March 7th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
Once the weather warms, you’ll want to get on the water and the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s PBS series can help. Producer, Abe Moore.
55—One of the stories I’m working on for the television show is the Texas Parks and Wildlife Paddling Trails Program. One of the places I went that’s really popular is the Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail down along the coast at Aransas Pass.
It’s very secluded. It’s very peaceful. A lot of these lakes are kayak only. It’s just so shallow and so rocky in a lot of places; the only way to get through is in a kayak.
While Lighthouse Lakes was really fun as far as a coastal trail, I went to do a river trail—the Guadalupe River between Austin and San Antonio—which is a really, really beautiful stretch of paddling.
This section of the Guadalupe River is very peaceful. You don’t see a lot of development along here. You just hear birds, and the sound of your paddle going through the water.
The paddling trails are all publicly accessible. There are put ins and take outs. The best part is, you get folks out on the water, and you’re not worried about trespassing, or having any property issues.
Thanks, Abe.
The story airs the week of March 27. Go to lifesbetteroutside.org/paddling for more information.
That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…providing funding for boat ramps in Texas.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Kayaking, TPWD TV | Comments Off on TPW TV–Paddling Trails
March 4th, 2011
This is passport to Texas Outdoor Stories
Bill Harwell’s paternal grandmother and his great aunt loved to fish… and often invited Bill and his cousin to share the adventure.
59—One night I got the exciting news that my great aunt had come into possession of what we called a pontoon boat. But the even better part of it was we were going to go night fishing, which we had never done before. Her living in Atlanta, the best place to put in was a big lake, just southwest of Texarkana called Wright Patman Lake. And so my cousin and I – we were probably about eight…nine…ten years old at the time…this is around 1960 -61 something like that — get all of our gear aboard the two of us and these two ladies… They tell us they’d been told that the best thing to attract fish, above and beyond the worms and the minnows, is to hang a couple of lanterns off the side of the pontoon boat…. maybe that is the best way to do it… but my main recollection of this was just this incredible plague-like swarm of June bugs, mosquitoes…getting bugs of all sorts and shapes in our soft drinks….up our noses….we did do some good fishing, but the overwhelming remaining impression of night fishing for me is lots and lots of bugs.
Share your Texas outdoor memory… by logging onto passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
Posted in Fishing, Outdoor Stories | Comments Off on Texas Outdoor Story: Bill, the Boat, and the Bugs
March 3rd, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
March is traditionally the month when students—from elementary school on up—have spring break. The coast is a popular destination for spring breakers, and our State Park guide, Bryan Frazier suggests they consider meeting in the middle.
40—I want to look at the middle coast of Texas, which is a traditional spring break spot. You have Goose Island State Park, and Mustang Island State Park. And, Mustang Island, over by Aransas Pass has five miles of beach…you can do beach camping and tent camping on the beach, you can do RV camping. And the water is great with the big surf waves and bird—it’s just fantastic. Goose Island is more bay front, but you’ve got campsites all along the bay; you can fish from your campsite and the picnic shelter’s there. It’s a great destination for spring break. You’re not far from Corpus Christi on either Goose island or Mustang Island, so there’s lots to do. And, it’s easy access. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Thanks, Bryan.
That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years.
Visit the Parks and Wildlife website to reserve your campsite.
We record our series at Block House Studios…Joel Block engineers our program.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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March 2nd, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
The Wildlife and State Parks Divisions teamed up to make history in December 2010 with the reintroduction of desert bighorn sheep at Big Bend Ranch State Park.
13—Today is a historic day for the wildlife division and state parks, because this is one of our more significant wildlife conservation efforts, where we’re collaborating with state parks to reintroduce a species that hasn’t been here in decades.
Clayton Wolf is Wildlife Division Director. Using a helicopter and nets, biologists removed animals from Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, and transported them by trailer to Big Bend Ranch, about an hour and a half away.
20—[helicopter] We’re capturing bighorn sheep, of course, and we’re transplanting them to Big Bend Ranch State Park. They’re part of our natural history out here in West Texas. They were here long before any of us showed up. They’re part of the natural ecosystem out there, and of course, that’s part of our mission to restore those species that have been out here. And, of course, bighorn sheep they’re a flagship species for these mountains.
The animals underwent testing, and most were fitted with radio transmitters, to track them over time.
11—Our bighorn sheep restoration program has been very successful. So, this is just one of those steps in the process. There’s a lot of other private land tracts and public land tracts we hope to restore sheep to one day.
Watch the bighorn sheep relocation effort when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife YouTube channel.
That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… funding bighorn sheep restoration work in Texas.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Conservation, Land/Water Plan | Comments Off on Bighorn Sheep Restoration
March 1st, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
Texas is home to hundreds of bird species, and Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Producer, Alan Fisher, explains how a couple of segments in March programming are for the birds.
We are featuring a story on quail—Northern Bobwhite quail are in decline across the US, faring better in Texas than some places, but it’s still a concern. Um, and we meet with some landowners and biologists who are trying to help the quail stay around.
Across the south, the Bobwhite populations have been declining for several decades.
As with most birds, the quail question is really a question of habitat.
Quail need to have a place where they can roost, and they need a place to rest, and they need a place for cover from hawks or any other type of predator.
I’d like to welcome you all to Estero Llano Grande State Park…
The World Birding Center locations in the Rio Grande Valley are some of the best places to view birds anywhere in America. And there are nine parks that make up the World Birding center, and Estero Llano Grande is going to be featured in the end of March.
In the park, we have approximately 216 bird species recorded. On just a regular day, you can sit on this deck for an hour or two, and easily spot 30-40 species of birds.
It’s a small park with a whole mess of birds.
Thanks, Alan.
That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…providing funding for boat ramps in Texas.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Birding, Conservation | Comments Off on TPW TV: For the Birds
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