Passport to Texas

Outdoor Activity: Picnicking in State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

May kicks off picnic season in Texas and Angela Shelf Medearis—an Austin-based author and cook whose moniker is The Kitchen Diva—shares tips for a stress-free picnic in the park.

62— Well, let me give you Diva Picnic 101. For one – make foods that you could do in advance. If I was doing a picnic, I would have something like a really good roast chicken; just cut the pieces up and pack those in there. I do a Carolina Cole Slaw; you toss it up, throw it in the refrigerator – it gets better day-by-day. So, if you want to do that ahead you could. You don’t have to worry about having to do everything that day. That takes all the fun out of the picnic to me if you’re trying to do all the food prep, and pack everything, and get everybody to the park. So, start your picnic a few days ahead. Use a lot of fresh fruits for dessert. The thing about a picnic that I love is you can totally unplug and really focus on the people you should be paying the most attention to. You can get out in nature; we have some beautiful parks. Some beautiful places to go in Texas. And, it gives you a chance to really focus on the most important things: your family, nature, the beauty of life… So, do a little planning ahead, and pick dishes that will be fine hot or cold, and you can’t go wrong for a great picnic.

Watch the Diva prepare her Cole Slaw recipe at passporttotexas.org.

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

Black Bear Mother and cub enjoying a cool dip in a Hill Country water trough.

Wildlife: Drought and the Black Bear's Return Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By the 1960s, the Mexican black bear disappeared from its historic range in Texas because of shooting, trapping and habitat loss. Over the past few years, though, we’ve seen its gradual return from across the border in Mexico.

16—You know, Mexico sustained some huge wildfires during the drought, and it destroyed a lot of habitat for bears, and sent a lot of the young ones and a lot of the – any of the hungry ones – on long walkabouts looking for food. And a certain number of those ended up in Texas.

When I asked Texas Parks and Wildlife mammalogist, Jonah Evans, whether the bears were here to stay, he said “it depends.”

33—Whether or not they’re here to stay depends on how good an area they’re able to find for food. So, if they find suitable habitat, they find good food resources, if they find a female – or if there is a female here for reproduction – then we could end up with potentially a couple of little pocket populations of bears in some remote ranches and stuff out in the Western Hill Country. And, you know, I suspect we have a few stragglers out in the Hill Country right now. Although, we haven’t had nearly the number of sightings in the last year that we had previously.

Do we need to be concerned for our safety with the return of black bears to Texas? We answer that question tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Mother Black Bear and cub in Big Bend National Park.

Wildlife: Black Bears Back in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The American Black bear is returning to parts of its native range in Texas after a long absence.

13—When Europeans got to Texas, black bears roamed across the entire state. And it wasn’t until the 1950s when they were almost completely wiped out. I think by the 60s they were completely wiped out, and then slowly started coming back.

Sightings of the Louisiana black bear, a threatened subspecies found in east Texas, trickle into Texas Parks and Wildlife; the animals are usually lone males meandering across the Texas-Oklahoma border. It’s a different story for the Mexican black bear, says Texas Parks and Wildlife mammalogist, Jonah Evans.

30—The Mexican black bear seems to be making the biggest comeback right now. And these are bears coming across from Mexico – the del Carmen region, sort of across from Big Bend National Park. In 2011 we had sightings in a huge number of counties where we haven’t seen them before, like Mennard County, Valverde County, Crockett County, and all the way down south in Star County and Webb County. So, we had a lot of bears moving around.

What’s bringing these south-of-the-border bears back into Texas? Mammalogist, Jonah Evans, returns tomorrow to share his thoughts.

That’s our show for today…Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Battle of San Jacinto

Event: San Jacinto Day Celebration Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of the best historic reenactments in Texas commemorates the April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto.

03— That’s the highlight of our educational program.

Larry Spasic (SPA-sick) is president of the San Jacinto Museum of History. The FREE annual San Jacinto Day Festival, April 26, commemorates that game-changing battle.

28—We reenact the surrender of General Santa Ana, the runaway scrape in 1836 when Texan settlers were running away from the advance of the Mexican army. And then they also reenact the battle. There is a Mexican camp and a Texian camp; inside of those camps you have reenactors in period uniforms who are very familiar with history – answering questions in character. It’s the
closest thing you can get to going back in time.

The reenactment isn’t the only fun to be had that day.

25—We bring in naturalists, historical organizations…we have a show of native birds of Texas. Medicine men. We have petting zoos. We have musicians. We have people quilting and spinning, and we even have square dancers. We have a children’s area; and we have make and take crafts. It is a wonderful safe, educational, free family event.

You will find information for the April 26 San Jacinto Day Festival on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Student Fish Art

Art/Fish: The Fish Art Contest Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The State Fish Art contest—a nationwide art competition, with support from the William E. Armentrout Foundation and Friends of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, is about more than pretty pictures.

05—The idea is to get the students involved in art and science and the out of doors

Zoeann Stinchcomb, with the Texas Freshwater Fisheries center in Athens, says K through twelfth graders may compete by submitting a drawing or painting of a state fish. (Unlike the fourth through twelfth grade participants, the K through third grade entrants will not be required to submit an essay.)

11—Our state fish in Texas is the Guadalupe Bass. However, Texas students are not limited to drawing just the Guadalupe Bass. They can draw any recognized state fish from around the country.

Students from across the nation compete for prizes and a chance to have their artwork reprinted on a conservation stamp.

22—The competition in Texas is stiff; we have more entries generally every year than any other state, and sometimes more than all the other states combined.

For one thing, we promote it quite a lot, and also we give good prizes, and we have a big state, and you know, I just think that for some reason the people in Texas have realized the value of the contest.

Deadline to submit an entry is March 31. Find contest details at www.statefishart.com.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport fish and Wildlife Restoration program…providing funding for management of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

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