Passport to Texas

State Parks: Grants for Historic Structures Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After being part of the worst wildlife in Texas History, Bastrop State Park is open to the public. More than that, though, it has received a 25-thousand dollar grant to study the effects of wildland fire damage on historic structures. Our state park guide Bryan Frazier has details.

51—Our wildland fire team at Texas Parks and Wildlife and the other volunteers made a valiant effort to save all of the CCC built structures except for one small overlook structure. And the national park service awarded a grant to Texas Parks and Wildlife to study the long term effects of what wildland fire does or can do to these historic structures. We were only one of 11 recipients nationwide for this. And it will serve as a model for other areas of the country that are either in wildfire zones or that have been affected by wildfires. Even though these structures were saved at Bastrop State Park, those flames came within feet of it. So, they want to really look and do a long term study: was there any damage that we can’t see right off the bat, and how can we use that information to help other places.

Thanks Bryan

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

State Parks: National Trails Day Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Saturday, June 2 is National Trails Day. It’s a day when we encourage everyone to lace up a pair of sturdy shoes, slather on some sun screen, fill a reusable bottle with water, and grab a healthy snack. Then head to a state park to find miles of trails waiting for your arrival. Our State Park Guide Bryan Frazier tells us more.

37—Our very own research in state parks—from park visitors on site—says that the number one most sought after amenity and experience when they get to a park is hiking trails. We have more than 25 state parks in Texas, all over the lone star States, where we will be doing nature hikes and birding hikes and interpretive hikes. And they’ll be uphill and they’ll be downhill. And they’ll be on boardwalks and even on the beach. So it’s a great time to get out and enjoy—not only a little bit of healthy exercise—but to see once again just what makes Texas Texas—and state parks are great places to discover that.

Thanks Bryan

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

State Parks: Calendar of Events Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the time of year when everyone wants to be outdoors. And our state park guide Bryan Frasier says you can find out what opportunities await you at parks when you visit the online calendar of events.

52—One of the most visited parts of the state park website is the calendar of events. People simply want to know what can I do with my family once I get to the park. Yeah, we know where there’s great hiking trails, and the campsite are big with great scenery and great backdrops right along the lake or the river and the trees. But there’s a whole other list of things to do once you get to the park. And a lot of these are lead by park rangers and park staff or park volunteers or even master naturalists. And they range, everything from fishing programs with a park ranger, nature hikes, birding tours, and night walks through the park. And once we get into May an on into the summer, we have those just about every weekend in lots of parks. So, we encourage people to go to the calendar of events on the state parks website—that’s texasstateparks.org—and find out just what’s going on. You might be surprised.

Thanks Bryan. Make reservations when you log onto texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

State Parks: Longhorn Cavern Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nature provides recreational opportunities above ground and below. Our State park guide, Bryan Frasier, tells us about one park that’s underground, but still on the radar, thanks to some renovations.

57—Longhorn Cavern is a real special place; it’s been popular for thousands of years. The history is colorful because it has everything that included outlaw Sam Bass, all the way into the Civil War it was used as a shelter. And Longhorn Cavern State Park was built and renovated by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s; it opened as a park in 1932. And it’s been needing some renovation, and we’ve renovated the lighting in heat and restored some of the CCC stuff. It’s a guided tour down into these caves and caverns. You get the full insight into what happened and why those caves are there in central Texas. It’s right near the Highland Lakes-it’s not far from Inks Lake State Park. So check out Longhorn Cavern State Park. And it is a unique state park. Most people think of state parks as things that happen above ground, but this one is a nice 68 degrees year-round, underground. And a great place to take the kids to see the cave features and the tour there. It’s a favorite of a lot of people and for good reason.

Thanks Bryan. Make reservations when you log onto texasstateparks.org.
That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bastrop State Park is Open Again! Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nobody will forget the Central Texas wildfires of 2011; they burned tens of thousands of acres of land including nearly all of Bastrop State Park, in the Lost Pines region. Our state park guide, Bryan Frasier says, you can’t keep a good park down.

57—Everything in Bastrop State park is open again, and it’s ahead of schedule. All of the CCC built cabins, the dining hall and refectory and the swimming pool. The campgrounds are also open, because the utility lines, the water, electric and sewer hookups—those were all saved. And so, we’re able to get those back online. Those campgrounds are open; the trails are open. And we’re planning a grand opening and celebration, about the anniversary for the fire for Labor Day, so we want people to stay tuned for that. We’ll do a big ribbon cutting and a grand re-opening of the park. But right now we want to let people know that Bastrop State Park is open and it looks great! The staff out there has done a great job—it’s taken a lot of state park volunteers to make that park look good. And people can hike on the trails and stay in the cabins and bring their RVs to our full hook-up campsites out there, and once again enjoy the incredible destination that is Bastrop State park.

Thanks Bryan. Make reservations when you log onto texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.