BAYS & ESTUARIES, I: Bay systems are full of surprises ... 
details ahead on Passport to Texas
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Passport to Texas from TPWD and the SFWR Program

When you first visit a bay system, remember you can't 
judge a book by its cover.

When people come down to my area, here around the 
Matagorda Bay system - salt marshes are notorious mosquito 
breeding habitat. And they smell kind of funny because the 
vegetation that grows there is decaying. Sometimes the mud 
smells like sulfur and there's mosquitoes and all kinds of biting 
little gnat type bugs. [:18]

That may not sound like paradise, but Matagorda Bay 
ecosystem leader, Bill Balboa, says you have to look 
beyond the obvious to find the beauty and value of these 
waterlogged areas.

The philosophy in the past was these are giant, smelly mud 
holes. We need to fill them in because they're worthless. After a 
few years and a little education you look at them and it changes 
your whole perspective, because you know exactly what their 
purpose is -- it becomes something very, very important and 
integral to the estuaries on the coast. [:18]

Think of a bay as your community. In that community you 
have estuaries, which are the homes where the children 
grow and develop. The marshes and wetlands are like the 
grocery stores and playgrounds for everyone living in the 
bay system community.

I think if people came down here like at this time of the year 
and looked at all the little wading birds hatching on some of the 
islands, I know they would change their perspective. [:09]

That's our show for today. The Sport Fish and Wildlife 
Restoration Program supports our series, and works to 
increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating 
opportunities in Texas. 

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