Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Texas Parks and Wildlife television series airs a segment this month that puts the spotlight on a shy flying mammal – the Mexican Free-tailed bat. Ron Kabele is a produce for the show.

And the name of the story is Billion Dollar Bats. It concentrates on the economic impact that bats have. There are more bats in Texas than any other state in the country.

In Austin, along the Congress Street Bridge, there’s anywhere from a million, to a million and a half bats that come out every night. And they eat anywhere from ten to fifteen tons of insects.

These insects feed on agricultural crops, which in turn reduce the productivity of agriculture.

So, farmers love it, because it’s a way of doing natural pesticide control. [begin auction audio] The producer Lee Smith staged this thing with this auctioneer. They’re auctioning cattle and things like that, then they go and they auction these bats [end auction audio]. It’s all staged, but it was cute.

Check your local listings.

That’s our show…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Water and wings may be a theme of Texas Parks and Wildlife TV’s September programming. And producer Ron Kabele says a segment called Billion Dollar Bats looks at the value of bats to agriculture.

What the bats are doing is they’re acting as a natural pesticide. And that’s very appealing to a lot of farmers. It’s cheaper and it’s a whole lot better for the environment.

There’s an excerpt from Texas: The State of Water, highlighting water issues in the Valley.

This concentrates on the challenge of there not being enough water in the Rio Grande Valley.

Without water nothing will grow. And the farmers can’t make any money. So, there’s nothing else for them to do. Some of this farmland they’re selling the dirt off of it. They’re just making it into a big pit. Just a big hole in the ground; and they’re just walking away from it.

Ron says he shot a story on the Butterfly Palace that airs in September.

It’s at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. And it’s this big domed area. It’s basically its own ecosystem.

And finally, a segment called The Caribbean Connection examines the relationship between Texas and the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Connection was about three researchers who were trying to find a correlation between what happens in the coral reefs down in Mexico and here, and how that affects our waters.

Check your local listings, or visit us online at passporttotexas.org to find a station that airs the show near you. That’s our show…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
  El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPWD TV -- September Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife television series brings the outdoors in. Series producer Don Cash says one segment on Wyler Aerial Tramway and will take viewers to new heights.

It’s really kind of an unusual state park because it’s a tramway, and not your typical, “I’m gong camping” kind of place. The history of the tramway is really interesting; it was originally there to service the television towers on the top of the mountain.

The main purpose of the tramway being built was to get his engineers up to the transmitter site to do maintenance. When they saw that the ride beautiful, they decided to open it up to the public. And it ran until 1986 when it was shut down.

And the view is just…

Breathtaking, huh? Yeah (laughter).

We’re also going to go way down in the valley to the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, which is also part of the World Birding Center.

[bird chirps] This is one of the best places in the country to see birds. We have over five hundred species just in the Lower Rio Grande Valley alone [bird chirps] Which is more than what some states have.

All year round at Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, you’re going to see lots of birds… you’re going to hear lots of birds. It seems to be pretty constant down there, no matter what time of the year you’re there.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS stations. Check your local listings.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

TPWD TV – Taking to the Sky Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife television series is especially good this month, with stories of fast flying birds and battles of yore and a whole lot more. Don Cash is series producer.

The first week there’s a story called the Flying Photographers. And it’s a feature on Sid and Shirley Rucker who live in Livingston, Texas, and they are just incredible photographers. They spend most of their time taking pictures of hummingbirds all over the state.

The flashes go anywhere from ten thousandths of a second to twenty thousandths of a second.

The second week we’ve got a story on the Bass Brigades, a camp for kids, teaching them how to communicate about nature.

The fourth week of August is a really interesting story called A Spirit Rises. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is working with several of the native American tribes to discover some of the history that will tell the story of the battle of Palo Duro Canyon.

What we’re trying to do here is to bring in both the native American perspective, and to collect data that can add detail and scope to the overall story.

The last week of August, we go pier fishing along the coast. It’s really interesting to go to all the different places. You never know what you’re going to catch.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS stations. Check your local listings.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
______________________________________________________________

Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPWD TV – August Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Whether you seek the cool comfort of a mountain setting, or the peaceful nature of a prairie, the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series has what you want in July. Writer/Producer, Alan Fisher, fills us in.

In the later part of July, we’ll pay a visit to the Davis Mountains. Davis Mountains State Park is home to Indian Lodge, which is a fantastic lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the thirties.

We have hiking trails all over this park. So, if you want to get out and exercise, this is the place to do it. Mountain biking, equestrian trails, hiking, backpacking, or you just kick back and relax.

We’ll also explore the challenges of finding a balance between conservation and urban expansion on the Katy Prairie which is west of Houston. This area has traditionally been agricultural land and wildlife habitat for waterfowl, but it’s becoming more and more a part of Houston. And, as the city grows, displacing the farms and the wildlife habitat can be a problem.

I’m working on my fifty-ninth crop here. And I’d like to see the geese and what ducks there are and the sandhill cranes and what have you, have a place to stay as long as I’m around here, you know.

The story is a good reminder that anywhere we move as human beings, there’s something else that used to be there, and can also be really important to our lives.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS stations. Check your local listings.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

CABLE

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPWD TV -- Mountains & Prairies Play Now | Play in Popup | Download