Passport to Texas

TPW TV: Big Bend, Life on the Edge Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS kicks off its 30th Anniversary season October 18 with a half hour film called Big Bend, Life on the Edge, narrated by Peter Coyote.

11- I was on a camping trip with Hill Country Outdoors and some friends in November last year; and we went into the headquarters and saw this film showing, and it just blew me away.

Don Cash is the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series producer.

09-It was so beautiful, and so well done, I thought: you know people need to see it outside of having to come to the headquarters to watch the film.

Don Cash sought and received permission to air the film on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series from the National Park service and the film’s producers, Great Divide Pictures. He says viewers will experience Big Bend like never before.

28-The film gives you a view of Big Bend that very few people are going to get. The aerial photography in this film is just beautiful and fantastic. Of course, everything is shot at the right time of day. The colors are beautiful. So, you get this just really unique perspective from the air. Plus you get to see the whole park. That’s one thing that I enjoyed about it: I got to see it from a whole different perspective. It is a beautiful film, but frankly, it’s better to go there and spend some time, and see it [Big Bend] for yourself.

See Big Bend, Life on the Edge, narrated by Peter Coyote the week of October 18 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Check your local listings.

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

TPW TV: Birding Basics Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Birdwatching continues to grow in popularity in Texas.

07—Texas is a good place to start birding, because there are more species of birds documented in the state of Texas than any other state in the country.

Texas Parks and Wildlife ornithologist, Cliff Shackelford appears on a segment of the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series next week along with avid teen birder, Jesse Huth. Together they offer tips on birding basics. Like how to use binoculars.

09— If you spot a bird, what you want to do is look right at the bird, and bring the binoculars right up to our eyes while you’re still looking at the bird. And the bird should be right in that field of view.

If you want to do more than just casually look at birds, you’ll need a field guide. And it may surprise you to know most birders prefer guides with paintings rather than photos of the birds. Cliff Shackelford.

08—Paintings are a lot better, because the artist does a lot of homework trying to get the one images to be the fitting image for the bird.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Nature Tourism director, Shelly Plante is also in the segment, reminding folks of the trail maps available to find birding hot spots.

07— People can buy these maps for the region in Texas they’re going to visit, or tht they live in, and they can go see hundreds of birding hot spots throughout the region.

Watch the birding basics segment on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series next week. Check your local listings.

That’s our show…Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Cooking Crappie at Camp

TPW TV: Spice on Fish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Tim Spice takes viewers from pole to platter, when he cooks up crappie filets outdoors on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series.

After cleaning, deboning, skinning and drying the fish…

11- We’re going to lightly prep it with a little bit of salt and a little bit of fresh pepper [grinding pepper]. Just a little bit of pepper, though, because crappies are really nice delicate fish, and you don’t want to overpower it.

Next, he dredges the fish in plain cornmeal.

05- I was raised with simple cornmeal; and you’ll get a great fish flavor just this way.

Buttermilk added to the cornmeal makes a thick batter, but if you want to taste the fish, Spice says: less is more. A camp stove supports a cast iron skillet with hot oil.

15- Alright. We’ve got that temperature right where we like it– about 275. Now, we’re just going to take our fish and put ’em right in the oil. Watch your fingers so you don’t splatter that hot grease. We want to cook the crappie for about two minutes on each side. Nice light brown; that keeps it nice, moist, and tender on the inside.

The filets are done and ready to serve in no time.

08– You want to know how your fish are done? Here’s a simple test: take a fork, and if you can break apart the flakes–that means your fish is done.

For an even lighter dish, Tim Spice demonstrates a pan seared, herb rubbed fish recipe the week of Aug. 17 on the TPW PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

The big girl who started it all: Ethel

TPW TV: A Fish Called Ethel Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ethel was a big girl from Lake Fork, and the first largemouth bass entered into the Sharelunker program in 1986.

06— And if you’d ever seen a picture of Ethel, she was as big around as she was long.

The Sharelunker program works to improve and grow bigger largemouth bass. Ethel was a 17.67-pounder caught and donated by fishing guide, Marks Stevenson. She served the program well, and changed the face of bass fishing in Texas

Former Director of Inland Fisheries, Phil Durocher, says bass fishing in Texas was very different before Ethel.

17— Back before ’86, bass fishing was primarily fish caught for food. People kept the big fish, and released the little fish. And we realized the larger fish were so valuable that we had to change the direction from a consumptive sport to recreation.

They brought Ethel to the Tyler fish hatchery where her survival was touch and go, says David Campbell, who oversaw the Sharelunker program from the beginning until his retirement in 2012.

13— This fish did not eat for a long time. My concern was if this fish died, it may kill the whole program. And I spent hours at night with a sunfish or something on a string and dangling it in front of her and she just sort of was sitting there looking at it.

She eventually, and literally spawned the success of the Sharelunker program. Learn more about Ethel and her legacy in a segment next week on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series. Check your local listings.

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

TPW TV: Labrocitas Creek Ranch Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Landowners, like Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence–of Laborcitas Creek Ranch in Brooks County–are responsible for transformative conservation in Texas.

03-When I come on this ranch, I get goose bumps.

That’s Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Randy Fugate, who provides technical land assistance to the Lawrence family.

08- It’s so impressive to see all of the improvements that have occurred here since they owned the property–from what it used to look like–25 years ago.

The Lawrence’s received the 2014 Lone Star Land Steward Ecoregion Award for South Texas. Berdon Lawrence says when they bought the ranch it was an overgrazed piece of property that didn’t support much native wildlife.

13– The cattle had just about eaten all the grass. No place for quail to hide, and for the does to hide the little baby deer. And so, the
predators would often get the little baby deer and the little quail.

They invented a device called the “quailorator.” Ranch manager, David Kelly, says pulled behind a tractor, the quailorator gently aerates and improves the land for its namesake species.

09- Right here in this quaileratorated area, we have [native grass] clumps for nesting and cover. And right over here, we have aerated
parts that will provide food for quail.

Watch a segment on Laborcitas Ranch next week on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series. Check your local listings.

06- And it’s nice to be able to preserve the wildlife that’s been here for maybe millions of years.

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