Passport to Texas

Lesser Prairie Chicken

TPW TV: Chicken Land Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Lesser Prairie Chicken has declined in Texas. Wildlife biologist Jeff Bonner says the reason: its historic range
has dwindled to almost nothing.

07-Here in Donley County they’re pretty sparse. And, that’s pretty much relative to the quality of the habitat that they have.

Landowners play a crucial role in the restoration of prairie chicken habitat, and hopefully saving the bird; Amarillo Cattleman and landowner, Jay O’Brien.

18- I don’t think you’ll find a cattleman who’s not very interested in the overall ecology of his ranch. That includes wildlife and improving wildlife habitat on his ranch as long as they see that nobody’s going to be dictating exactly how they should do their business.

Landowners may request and receive technical guidance from biologists like Gene Miller, about managing their property for a variety of wildlife.

12-The Hallmark of what we do is providing free, confidential, nonbinding assistance to private landowners. We go where we’re called, and we offer any level of assistance we’re asked to provide.

The future of the Lesser Prairie Chicken is in the hands of private landowners willing to create habitat to keep this iconic species on the landscape for generations to come.

View a segment called Chicken Land, about prairie chicken conservation, on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series the week of June 14. The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

The Glory of Rat Snakes Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Texas’ state herpetologist loves talking about snakes.

03-Today I’d like to talk to you about the Texas rat snake.

See what I mean? Dr. Andy Gluesenkamp wants to help Texans develop an appreciation for this native reptile.

14- The Texas rat snake is the most commonly encountered snake in Texas, and they occupy a wide range of habitats. This snake is harmless; they’re completely non-venomous; they don’t attack people–in fact they’re major rodent predators; hence, the name: rat snake.

Rat snakes bear an uncanny resemblance to rattlesnakes which, as we know, are venomous.

18-[opens with rattling] Probably the best way to tell a rat snake from a venomous snake in Texas is look at the head shape; pit vipers, which includes copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes, they tend to have a very chunky head with steep sides to the face. Whereas, if you look at the head of a rat snake, the head tends to be more rounded and less angular.

Andy says rat snakes get a bad rap, but they deserve our appreciation.

08- I’d like to point out their primary diet is mice, rats and other rodents. That’s a pretty beneficial snake to have around.

See Andy Gluesenkamp and his pal the rat snake next week on a segment of the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife 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.

Whooping crane pair at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

TPW TV: Whoopers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The endangered Whooping Crane, one of the rarest birds in North America, makes its home at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along the shallow bays of the Texas Gulf.

10— This is a species that almost went extinct. I mean, it was almost gone forever from the face of the earth.

Dr. Felipe Chavez-Ramirez is Director of Conservation Programs at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. The species has been making a slow comeback from 16 birds in 1941 to 300 today. Watch Dr. Chavez-Ramirez and his colleagues trap adult Whoopers and fit them with GPS tracking devices during a segment of the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series. Wade Harrell, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is also on the show.

11—We’re going to learn a lot in terms of new places that they use that we didn’t know about before. So, I think there’s going to be a real paradigm shift in how we manage and conserve whooping cranes going forward.

It’s no easy task trapping these big birds, yet, once fit with trackers, team members, like Veterinarian Barry Hartup, believe the data returned to them will be eye-opening.

14— What we’re doing with capturing adult birds on the Aransas Refuge has never been done before. So, we’re learning a lot about these birds in terms of their movements, their survival, their overall health – what we can do to further their protection and conservation into the future.

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

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects in Texas.

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

Rock climbing in Texas

TPW TV: Collegiate Climbers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

To these University of Texas at Austin students, climbing to the top takes hard work, but in the end, it’s about fun.

04— I’m Will Butcher; I’m Christina Nguyen; I’m Zephyr Suerte Lutz-Carrillo, and I’m a member of the UT Rock Climbing Team.

They are all members of the team, and you’ll meet them in a segment on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series next week.

05— I enjoy rock climbing because it’s really just you and the rocks; so, it’s very meditative in that sense.

Collegiate climbing didn’t exist until this guy came along:

13— I’m John Myrick, the head coach of the climbing team at the University of Texas. Collegiate climbing didn’t exist until 2008 when I started the pilot series here in Texas. And in 2009, the
nationwide collegiate climbing series was born.

During the TV segment, watch these climbers compete against other schools on an indoor rock climbing course.

13— Whenever you see your teammate on the wall, just cheering them on; because that, really, is what helps them get to the top. You push a little further – maybe it’s to the top, maybe it’s not –
but you definitely get a second wind by them cheering you on and having your back.

Find out how the UT Climbing team did at the most recent collegiate championships, next week on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV show.

Check your local listings.

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

Buffalo Soldier Reenactors

TPW TV: Buffalo Soldiers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

With a lack of relatable role models, it’s easy to understand why some urban youth may feel estranged from the outdoors.

04— You get raised thinking: Okay, these things are not really for me.

Twenty-two-year-old Devonte Hill recently graduated from college, and makes short documentary films about the outdoors. Meet him on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV show.

07—What I really want to be is a storyteller. I just want to show people things that maybe they hadn’t seen before – give them a
different reality.

Hill learned about the Buffalo Soldier Program when he was a State Park Ambassador, and started sharing their reality with other young people.

13—The Buffalo Soldiers were created in 1866 to assist and protect the settlement as it continued to move further out west. Luis Padilla works with the Buffalo Soldier Program; he says they were the first black professional men in the US Army.

14—When the Native Americas saw the Buffalo Soldier, he wasn’t used to seeing a man of this color in the wool uniform. So, the only thing the Indian could do at that point is compare this new soldier to something he knew out on the frontier. And that something on the frontier just happened to be the buffalo.

The soldiers also had a reputation for being fierce fighters. Learn about their contributions to Texas history on the PBS Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series the week of March 29 through April 4, 2015. Check your local listings.

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