50 MILESTONES, 1: The union of two agencies fifty years 
ago continues benefitting Texas ... details on Passport to 
Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

A legislative act in 1963 merged the Texas State Parks 
Board and the Texas Game and Fish Commission, creating 
a new agency ... 

03 -- ... called Texas Parks and Wildlife; and now we're fifty years 
old. 

Mike Cox is a spokesman for the department. We're 
observing TPW's fifty year anniversary throughout 2013, 
highlighting milestones from the past five decades.

16- A personal favorite of mine is the stocking of rainbow trout 
in Texas. They're not native to the state, but they're pretty tasty 
and they're fun to catch. And so, starting in 1965, shortly after 
the merger, the department started stocking rainbow trout in 
urban areas, and of course in the Guadalupe River.

Trout stocking, the legislature's ruling that made redfish 
and sea trout game fish, as well as giving game wardens 
full law enforcement authority are a few of the agency's 
tangible achievements. There are intangibles, too. 

23- The department is always working to improve the 
environment. The game wardens enforce the anti-pollution laws 
- that often doesn't get a lot of publicity - but they're working 
toward keeping our water safer and cleaner. We do work to 
encourage people to practice water conservation; if somebody 
hears our message that it's better to rip out your St. Augustine 
and put in rocks, that saves the whole system.

Mike Cox says while those efforts transpire with little 
fanfare, they have a long-lasting impact on the well-being 
of every citizen of the state.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration project supports 
our series ... . For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia 
Nasti.


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Maximum Script time:		 0:43.0 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25