Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Light Goose Conservation order goes into effect after the regular goose season ends.

In 1999 the light goose conservation order was put in place. And it’s an effort to try and reduce the total population of light geese; to address the overpopulation in the arctic. Trying to bring that population back in line with what the habitat can support.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader, at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

During the conservation order basically all bets are off. Unplugged guns, electronic calls, no bag limit, shooting hours extended to half hour past sunset. Basically the gloves come off and you just try to do what you can do.

He reminds hunters, the conservation order is a management action and not hunting season.

We’re doing this as a management practice. And if you’re going to take large numbers of geese, make sure that they’re put to use. Don’t just leave them, don’t just sit there and pile up dead goose after dead goose, make sure that you never put yourself in a position to look bad to the public.

The conservation order goes into effect January 28th in the east, and February 6th in the west, and runs through March 30th in both regions.

That’s our show… made possible by 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 and Wildlife Restoration Program

Migrating waterfowl worldwide are under scrutiny by public health officials as potential carriers of a highly contagious form of avian influenza known as H5N1.

There has been no evidence; there has been not a single confirmed case in the North American Continent, of highly pathogenic H5N1.

Dave Morrison, waterfowl program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife, says some waterfowl species that winter in Texas may share migratory routes with birds from known influenza hot spots.

We are doing our due diligence. We are part and parcel to the early detection and surveillance efforts that are currently ongoing in the United States this year.

US health officials and wildlife authorities have embarked on a North American waterfowl surveillance program to identify potential problems before they manifest.

Texas is one of the level one states for sampling. Level one means that we have to collect a thousand samples from migratory birds – whether it be migratory birds or whether it be shore birds – we have to get a thousand samples. And what we’ll do is we will actually take swabs of these birds, submit them to labs, the labs will then run tests on these birds to determine does it or doesn’t it have highly pathogenic H5N1.

That’s our show…supported by 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.

Avian Influenza--Texas Monitoring Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Avian influenza, also referred to as bird flu, has emerged as a worldwide public health concern.

We’re talking about a strain of avian influenza, which is the highly pathogenic H5N1. It really came to bear when the outbreaks started occurring in Southeast Asia and started moving through into Europe.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Although only about than four hundred cases of the flu have been reported in humans since the late 1990s…

This is not necessarily a disease of people; it’s a disease of birds, first and foremost. And migratory birds are a reservoir.

Health officials worldwide are scrutinizing migrating waterfowl as potential carriers of highly pathogenic H5N1. While the biggest outbreaks have been clustered in Southeast Asia…

A lot of the birds that migrate from Southeast Asia potentially come into contact with birds that migrate and nest and breed in Alaska. So in that overlap of birds, there could be some transmission of the disease with birds that filter from Alaska into Canada and the United States.

Tomorrow: Monitoring efforts in Texas.

That’s our show…supported by 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.

Avian Influenza Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

If you’re looking for a great winter angling opportunity, look no further than nearby lakes that have received a delivery of rainbow trout.

We’ll be stocking a hundred and twenty different sites this season. That may change by one or two, because the program can change during the year, but our schedule is for one hundred and twenty locations.

Carl Kittel coordinates the trout-stocking program for Parks and Wildlife. Winter trout stocking takes place December through March. District fisheries biologists make the decisions about which lakes receive trout, and how many they receive.

And they each are familiar with the lakes in their area, and generally work with cities and counties to develop a program that’s most effective for each area.

Kittel says Inland fisheries plans to stock just under 275-thousand rainbow trout in Texas waters.

A large number of the fish we stock, in fact over 100-thousand, are purchased by our partners; usually the cities or counties we’re working with. So, we work in combination with local governments to determine the right amount, and to cooperatively fund buying them as well.

Find a link to the rainbow trout stocking schedule on our website, passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…which also provides funding for winter trout stocking in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Trout Stocking Schedule

Free Fishing in State Parks

Trout Stocking: Where & How Many Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

If you’re looking for a great winter angling opportunity, look no further than nearby lakes that have received a delivery of rainbow trout.

We’ll be stocking a hundred and twenty different sites this season. That may change by one or two, because the program can change during the year, but our schedule is for one hundred and twenty locations.

Carl Kittel coordinates the trout-stocking program for Parks and Wildlife. Winter trout stocking takes place December through March. District fisheries biologists make the decisions about which lakes receive trout, and how many they receive.

And they each are familiar with the lakes in their area, and generally work with cities and counties to develop a program that’s most effective for each area.

Kittel says Inland fisheries plans to stock just under 275-thousand rainbow trout in Texas waters.

A large number of the fish we stock, in fact over 100-thousand, are purchased by our partners; usually the cities or counties we’re working with. So, we work in combination with local governments to determine the right amount, and to cooperatively fund buying them as well.

Find a link to the rainbow trout stocking schedule on our website, passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…which also provides funding for winter trout stocking in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
________________________________________________________________________

Trout Stocking Schedule

Free Fishing in State Parks

Trout Stocking: Where & How Many Play Now | Play in Popup | Download