LEGACIES: JESSE GRANTHAM: Meet a man who reminds us 
that it's easier for humans to make behavioral changes 
than it is for wildlife ... on Passport to Texas Legacies
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Passport to Texas Legacies ... from Texas Parks and 
Wildlife 

Jesse Grantham, former Texas director of bird 
conservation for the National Audubon Society, reminds 
us that shorebirds, such as the piping plover, cannot 
adapt to our recreational beach use ... such as driving, 
picnicking and volleyball.

If the amount of traffic and the conditions on the beach 
increase so the amount of time that these birds can spend on 
their territories is less and less ... they are heading toward 
endangered species status, there's no way they can get out of 
it; they can't change their feeding behavior; they can't change 
their biology; they can't change 10,000 years of evolution. We 
can change by encouraging people not to drive 60 MPH down 
the beach and swerve over into the surf and flush these birds 
off; or there are areas where you put people to have volley ball 
courts and picnics and that sort of thing so that you're not 
down right on the beach disturbing the birds. The question is, 
how do we deal with just that one issue. That's just one bird 
and one set of issues. And are we willing to put the time and 
effort into changing our behavior so that this bird is not then 
put on the endangered species list. :58

Our show is produced in cooperation with the 
Conservation History Association of Texas. Visit them at 
texaslegacy.org. 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.