Passport to Texas

TPW TV: The Pronghorn Puzzle Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Once abundant in the Trans-Pecos region, pronghorn antelope populations have declined dramatically. A segment on this month’s Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series looks at efforts to understand this trend. Producer, Alan Fisher.

57—Pronghorn are a really beautiful animal and they were once all over the plains and across the west. But, some of the pockets are now starting to maybe have some trouble adapting to the changing state.

You used to be able to drive from Valentine to Marfa and see, maybe, two or three hundred of them just from the highway, and now you’re lucky if you see one.

It’s an iconic species, and I think it’s easy to look at as a flagship species for grasslands. These areas are changing; the open range of yesteryear has been fenced off and been broken up a bit. It may make species like the pronghorn a little more vulnerable. So, I follow a group of biologist who are out capturing baby pronghorn fawns [Good catch] and collaring them with radio tracking collars.

We got one. It’s a big one, too. Okay, baby. Okay.

The Pronghorn Puzzle airs the week of April 8th. And you can also see it on YouTube.

Thanks, Alan.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and conservation programs in Texas.

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

TPWD TV: The Crappie Guys Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Crappie is a fun fish to catch, and a tasty fish to eat. This month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series, meet two men, in a story called The Crappie Guys, who use the fish as a teaching tool and as a way to bring families together. Series producer, Don Cash.

61—We focus a little bit on a guy named Tommy Tidwell, who is a High School science teacher in Georgetown. Tommy’s also a part-time fishing guide for crappie at Lake Granger. So, for Tommy, crappie are not just a fish to catch, but they’re also something that helps him in his science classes.

The whole point of catching crappie is to take them home and eat them. Our very own Texas Parks and Wildlife boating safety director, Tim Spice, cooks up some crappie. And I can tell you from experience Tim does a great job—they tasted wonderful.

Thanks, Don. The show airs the Week of March 18. Check your local listings.

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

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

Springtime is a season of renewal, and two stories scheduled this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series illustrate this rebirth. Producer, Alan Fisher.

60—One [called] A New North Deer, is about one of the largest rookery islands in all of the upper Texas coast. North Deer Island in Galveston Bay has been under threat of erosion. It’s home to some 18 species of birds. There are tens of thousands of birds there nesting, and so they were threatened, essentially, by this erosion.

Thanks, Alan.

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.

TPW TV: Parks and Wildlife People Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You’ll find interesting people with interesting jobs at Texas Parks and Wildlife. And you’ll meet some, too, this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series. Series Producer, Don Cash.

59—In February we’re going to introduce you to several people and their odd jobs—I guess. One of those people is Amy Treuer-Kuehn; she’s a plant ecologist, and she travels around the state looking at vegetation and habitat and getting record of it and letting people know what’s there on the property.

So, yeah, part of what we do on the television show is people stories. There’s a lot of interesting people with some unusual jobs at Texas parks and Wildlife, and we hope people will watch in February and see what we’ve got going on.

Thanks, Don.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Endangered Prairie Chickens Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of the most endangered birds in North America is the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken. Learn about efforts to help protect this species this month on the Texas parks and Wildlife TV series. Producer, Abe Moore.

57—There used to be close to a million of them in Texas and Louisiana; now they’re teetering around a hundred or so. I went down to the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge by Eagle Lake. It’s kind of their last stronghold right now.

So, the team goes through some serious struggles this breeding season, and one of the things that happens is they have an ace up their sleeve to kind of help the Attwater Prairie Chicken from going extinct.

Abe says he won’t provide any clues to that ace. We’ll just have to tune in to find out. Check your local listings.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.