Passport to Texas

Award Winning Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV Series

TPW TV: Competitive Angling Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Size, strength and speed…important attributes for most high school athletes; unless, of course, the sport is fishing.

06— You don’t have to be the biggest kid or tallest kid or the most athletic kid to be a bass fisherman. It’s all about your knowledge.

Colt Anderson is half of a competitive high school fishing duo; Jonathan Gray is his teammate.

09— It’s kind of like playing golf a little bit to where you have different tools and you have to adapt to the conditions. You can never become perfect at fishing, and that’s a cool thing because you can always improve.

Another factor that makes competitive high school fishing a great sport is young women can also participate – like Marinna Collins and Mia Sartor – the only female team at a recent tournament at Lake LBJ.

10—It’s hard being the only girl team out there. We’re going to represent. This is my first year, so I am a little scared, but, you
just have to relax. Chill. Just go with it.

View a segment about competitive high school fishing teams the week of November 30 on the TPW PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

14—Ooh. I think that’s the furthest I’ve cast yet. [giggles] That felt good. It’s really cool being in this club because you get to
meet a lot of different people. And, we’re all like one big family – and that’s really good to have friends you can be really close
with.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Texas snapping turtle.

TPW TV: Turtle Crossing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When driving, have you ever spied something ahead of you in the road and thought was a shadow, but once you got closer you realized it was a turtle? I have seen the outcome of turtle car collisions. The turtle never wins.

03— So, what do you do if you find a turtle in the road?

That’s exactly my question to you, herpetologist, Andy Gluesenkamp. What do you do?

10—My advice is, if conditions allow and it’s safe to do so, move the turtle in the direction it was going. But, don’t do anything that would put you and the turtle at risk.

If it’s dark or rainy outside, or if you’re on a busy road where drivers may not see you until it’s too late, as much as it might pain you, leave the turtle. Don’t risk it. But why are turtles crossing the road?

11— You may find female turtles crossing the road, either going to or coming from laying eggs. Or, later in the season, you may find hatchlings crossing the road, returning to water.

Andy Gluesenkamp demonstrates the safest way to move a turtle from the road during a segment on the TPW PBS TV series the week of November 16.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Horned Lizard

TPW TV: Lizards on the Move Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Muse Wildlife Management Area, 15 miles Northeast of Brownwood, received some new residents.

08—This is the site that we’ve chosen to evaluate the feasibility and the success of the translocation of wild caught Texas Horned Lizards.

Wildlife biologist, Devin Erxleben, is site manager.

05—These horned lizards were collected from roadsides on private properties, southwest of San Angelo.

Parks and Wildlife collaborates with landowners to reintroduce the lizards to areas where they once roamed, says Nathan Rains, a natural resource specialist from Cleburne.

09—We’ve had a lot of interest over the years in reintroducing lizards to properties, and we’d never really looked at the feasibility of even doing that: will they survive? Where do they go? What will happen? So, we’re trying to just see if it’s possible.

After evaluation, each animal gets a tag used for identification.

06—We then affix them with a VHF radio-transmitter to track them to get daily locations on each lizard.

The lizards remain in a predator-proof enclosure for 10 days to acclimate, before being released and tracked.

06—It’ll probably be several years before we really know what’s going to happen here. But, we’re very optimistic.

Learn more this week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series in a segment called Lizards on the Move. Check local listings.

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

Award-winning Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV Series

TPW TV: New Season 2014-2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Every October for the past 29 years Texas Parks and Wildlife has kicked off a new season of programming on its PBS TV series.

03—Not a lot of states do this kind of television show anymore.

Series producer, Don Cash, says this type of programming reaches diverse populations.

08—Especially when it’s broadcast as many places as this one is, it’s just a great way for people to learn about Texas and the Texas outdoors.

Story topics have remained constant during the show’s tenure, with some fine-tuning for an evolving audience.

16—More and more people are living in the bigger cities, and therefore, fewer people have ready access to parks and hunting opportunities and fishing opportunities. And so, the kind of stories we’re doing tends to focus on nature in urban areas.

The new season of Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series will introduce viewers to Texas’ places, people, outdoor opportunities, and – of course – it’s stunning wildlife.

26—One is on trapping and tracking whooping cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We’re going to Caddo Lake as biologists try to restore paddlefish to the area. People may not know this, but there are bobcats in the Dallas area. We’re talking in the city. We’ve got a story on that coming up. And, some of the video on bobcats hanging out in city parks with people is pretty interesting.

The new season of the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series begins airing on PBS stations statewide this month; check your local listings. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

TPW TV: Leave No Trace Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some life lessons are classic, such as: pick up after yourself or be considerate of others. These behaviors are appropriate outdoors, too, and won’t limit your fun, as former Texas Outdoor Family guide, Lindsay Davis explains:

50— It is possible to both preserve and enjoy the great outdoors. We call this Leave No Trace. Research the area you’re visiting; check for burn bans and other restrictions. Once you’re out in the park, stick to the trails. Going off trail tramples vegetation and disturbs wildlife. If you pack it in, pack it out. Properly dispose of your trash in a dumpster or trash receptacle. Want some natural souvenirs? Take pictures. It’s a violation of state law to remove resources from the park – things like rocks, plants and other natural objects. Respect wild animals in their natural habitats, and from a safe distance. Never feed wildlife. And finally, be considerate of other visitors. Avoid walking through others’ campsites, keep the volume down, and respect the park’s quiet hours so folks can enjoy the sounds of nature.

View a segment with Lindsay Davis on Leave No Trace the week of August 24 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

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

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