Passport to Texas

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

The key to healthy habitat and wildlife populations rests in the hands of landowners. In Texas, we honor their skillful management.

Lone Star Land Steward is an award program where we recognize those landowners in Texas who are doing an exemplary job of managing their habitats and their wildlife.

Linda Campbell oversees the state’s Private Lands and Public Hunting program.

We have all kinds of focus on these landowners. We have a great diversity of people. We have a regional award for each of the ten eco-regions. And then we have an overall award, the Leopold Conservation Award, for the overall statewide land steward.

Nominations for the awards opened June first, and will continue until the end of November.

Nominations can come from the landowners themselves, or those that assist them. We will take nominations from any member of the public. All of those nominations are evaluated, and we do site visited on those. We just want to make sure that we hold up those who are doing such an excellent job managing the resources of Texas.

Find a list of current winners and a link to nomination forms at passporttotexas.org.

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

Parents sometimes look at summer with dread: How can we keep the kids busy and not go broke in the process. If that echoes your concerns, here is a suggestion: free fishing at state parks.

Free fishing means that you do not have to have a license to fish in a state park. You would still be paying the entry fees to the park.

Ann Miller is aquatic education coordinator. Now through July, many parks will provide angling instruction for novices as well as for anglers that are more experienced.

Some of the events are more children oriented. But, we also have some events that are geared for a more advanced angler. Eisenhower State Park is doing a fly-fishing program in June that folks might be interested in. We also have Galveston Island State Park that is focused on saltwater fishing.

If you’re just dipping your toe in the angling waters, you may not have the equipment you need to reel in a fish.

At many of these events that we’re sponsoring, you can come without equipment. There will be equipment there for families to borrow to participate in the program. Now, these programs do teach you the basics of fishing, but they also give you time to go fishing with an expert.

Find a link to these events at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… we receive support for our program from the Sport Fish restoration Program… reminding you that Saturday June 7 is Free Fishing Day in Texas….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

Have fun on the water this summer, but play it safe. That’s the message the Nobody’s Waterproof campaign is sending to everyone—especially 18 to 34 year old men.

As you can guess, those are the people who are at highest risk in this state for [boating] fatalities or accidents. Instead of asking those people to come to us, we take it to them. So, we actually have a boat, and an outreach team that’s kind of a peer-to-peer contact group.

Brandi Bradford, state boater education coordinator.

And we go out and have a great time. We play games, we have what we call water safety Jeopardy, and we pass out koozies; we have inflatable life jackets that we give away, waterproof boxes—all kinds of fun stuff to encourage people to be safe and to remind them of boating safety.

Last year the program reached five thousand people with direct, one-on-one contact, and they’re going to do it all again this year. So, keep an eye out for the Nobody’s Waterproof boat when you’re on the water this summer.

It’s bright blue with orange flames on the side of it that says Nobody’s Waterproof, Play it Safe.

We have links to more boater safety information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase hunting, shooting, fishing and boating opportunities in Texas. 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

Next time you are on the water, and decide to forgo wearing a life jacket, consider this:

About eighty-five percent of the drowning fatalities, a person is not wearing a life jacket—and that’s huge.

Brandi Bradford, state boater education coordinator, says wearing life jackets can save lives.

The law says that anyone under the age of thirteen must be wearing a life jacket while the boat is underway. We recommend that everyone does.

Boaters have reasons why they don’t like wearing life jackets, but those excuses don’t hold water.

People usually don’t like to wear them because they’re heavy, they’re bulky, they make you hot. You know, it’s a hundred degrees outside in Texas. There are actually new forms of life jackets. We have belt pack inflatables, over the shoulder (they look like little harnesses) inflatables. They’re real lightweight; they won’t mess up your tan, and they don’t get in your way when you’re driving around.

Life jackets are widely available at department and sporting goods stores. Find additional information about life jackets at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase hunting, shooting, fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Boater Safety: Personal Floatation Devices Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Before you set foot on a boat this summer, learn the “rules of the road.”

We teach classes. They’re available online. They’re available in person.

Brandi Bradford, state boater education coordinator, says boater education information is even available as a home study course.

It’s required for those aged thirteen to seventeen, but we recommend it for any new boater—or even if you’ve been doing it for twenty years. There’s always something new out there.

With 500-thousand registered boaters in Texas, everyone who spends time on the water benefits when boaters know the rules.

We talk about rules of the road. Which way do you turn if somebody is coming right at you? Do you go right or left? The answer is go right. You might not have known that, and the other person might not know it, is the bigger deal. We teach you about how alcohol affects you on the water; it actually affects you three times more than it does on land. So, one beer on the water equals three on the land. We teach you about proper lighting to use on your boat, proper safety equipment to have on your boat…. And just what to expect when you’re out there.

One piece of safety equipment everyone should keep close is a personal flotation device. We’ll have more on that tomorrow.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…reminding you that June first through eighth is National Fishing and Boating week…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Safe Boating: Know the Rules Play Now | Play in Popup | Download