Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

I think this had been a long-term goal at Texas Parks and Wildlife department to have more outreach to younger people.

Louie Bond, Managing Editor of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, says sending free subscriptions of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine to fourth grade classrooms statewide, is the latest in the agency’s outreach efforts. The magazine, which includes a new educational section called Keep Texas Wild, isn’t just for kids.

Everyone is going to have this in their issues. And we think that’s a good thing; this way families at home can study this together, and we have a lot of interesting topics. Some are as simple as predators and prey—that’s the topic of our first issue. But then, we expand into how Native Americans gave oral histories, water conservation issues, habitat…there’s a whole variety of topics, and I think a lot of these will be of interest to everyone.

In the end, the goal of Keep Texas Wild is to inspire students to develop a close bond with the natural world.

And also, to perhaps, begin those pathways to careers in the natural sciences, and art and photography, so that some day they may be the very people that they read about on these pages.

The special Keep Texas Wild section is made possible by a grant from ExxonMobil through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

This school year, fourth grade teachers have a new tool—Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

Exxon Mobile generously gave us a donation to buy subscriptions for classrooms across Texas.

Managing editor, Louie Bond, says the issues will include a special section called Keep Texas Wild, which encourages curiosity about nature and conservation, using an interdisciplinary approach that goes beyond the obvious connection between nature, science and math.

How many great naturalist artists and nature photographers start out with a love of wildlife—and it’s just expressed through art. So, we want to tie in all curriculums: social studies, English, everything. In fourth grade you’re learning everything at once, so it’s really great to be interdisciplinary.

Teachers who log onto the Parks and Wildlife website will find additional resources.

Here at Texas Parks and Wildlife, we have an excellent outdoor education department, and they will be posting online some additional teacher resources for additional activities, more background information. So, if the teachers would like to expand the lesson even further, they’ll have plenty of guidance online.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation also helped make this yearlong pilot project possible.

We have additional information about Keep Texas Wild at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Keep Texas Wild, a new section in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, brings a multidisciplinary approach to learning about the outdoors.

We wanted to offer something special that these students could really sink their teeth into every month. So, all of the fourth grade classrooms across Texas, public and private schools, will now begin receiving the magazine for a year.

The special section is made possible by a grant from ExxonMobil through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Managing editor, Louie Bond, says each fourth grade classroom will initially receive one subscription.

But we are making additional copies available at a very low cost, as well as additional subscriptions. Also on line, we’ll have a downloadable, printable PDF, so that teachers can print it out and hand to the class if they like.

During fourth grade, says Bond, children tend to be highly imaginative and open-minded.

Fourth grade is when reading skills become less labored and more comprehensive. They begin to really read for meaning, and explore deeper into the world. Also in Texas, the TEKS, the standards for learning, include a lot about the natural world and science in fourth grade, and getting out and investigating the natural world and learning more about it. So, it really fits into the curriculum of fourth grade.

We have additional information about Keep Texas Wild at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… 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

Are you in need of a hunting forecast, or a place to experience nature at its most wild? Then look no further than the September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. Managing Editor, Louie Bond.

In September, we always have our big hunting forecast. It’s much more than the dates and the permits required. We actually have lot’s of biologists who contribute to the interview, and tell us about how, perhaps, rain has affected the particular season and other environmental factors—just to tell us how’s it looking this year for quail and javelinas and things like that. So, it’s a really thorough, up-to-date look at what the hunting season is going to look like.

Another thing we have in the September issue—we featured Big Bend in our August issue—and if Big Bend is a little too populated for you, you can head out that way and go to Black Gap WMA. And it’s the biggest one in the state, and it’s really for roughing it, but it’s just huge and there’s so many things you can do out there, and the hunting is great out there, they’ve reintroduced the big horn sheep…but there’s also a lot of recreational opportunities for people who aren’t afraid to rough it. So, check out our September issue and find new ways to get outdoors.

The September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is on newsstands now.

That’s our show for today…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program… providing funding for the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas …For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The August issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine takes readers way out west to Big Bend Country. Managing Editor Louie Bond.

Maybe it’s a little hot to visit there is August, but it’s a great time to plan your next trip out there for maybe October when the nights are cool. We’ve got three big stories on Big Bend. The first is a great photo essay by our photographers on the Big Bend Ranch cattle round up that they have every year. This is an actual longhorn cattle roundup. It’s the real deal. Twenty-five ordinary citizens come out, they get on horses, and they actually do round up these cattle. I think it’s a taste of the old west that you can’t find anywhere else.

And we’re going to go rafting down the Sana Elena Canyon. Some of them combine music and food, as well as just incredible sights. And then we’re also going to take a tour of Big Bend Ranch State Park, which is newly funded, newly organized. They’re just making great strides out there.

And there are so many recreational opportunities; there are so many things for people to explore that they’ve never seen before out at Big Bend. And then, if we need to cool off after all of that Big bend in the hot sun, we’re going to take a look at the Resaca de la Palma state park which is going to be opening up, and the best state park swimming spots—which we will definitely need in August.

Thanks, Louie. The August issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is on newsstands now.

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

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