March 20th, 2008
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, near Fredericksburg, is a haven for rock climbers in central Texas.
They can expect to see other folks doing the same thing they are, that are rock climbing.
Reynaldo Sierra is the Park Manager. The popularity of the park’s climbs has created a strong climbing community.
More than likely they expect to find someone who is climbing at their level, whether they are a beginning climber, an intermediate climber or an advanced climber and be able to climb with these individuals in certain areas.
The climbing community at Enchanted Rock is more than just a resource for other climbers.
Climbing has built a friendly respectful community at the park. One that assists with other areas, one that has assisted with volunteer projects and the upkeep of the trails scattered throughout the site. So it has provided Enchanted Rock a volunteer base that is a big resource to the site and that helps us tremendously with the day to day upkeep of our facilities.
Sierra encourages those with questions about climbing at Enchanted Rock to contact park staff for information.
More information about climbing, including maps of Enchanted Rock are available at passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Podcasts, Shows, State Parks | Comments Off on Climbing Enchanted Rock
March 19th, 2008
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Enchanted Rock is a rock climber’s wonderland.
The park is 1,640 acres. The rock itself makes up about 640 acres of that.
Reynaldo Sierra is the Park Manager at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Based on the history of climbing in the park, modern climbing began during the 1930’s when some of the locals began to climb in this area. In the 1970’s, there was an expansion into climbing occurring during the park. Since that time, it has become and still is one of the more popular rock climbing areas in Texas and probably even the US.
There’s a route at Enchanted Rock for just about everybody.
Well the park has technical climbs, which are of course, the rope climbs, the face climbs and the crack climbs. And we also have bouldering, which is the free style climbing, an ample amount of it scattered throughout the park. Hundreds and hundreds for all age groups. There’s plenty of climbing available. It provides a little bit of everything to wet any climbing appetite.
More on climbing tomorrow.
More information at passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Podcasts, Shows, State Parks | Comments Off on Scenic Views from Enchanted Rock
March 18th, 2008
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Until recently, I did not know hummingbirds ate insects.
Well, if you think about it, an animal that’s swinging it’s arms at 72 times a second, needs something to rebuild those muscles that it’s exercising in there. And, without protein, they’re not going to build muscle.
So, if you find insects, such as bees, snacking at your hummingbird feeder, Mark Klym says, don’t panic.
People get all excited when bees get around their hummingbird feeder. And, bees are a great food for hummingbirds. I’ve watched them take bees out of the air.
Klym coordinates the Texas Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen science project where folks like you help biologists take stock of hummers.
We ask people to have a look out in the backyard once a week, about fifteen, twenty minutes a week, and give us a count of what birds [hummingbirds] you’re seeing out there. How many? What Species? What are they using? And then, if you see anything unusual—you find a nest, you see mating behavior—we ask you to record it and let us know about it. Once a year we have these forms sent back in and right now we’re reviewing the data from the 2007 season.
Download an information packet about the roundup, and find out where you can purchase a hummingbird identification wheel at passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Birding, Podcasts, Shows, Volunteering, Wildlife | Comments Off on Hummingbird Roundup
March 17th, 2008
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
If you’ve never seen a hummingbird in your part of Texas, it’s not because they aren’t around.
There’s not a county in Texas where you won’t see at least two species of hummingbird. In fact, there’s not a state in the United States—with the exception of Hawaii—that doesn’t have at least two hummingbird species.
Okay, maybe that is not a lot of hummers, but they are out there. Mark Klym coordinates the Texas hummingbird Roundup. He says Texas has 18 species of hummingbirds, and one region boasts the most.
Certainly the greatest variety would be in the David Mountains area. The David Mountains and the Chisos Mountains—out in West Texas.
If you want to attract hummingbirds passing through the area, you could put up feeders, but Klym says there is a better way.
That feeder, even in a good garden, is nothing more than a fast food stop. You want to provide plants that these birds can go to for nectar. But also, you want to provide plants that will attract insects, because these birds are heavy insect eaters.
At passporttotexas.org, find links to hummingbird appropriate plants, as well as information on how you can participate in the Hummingbird Roundup.
That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Find the top hummingbird plants as recommended by About.com: http://birding.about.com/library/weekly/aa053001a.htm
Posted in Birding, Podcasts, Shows, Wildlife | Comments Off on Hummingbirds in Texas
March 14th, 2008
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program
Amphibians are good indicator species because they live on land and in water during their lifecycle.
Amphibians, because of their very lifestyle, you can imagine are sensitive to a lot of changes in our environment. They’re kind of canaries in the coal mine.
Lee Ann Linam coordinates the Texas Amphibian Watch program. Because of their land/water lifestyle and semi permeable skin, amphibians experience the best and worst of both worlds.
They’re affected by habitat loss, by broader changes in the world around them. Things like climate change that may shift rainfall patterns. Or, they’re sensitive to UV radiation, so those kinds of changes can affect them. They’re sensitive to environmental contaminants that can be absorbed through their skin. So, you can see that they’re kind of a good picture of the overall ecosystem health.
If that’s the case, humans better pay attention.
A recent assessment by an international group of scientists showed that somewhere between one-third and one-half of all the six thousand amphibian species in the world are in trouble. One hundred and twenty-two of them are already extinct as far as we know. And so this is a rate of extinction that perhaps is unprecedented in this period of time.
Help monitor the health of amphibians. Find out how at passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Conservation, Podcasts, Research, SFWR, Shows, Volunteering | Comments Off on Amphibians: Indicator Species
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