Passport to Texas

TPW TV: Winter Waterfowl Wonderland Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In east Texas near Palestine, the flooded bottomland hardwood forest at Gus Engling Wildlife Management Area is a winter wonderland for waterfowl.

06— It’s really a neat opportunity for the ducks that are here. We try to keep more water [in the forest area] and make things better for them while they are here.

Tucker Slack, a wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, says the diversity of ducks is outstanding at the Wildlife Management Area.

10—Normally the ducks we’ll see are going to be wood ducks. Wood ducks live here. You’ll see mallards, but you’ll also see pintails… ring necks…so there’s quite a diversity of ducks that you’d see here.

The bottomland hardwood forest at Gus Engling is in nearly pristine condition.

07—A lot of your bottomland hardwoods throughout our state and nation have really been logged and have had tremendous impact by people.

Slack says some wood ducks are year round residents; however, their population was once in decline.

14—It caused some concern, and one of the things it brought about was artificial nest boxes. So, the wood duck nest boxes were really one of the first large-scale attempts that people were able to make, and it’s really been quite a success story as far as the wood duck goes, and their population.

Wood ducks, and other waterfowl and wildlife, thrive in this untamed land.

06—It’s really important, for a lot of reasons, to have these wild spaces. One of them is for the animals, themselves. They need somewhere that they can call home.

See Gus Engling Wildlife Management Area and the wood ducks this week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV Series. Check your local listings. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Purple Martins Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Andy and Julia Balinsky are landlords in Austin… and their tenants are a colony of purple martins.

02—They are the largest North American swallow.

Most swallows build their own nests, but purple martins prefer existing structures in which to raise their young; this makes them increasingly reliant on people like the Balinskys. Yet, this bird/human dependence is not new.

08— Native Americans put up gourds [for the birds] long, long ago. And this bird associates safety with humans.

The colony of purple martins is in good hands with Andy and Julia, who perform regular maintenance on the nest boxes for the birds’ health and safety.

05— We have to clean them out. We have to purchase new structures from time-to-time and [do] some maintenance.

The couple’s job also involves evicting unwanted tenants like house sparrows, which often hijack martin nests.

08— They’re pretty nasty. They’ll go in and peck the purple martin eggs; they’ll be mean to the babies. It’s bad news, so, we discourage them from being here.

Get to know the Balinsky’s and the birds in a segment airing this week on the TPW 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.

Conservation: Tanksley Land Company Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A family ranch since the 1920s, the Tanksley Land Company’s goal is to leave their 25-thousand acre property in Far West Texas in better shape than they found it.

05— It’s all about water out here: preserving and directing it to your benefit.

1989 when Betty and her late husband Ben took over management, creosote and tarbush dominated the landscape; grasses and water were scarce.

16—Ben’s vision was to preserve water and to direct the water to the benefit of the ranch. He was building some small dams and
some large dams and did a lot of what we call divots. Little small defilades.

These methods supported better water infiltration and runoff capture, and also created numerous small oases of green grass and forbs for wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Mike Janis says the Tanksley’s innovative management helped them win a regional Lone Star Land Steward Award.

18—We’re recognizing the Tanksleys for this award not because they did a great job implementing lots of things that we recommended at Parks and Wildlife. The roles are really kind of flipped in this situation. We’ve been able to take things we’ve learned that Ben was willing to try and share that information with other landowners who are interested in accomplishing similar goals.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and provides funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Programs.

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

Stewardship: Sycamore Canyon Ranch Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ruthie and Johnny Russell, with their sons McLean and William, own and operate the 87-hundred acre Sycamore Canyon Ranch—along the Devil’s River in Val Verde County. This family understands the importance of preserving the wide, open spaces for both livestock and wildlife.

15— We don’t want fragmentation to occur here. We love the open spaces. And you really can’t protect water, wildlife and habitat without big, open spaces. If I were a billionaire I’d buy as many ranches as I could and protect them. [laughs]

Ruthie says their goal is to protect, share and communicate the public benefits of private lands stewardship, including preserving beautiful vistas, native wildlife habitats, clean air and water.

08—We look at this as a wilderness area. A wild area. We want to preserve it. We want to protect it. And, it’s just the perfect wild place to protect.

Some range management strategies they’ve used include deferred grazing and aggressive whitetail population control. In addition, they put their ranch under a conservation easement to protect it for generations.

11—My brother and I were both raised on ranches and in the outdoors. It would never have crossed our minds had this not been put under a conservation easement to sell this land.

The Russell’s Sycamore Canyon Ranch is a regional Lone Star Land Steward Award winner for 2014.

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

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

TPW TV: Boat Builder Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Houston architect Skip Johnson builds boats for fun.

10—However elegant and beautiful a boat looks, it looks that much better in the water gliding out in front of you; that’s their function in life.

And the boats he builds achieve their destinies. During a TPW PBS TV segment this week, he shows off his skills.

09— I came up with the idea of a kind of a semi jet drive. All of the sail fru-fra is stuff I’ve added just to play around with here recently.

While Skip builds boats for fun, he puts some through their paces in competitions like the annual Texas Junior Safari.

03—The boat did real well. It just needs a better motor.

In the end, Skip Johnson says building boats and entering competitions isn’t about winning prizes…it’s about beauty.

06— Just my personal opinion, but anyone that looks at one of these boats and doesn’t see beauty in it doesn’t have a soul.

[ 16—Start Lyle Lovett song: If I had a Boat]

The Boat Builder segment airs the week of July 13 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

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