Passport to Texas

Texas Outdoor Annual App

Outdoor Annual App--Don't go in the Field Without It Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Texas Outdoor Annual is a handy printed and online guide filled with valuable information for hunters and anglers. And now it’s an app.

08- Smart phones and tablets have become more popular among the general population, and our hunters and anglers are also using those devices.

Tim Peterson-director of creative and interactive services at Texas Parks and Wildlife-says the new app takes the guesswork out of which regulations apply to your location.

28-If an angler’s sitting in a particular water body or lake, or near or water body or lake, they can use the GPS function in the APP, locate the lake that they’re at or near, and they can see bag limits and exceptions for that particular lake. In addition, same goes for hunting. Same goes for hunting. If a hunter is in a blind, they can pull out the APP, and using the GPS functionality of their device, they could see which county they were in, and they would see the bag limits and season dates for that particular county.

The app is free and available for download for apple and android devices. The Outdoor Annual app strives to provide hunters and anglers up-to-the minute information for a successful experience

Find information on where to download the app for free on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website.

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.

Wild Turkey

Radio Telemetry and Cross-timbers Turkeys Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Biologists knew Texas’ historical drought of 2011, in tandem with wildfires at Possum Kingdom SP, affected Rio Grande Wild Turkeys. But how?

06—Our biologists didn’t have much to draw on as far as experience in handling these situations.

Biologist, Kevin Mote.

08— None of us had ever lived through that; and there was really nothing even in the textbooks or the literature to tell us how to proceed from there.

These events became the impetus for a research project that traps and fits turkeys with state of the art transmitters before releasing them to monitor their movements and determine habitat preferences and needs.

21—We can put out numerous transmitters, and it sends a signal up to a satellite, and it collects an exact fix within six to ten feet accuracy. And we can collect eight to 10, 15 or 20
locations everyday on multiple birds without any human effort [to manually track them].

Prior to that, it took more manpower for less return. From this data, biologists form a snapshot—over time—of the turkey’s actual home range.

13—So, we overlay that over soils maps, highway maps, vegetation maps: all the things that we know affect the behavior and the movements of these birds.

Kevin Mote says biologists use this data to improve their ability to assist private landowners who wish to manage for turkeys.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine on an iPad.

Tech: Adding Tech Spice to a Well-Seasoned Magazine Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine has a new app.

09— This is a digital delivery of the magazine; you’ll be able to download it to a device like an iPad, and then you’ll be able to carry it with you.

Publisher, Randy Brudnicki says the app provides the core content of the print edition. But, Art Director Nathan Adams says the experience is entirely new.

21— It would be like if you took Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and handed the sheet music to Yo Yo Ma – a classical cellist – you’d expect a certain performance to come out of that. If you handed it over to Elvis Costello and the Roots, you’re going to get a completely deferent feel; different sound from that experience. Although the core music is the same, the experience is very different.

Elements of discoverability in the app will keep outdoor loving techies engaged, says Brudnicki.

11— So I think people will be able to say: ‘Well, what happens if I touch here? What happens if I hit this button, or swipe this way? What happens? We’ll have some instructions, but we’ll
leave some of that discoverability up to the reader.

Free to download from the iTunes store, the app includes video, audio, and a variety of free content. Readers may purchase the magazine individually or as a subscription—print or digital.

11—You’ll be able to tie in the digital version with your print version if you want, and you can do a combo buy, where you can get both the print and the iPad version for just a few dollars more.

Find details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Evolution of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine

Tech: TPW Magazine Evolves with the Times Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Before Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine Art Director, Nathan Adams started work on an app for the publication, he wanted to know:

03— How do people interact with digital media?

Whereas print readers may find a comfy chair to sit and digest content at a leisurely pace, digital readers consume their content on the go.

06— [So] it was very important to me that we didn’t just take the print version and throw it onto an app.

The app addresses expectations of younger readers coming to the magazine.

08— It‘s not just a matter of reading, but there’s interactivity; there’s an expectation that you can touch and that the app will react to swipes and touches and whatnot.

Adams said these new readers expect traditional print content integrated with the agility, innovation, and depth of a digital platform.

32—[As well as] the expectation of always being connected and of always having whatever information you wanted right at your fingertips. So, for example, if you were reading in the magazine about an activity at a state park, there is an expectation digitally that you should be able to push a button and find out how to get to that state park. How far away is it from where I’m at? Is there a map to that state park? What are the hours? All of that information which would be very labor intensive, very space intensive, in a printed publication becomes just a tap away in a digital version.

The user experience; that’s tomorrow.

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

TPW Magazine App

Tech: New App for TPW Magazine Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the midst of World War II, Texas Game and Fish—the predecessor to Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine—hit newsstands.

09— So, can you imagine what it would be like to start a magazine at that time? We have a print version of the magazine that’s been published continuously since then, and that print version is not going to go away.

Publisher Randy Brudnicki says the 73 year old publication, with black-and-white text and visuals, gave way to modern design, writing and brilliant color photos. What hasn’t changed is its mission to inspire Texans to preserve and enjoy the natural wonders of Texas.

16— We cover most of the concepts that support Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: hunting, fishing, state parks, and other conservation areas. [We have] articles about [the work of] game wardens, biologists…what’s happening with endangered species. Just a big, wide variety of what happens in the [Texas] outdoors.

Audiences change, and Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is keeping pace beginning with digital issues, which require an internet connection to read, to a new app, which doesn’t. Art Director, Nathan Adams.

16— Well, it was very important to me that we didn’t just take the print version and throw it onto an app. Paper and digital are completely different media. And so, when we sat down and said we are going to do an app, it was very important to say how do people interact with digital media.

Insights on that question tomorrow. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti