Passport to Texas

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

Caddo Lake borders Texas and Louisiana, and it’s one of the largest and most mature cypress swamps in the south.

Historically, Caddo Lake was the only naturally formed lake in Texas—by a great raft on the Red River—which backed water up–that was here even before the state of Texas was here.

Vanessa Adams is the area biologist at the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area.

They had a convention in Ramsar, Iran, and decided to designate certain wetlands across the world as wetlands of international importance. In 1993, Caddo Lake was designated; and it is the first and only one in the state of Texas with that designation.

Wetlands, like those at Caddo Lake, perform important functions.

The ones here at Caddo Lake, they will act as catch basins, and they slow floods. When the water backs up into these bottom lands and in these swamps, it slows their flow. And during that slow flow, the nutrients will fall out. Therefore, you have a bit of a filtering system for the water that goes further downstream, or further into that lake. And it acts as a way to clean the water.

The wildlife of Caddo Lake—that’s tomorrow.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE for an Interpretive Guide to Caddo Lake State Park. [PDF Document]

CLICK HERE for Fishing and Lake information.

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

McAllis Point on West Galveston Island has it all—algal flats to coastal prairie—making it important habitat for wildlife.

So, if this were not saved for conservation, then, it would be developed into housing, or commercial—it could be a combination of the two since it does have road frontage.

Linda Shead is with the Trust for Public Land, TPL. In cooperation with federal and state agencies, Congress, local governments, and the private sector, TPL completed the purchase of the first 60 acres of the 127 acres of this environmentally important parcel.

This particular piece of property—the sixty acres, and then the ultimate 127—will be owned by the County of Galveston. In terms of its long-term stewardship, they are looking into the idea of partnering with a non-profit organization that’s interested in doing stewardship.

While the land is permanently protected from dense development, it’s not off limits to the public.

You know, there could be a string of kayak launches on the backside of Galveston island. Bird blinds—that sort of thing. It’s really prime for being able to do that, and being a destination. And consequently, it can contribute to the economics of the island. It is particularly a birding Mecca. And this could be one of the major stops, on tours, that people do of Galveston Island to see birds.

Learn more about McAllis Point at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to find out about West Galveston Green Printing (it’s like a blueprint, but with the environment in mind).

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

Rapid development of West Galveston Island threatened McAllis Point, one of the few remaining large tracts of property available for conservation acquisition.

What we’re talking about is a total complex of nearly 300 acres; some of which is open water, but surrounded by marsh.

Linda Shead is with the Trust for Public Land, or TPL.

Our mission is to conserve land for people. So, we’re really about trying to get land that’s going to have high public benefit, and that usually means public access.

With help from Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a pioneering relationship between TPL, the General Land Office and Permanent School Fund took shape. In addition, funding support from Congress, TP&W, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, the TCEQ—local governments, and the private sector—brought nearly 2.6 million dollars to the table to complete phase one of the conservation plan: the purchase of sixty acres of this special wetland area for Galveston County.

It features almost every habitat that’s found on a barrier island like Galveston. So, it has algal flats, inter tidal marsh, brackish marsh, freshwater marsh, coastal prairie. So, it just really has that whole array of habitats, which provides greater wildlife benefit.

The TPL is currently raising funds to purchase the remaining 67 acres of McAllis Point.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to see Design Options for a Nature Park at McAllis Point.

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

Texas offers paddlers a growing number of trails.

The paddling trail program at Texas Parks and Wildlife is mostly about the people of the state of Texas and the communities that have these wonderful rivers running through them.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Rivers Specialist Ron Smith says communities and citizens benefit from paddling trails.

Our goal is to partner with communities and people of the state to bring more people out to these recreation areas and improve the access to these recreation areas. I think most of the people who use these accesses and waterways are wonderful folks who love the environment, who support our conservation ethic, and they can help the community by bringing economic factors and bringing more awareness to the water and what we should and shouldn’t be doing in those areas.

Find Texas paddling trail information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Alanna Jones… our series receives support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting 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

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic planned for Lake Fork this month demonstrates how conservation and competition need not be at odds.

It’s really a conservation type tournament being done to benefit Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Dave Terre is chief of Inland Fisheries research and management. He says once caught, the bass are weighed and returned to the lake. Nearly 100-percent of bass reeled in during the three-day tournament survive.

This gives the Texas Parks and Wildlife department a great opportunity to tell the world about fishing opportunities in Texas, and what we’ve done to manage fish populations in a wonderful lake…. It just brings a good sense about what Texas Parks and Wildlife department is doing to make fishing better, and to promote conservation.

The event, April 18 through 20, involves one hundred four professional bass anglers vying for prizes totaling $750-thousand dollars, provided by Toyota and its sponsors.

Of course, $250-thousand dollars of that comes right back to the department to allow us to enhance fishing in our neighborhood fishing program, which is kind of a unique way that we have gone now to help utilize this money to promote fishing in our urban areas.

Event details at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish restoration program…which provides funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

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

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