Passport to Texas

Bernie Kessner teaching archery to teachers.

Archery in Schools: The Great Equalizer Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Archery—the original shooting sport—fell out of favor as a component of physical education in public schools some years ago. But, now, thanks to the National Archery in Schools program, interest in the sport is growing fast.

The National Archery in Schools program certifies teachers as instructors. Educators learn the program just as they will teach it to their students.

It’s an all day workshop to become a certified instructor. They learn with the same equipment and the same method.

Burnie Kessner is archery coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

We use international style archery. It’s bulls-eye target faces, Olympic size. We use Olympic whistle commands, and they learn the same way worldwide.

Kessner says while certified instructors prepare students for tournaments, the successes a child experiences extend beyond the bulls-eye.

So, when a kid is shooting archery, and they’re on the shooting line—they’re all the same. So, it doesn’t matter what kind of home they go home to after the tournament, when they’re at the tournament, they’re the same as everyone else. So, that’s the self-esteem building piece; it’s standardized.

Learn more about bringing the Archery in Schools program to your district on the Texas parks and Wildlife Website.

Our series receives support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program… working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Dove hunting in Texas

Longer Dove Season in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The fall hunting season gets underway with the dove season opener, which is September 1 in the north and central zones, and September 23 in the south zone.

Thanks to season dates adopted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently, Texas dove hunters can look forward to the longest season in 80 years.

Although the traditional opening dates established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remain fixed, a new 90-day season this fall means hunters will have 20 more days of opportunity compared to previous years.

To take advantage of birds migrating into the state, the additional days are being integrated early in the season, as well as at the end of the season in the Special White-winged Dove Area. This will provide more wing-shooting opportunities.

During the general season, the aggregate bag limit is 15 with no more than two white-tipped doves.

During the early two weekends in the Special White-winged Dove Area, hunting is allowed only in the afternoon and the daily bag limit is 15 birds, to include not more than two mourning doves and two white-tipped doves.

Check out the Outdoor Annual for seasons and bag limits on all game species in Texas.

The Wildlife restoration program supports our series.

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

The Mallard is the most common of the dabbling ducks.

Getting to Know Dabblers and Divers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

What do gadwalls…pintails…teal…wigeons… redheads and shovelers have in common?

That’s right. They’re ducks…waterfowl. They’re also game birds. But the similarities don’t end there. These fowl are further grouped by another characteristic.

There’re two different types of ducks, there’re dabblers and there’re divers.

Dave Morrison is the waterfowl program leader at Parks and Wildlife. Neither of the descriptions—diver nor dabbler—fully conveys what to expect from these birds.

And the difference is the way they feed. How they’re bodies are made up. Dabblers tend to have their feet more centered, whereas, divers are in the back of the body. Dabblers jump, spring into the air, whereas diving ducks pitter patter along the water.

Still not sure whether you would be able to distinguish a dabbling duck from a diving duck? Then, consider the following next time you see a flock of fowl feeding at a lake, stock pond or reservoir:

Dabblers feed at or near the water’s surface by filtering food… and they often tip upside down in the water to reach food at the bottom of a pond.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Turkey at the Matador WMA

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Seven miles north of Paducah… in the Texas Panhandle… the Matador Wildlife Management Area offers about 28-thousand acres of rolling grasslands.

Former assistant area manager, Bill Adams, said it’s open to the public.

It’s open throughout the year for hiking, bird watching, nature tours, horseback riding… We have 76-miles of road on the area, and it will take you through a diversity of landscapes.

The site is off limits to the casual visitor only a few times a year.

We have a few hunts during the year that it’s closed. And those are our gun hunts for feral hogs, and deer and also for our spring turkey hunts.

Adams says turkey hunting is strictly regulated on the Matador.

We’ve got three good roosting sites for those turkeys, but they’re range is limited to those roost sites. We have to regulate the number of hunters we allow to take those Toms. We also have to consider natural mortality of the turkey population in the area. We want to be careful with what we harvest. Regulating that harvest is a way we can provide for public hunting but also provide for betterment of the turkey population on the Matador.

That’s our show… made possible in part by the Wildlife Restoration Program… helping to fund the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas.

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

Sharon Cundiff, Owner and Lead Instructor with Straight-N-Arrow Archery, pictured with her first deer by rifle. An Axis doe taken in Del Rio.

Women Hunters and Why They Hunt Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Although I am not a hunter, I attended an all-woman hunting trip to the Texas Hill Country to learn about it.

I met women on the trip who were long-time hunters as well as others who were on their first hunts. Tami Crawford was the hunt coordinator, and explained the purpose of the event.

We’re trying to get women involved in the outdoors, and to take some of the mystery out of the sport of hunting. Before it’s just been something that the guys go do.

Ten women in all went on the trip. Each brought a guide with them. First time hunter, Millissa Salinas of Austin, brought her father Ralph.

I’ve always wanted to experience the outdoors, and I thought the perfect opportunity to bond with my father would be this event so he could show me the rope and experience some special memories together.

Millissa, like all of the women on the trip, was enthusiastic about the experience.

It was extremely exciting. We’d been preparing for it for about a month. He had taken me target shooting, I had borrowed a rifle. So I’d been anticipating the whole excitement for some time now. So when the actual moment came to pull the trigger, it was extremely exciting.

Millissa harvested two deer on that trip. Hunting with other women and her father made for an experience that Millissa intends to recreate with other family members.

We definitely want to get involved more in the outdoors. And I have a younger sister that we’re going to try to encourage to join us.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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