Passport to Texas

Whoopers Could Break Record Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The last naturally breeding wild flock of endangered whooping cranes winters along the Texas Coast at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport.

04—they spend from about mid-November to about mid-April here in Texas.

Lee Ann Linam is a biologist with the Wildlife Diversity Program at Parks and Wildlife. We spoke in mid November when the birds were just beginning to show up along the coast following their long migration from their breeding grounds in Canada.

10—We have about 25 or 26 whoopers that have been sighted on the Texas coast. We normally, though, don’t get our final count until late December or perhaps early January.

The flock was nearly extinct in the late 1930s 1940s with fewer than 20 members, but its population has grown slowly thanks to well-coordinated efforts to protect habitat and the birds.

20—We had a peak of 283 in Texas last winter, which was a new record. We had approximately37 to 40 chicks that were fledged and were ready to fly I n late august in Canada, according to aerial surveys. So, if we get good enough survival, then we might hit that magic 300 mark.

The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge has a website that updates whooper arrivals, but…

04—The very best experience is to go down and see whooping cranes for yourself.

That’s our show for today. The sport fish and Wildlife restoration program supports our series and fund conservation programs in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Whoopers Continue to Rebound Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As many as 1,400 whooping cranes migrated across North America to the Texas coast in the mid-1800s. By the mid 1940s, the population that wintered here was down to just 18 birds.

08—In the early days, it was primarily unregulated shooting that was causing loss of whooping cranes. And that was something that was fairly easy to control.

Lee Ann Linam is a biologist with the Wildlife Diversity Program at Parks and Wildlife. Because of well-coordinated efforts to protect habitat on the part of both agencies and private landowners, the birds have rebounded, but challenges remain.

11—But now the issues are pretty complex. Things like drought and climate change contributing to things like reduced freshwater inflows. Even the red tide occurrences are threatening the coast this year.

Healthy estuaries are critical to the survival of this magnificent species.

17—In the long-term, we as Texans have the challenge of figuring out how to keep those entire ecosystems healthy with sufficient freshwater inflows; balancing water needs and water uses, because everyone really is affected. So things like water use planning that are going on too, is an important part of the picture.

How many whooping cranes might we see in Texas this winter? Find out on tomorrow’s show.

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

Prairie Dog Monitoring Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

08—(AMB: prairie dogs calling”)

The black-tailed prairie dog population has declined dramatically throughout its range in Texas.

09—They originally covered a large portion of the state. And we currently have somewhere around one percent of the population that was originally here in the state.

Marsha may coordinates Texas Nature Tracker programs for Texas Parks and Wildlife. You can help wildlife biologists understand this population decline by participating in the Texas black-tailed prairie dog watch. There are three ways to get involved.

19—Volunteers can get involved just monitoring a population of prairie dogs on public property. Then we have adopt-a-prairie dog colony, where folks can go out and monitor a colony wherever they find a permanent colony they’d like to research. And then the third was is the most intense, and that’s a density study.

You’ll need a monitoring packet, and can get yours online from the TPW web site, or have one mailed to you. It’s important to preserve all native species, even this chubby ground-dwelling rodent; because if prairie dogs were gone…

09—We would lose habitat for burrowing owls and food for many hawks. We would lose, also, the prairie habitat that they maintain.

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

Black-tailed Prairie Dogs Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

08—(AMB: prairie dogs calling”)

The lonesome, high-pitched staccato vocalization of the black-tailed prairie dog resonates throughout the Panhandle Plains.

09—Prairie dogs are a keystone species. A keystone species is a species that needs to be there for other species to survive.

Marsha May coordinates Texas Nature Tracker programs for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Once numbering in the millions, prairie dog colonies in Texas currently occupy less than 1-percent of their historic range. And their decline does not bode well for the other species that depend on them.

19—Prairie dog’s colonies are used by up to 170 other animals. They are directly or indirectly dependent upon the colony. And they aerate the soil; they actually keep the prairie a prairie. They will chew down any shrubs that are within the colony. So, they’re very important for that ecosystem.

Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Watch is a program designed to involve citizens to collect data about prairie dog colonies. Researchers use the information to understand the species’ dramatic decline. To help you help them, there’s a monitoring packet available.

08—We created this because we need to find out what’s going on with prairie dog colonies throughout the state of Texas; mainly the Panhandle and West Texas where they’re found.

And we’ll tell you how you can get involved tomorrow.

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

Endangered Texas Snowbell Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When the wind blows, its leaves shimmer, and in the spring, its beautiful white flowers bloom.

It was this beauty that inspired J. David Bamberger to save the endangered Texas Snowbell.

Bamberger owns 55 hundred acres in Blanco County and is an avid conservationist. But one of his greatest success stories is the Texas snowbell.

In 1987, state officials estimated there were a mere 87 snowbells in Texas. Since then, Bamberger’s team has planted and maintained nearly 700 more.

12—I spent five years going door to door, well ranch to ranch out in Edwards County, Real County, Val Verde County. And it took me five years to gain access to a ranch to look for the plant.

Once he did, Bamberger began collecting the seeds from the plants he found, replanting them on the ranches. But even with all his success, Bamberger says the Texas snowbell will likely always be endangered.

17—Now the scientists are saying that they won’t be delisted until we have 10,000 plants. That’s never going to happen, never ever going to happen. I think they need to reassess that number because before we came along the reintroductions were basically zero.

J. David Bamberger continues to monitor Texas snowbells and conduct research at his ranch, keeping the Texas snowbell alive and a part of .

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.