Passport to Texas

Centennial Artist, Clemente Guzman

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This is Passport to Texas

I love nature. I love being outside.

Artist Clemente Guzman has a genuine affection for the outdoors. He spent twenty-nine and a half years at Texas Parks and Wildlife depicting the natural beauty of the state.

I create art because it inspires me, it moves me, and being out in nature does that to me. It has that magic. You know when you have it, because you can’t sleep. You know you get up. It’s like falling in love. You know, you’re just thinking of that all the time.

Now Clemente has come out of retirement for a higher calling. He’s one of thirty-one centennial artists chosen to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of Texas State Parks. Government Canyon State Park is his first assignment.

I went out there to Government Canyon and I did some of the trails, especially one of them that goes to the dinosaur tracks. And I took some pictures and got my mind thinking. I found this lizard that I though it would be a great idea to put him inside of a dinosaur track. It just fit beautifully, the angle of the lizard and the footprint. I’m going to paint that for Government Canyon.

The centennial artists will cover sixty-two parks in all, and their work will be featured in a printed book to be published in the centennial year 2023.

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

Texas State Parks.

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The year 2023 is the centennial anniversary of Texas State Parks, and thirty-one Texas artists have been chosen to create illustrations for a printed book about the State Park System.

The whole history of conservation in the United States, particularly in the national parks, it was aided and abetted by artists.

Former Texas Parks and Wildlife executive director Andy Sansom is project organizer and co-author of the centennial book.

They are all Texas artists. Each one of them will paint two paintings. There will be sixty-two parks in the book. And then the text will be written by me and my colleague Bill Reaves. And Bill will write mainly about the artists, and then my portion of the book will be about the State Park System. ‘Be a little bit of history, a little bit of personal reflection on my own experiences, a little bit about contemporary issues facing state parks, and celebration of the hundredth anniversary.

The paintings will be offered for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to benefit the State Park System.

The book is scheduled to come out during the centennial year, along with an initial public exhibition of the paintings at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

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

Mountain Biking at Big Bend Ranch State Park

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Texas Parks and Wildlife’s recreational trails program develops new pathways in the state through a competitive grant program. Trails allow visitors to enjoy scenic vistas, pursue recreational sports, escape find solace and explore areas that might otherwise be inaccessible.

We fund everything from natural surface single-track mountain bike trails to twelve-foot-wide concrete trails that are accessible to everyone.

Erick Hetzel is the State Park Trails Coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife

That’s a really important aspect of the program. We want to serve a broad spectrum of the population of Texas.

Trails provide access to natural environments in an increasingly urban landscape.

They’re providing recreational trail experiences for people who need them. And the population of Texas needs them. We don’t have a lot of public land and we’re able to drop these little recreational trail experiences into these sometimes small communities that really need a trail around the local woods.

Trails also provide connection.

They can have experiences with nature and experiences with the outdoors right in their own community. And, that’s one of the biggest positives about our program.

There are over 1,100 miles of state park trails waiting for you to explore.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Takings a perky pup for a walk with the family in a state park.

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This is Passport to Texas

Hiking opportunities at Texas state parks are varied. There are 1100 miles of trails and dozens of daily organized treks. Some of them have added elements to intrigue and delight.

Show up at the Davis Mountain State Park Interpretive Center on Thursday mornings and hike with a homeless dog. Help these hopeful rescues enjoy the trail as they await a forever home; you’ll get some puppy love and exercise.

Exercise caution before nibbling native plants. Although many are edible, a lot are not. Find out which native plants are nibble-worthy on ranger-led hikes, available in some of our state parks.

Does tippling interest you more than nibbling? Dinosaur Valley State Park provides the perfect place to explore how early Texans distilled, hid and sold moonshine during the Prohibition-Era.

If exploring is your thing: become a Galveston Bay explorer. Scout the salt marsh wetlands with naturalist guides and investigate the critters, fish and birds that inhabit Galveston Bay. The hike includes a hands-on-seining opportunity.

Visitors to Estero Llano Grande State Park have an opportunity to take part in their Friday butterfly and dragonfly walks. Some of these beautiful insects are found nowhere else but South Texas.

For a comprehensive list of all state park hiking opportunities go to our website, click the calendar tab and then choose Hikes and Nature Walks.

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

Texas Longhorn

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The longhorn is a true Texas icon. This distinctive breed has played a role in Texas’ heritage.

In the early 20’s Frank Dobie and a couple of other ranchers decided that the longhorn was so important that the state needed a herd.

Jim Cisneros is park superintendent at San Angelo State Park where a portion of the herd lives.

They took about 10 or 12 years and they went around all over Texas – down into old Mexico until they put together a good enough herd of historically correct animals as they could. And they gave the herd to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

In 1969, the Texas Legislature officially recognized the State of Texas Longhorn Herd. Currently the herd numbers about 200 animals. Groups of them are located at various state parks and historic sites.

We work real hard on getting the right bulls to keep them historically correct.

Bill Guffey is the herd manager at San Angelo SP.

The state herd is managed just like anybody else would. We breed them, vaccinate them, brand them and cull them just like any other place.

Get to know the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd at San Angelo State park.

We provide a tour. We call the cattle up to the gates and we talk a little about the cattle where they come from, the history, their importance, and how they shaped Texas.

Learn more about Texas Longhorns on the TPW website. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.