NEW TECHNOLOGY, 2: New technologies help biologists 
protect habitat ... details on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles -- UAVs -- look like remote 
controlled planes, and TPW fisheries biologists use them 
to map habitat in reservoirs and rivers for species like 
the Guadalupe bass.

14 -- For species like Guadalupe Bass, we've done a lot of 
research, we understand what their habitat needs are. They rely 
on these boulder complexes, or log complexes. And, we know 
about how much structure we need in different segments of 
river to have healthy populations.

Tim Birdsong oversees the habitat conservation branch at 
Parks and Wildlife. 
 
12 -- By using this unmanned aerial vehicle, to map these 
sections of river, we know where we need to put our 
conservation dollars and our conservation actions on the 
ground to add additional habitat so we can support healthy 
fisheries. 

Applications exist for this and other high tech tools in 
much of the work TPW does. And Birdsong says 
technology like the UAV is a boon to overall conservation 
efforts. 

16 -- The technology better guides our conservation efforts and 
makes better use of available funding that we have within the 
agency. And it also supports our ability to monitor effectiveness 
of our programs, and do some follow-up that we haven't 
historically had time or funding really to be able to devote to 
those things.

That's our show ... with support from the SFWR 
program ... .....providing funding to conserve habitat for 
Texas sport fisheries.... ... 

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




Total sound bite time:		 0:42.0
Maximum Script time:		 0:43.0 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25