Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

It won’t be long now before spring arrives, and with it the urge to take a road trip. Start your planning with the March issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Editor, Louie Bond.

69—So, this month, we’re going to take you way out west to visit the Texas State Bison herd. Our own Russell Roe went out there and he delves into not only the history and the breeding of this iconic herd, and talks about how they were once nearly extinct, but also they also have new territory to roam out at Caprock Canyon State Park. And with this new territory comes a chance for the public to interact even more with these wonderful creatures. And, if that’s not enough for you, we’ll send you all over the state, because we have picked a couple of dozen of our top natural wonders—we call it the best of Texas, naturally. And we have a wonderful piece written by Katharine Hunter. And I’ll give you a few examples of some f the things we’re going to share. For example, the best little shop of horrors in East Texas, the Big Thicket National Forest, with its carnivorous plants. The best place to get catty would be the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge where you can see some of the rare plants that we love so much in Texas. The best party with the stars, of course, would be at the MacDonald Observatory, and the best place to catch a sail, would be on the Elisa down in Galveston. So, it’s a whole host of natural wonders for you to enjoy this March.

Thanks, Louie.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

February always brings with it the promise of spring and… fishing…Louie Bond is Editor of TPW magazine, and she says the February issue celebrates freshwater fishing.

53—We’re going to have an entire issue that focuses on freshwater fishing. And, we’ll take you on a trip fishing for trout in the Guadalupe. We stock lots of trout and it makes for some very exciting fishing. We’ll take a look at ShareLunkers and what might be the hotspot this year for ShareLunkers. Can’t make any promises when it comes to fishing, but Larry Hodge always seems to know where the big fish are lurking and he’s predicting O.H. Ivy is ready for a good run of ShareLunkers this year. And then, we’ll also take a look at what might be a lot of our readers first fishing experience—fishing for crappie—with Paul Cañada. And we’ll take a special look with Kat Hunter at Toledo Bend reservoir, from a granddaughter’s perspective—interviewing her grandmother and her grandmother’s friends about the beginnings of that lake and the impact it’s had on their lives. So, Cecilia, you get a line, I’ll get a pole and I’ll meet you down at the fishing hole.

Thanks Louie.

You can read recent articles from the magazine online, and even subscribe, at www.tpwmagazine.com.

We record our series at the Production Block Studios in Austin, Texas. Joel Block engineers our program.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

We pick up magazines as much to look at the pictures as to read the articles. The January issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine let’s you embrace this guilty pleasure. Editor Louie Bond is here to tell us about the second annual photography issue.

Oh, I think our readers really loved it last year. Except that one reader who called and asked if we’d run out of stories to tell. And I can assure our reader that we haven’t, but we do like to take a month and display some of the best photography in Texas, And this year’s theme is forces of nature, which , of course, ties into everything we do here at Texas Parks and Wildlife. Our photographers have a job that we often envy, but I think sometimes we don’t always think it all the way through. They get up well before dawn to catch that marvelous first light. When a hurricane comes, instead of heading the other direction, they run right towards it, and hunker down with the game wardens, and go out and document all the devastation afterward. So it’s equal parts of charm and luck and courage. I think, that keep our photographers going. And this year we’re going to have a special emphasis on our own photographers. Our chief photographer Earl Nottingham, our assistant art director, Brandon Jakobeit, and our great parks and Wildlife photographer Chase Fountain, as well as a few of our wonderful freelancers. And I know our readers love to take their own pictures, and share them, and we’d love to see theirs on our website as well and on our Facebook page.

Thanks, Louie.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine looks at the future of the Gulf of Mexico, post oil spill. Editor Louie Bond.

In December we have something totally different. We’re going to take along, hard look the effects of the BP oil spill. I think a lot of Texans are wondering exactly what impact it will have on Texas.

We hope our readers will take time this winter to learn for themselves what the scientists are forecasting.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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This is Passport to Texas

One story in the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine definitely computes. Editor, Louie Bond.

69—I call it the nerdiest story we’ve ever run. You know, this is just a real different story. It’s about the evolution of computer use in our agency. In the years between 1974 and 1884, a group of pretty radical biologists here got together and decided they were going to map the vegetation of Texas. Well, Texas is a mighty large state. And, I don’t know if you r listeners are quite as old as I am, Cecilia, but back in the seventies, when you ran a computer program, you had to bring in boxes of punch cards, and that’s what these guys did. But they were working win NASA; this is top level, top science, it took them ten years to complete. And now here we are in 2010, and they’re redoing it using technology that looks like the Jetsons compared to the Flintstones when you compare what they’re doing now to what they did then. And Rae Nadler-Olenick does a masterful job in telling the story of these pioneers. And now the new young guns, who are taking their place with new technology, at the end of it will have this comprehensive map of vegetation and geological wonders across Texas they’ll be able to use for a base for science for years to come.

Thanks Louie.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to preserve native habitat in Texas

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

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