Passport to Texas

TPWD TV Series producer, Don Cash.

TPWD TV: 2013-2014 New Season Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[TPW TV theme music]

October 20 the TPW TV Series begins its 28th season on PBS stations in Texas. Expect stories about everything you love about the outdoors.

05— You name it – if it happens outdoors in the state of Texas, we are going to have it on our PBS television show.

Don Cash, series producer, says sometimes he and his crew find stories and sometimes the stories find them.

49— Basically what we do is we look at the programs that Texas Parks and Wildlife is involved in; we try to do stories on the programs and the people. One of the best ways to come up with story ideas is just being out there in the field and meeting people. We’ll be doing one story and someone will say, ‘Oh, you should go look at this over here.’ And by George, all of a sudden you know you’ve got another story to do. .

In addition to its 28 year history, what are you most proud of with respect to the Parks and Wildlife television series?

What I think we’re really proud of is being able to go out and show people what’s available here in Texas. We’ve got a lot of new people moving here; they don’t know what’s out there. And a lot of people have been out here a long time and don’t really get outdoors. And that’s what the show is about really: showing you what’s out there and what’s available and maybe inspiring you to get out and enjoy the Texas outdoors. Hope you’ll watch.

Check your local listings for the TPW PBS television series. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

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

Rainbow Trout in Texas

TPW TV: Guadalupe Rainbows Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Throughout the year, Texas Parks and Wildlife has been observing its 50 year history as an agency. This week we go back in time with the TPW PBS TV series as producer Abe Moore reflects on Texans’ love affair with winter trout stocking.

41— We went back and looked at some of the old movies that Parks and Wildlife produced. And one of the stories I came across was fishing for rainbow trout on the Guadalupe River, and the stocking that they actually did back there on the river. It was really interesting.

[ambiance] No one would have guessed several years ago that rainbow trout could ever be caught in Texas. Summer Waters were much too warm for trout. [ambiance]

And then what we did is we looked at that piece then, and comparing it to see if it’s changed as far as stocking on the river over the past 40 to 50 years.

We stock close to 30-thousand rainbow trout in the Guadalupe River. They used to be six to eight inches back then, today, they’re eight to 10 inches, and the still come from Missouri.

That historical piece will be on September eighth through the 14th on your local PBS station.

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.

Sauer-Beckman Farm

TPW TV: Moving Pictures Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For years, Earl Nottingham captured the beauty of nature still photographs for Texas Parks and Wildlife. He now works that same magic with video, as Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series producer Don Cash explains.

57— Earl is moving into the video realm now since every camera made has video and stills. It’s phenomenal what high quality video can be captured with a DSLR camera. It opens up a lot of creative opportunities for a traditional still photographer such as myself. One of the things Earl did was a video essay, if you will, at the Sauer Beckmann Farm in Stonewall. It was such a nice piece that we just had to run it on the show. I think that regardless of what type of camera you use to capture an image, all you’re really trying to do is tell a story visually. For a still photographer like Earl to make the transition from stills to video has got to be a little difficult, but he seems to pull it off just fine. Back in college, I minored in cinematography, but pursued a career in photography. So, I’m really enjoying the opportunity to now shoot some video with the advent of the DSLR. And, I get to use some of the very same film techniques I learned with the old 16mm movie camera.

The video essay on Saur-Beckmann Farm airs the week of August 18 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series.

Support provided by Ram Trucks. Doing what’s right and good regardless of the degree of difficulty — takes guts. Those are the people who build Ram trucks. RAM.

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

Trapped Wild Hogs

TPW TV: Hog Wild! Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hunting by itself cannot solve the problem of feral pigs in Texas.

16— Texas Department of Agriculture estimates that pigs produce $52 million a year in agricultural damage alone. Those estimates go way higher than that whenever we start talking about all the damage that is incurred annually.

Justin Foster is a Wildlife Biologist and Research Coordinator at Kerr Wildlife Management Area. A segment – called Hogs Wild – on the Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series, produced by Alan Fisher, follows Foster and his team as they evaluate palatability and lethality of bait formulations and active ingredients for controlling this destructive species.

19— It’s really a pig pesticide of sorts; there’s been some success in Australia using a similar substance. It can be delivered through specialized feeders to just the hogs, and is considered a rather humane way to deal with the feral hog problem. There’s still ongoing testing being done right now.

Viewers have a front row seat as biologists trap, tag, and release the pigs, which they’ll monitor over time to determine the bait’s effectiveness. Justin Foster.

[06 – Pig squeal…clatter of pigs in pens]

10 — Nationwide and internationally, there are lots of people working on this topic. And we are very optimistic. [ambiance]

Hogs Wild airs the week of August 11 on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Franklin Mountains State Park

TPW TV: Franklin Mountains Bike Trails Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Catch a segment on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series that puts you in the seat of a mountain bike on the trails at Franklin Mountains State Park: Producer Abe Moore.

48 – I went out there, and didn’t know what to expect as far as Franklin Mountains. But it’s actually mountains with hardcore mountain biking trails right in the city limits of El Paso.

Yeah, it was definitely an adrenaline rush going in. Some of the guys that I talked to when I went out there. You could see they were big burly guys; the ladies, too, for that matter. They could handle their business when it comes to mountain biking.

Thanks, Abe.

This show airs the week of July 14 on PBS stations; check your local listings.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

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