Passport to Texas

Cedar Hill State Park after the flood.

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A year ago this time, the majority of the state was in the throes of exceptional drought. That changed Memorial Day weekend 2015 when the skies opened up over Texas.

10- The official status from the US Drought Monitor is that Texas is about 92 percent drought-free right now, which we haven’t seen in many, many years.

And this is good news, says Cindy Loeffler, water resources branch chief at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

11- That’s not to say that every part of the state is completely drought free. If you go up into the Texas Panhandle, there are still some regions up there that would dearly love to have a bit of this rainfall.

For areas that received extreme rainfall, changes are evident, and biologists are optimistic about the short and long term affects.

20- Many of our reservoirs have been so low that you couldn’t even access via boat ramps to go fishing. And so now that situation has been improved. And then a lot of the terrestrial and wildlife biologists are very excited about–not only the conditions now–but going into the fall, for deer, white-tailed deer, mule
deer, migrating waterfowl–that kind of thing in the fall.

You won’t have to wait long to see those outcomes, as fall is right around the corner.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Lake Sommerville, Birch Creek

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After Texas’ 5-year drought, the rainfall Memorial Day weekend was like resetting nature’s clock…

04- When it comes to our thirsty ecosystems across the state.

Cindy Loeffler is water resources branch chief at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

08- The bays and estuaries, with their characteristic salinity levels, having a flush of fresh water–especially at this time of the year–is ideal.

That flush of fresh water will, in time, help improve the productivity of the bays, which serve as nurseries for many of our sport fish species. Yet, Loeffler says productivity could decrease before it rebounds.

10- We may see some setbacks, in terms of impacts to oysters–if the water is too fresh for too long. But long term, we’re very excited about what it means for our coastal estuaries.

Conditions across the landscape have improved, too.

20- One just needs to look out the window, or go outside, and just see how green everything is. All of the vegetation is just very healthy and thriving. Importantly, our pollen producing plants, nectar producing plants, important food sources for insects-butterflies, bees, birds-lots of critters we depend on in Texas.

What are the short and long term effects of this new water windfall?

02- That’s a really great question.

And we try to answer it tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Northern Pintail

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Water affects nearly everything Texas Parks and Wildlife does.

06— We manage the state’s fish and wildlife resources, and of course, they need water to live and thrive.

Cindy Loeffler is water resources branch chief at TPW.

11— Our state parks—people who want to recreate on water—it’s important to have flowing rivers and streams and lakes with water in them. And people. We need water. So, everything we do is affected by water.

After five years of devastating drought, Texas finally received substantial rainfall Memorial Day weekend; but it was too much, too fast. It caused flooding in parts of the state, which resulted in loss of property and life. Even so, it left behind a glimmer of hope.

22— There are benefits to the ecosystem. So, everything from seeing rivers flowing once again—reconnecting with the floodplain; very important for the riparian vegetation along rivers and streams. Flushing out some of the nuisance aquatic species… These rainfall events are sort of like resetting a clock when it comes to our thirsty ecosystems across the state.

Now that we have water—what’s next? Find out on tomorrow’s show.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Texas Drawn Hunts.

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This is Passport to Texas

It’s time to put in for drawn hunts. The drawn hunts system is online only; adult application fees are $3 per adult, except Private Lands and Guided Hunt categories, which are $10. No application or permit fees for youth applicants or supervising adults on Youth Only hunts.

16—Our applications are not all at one time; they’re actually distributed through the month of August into January. We have regular gun/deer in September, and feral hog and exotics…and some of the later hunts for feral hog and spring turkey will actually go into December and January.

Kelly Edmiston, public hunting coordinator, says selection notification will be faster than ever.

20— We will probably be able to draw one to three business days after a deadline because we’re not having to rely on data and mail and late arriving applications. Before you had to get it here by 5 o’clock the day of the deadline. Now, because it’s online, you’ll basically have until that last day – probably up until 11:59 [p.m.]—to be able to submit an application.

Preference points of the past are loyalty points today.

22— You can now apply more than once within a category. Your loyalty points will still apply to each application you submit in that category equally. So, if you have five preference points for a
gun/deer either sex category, and you submit three gun/deer either sex applications, each at a different area, you’re going to get five points on each of your three.

Find a full list of the applications deadlines on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Hunting for white-tailed deer.

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People interested in hunting, born on or after September 2, 1971, must take a hunter education training course. However, Nancy Herron, says there is a way around it—at least temporarily.

09—Anyone who has not been certified by the time they turn seventeen, can go and get a deferral. They must buy a hunting license, and ask for deferral type 1-6-6 at the point of sale.

Herron is director of Outreach and Education. The deferral allows people to hunt as long as a certified licensed hunter accompanies them.

05—And if you like it, go get certified; you have by August 31st of the current license year to do that.

It costs $10 for a deferral. The deferral program started in 2005, and about 10-thousand people sign up each year.

14—It offers an opportunity for someone who has not hunted before to give it a try and it brings in lapsed hunters. If they’ve been out of hunting for awhile, and didn’t get certified, they can come in, take the deferral, and then have an opportunity to get back into the outdoors.

A deferral may only be obtained once and is only valid until the end of the current license year; after that, hunters must complete the certification course.

Find hunter education information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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