Passport to Texas

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

Non-hunters may not approve of hunting. Perhaps this will offer a new perspective: hunters fund conservation efforts in Texas.

There’s no question. Because there’s an excise tax put on sporting arms and ammunition that goes into conservation that states use to manage WMAs [Wildlife Management Areas] and run programs.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader. The various stamps hunters need to harvest certain species fund conservation.

If you look at the duck stamp since 1937, look at all the land that has been purchased and is out there in perpetuity for wetlands.

Morrison adds you don’t have to be a hunter to buy a duck stamp.

If people may not necessarily agree with hunting, or they don’t hunt themselves, one of the smartest things they can do is go buy a duck stamp. Because that duck stamp goes into acquisition of habitat that certainly benefits ducks, but benefits a whole wide range of species. Even if you don’t hunt, buying a duck stamp will show that you, too, are concerned about conservation, and that you are doing your part by spending that fifteen dollars, which in turn, is going into purchase land for our grandkids to be able to watch waterfowl as they migrate south.

Learn more about hunting and conservation when you visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The worst part about visiting a state park is leaving. Yet, if you make your last activity a shopping spree at the state park store before driving away, you’ll depart with more than memories.

Our park stores are mainly an extension of the park experience.

Tony Lucio oversees state park stores for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The park stores sell a wide variety of keepsakes and educational gifts that help to generate income for each location.

We want to provide our users, and our customers, a little something – whether it’s an educational product – or something that will help enhance the experience. And so, they can take home some sort of memory of the park to commemorate their experience visiting the state parks.

You’ll find a wide variety of mementos in the stores – many specific to the site you’re visiting — although some items rank high as visitor favorites.

Probably our number one and number two sellers in our park stores are our t-shirts and caps. Three and four would be our books. And then patches and magnets.

By the way, until December 31 when you purchase a state park pass or a gift certificate for a State Park Pass through our Austin reservation center, you will receive 2008 state park ornament free.

A state park pass makes a great gift for the state park enthusiast on your list.

Find a link to state park stores at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Looking for something fun to do with your family this holiday season that gets you out of the mall and into the wild? Texas State parks may have the answer.

On December 15th, Martin Dies, Jr. State Park is hosting a Holiday Celebration. At 2 pm, the park will be holding it’s annual Gingerbread House Design and Construction Marathon followed by a holiday sing-a-long with a live band concert.

If you’re in West Texas, the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center is hosting Christmas on the Border on the 17th. The season will be celebrated in true border fashion with local community performers providing entertainment. Treats will be served and Santa Claus is scheduled to make an appearance.

Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site and the Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway in North Texas is featuring a visit with Saint Nick on the 22nd. Visitors are invited to go back in time and see what Jolly Old Saint Nick was like in the 1870’s.

Battle Ship Texas State Historic Site, on the Gulf Coast presents Santa Swingin’ 40’s Christmas on the 22nd. Santa is on board for the occasions along with swing dancers, who will perform live.

You can find more information about these and other holiday events happening in state parks this holiday season at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Make time this month to relax with the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series that airs on PBS stations statewide. Writer/producer, Ron Kabele, let’s us know some of what’s in store.

Oh, we have a bunch of good stories this time around. There’s this guy named Sammy Ray. And he’s an expert on oysters. In fact, people call him the oyster man. And he’s a biologist, and he knows everything there is to know about oysters. And he’s been working with oysters all his life. And the thing about Sammy is he’s 88-years old.

The oyster can be used as a barometer for what’s going on in the bay. And if oysters are doing well, many other estuarine species are doing well.

Another story, it’s a really cool story, about urban wildlife.

Typically, when I tell people I’m urban wildlife biologist, they say things like ‘do you study rats and cockroaches?’

One of the things that we cover is a group of volunteers who work with this biologist, and they make artificial nests for burrowing owls.

This is an urban wildlife sanctuary park Rio Bosque Wetlands, and it’s a place where we can provide more habitat for the owls.

A story I worked on was about a park manager and his family. And the thing that intrigued me was, park managers they live on the park. So, I thought about how he balances being on call all the time and having two small kids.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The fifty-third Game Warden Cadet Class will be the last to graduate from the training Academy in Austin.

And, we’ll archive that class, and sometime in June and July we’ll unplug, and take the pictures off the wall, and load up the boxes and we’re going up to Hamilton County and open up that new facility.

Randy Odom is Chief of training. He says the Police Activities League of Houston donated land for the new center.

It’s large enough to house a new admin building, state of the art classroom, gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool — we hope to have constructed — a firing range, and also an emergency vehicle operating course. To have all of these facilities on site, keeps us from being at the mercy of other agencies and having to beg, borrow and schedule times for events. Not all folks are great at everything, and having on site capability allows us easy and quick remediation.

The sale of the Austin site, plus contributions from benefactors will fund building costs.

Our goal is twelve and a half million to build, and if we get fifteen million it will offer us an endowment to help offset the operating costs once its all constructed. :09

Learn how you can help make the new Game Warden Training Center a reality when you go to passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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To learn about the New Game Warden Training Center, click here.

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