Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Hunting and fishing licenses go on sale August 15.

The best license we have is the Super Combo, which includes all of the hunting tags; the freshwater and saltwater privileges for fishing…so it’s sort of an all-inclusive package.

The only other thing a hunter needs is the federal duck stamp, if duck hunting is on the agenda, says Tom Newton, license revenue manager. He adds that license fees have gone up this year across the board.

The average recreational license went up from two to five dollars; and of course, the non-residents went up a little bit more than that. But we haven’t increased license prices since 2004.

Newton says Parks and Wildlife does everything in its power to avoid fee increases; the current adjustment keeps up with inflation. When you consider what you pay for recreational gear, a license, says Newton, is a bargain.

The cost of a license, whether it’s hunting or fishing, usually is the smallest cost that you have in your activity. A fishing license for example—freshwater—is 28 dollars, and it will be going to 30 dollars this year. The price increases that we have implemented this year, have averaged five percent, or just a little over five percent.

Licenses are available at 1600 locations statewide or online at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… made possibly by a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

The Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series talks turkey this month. Series producer, Don Cash explains.

One of the really fun things we’re going to do in August is go Turkey hunting.

[turkey gobble] Oh…did you hear what I just heard? That was a gobbler back down in the creek bottom, guys. [Mockingbird, turkey gobble].

Spring turkey hunting is real big in the state of Texas; and, went on a turkey hunt down in McMullen County, which is halfway between San Antonio and Corpus Christi with some folks. And they really had a great time on the hunt.

Hunting Rio Grande turkeys in south Texas…it just can’t be beat.

One of the things they’re trying to do is sort of outsmart the turkeys, and try and figure out where they turkeys are going to be. And, sometimes it takes a little time, and sometimes the turkeys are just smarter than the hunters are.

Yeah, it’s kind of a game. And sometimes the turkeys win and sometimes we win. We spent three days patterning the turkeys; we finally outsmarted them.

What this is really about is old friends getting together and enjoying the outdoors and hunting and really using that as an excuse to get up and see the sunrise.

Thanks, Don.

That’s our show, made possible by a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife restoration Program…working to increase fishing, boating, shooting and hunting opportunities in Texas.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

When you hear the word tilapia, you may think of a savory meal with lemon butter sauce, but you probably don’t think of the term “invasive species.”

The tilapia are great to eat. They’re raised as a food fish, and they’re quite tasty. They’re quite popular in restaurants. But the problem is when they’re in our natural waters they are upsetting the ecosystem.

Tilapia have been in Texas for decades. They were originally brought in as a food source to be raised in fish farms, but eventually made they’re way into Texas waters.

Gary Garrett, a Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologist, says tilapia can be a threat to large mouth bass and other native species.

They build big pit nests and in doing that they stir up a lot of the settlement. And it’s been shown, for example, with large mouth bass, all that sediment stirred up and settling back down will often kill large mouth bass eggs.

When tilapia do this, they can potentially damage the entire ecosystem because of the intricate food chain.

Texas Parks and Wildlife does have state regulations for tilapia, but because tilapia are found all over the state, they are difficult to control. But if you like to fish, Garrett says you can help.

Don’t throw them back. If you catch them, keep them.

So next time you catch a tilapia, turn on the grill and get cooking. You’ll be doing yourself and the Texas ecosystem a favor.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Craig Hensley is park specialist at Guadalupe River SP. For years, he’s kept track of birds for research and education purposes by banding them. He shares what his work means to him.

I’ve just started banding here but where I banded back in Nebraska for years, you got to a point where you would see certain birds year after year. And there were some woodpeckers, for example, I think I saw for six or seven years. So when you catch a bird that’s been banded, you look it up and go, “Wow! Who is this?” It’s just, for me a wonderful love of birds that I have.

We were fortunate enough, a couple of months ago, that we had a lady here, the eagle lady. She visits lots of state parks with some birds of prey, and she happened to be in our park on a weekend we were bird banding. And only the second time in all the years I’ve been involved in bird banding we caught a hawk. A sharp-shinned hawk that had chased a bird into the net and that was a treat! I don’t band hawks, I’m not permitted to do that, but we were able to take the bird out of the net, get our pictures made with it and marvel at just a spectacular bird. Best part of the whole thing was it took three of its talons and dug ‘em into my fingers when I was trying to get him out. So when that bird flew off, he actually flew off with a little piece of my skin I think still attached to a talon, which I actually loved, it was like “I’m flying free!” So, it’s kind of odd, but that was a special treat.

One man’s odd is another man’s special treat. Thanks, Craig.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Sarah Loden… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

If you plan on hunting migratory game birds in Texas this fall, you need to be HIP – HIP certified, that is. HIP stands for Harvest Information Program.

Its purpose is to gain information on waterfowl and migratory bird hunters nationwide. Basically a name and address and a little bit about their previous year’s hunting activity—as well as what they plan on hunting what they plan on hunting in the upcoming year.

Kevin Kraai is Assistant Waterfowl Program Leader. He says the HIP program helps wildlife professionals improve resource management practices as well as track various waterfowl populations throughout the country.

It’s a very useful tool in setting the future year hunting regulations and management decisions.

Being a HIP certified waterfowl hunter isn’t just a good idea—it’s the law.

Officially, it is a requirement by law that every individual that plans on hunting migratory birds in the state of Texas us HIP certified. If you are not HIP certified and you are hunting migratory game birds, you are subject to game violations.

We have a link to information about becoming HIP certified at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…made possible by a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel

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

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