Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Joke all you want that Texas doesn’t have four seasons; you can witness some amazing autumn scenery at Lost Maples SP.

Autumn’s a good time to come to Lost Maples [State Park] cuz of the Fall foliage and brilliant colors we have here.

John Stuart is Park Superintendent. He explains that the leaves are charmed into changing color by the season’s weather, but where the real magic occurs is inside them, where a chemical process takes place.

Most of the year, when the leaves are green, you have a lot of chlorophyll in the plant; and that’s what actually feeds the tree and keeps it growing. And if the water supply is cut off and cold weather comes around, then the chlorophyll breaks down and leaves the other pigments remaining. On cloudy warm days, starches form tannins and they make it brown. And If it’s cold and sunny, then the sugars come to bear on the leaf, and they form with the proteins and it makes the beautiful colors we enjoy when we come out here.

It’s not just the colors that are special. They call them Big Tooth Maples because their leaves, though smaller in comparison to others, have deep cuts between its fingers. And you don’t find them many other places.

The Ice Ages wiped out most of the Big Tooth Maples across the continent. These are just surviving pockets. So they’re lost simply because what are they doing out there by their selves.

More on these magnificent trees at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The truth about Texas is…

We can’t state this enough: twenty-first century Texas is very different than twentieth century Texas.

Those differences, says Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director Carter Smith, include a state that has become mostly urban.

Eighty percent of our population lives in urban areas. Three out of the top ten cities in the country, with respect to size, are found here in Texas. We’re the fastest growing state in the country.

In addition, the state also has a rapidly growing Hispanic population. Smith says being responsive to urbanites and Hispanics will help to engage these populations in the agency’s conservation mission.

I think that if we, as an agency, are going to be as responsive to what’s happening demographically in this state, we have to think very strategically about how we reach out with our programs and actions to urban audiences, and also those that are of Hispanic origin. So, I think we have some opportunities there to help share our mission, and to help engage more people in our work, but that’s going to take some focus.

Smith adds he is mindful the agency must not alienate its current constituency while reaching out to new groups.

Learn about Texas Parks and Wildlife outreach initiatives at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The opening of Bastrop’s new paddling trail was a bang and splash!

On your mark, get set. [horn blast and buzz] Whoo! The race has started. Go get ‘em guys!

At the sound of his siren, conservation coordinator for coastal fisheries, Bob Spain set loose the national championships for aluminum canoes and marked the opening of the new, inland Wilbarger Paddling Trail. It’s accessible to all levels of paddlers, so you can come out to enjoy the scenery that the racers passed up for the finish line.

The new trail is on the Colorado River, of course. It starts about 14 miles from the city of Bastrop. It’s a meandering stream with no real difficulty; no major rapids. It’s just kind of a unique area. There’s a few islands in there, a few little rock gardens, and a lot of bird life there. It’s just a fun thing to do. You can go to areas you can’t get with a car, you can experience wildlife you’ll never get to see, and until you’ve experienced a float trip, you just don’t know it’s out there.

And that perch from your boat—gliding past the landscape, feeling the spray of water—offers a personal connection with nature. [canoe gliding in water_sfx]

It just gives people an opportunity to know about a segment and to appreciate the river. We’ll all be more conscious of trying to save and preserve as people know it’s out there.

Learn more at passporttotexas.org. See you on the river!

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

In a small surgical suite, at the San Antonio veterinary clinic of Dr. Melissa Hill, an injured bald eagle is prepped for surgery to repair a badly fractured wing.

What we’re doing Is taking the sling off his wing. He’s spent most of this last week eating, and on antibiotics, and is now in much better shape to handle the surgery than he was when he first came in.

Dr. Hill removes feathers from the anesthetized animal’s wing, and disinfects the area before beginning the procedure.

This blue thing we put across the top is called a drape. And it shields the area that I’m going to be working on from feathers and danger and dirt and things that are floating around.

Once she makes the incision, she sees the fracture.

Okay, so what we’ve got sticking out here is part of the bone. This goes from the elbow, up from the shoulder. The problem is that it’s healing in two separate pieces instead of healing together.

She trims the new growth, and reconnects the fractured pieces with a pin, then closes the incision.

So, we’ve got the end of this pin sticking out through the bone over here, at the back of the elbow. Just cut it off even. This will stay in four to six weeks, probably; if it’s good then we’ll pull the pin out.

Physical therapy is next, and Dr. Hill says the eagle may remain grounded for up to eight months. We’ll have updates as they are available.

That’s our show… we had help today from Karen Loke…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Last month, when a hiker discovered an injured bald eagle at Toledo Bend Reservoir in East Texas, he contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife.

So, as soon as this bird was found down, the Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist—he immediately called us—and got the bird here as fast as possible.

The bird arrived in Austin during Expo, where Master falconer and raptor rehabilitator John Karger was already on the grounds to present the Last Chance Forever Birds of Prey Demonstration. It’s the 17th year he’s brought his raptors to Expo, but the first time someone’s brought him and eagle.

This is the first for an eagle, but you know what, we got an injured barn owl in yesterday also. You know, people know that we’re here [at Expo], and they brought his injured barn owl, and we taped it up also. He had a fractured wing, broke at the wrist.

The eagle meantime had a fractured wing that needed immediate attention.

It’s a very serious injury, we’ve got two ends of a bone that are loose, and if those two ends were allowed to keep rubbing around, something is going to poke through the skin. If we don’t do a specialized surgery, this bird will never fly again.

He stabilized the wing with the assistance of wildlife veterinarian, Melissa Hill.

The prognosis at the moment is that he’s stable and that he’s becoming a good surgical case.

Tomorrow—the surgery.

That’s our show… we had help today from Karen Loke…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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