Passport to Texas

Mule deer buck

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This is Passport to Texas

The panhandle of Texas is the epitome of rural. And mule deer can be found nearly everywhere. Just ask local, Rodney Geissler.

It’s not unusual to nearly be able to walk plumb up on a mule deer. [Truck door closes] Or drive up on one. If they’re out in the field next to the highway you can stop and take pictures of them [camera clicks].

In fall and winter it’s common to see groups of up to 200 mule deer grazing in wheat fields. And that interests biologists like Thomas Janke.

One of the big questions of this project is dealing with agriculture land versus the rangeland like you see behind me.

Janke is studying how mule deer movements and survival are influenced by panhandle agriculture.

Is there a difference in the nutritional value of the plants? Or is it the deer are picking it just because it’s out here and they have a buffet.

During the week of December 24, the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS will feature a segment on the mule deer study, which shows how they use helicopters to track and trap the animals.

We have deer that are radio collared that we captured back in 2015. The radio collars all transmit a signal. Those radio collars are allowing the helicopter crew to use radio telemetry and locate them.

Check your local listings.

The Wildlife restoration program supports our series, and funds mule deer research in Texas.

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

The 100-Mile Hike on TPWD TV on PBS

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This is Passport to Texas

Texas Parks and Wildlife TV producers go the distance to tell compelling stories. In, Jeffrey Buras’ case, that distance was 100 miles for a segment called: The Hundred Mile Hike.

It is a challenge, because not only are you doing a 100-mile hike, but you’re also trying to shoot a video of that hike. For Emily, she got to just enjoy it and experience it, but I was worried about angles and lighting and batteries.

The segment follows 20-year-old Emily Lozano, a former State Park Ambassador as she backpacks the Lone Star Hiking trail in Sam Houston National Forrest.

I’ve always loved the outdoors. So, this spring break I decided to try something a little bit new, and go on a backpacking trip. I’m going to do the Lone Star hiking Trail; it’s extremely long. We’ll see how it goes.

Emily is alone for most of her trek, and Jeffrey did his best to remove himself from her experience. But at the end of the day when recording voice over recaps…

It was funny because while we were doing those little recaps, she would say ‘Oh, and then Jeffrey did this. Oh, I can’t talk about Jeffrey.’ Then she would say “Well, my imaginary friend did this…’. She kept referring to me as her imaginary friend.

Emily’s experience is anything but imaginary. Join her on the trail next week on the Texas Parks and WildlifeTV series on PBS.

It was such a great spring break. Great in ways I wouldn’t have expected it to be. I’m so glad I went.

And you’ll be so glad you watched. Check your local listings.

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

Reefing the Texas Clipper 10 years ago.

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This is Passport to Texas

Ten years ago, Texas Parks and Wildlife sent a ship called The Texas Clipper to the gulf floor to serve as an artificial reef.

Texas Parks & Wildlife has taken a section of the Gulf of Mexico that was once a barren dessert, and created an enormous ecosystem of 180,000 square feet of substrate, to bring new life for both the fisherman and the divers.

Tim O’Leary takes sport divers out to explore the Texas Clipper which now teems with marine life.

This is a world class wreck. I want Texans and Texas to get excited.

The Clipper is an oasis for the marine life of the Gulf of Mexico. Dale Shively headed the project for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

This is quite an adventure to come back 10 years later and see that it’s a tremendous dive opportunity, it’s a great place for fishing, and it’s a great place for marine habitat. I think it’s a great dive destination. Lots of marine life, a lot of coral, juvenile reef species of all different types. You’ve got thousands and thousands of square feet of hard surface area and you can see that where the marine life is growing on the ship itself. I would consider this a big success for an artificial reef.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS airs a segment on the Texas Clipper, then and now, the week of November 19. Check local listings.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Bringing history to life at Fort Richardson.

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This is Passport to Texas

Fort Richardson, established in 1867, was the northernmost frontier fort in what is now Texas; it was established to help protect the western movement of settlers. Tim Swagerty.

The fort system was really integral in being able to settle the state. So without the fort system, we would not have had a state of Texas. We would not have been able to defend it and be able inhabit it as we do now.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS takes viewers back in time to experience the Fort’s and Texas’ history. Annie Ellison.

We are giving visitors an opportunity to see what life was like back when this fort was operational. They get to see the soldiers in action and to see what activities might be available to the children who lived in the fort back in the day, it makes that connection to their history.

Having that multi-sensory experience helps to connect visitors to the fort’s history, and helps them to understand why it is important to conserve that history.

Fort Richardson is really unique. And to keep it alive just as long as we possibly can, I think it is the best possible way to honor what has gone on out here and all the diverse cultures that have come through here and helped build this place.

The segment on Fort Richardson airs on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series the week of November fifth through eleventh on PBS. Check your local listings.

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

TPWD TV Series producer, Don Cash.

TPW TV -- Finding the Story Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Get ready for the 32nd season of the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series on PBS.

We start our new season the week of October 15th, and [we’ve] got some new stuff this year.

If you’ve never seen the show, or aren’t sure you’ll like it, series producer, Don Cash, offers this reassurance.

We like to call it a magazine format. We don’t just do one topic in a half hour show. We usually do three…or four…or five segments of different things in a show. So, if the first segment’s not that interesting to you, maybe the next four will be.

It is a show about people like you who love the outdoors.

We find stories by going out in the field and working on other stories. You go out, you meet somebody, they say: Oh, you should meet so-and-so; they’ve got this thing going. And by going out in the field and going to the parks and going different places – that’s how we find the stories. Now, sometimes, they come our way. Sometimes people let us know. But for the most part, we just find them when we’re out there traveling the state.

Such as when they discovered a woman in remote West Texas who creates habitat for birds.

I mean, you’ve got to be a special person to live by yourself out in West Texas, up in the back of a canyon, and do all this work on your own – and the welcome people to come in – and look at the birds that come into your place. So, that’s the thing that I enjoy about doing this.

We think you’ll enjoy it, too. The new season of the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS begins the week of October 15.

Check your local listings.

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