Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Wildlife artist, Albert Faggard, stands near the open truck of his car, holding a framed painting of a bird.

That’s a Belted Kingfisher. They’re, they’re common around here and up in Anahuac.

Faggard, who lives in Gilchrest—a town his grandfather helped to settle—lost everything in Hurricane Ike.

And there’s six generations of family history completely erased.

He and others took shelter on High Island to brave the storms and wait for help.

[air boat] The great state of Texas’ game wardens were the first people to his this island to relieve us an bring us water and MREs and start checking on us. And that says a lot for, uh, the Texas Parks and Wildlife and the game wardens.

Gilchrest is Faggard’s family home, and he plans to continue the legacy.

I’m sure we will build back down in Gilchrest; we’ve been doing it for almost a hundred years. And this ain’t the first rodeo down here. [motor running]

We’ll have another story on the aftermath of Hurricane Ike tomorrow.

We’ve got debris everywhere. It’s an ecological disaster.

We have additional information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…our thanks to Karen Loke for her help with this story… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you’re looking for a state park to visit this fall, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television show is here to help. Series producer, Don Cash.

So, November, we’re hitting a state park every week like we always do. One of the state parks is Lockhart State Park just south of Austin. They’ve even got a nine-hole golf course there that’s great.

We’re going to go to Purtis Creek State Park near Athens, Texas. And, it’s famous for fishing, but they’ve also got a very nice paddling tour.

We’re going to go to Choke Canyon State Park. It’s about halfway between San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

(bird call) You can view the birds. You catch the fish (there we go), and you can relax and just enjoy nature at its best.

The last state park we go to in November is Copper Breaks State Park, and it’s pretty close to the Red River up in North Texas, just up near Quanah, Texas. They’ve got part of the Texas longhorn herd there.

We do a program on Friday and Saturday called Meet the Longhorns. There’s two of them that will eat out of your hand, and one will even offer to give you a big kiss. Now, this isn’t just any cow slobber you’re going to get on you. This is authentic Texas state longhorn slobber. That felt weird.

Fall is a great time to get out to a state park in Texas. And, I hope everybody gets out there and enjoys it like I do.

So do I, Don. We have a list of stations that air the series at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

Construction of the new $27 million East Texas Fish Hatchery in Jasper County, with an anticipated completion in early 2010, is now underway.

The new East Texas Fish hatchery is proposed to replace the Jasper Fish Hatchery.

Todd Engeling is chief of inland hatcheries. The state-of-the-art facility is being built just below Sam Rayburn Reservoir, a juxtaposition that’s no accident.

We chose the Jasper County site to sit just below the Sam Rayburn reservoir. It sits below a quality water source, where we have an agreement with the Lower Neches Valley Authority to withdraw water from the reservoir that will guarantee us a good water source well into the future.

Beyond access to quality water, this site also allows for environmental efficiencies.

Under some circumstances within the reservoir throughout the year—we can gravity flow water from the reservoir to the hatchery. A significant part of the power consumption of any facility is the cost to pump water. Moving water can be very expensive. Where we can get some assistance from gravity to do that, to move water without having to use powerful pumps, it’s to our benefit. And this location offers that opportunity.

Learn more about inland fisheries at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish restoration program… providing funding for the operations and management of the Texas’ state fish hatcheries.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

After seven decades, the Jasper Fish Hatchery will be retired, and replaced by the new state-of-the-art East Texas Hatchery.

Construction has begun in early July. We’re anticipating the completion will be sometime early 2010.

Todd Engeling is chief of inland hatcheries. The new facility is under construction on 200 acres below Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

About 2000, we did a feasibility study to determine if it whether it was more feasible to renovate the facility where it was at, or to move it to another location. And based on that assessment, we chose to build a new facility in another location.

The East Texas Hatchery will provide at least 45 acres of fish production ponds capable of delivering up to 4.5 million fish annually for stocking in Texas public waters, including….

Primarily a sub species of the large mouthed bass; channel catfish and blue catfish, and bluegill sunfish. Those will be the principle species that it will be raising. It will also have the capability to participate with our striped bass and hybrid striped bass program should it be needed in the future. We think right now, given what pond space we were planning, we should be able to produce four to five million fingerlings a year.

Innovations and environmental efficiencies at the new hatchery…that’s tomorrow.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration program… providing funding for the operations and management of the Texas’ state fish hatcheries. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Cattle and wildlife live in harmony on the Seven Cross Ranch in the High Plains. Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, Gene Miller.

The things that they’re doing with this land, as I like to say, loving it with cattle—or keeping it in a state that is very friendly to native wildlife—and native prairie species that occur here, especially these iconic species of the prairie like the prairie chickens. [LH Webb] We have the Parks and Wildlife out here every year, about the first of April, middle of April, to count the prairie chickens.

LH Webb, with his wife Nama, are owners/operators of this 11-thousand acre ranch in eastern Gray County, where cattle graze and endangered prairie chickens roam.

That’s a species that’s rapidly disappearing on the High Plains. Maybe Parks and Wildlife can learn something where it will bring these species back.

White-tailed and mule deer, bobwhite and scaled quail, Rio Grande turkeys and black-tailed prairie dogs also share the land with the cattle at Seven Cross Ranch, and have for generations of the Webb family.

This is where my granddad grew up, and my great granddad bought a hundred years ago and started putting it together. And his sweat is on this land, and then now my sweat and my kid’s sweat will be on this land. And that’s going to help hold the soil down.

Seven Cross Ranch is the Lone Star Land Steward Award winner for the High Plains Eco-region.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

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

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