Passport to Texas

Gear: Choosing Hiking Boots Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

While it’s tempting to wear flip flops and sandals when visiting state parks and natural areas, if your goal is to hike trails or tread through other wooded or rocky terrains, you’ll need something sturdier and safer on your feet.

Choose the right shoe for the activity. If ambling along a relatively smooth, well maintained trail is your speed, then a light hiking shoe may suffice. They’re a more robust version of a running shoe, with great support and a flexible mid sole for comfort.

Next up is the hiking boot. These can be mid or high cut and take a little time to break in. Both mid cut and high cut boots wrap around the ankle. High cut boots provide greater stability and support. Overall, hiking boots are good to wear on day hikes when carrying light loads. If you commonly carry 40 pounds or more when hiking, a high cut boot will give you the best support.

Backpacking boots are the next boot in the lineup when it comes to support and durability. They generally have a stiff mid sole and may be mid to high cut to help prevent ankle roll when carrying heavier loads.

The sturdiest boot is the mountaineering boot. This is outdoor footwear at its most tough, supportive and durable. They’re heavier boots made to help you carry heavier loads. They’re also able to accommodate crampons should you find yourself scuttling up a glacier.

That’s our show. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Nature: Why Wildflowers? Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas roadsides will be awash in colorful wildflowers soon. Dr. Damon Waitt, senior botanist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, says these and other native plants have a place in the built landscape as well as nature’s landscape.

61—Natives provide really important ecosystem services for local wildlife, pollinators.

There are a lot of people who might look at wildflowers and native plants and say, gosh, how do those fit into my idea of a formal landscape. That’s something we’re really trying to fight—that concept that if you’re a native plant enthusiast, then your yard must look wild and unkempt. At the wildflower center, we model different design styles using native plants, and you can use native plants in very high designs and very formal designs if that’s the look you’re going for.

Find plants that are right for you at wildflower.org.

That’s our show…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Boating: Boater Education Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The weather is beginning to warm up, and Texans are making plans to get out on the water. But before setting foot on deck, consider taking a boater education course.

15—There’s a lot more people on the water. We’ve seen a major increase in canoes and kayaks. So people out here have to share the waterways. And the rules are different than they are for rules of the road when you’re driving your vehicle. So, it’s just a good idea to know some of those rules and the differences.

Texans learn those rules and differences in boater education classes. Tim Spice, who oversees the program for Texas Parks and Wildlife, says while training is beneficial for everyone who plans to operate personal watercraft, or vessels over 15 horsepower, or wind-blown vessels over 14 feet—it is mandatory for some.

15—If you were born after September 1, 1993, you are required to have boater education certification with you to operate one of those boats we’ve mentioned. The easiest way right now to get that class is online. We have an online provider—Boat Texas—very good program.

Find a schedule of classes on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

15—You can get on there, take the class, take the test, and then [if you pass], receive a temporary certification and you can go right out and immediately use the vessel legally. We have courses all over the state at our website, so you can come to our website [and sign up for a classroom instruction] if you prefer having an instructor help you out.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

TPW MAGAZINE: The Best of Texas' Natural World Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The April issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine introduces readers to the best our state’s natural world has to offer… through the eyes of those who protect it. Editor, Louie Bond.

62—We’re doing our Annual Best of Texas feature, and we search out all the best natural things in Texas, whether it’s a kind of insect, or a kind of animal or a place to go or a great activity.

So we hope now that it’s spring and warm outside that everyone will get outside and visit some of these great places and learn more about the wild world.

Thanks, Louie.

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

State Parks: Spring Awakenings Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It feels good to be outside in a state park again after the miserable heat and drought of this past summer and the chill and wet of winter. But as our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, tells us, we aren’t the only ones stirring this spring.

65—The animals and bugs and things that live in our parks all the time, this is their first time to get out and stretch their legs and see the sunshine and do all that. So we want to encourage people of some basic safety tips when they’re going outside to remember.

So, more than anything, a modest amount of practical sense and just respect for nature will keep everybody safe and [create] a happy, enjoyable outdoor experience for you and for the residence of the four-legged kind that live there all the time.

Thanks, Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.