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.

Cooking Crappie at Camp

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Next week, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Tim Spice takes viewers from pole to platter, when he cooks up crappie filets outdoors on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series.

After cleaning, deboning, skinning and drying the fish…

11- We’re going to lightly prep it with a little bit of salt and a little bit of fresh pepper [grinding pepper]. Just a little bit of pepper, though, because crappies are really nice delicate fish, and you don’t want to overpower it.

Next, he dredges the fish in plain cornmeal.

05- I was raised with simple cornmeal; and you’ll get a great fish flavor just this way.

Buttermilk added to the cornmeal makes a thick batter, but if you want to taste the fish, Spice says: less is more. A camp stove supports a cast iron skillet with hot oil.

15- Alright. We’ve got that temperature right where we like it– about 275. Now, we’re just going to take our fish and put ’em right in the oil. Watch your fingers so you don’t splatter that hot grease. We want to cook the crappie for about two minutes on each side. Nice light brown; that keeps it nice, moist, and tender on the inside.

The filets are done and ready to serve in no time.

08– You want to know how your fish are done? Here’s a simple test: take a fork, and if you can break apart the flakes–that means your fish is done.

For an even lighter dish, Tim Spice demonstrates a pan seared, herb rubbed fish recipe the week of Aug. 17 on the TPW PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Texas A & M Forest Service volunteering at Blanco State Park, image from Blanco State Park Facebook Page.

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Texans are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and pitch in when their state parks need them: such as after the Memorial Day Floods.

04– A lot of our friends groups are leading a lot of those efforts.

Audrey Muntz is the new volunteer coordinator for Texas state parks. She says the opportunities are many.

07– Especially for areas where there has been major trail damage, or major damage to work areas or campgrounds.

The floods may have happened three months ago, but volunteer opportunities to get them sorted are ongoing. So, if you thought your chance to help had passed–you’re in luck!

12– And so I know, Ray Roberts has an ongoing effort that will be ongoing throughout the fall. Brazos Bend and Blanco are also having their friends groups run those. And a lot of our other parks have had groups come out and are up and going.

Audrey Muntz recommends checking each park’s Facebook page for the various one-time volunteer opportunities.

She says you can also log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and register to become a volunteer, receive updates, and search a wide variety of available projects.

That’s our show for today’ We record our series in Austin at the Block House; Joel Block engineers our program.

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