters with biologist Gary Calkins. At the time, he told us few people ever get to see otters…but then…

With the awareness now from the program, people are talking about it. And so, we’re getting to hear what they’re seeing.

What you’re seeing and telling us about, are river otters… a lot of them it seems…and some in unexpected places.

This has been awesome. We found out about otters a lot further west and further north than we really had an idea that there were good populations. So it’s been really interesting.

Calkins says having extra sets of eyes looking for otters has been a boon to his research.

I was very surprised, but also pretty psyched. It was really neat to start getting some feedback from the radio program on something that we had been trying to do other ways and hadn’t been able to get there.

Researchers are interested in Texas river otters for more than their playful personalities.

They’re kind of an indicator species of how healthy our environment is. So, by trying to get a handle on how their population’s doing, it kind of tells us how our environment is doing overall.

If you spot an otter…on land or water…tell us about it …you know you ought to…at passporttotexas.org.

The Wildlife restoration program supports our series…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

This is Passport to Texas

The city of San Antonio recently voted to transfer three thousand acres of land to the Government Canyon State Natural Area because they didn’t have the funds to manage the land themselves.

Richard Heilbrun (High-ul-brun) is a wildlife biologist at Parks and Wildlife. He says the new land is important because it provides habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.

This is golden-cheeked warbler paradise. You’ve got these slopes, you’ve got good diversity. You’ve got old shredding bark juniper like that one right there. I just have to believe that they’re all over the place.

The land is full of a wide variety of trees, which are necessary for the warbler’s survival. But the land is also important to the Edwards Aquifer.

You can see just on the side of this road just holes in the ground, holes in the soil, and it goes directly into the aquifer. And this is why this is such a wonderful place because it has both habitat and aquifer recharge.

But as you look out over the land, you see newly built houses dotting the nearby hills. The land right outside the natural area is being developed because people want to live where there’s a nice view. But new homes only mean less habitat for the warbler and other species.

Fortunately, Parks and Wildlife will continue efforts to preserve the fragile habitat. And in five to ten years, the new land will have trails for public hiking and mountain biking, for all Texans to enjoy.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan… For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The public hasn’t had much access to the 300-thousand acre Big Bend Ranch State Park—but that’s about to change—and we kick things off with a Fiesta!

It’s a coming out party. The big day is November 14th, Saturday. We do have some pre and post fiesta activities.

Linda Hedges is a regional interpretive specialist and fiesta organizer. This free event will introduce attendees to outdoor opportunities and natural diversity found at the park. Pre fiesta activities commence Friday the 13th.

We’re looking adversity in the face this time since we’ve had a couple of false starts with the Fiesta because of, well, flood and swine flu. We are going for the three is a charm concept on the 13th of November as a kick-off with some daylong guided hikes, and mountain biking treks, also some half priced river rafting trips on the Rio Grande, with that same program repeated on Sunday.

The big day is Saturday November 14th which features tons of activities, a free barbecue lunch and a live concert. Folks who plan to attend should RSVP.

That is, in part, for planning purposes on our end, so we can do the best job of taking care of our visitors that day. But also, a nice perk for those who also do RSVP comes in the way of some attendance prizes.

Find out how to RSVP for the Big Bend Ranch State park Fiesta at passporttotexas.org

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
_______________________________________________________
RSVP:
Let us know you’re coming & double your chances of winning by sending us an e-mail RSVP. Your RSVP will entitle you to receive 2 tickets per family/group instead of 1. Must be at least 16 years of age to win.

RSVP by calling 512/389-8908 from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday – Friday or by e-mailing
Big Bend Ranch State Park.
In your e-mail please provide:

• Your name
• Phone number
• E-mail address
• City of residence
• Number of adults
• Number of children under 12 yrs

Indicate the activities you are interested in:

• Guided short hikes
• Jeep tours
• Horseback riding
• Mountain biking

Indicate if you are wanting to make required reservations & how many for:

Early Bird Tours, Saturday, November 14:

• Birdwatching
• Rock Art Tour
• Geology Tour

Pre-Fiesta Field Trips, Friday, November 13:

• Birdwatching
• Rock Art Hike
• Backcountry Tour/Hike – Madrid Falls to Fresno Canyon
• Mountain Bike Tour – All day – Mexicano Falls (will you be bringing your own bike)

Post-Fiesta Field Trips, Sunday, November 15:

• Birdwatching
• Rock Art Hike
• Backcountry Tour/Hike – Madrid Falls to Fresno Canyon
• Mountain Bike Tour – All day – Mexicano Falls (will you be bringing your own bike)

Remember, you can double your chances in the attendance prize raffle by letting us know ahead of time that you are coming – receive two tickets per family instead of one!

For free campsite reservations, phone 432-358-4444.

Thank you & we hope to see you there.

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This is Passport to Texas

We usually say that state parks are for everyone, right? Well…there is one exception.

Big Bend Ranch State Park is not for everybody. Not everyone is going to enjoy a visit there.

Dan Sholly is Deputy Director of Texas State Parks. By all means visit the park—it’s fantastic. Unless, of course, you need creature comforts.

If you don’t want wildness…if you don’t want desolation and desert solitude and you want to have your cell phone work—don’t go to Big Bend Ranch, because you cell phone’s not going to work there; you’re going to be on your own to figure out what it is that you want to do out in the middle of an incredibly beautiful, sacred, wild land.

The park is 300-thousand acres of diverse, rugged, unspoiled beauty. Until recently, access was tightly controlled while staff developed a visitation plan. Regional Interpretive specialist, Linda Hedges.

Now we do have a plan in place that addresses safety issues, where every visitor who goes to the ranch to go into the back country—off the beaten path—goes through an orientation session with park staff. So, we now feel we are equipped with a plan to deal with public safety so that folks can enjoy the ranch safely.

On November 13 through 15, the park hosts a Fiesta to introduce visitors to everything the park has to offer—except a cell phone signal.

We’ll have details about Fiesta tomorrow.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

This week the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series shares a hopeful story on the bald eagle, [SFX: bald eagle call] a bird that Producer, Abe Moore, says was once in trouble.

Really in trouble. And it came off the endangered species list in 2007. As far as the eagles that live in Texas year-round, we have like, 200 nesting pairs. We were down to four back in the seventies; four nesting pairs. We visit with a landowner down near Victoria that has an eagle nest on his property, and he gets to see them raise their eaglets every year.

They’re a wild bird that is doing its thing right out there in the open—right up there in that tree. It’s nice to be able to keep that kind of thing going.

We also visit with some professional photographers that follow a nest that’s a little more out in the open. Out near Llano, right along highway 29, there’s a nest that the eagles have been using since 2004.

There we go. (clicks) Oh, there goes the baby with it’s wings again. Beautiful. (clicks) That’s good. (clicks) There you go, baby. (clicks).

So, it’s just an amazing bird. And we also, in the story, look at the future of eagles in Texas, and kind of some of the struggles its going through.

Thanks, Abe.

That’s our show… we receive support for the series from the Wildlife restoration program…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Eagles in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download