Passport to Texas

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

The Federal Sport Fish Restoration program—funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel—funds a variety of conservation projects in Texas. Last year Texas Parks and Wildlife received $20-million from the program.

That funding went to support sport fisheries management, sport fish stocking in Texas waters, fish habitat conservation, enhancement and restoration efforts, and aquatic education.

Timothy Birdsong coordinates the Sport Fish program for Parks and Wildlife.

Fifteen percent of that program is used to perform improvement to boat ramps and other boating access facilities around the state.

Birdsong says this is a successful conservation model—a user pay user benefit program.

The taxes that you contribute as anglers, and as boaters, to this pot of money, is used to improve the resource for you…to provide additional opportunities…provide additional access to these waters. So, it is vital that we continue to have the support of the anglers and the boating community to be able to maintain the program at the level that it is currently.

See how Parks and Wildlife spends these funds when you visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to see how Texas spends the money collected through the Sport Fish Restoration Program.

Sport Fish Restoration Program: Conservation Dollars Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

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

We regularly mention the Sport Fish Restoration Program as a Passport sponsor, but you may not know what it is.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program is a partnership between anglers, boaters, the fishing and boating industry, Texas Parks and Wildlife, other state fish and game agencies across the country and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Timothy Birdsong coordinates the program for Parks and Wildlife. This federal program collects taxes on fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

This funding is distributed across the country to states based on a formula that includes land and water area and number of resident licensed anglers in that state. We had over one million recreational anglers fish Texas waters in 2007. You take that number along with our total land and water area and we position Texas to receive the maximum available apportionment under this program, which is five percent of the total amount of money that is available which is about four hundred million nationwide.

In 2008, Texas Parks and Wildlife received approximately twenty million dollars from this fund, and tomorrow we learn how the money was spent.

It went to support sport fisheries management and sport fish stocking in Texas waters.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Intro to the Sport Fish Restoration Program Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Catfish have a face only a mother and angler could love. Texas Parks and Wildlife television series producer Alan Fisher hooked up with fishermen who were catching cats.

In the story we visit Lake Buchanan in Central Texas, and then Lake Conroe in Southeast Texas. I went out with two folks who target big catfish. And, the folks on Lake Conroe actually landed a thirty-five pounder that night. And, thirty five pounds is a lot of fish when you try and lift it into a boat.

[Groaning and fish flopping] He’s not very happy about all this.

Alan says something called jug fishing is a popular among cat anglers.

[Chuckles] Well, the jug fishing is something I’ve always known about. People take an old milk jug and tie a string around it, and [put a] hook on it, and throw it out in the water.

[With a] jug, you’re increasing your odds a whole lot, because you can put up to five hooks on a jug. It’s a blast. [laughs] I love it.

Catfish are kind of a fun fish. Some people like to see them at the end of a rod, some people like to see them on the dinner plate. But they’re a fun fish any way you choose to enjoy them.

Thanks, Alan. Go to passporttotexas.org for a listing of PBS stations that air the series.

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

Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPW TV: Catching Cats Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Could spending more time in nature help kids with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder?

The research so far suggests that there’s a relationship between contact with nature or playing in green space and improvements in attentional functioning.

Dr. Andrea Faber Taylor researches child environment and behavior at the University of Illinois, http://www.lhhl.uiuc.edu/about.htm. In a recent study, she had children with ADHD take guided, 20-minute walks in a downtown area, a neighborhood, and a city park; then afterward, tested their ability to concentrate.

What we found was that after the children walked in the park they generally scored higher on the measure of attention. And surprisingly, the neighborhood and the downtown area were not significantly different in scores. That said to us, there’s something about the park- either the greenness of it, the amount of trees and plants that it has or the lack of buildings, or both- that makes it perhaps, more restorative, than the other two settings.

These findings match other research as well, which suggest that it’s the setting, not just the activity, that is important.

Based on our work and the work of others, we feel very confident that children benefit from contact with nature or even just what we call green space, a small pocket of trees and grass. Certainly, we’re not suggesting that it’s going to cure a child from ADHD, but it appears to, at least, temporarily reduce their symptoms.

Learn more about this research at passporttotexas.org.

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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News Release:
A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence From a National Study: http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/9/1580

Nature and Child Development, 1 Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories from Texas Parks and Wildlife

[Sound of hogs roaming around.]

Opportunistic eaters that they are, a campsite packed with trail mix and hot dogs would be prize winnings to a pig-except that they’re not always welcome. Hearing a raid on his campsite one night, Shea Prihoda tells us about the scare his grunting visitors gave him.

I was camping once and I was sleeping and I woke up because something fell beside my tent and it caved in. So I started hitting and it started growling like a boar. So I started screaming because I was scared cuz it was right by my head. Then, one of the adults, I heard his tent unzip and he threw something, and then we heard a bunch of boars stampeding through our campsite. Anyone that woke up from my screaming heard it.

That night, the pigs and the food were left unscathed; but another encounter is something Shafer…and the pigs…want to avoid

I would kill a pig if I could these days. Let’s go hunting!

[Sound of hogs]

Frightening or fun: we want to hear your memorable outdoor experience. Share it with us at passporttotexas.org.

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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Wild Boar Recipes

Wild Boar Schnitzel
Wild Game Chili
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Texas Outdoor Story: Shea Prihoda & the Boars Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download