Passport to Texas

Whooping Cranes in Texas.

Wildlife: Whooping Cranes in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Former Parks and Wildlife biologist, Leeann Linam, has a long history with Whooping Cranes.

11— [chuckles] well, I may age myself here, but we moved to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge when I was 12. And so I guess that means about 40 years or so I’ve been involved with whooping cranes.

Whoopers winter at the refuge, where Leeann’s father worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. After a low of 15 birds, and more than 70 years of conservation, we only reached 300 members in the migrating flock in 2013.

24 – Part of it is the nature of the animal, itself. Whooping cranes are one of these birds designed to be around for a long time. They live 25 to 30 years and more (in captivity). They don’t reproduce until they’re four or five years old; they usually only raise one chick successfully per year. So it just takes a while. You just have to be patient and provide the right conditions for a long time and then the numbers start to add up.

As their population increases and becomes more widespread, maintaining an accurate tally of the birds becomes a challenge. Whoopers are moving farther up the coast away from their traditional wetland habitat.

07 – Some of the rice country in Horton County and most interestingly, in Central Texas, we’ve had some whooping cranes wintering in Williamson County.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and funds rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

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

A fishable population of snook await anglers in the lower Texas Gulf.

Fishing: Unusual Fish Await the Winter Angler Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You don’t have to keep your fishing gear in storage until summer. Head to the coast this winter and reel in some amazing fish!

06—Texas has year-round saltwater fishing and it’s very productive, even in the worst of weather.

While the majority of saltwater anglers cast for red fish, flounder and speckled trout, professional fishing guide and outdoor writer, Danno Wise, recommends casting a wider net, so to speak. He says there are plenty fish in the sea.

40—Down here in the Rio Grande Valley is the only place in the continental United States outside of South Florida there’s a fishable population of snook year round. They’re sensitive to cold so they’re going to go into the deeper portions of our bay systems, but because the fish will be concentrated, we have excellent snook fishing during the winter time. We also have a substantial amount of beachfront fishing which is kind of overlooked. Whiting, which is a simple kind of fish, and the pompano. Very tropical looking species; in Florida, they’re targeted very heavily. Fish such as those are plentiful and good eating, and if you want to target going out just to get out of the house, relax, and catch a few to take home to eat, those are excellent choices.

Grab your gear, some warm clothes, and head to the coast this winter to reel in more than the usual suspects.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series… funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife technician stocks rainbow trout.

Fishing: Winter Trout Stocking, 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re an angler who likes to eat what you catch, then now’s the time to reel in a rainbow trout.

14— We stock them at a catchable and eatable size. They are good fighting fish; they’re relatively easy to catch [and will take nearly any bait]. We usually stock them in smaller bodies of water, so they’re a good fishing, catching opportunity and good eating opportunity as well.

Carl Kittle is a program director for Inland Fisheries, and oversees winter trout stocking in Texas. Distribution began this month and continues through February 2015.

17 – We’ve been stocking [rainbow] trout around Texas for almost 40 years. One interesting note about trout is that we often say there are no established populations of trout in Texas, but actually, way out west in the Davis Mountains there’s a small, tiny stream at high enough elevation that there is a reproducing population of rainbow trout.

It’s just too hot in the rest of the state to sustain rainbow trout populations year round, and so we will stock approximately 290-thousand of the fish in about 140 locations this year…including urban areas. There’s even a new site in Abilene at Grover-Nelson Park Pond

11 – And we have a special program; we actually stock somewhat larger trout in urban areas in our Neighborhood Fishin’ Program. And that’s something that you can specifically look for on our web page.

With the winter holidays here, it’s is a great time go fishing with the kids. Find the stocking schedule and locations at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and funds rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

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

Rainbow trout in hand.

Fishing: Winter Trout Stocking Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re heading into the holiday season; what better way to celebrate than with rainbows – rainbow trout, that is.

13— We do winter stockings when the water temperatures permit it, to provide an opportunity for anglers to catch trout in Texas. It’s a species of fish that anglers wouldn’t catch otherwise, so we stock them, and we intend them all to be caught out during the season.

Carl Kittle is a program director for Inland Fisheries. Drought had an impact on lake levels statewide over the past two years, but things are looking up in 2014.

13 – This year, things are pretty well back to normal. It’s very dry out west, but it looks like our normal level of stocking with our usual yearly increase. In fact, we expect to stock over 140 sites this year.

Texas Parks and Wildlife plans to distribute approximately 290,000 rainbow trout amongst the various locations, including urban neighborhood fishin’ holes.

07 – We publish a schedule on the Texas parks and Wildlife Department webpage. Look for the winter trout stocking link.

Carl Kittle says we stock rainbows in winter because these fish cannot survive our hot summers. So, when you reel one in this winter, take it home and eat it.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and helps to fund rainbow trout stocking in Texas…

We record our series at The Block House in Austin, Texas and Joel Block engineers our program.

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

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum. Photo by Richard Nowitz.

TPW Magazine: Exploring Beaumont, Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Beaumont never seemed like a destination to me. Yet, after reading Sheryl Smith-Rodgers’ article about it in the December issue of TPW Magazine, I’ve reconsidered.

05— I guess I was surprised that there are many museums there.

There’s the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, the Energy Museum, the Fire Museum, the Art Museum of SE Texas, the McFaddin-WardHouse Historic Museum and many others. Plus, there’s good grub.

10 – They have Cajun there since they’re so close to the Louisiana border; Cajun food’s real big there. Seafood – being so close to the Gulf – they have really great seafood.

They have nature, too, and a lot of it, including the Cattail Marsh, a 600-acre manmade wetlands.

30 – It was constructed to treat the effluent from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. But it’s also become a hotspot for birders. They’ve got more than 240 listed bird species there. And, when I was there visiting, just during the course of maybe an hour, it was amazing how many birds that we saw. There’s alligators that have migrated over from the bayou into these wetlands. It’s just a really cool place.

Beaumont. Who knew? Learn more about this town with a little something extra when you read Sheryl Smith-Rodgers Three Days in the Field article called Mixing Oil and Water, in the December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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