Passport to Texas

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

[School bell rings] As school bells ring out the last day of classes across the state, parents seek ways to keep their children occupied without breaking the bank. May we suggest free fishing at state parks?

Texas state parks are a great place to go fishing because you don’t have to have a license.

Ann miller, aquatic education coordinator, says taking the family fishing at a state park is not only economical, but can also help parents and children reconnect.

Fishing is wonderful because it gives time away from normal duties for the parents to enjoy the children. It puts all the family in a different atmosphere to focus on one another for a change, instead of all the other distractions of everyday living.

Beginning this month, leave everyday issues behind when you take the family to a state park for free fishing events.

These events are made to help beginners who are just getting started in fishing learn how to fish, And that will be beginners ages six on up, by the way, so you don’t have to be a child. Some of the events are more children oriented, but they’re really family oriented events.

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 Wildlife Restoration Program

Abundant water and huge old cypress trees makes Caddo Lake ideal wildlife habitat.

Caddo Lake is the mother load for several species of neo-tropical migrants.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist stationed in Nacogdoches. The prothonotary warbler, northern parula, and yellow-throated warbler flock to Caddo.

A dawn chorus of those warblers singing is quite a neat thing. It’s good to be out in a boat, a canoe, a kayak, something where you can get out in the middle of the swamp to hear these things—they’re just loud and explosive. It’s really refreshing to hear things like that singing in the morning.

But warblers aren’t the only creatures that make use of Caddo’s resources. Vanessa Adams is the area biologist at the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area. And says you’ll find white-tailed deer and…

We unfortunately do have feral hog, but that is a huntable population, of course. We see several species of ducks. You’ll see wood duck year round. We get mallards; we have other unusual ducks. In fact, we’ve had black-bellied whistling ducks nest here.

We have links to Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area 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 for canoe rental information at Caddo Lake

CLICK HERE to watch a video of Caddol Lake.

Wetlands Month--Caddo Lake, 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

Wetlands Month--Caddo Lake, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Abilene State Park, acquired in 1933 by deed from the City of Abilene, has been in the park system 74 years.

And it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and opening ceremonies were held on May tenth of 1934.

Okie Okerstrom, superintended of this nearly 530-acre site, says that new funding provided by the Texas Legislature will increase staffing at the park.

For the last four years we have been very short staffed. And so, through the successful legislative session, and the great work that our representatives have done for us, we are going to be able to bring some positions back, and be able to get fully staffed again.

Visitors over the past four years would be surprised to learn of the staffing shortage.

Yes, they would be, because we try to make that as transparent as possible. We still make sure that the restrooms are clean, and that the sites are ready for them, and hopefully it’s not obvious to them.

New funding also means new interpretive programs and events. One thing that stays the same, though, is the pool.

The action happens at the swimming pool—that’s the focus of the park during the summer. We have a lot of family reunions that come to Abilene SP because we do have a swimming pool. Some of our reunions have been coming for fifty years. It’s like family coming home to visit!

Details about Abilene State Park at passporttotexas.org

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to view a video of Abilene State park

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Rock gyms are a great place to start climbing, but they provide a different experience than climbing outside in a Texas State Park.

Robert Rice runs the Hueco Rock Ranch.

When you take it outside, you’re in the wilderness and you’ve got the scenery, the wildlife, the cultural resources, and dealing with uncontrollable elements like wind and rain and dirt and snakes and whatever else might come along.

Luckily, there is a rating system on climbs in the US that can help climbers find the right climb for them in the gym or on the rock no matter where they are in the country.

Climbing on ropes is on the Yosemite Decimal System and that defines that there are five classes of terrain. First class being like a sidewalk, second class maybe a set of stairs. Third class is the kind of outdoor hiking you would do in a nature environment. Fourth class is where you’re using your hands and feet. Fifth class is when the falls become so severe that you’d be injured or killed so you have to use a rope to make it safe. And then inside of that comes the decimal. 5.0 being the easiest and 5.15 being the most difficult.

For more information on climbs and maps complete in Texas State Parks, visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to view a video of Heuco Tanks State Historic Site.
Hueco Rock Ranch, http://www.huecorockranch.com [cut and paste URL into browser]

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