Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas boasts a bevy of birding hot spots. And in the May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine…you’ll meet some of the fine feathered creatures that pass through our state. Associate publisher, Charles Lohrmann…

Well, May is our birding issue and it’s always popular. It’s a useful reference because we include a comprehensive calendar of birding events throughout the year.

We have amazing articles. This one, particularly interesting to me, is an article about migration by Noreen Damude. She describes migration patterns as a complex labyrinth of trails that overlap and interweave. And to illustrate, she describes the migrations of eight different birds.

Among them are long distance migrants like the Swainson’s Hawk; and one particularly interesting example is the Evening Grosbeak, which she describes as ‘irruptive, opportunistic wanderers,’ because their arrival is completely unpredictable.

Once you read this article, you’ll never think of migration as a simple north-south line again.

Thanks Charles.

You can find the May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine on newsstands in mid-month. Or learn how you can subscribe when you visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…Joel Block engineers our program in Austin at the Production Block studios…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

Conserving natural resources – air, land, water, plants and wildlife – is everyone’s responsibility.

Andy Sansom, Executive Director of the River Systems Institute < http://www.rivers.txstate.edu/> at Texas State University in San Marcos, and former Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife shares his thoughts on this subject.

I think right now we’re in a bit of a crisis. Because people widely accept the values of what we do, but they don’t feel the urgency that perhaps they did a generation ago, and as a result, we have some issues that we’ve got to address, like the threats of land fragmentation, and the decline in our water supplies and the lack of adequate funding — are all potentially fatal threats to the values that all of these conservation activities represent.

What can you do to protect our natural resources? Education is always the best way to start. Log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife Web site, and click on the link for “Land & Water” to begin understanding the needs of your environment.

That’s our show for today…we get support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…which also provides funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

April 22, 1970 marked the first celebration of Earth Day, the goal of which was to highlight the needs of the planet, and to instill a sense of planetary stewardship among citizens. The message continues. This month, you can participate in Earth Day events at state parks throughout Texas.

On Saturday, April 14th, from 9 to 5, Brazos Bend State Park offers a full day of family fun. Participate in nature hikes and attend historical interpretations. You can experience hands-on activities and demonstrations from local and national conservation groups.

Colorado Bend State Park hosts an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 21st from 9 to 5. Bring a friend and a picnic lunch and enjoy the beauty of this unique area of the Texas Hill Country. Take a guided tour along one of the many trails, and visit Gorman Falls and Gorman cave.

Finally, spend Tuesday, April 24th learning in the outdoors at Lake Texana. Study the wide array of native trees, and make leaf prints. Afterwards, plant a native tree you’ve brought or plant one provided by the park. Relax with a cool night hike in the woodlands of the Navidad River.

Information about Earth Day events can be found on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Loren Seeger. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

You only have until Saturday, April seventh to register if you intend to participate in the Great Texas Birding Classic.

This year is the 11th annual Great Texas Birding Classic. We are consolidating the tournament to a single weekend to try to make one big weekend of birding on the Texas coast.

Shelley Plante is Nature Tourism Coordinator. Although the classic takes place April 15 – 22, the three main bird watching events at the- the upper, central and lower coasts – occur April 21 & 22.

People get together in teams of 3 to 5 people and they go out for 24 hours of birding to see as many species as they can in that period. Teams record all the species that they see in a single day and we have judges that look at these results and award prizes to the top 3 teams for each tournament. For the week long and sectional adult tournaments, we actually have conservation cash grand prizes. This is $50,000 of habitat conservation money that goes to projects of the
winning team’s choice.

Everybody is invited to the annual classic, regardless of age or experience.

You do not have to be a strong birder to be involved. The tournament will fit any level of birding expertise and all of these tournaments are raising money for habitat conservation on the Texas coast.

Register online. Find out how on passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Loren Seeger…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you’re wondering what people do in the great outdoors, consider spending a little time indoors watching the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series and find out. Series producer Abe Moore…

The first week of April, one of the main stories we’re working on is Pedernales Volunteers. It’s a story on how important our volunteers are to the state park system.

The work they do is a tremendous benefit to the staff, because it saves them a lot of time. It allows us to actually provide a higher level of customer service.

The second week of April, we’re doing a story on the Guadalupe bass – our state fish – and folks at the Texas Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center are working to save our state fish from going extinct.

We began work to raise thousands and thousands of pure Guadalupe Bass, and put them back into the system, and simply overwhelm the hybrids.

The third week of April, we’re heading out with the game wardens of the Texas parks and Wildlife department. They’re heading out to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Lots of chaos. But when we were given a mission, we brought order to that chaos. We had a command staff. We had game wardens that were organized, knew how to work the boats, and knew how to fit into a team effort.

And, finally, on the fourth week of April on our TV program, we’re doing a program called “Student Parking” – and it deals with all of our state parks and how great they are as outdoor classrooms.

Check local listings to see when the show airs in your town.

That’s our show…thank you for joining us…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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