Passport to Texas » TPWD TV

TPW TV: Parks and Wildlife People

cecilia — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:34 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

You’ll find interesting people with interesting jobs at Texas Parks and Wildlife. And you’ll meet some, too, this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series. Series Producer, Don Cash.

59—In February we’re going to introduce you to several people and their odd jobs—I guess. One of those people is Amy Treuer-Kuehn; she’s a plant ecologist, and she travels around the state looking at vegetation and habitat and getting record of it and letting people know what’s there on the property.

Amy goes out and tells us what’s exactly on the ground. Her expertise in botany and plant ecology makes sure that we have a really good dataset.

Also in February, meet Billy Tarrant, who is a wildlife biologist. And he works in the Trans-Pecos region. And one of the projects he works on is pronghorn antelope.

There’s a huge amount of responsibility trying to manage some of the greatest diversity in our state. However, there’s an immense amount of satisfaction knowing that you’re doing it.

So, yeah, part of what we do on the television show is people stories. There’s a lot of interesting people with some unusual jobs at Texas parks and Wildlife, and we hope people will watch in February and see what we’ve got going on.

Thanks, Don.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series; it’s funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Endangered Prairie Chickens

cecilia — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:00:27 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

One of the most endangered birds in North America is the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken. Learn about efforts to help protect this species this month on the Texas parks and Wildlife TV series. Producer, Abe Moore.

57—There used to be close to a million of them in Texas and Louisiana; now they’re teetering around a hundred or so. I went down to the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge by Eagle Lake. It’s kind of their last stronghold right now.

Over the last 15, 20 years, there have been fewer than a hundred individuals in wild populations. And for a species that only lives on average two years, that’s a very bad place to be.

So I followed the biologist there for a breeding season, to see what it takes to keep the birds from going extinct. And they’re doing some hands on work building fences actually around the nest sites to protect the female.

The idea of this predator deterrent fence is to deflect predators away from the nest area so that hopefully they won’t find the nest and destroy it.

So, the team goes through some serious struggles this breeding season, and one of the things that happens is they have an ace up their sleeve to kind of help the Attwater Prairie Chicken from going extinct.

Abe says he won’t provide any clues to that ace. We’ll just have to tune in to find out. Check your local listings.

TPW TV: Black Bears Return

cecilia — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:00:29 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

The Black bears population in Texas has dwindled because of habitat destruction. But on a parks and Wildlife TV segment this month, we learn they’re making a comeback. Producer Abe Moore.

59—I was really interested in doing the story because I didn’t really know much about black bears. And it turns out that more and more bears are starting to show up in certain parts of east Texas.

The adjoining states of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana have a growing, expanding bear population. And they’re spilling over into east Texas and will continue to do so.

So, what I did is I followed a graduate student from Stephen F. Austin State University working on a bear study, and what he’s doing is he’s setting up barbed wire wrapped around some trees. The bear rubs against the barbed wire and leaves a hair sample, so they can get a feel for where the bears are in east Texas.

That’s a ripe one. Uh, the lure we use is 3:1 mixture of cattle blood and fish oil.

The crazy part of this was the type of bait they use to lure ‘them in.

We let it age about four months, and then bottle it up into individual one-liter bottles. 100% guaranteed maggot free. Well, I wouldn’t say that. [laughs].

So, this was a study to see where the bears are hanging out in East Texas, and where the best bear habitat is.

Thanks Abe.

The show airs on PBS the week of January 8 through 14. Check your local listings.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel….

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

TPW TV Inspiring Family and Community

cecilia — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:00:59 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

Texas game Wardens live in the communities they serve, and their success hinges on developing good relationships with residents. This month on the TPW TV Series, producer Ron Kabele introduces viewers to game warden Shawn Hervey. And in his case…good relationships begin at home.

Well, Shawn is a game warden up in Texarkana. And the thing that he’s really known for in the community is taking a lot of the local kids out hunting. And a lot of these kids, they’ve never been exposed to nature or they’ve never seen a deer, or they have no concept of what stewardship is.

If you teach a kid from the start the right way, you’re not going to have problems.

I was doing an interview with him, and his young son was there, and the thing that I remember was the son said something to Shawn and he said:

My Dad Inspires me.

It was just so out of the blue that he said that. And when you think about that, if a son thinks that, and is able to verbalize that, what is that game warden doing to the community? And that’s really what Shawn does—he inspires people.

This segment airs the week of December 25 on PBS stations in Texas. Check your local listings.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

TPW TV Water Documentary Segments

cecilia — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:00:22 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

Among the many fascinating segments you’ll see on the TPW TV show in November, are highlights from the agency’s documentary on the Gulf of Mexico. Series Producer Don Cash.

One of the segments is going to take a look at hurricanes that have affected the Gulf. It will take a look at how important things like marshes are to slowing hurricanes and flooding down.

The sequence of a barrier island next to a Laguna or bay, next to healthy marshes and wetlands, creates a natural defense to the destructive impact of hurricanes and tropical storms.

We’ll also look at climate change and the affect on the coast. A lot of people may think that fisheries management only occurs on the inland fisheries, but we’ve got a program right now where we’re looking at breeding and stocking flounder along the coast.

Up and down the coast, the population of southern flounder has been diminishing. More so down in the lower coast and upper coast, but overall, the population is going down.

So, these segments on the gulf are airing all throughout November on our PBS television show, or you can see the segments on our YouTube Channel.

Thanks, Don.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

TPW TV–Lone Star Land Stewards

cecilia — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:00:21 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

Texas landowners who take extra effort to conserve and improve their land. Meet some of them the agency honored with the Lone Star land Steward Award this month on the TPW TV series. Producer Alan Fisher.

Coming up in November, we’ll visit a different a LSLS Award winning ranch each week, including the Leopold Conservation Award Winner—the Temple Ranch in South Texas.

There’s a good number of hens, and there’s a flock of about 15 males.

The Temple Ranch, particularly appropriate for November, they have amazing turkey habitat. The turkey have rebounded amazingly on their ranch, thanks to the things that they have been doing.

We do a variety of things to manipulate the habitat. We do a lot of roller chopping, disking, shredding… One of our most important tools is prescribed burning. It really helps forbes and grasses and brush control to a point, too.

I think one thing that a viewer could take away is that whether it’s a very small property, or a huge ranch with many thousands of acres, there are little things that really do add up to make property better places for wildlife. The temple Ranch segment airs the week November 6 through eh 12th. If you happen to miss these segments on the TV show, you can also view them on our Parkws and Wildlife YouTube channel.

Thanks, Alan.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

TPW TV–A New Season

cecilia — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:00:57 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

Nature, outdoor recreation, and the caretakers of our natural resources all get air time on the new season of the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series, which premiers the week of October 23. Series Producer, Don Cash.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife television show has been on the air in one form or another since 1985. Our producers are always working on a number of stories at one time. They may produce a story in three months, and it may take them two years to produce a story. We are on all the PBS stations in the state of Texas, and we also air outside of the state.

What do you think the interest is in other states about the Texas outdoors?

I think people from other states just find Texas interesting. We’ve got a huge amount of different topography, wildlife, and people where in Texas. And one of the things I think people like about our show is our stories are about people that take care of the resources of the state of Texas.

And, Don, personally—what does it mean to you to be a part of this show?

Well, what I tell people is my job is to try and get people to go hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, or bird watching. You know, if you’ve got to work for a living, that’s a pretty good thing to do.

Thanks, Don.

Check your local listings.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

TPW TV–Last of the Bayous

cecilia — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:00:50 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

Last of the Bayous airs this week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series. It examines efforts to save Houston’s last natural namesake. Producer Ron Kabele.

Good grief! It’s the Bayou City and there are no more bayous. Now, they call it Bray’s Bayou and Sims’ Bayou, but they’re just channelized ditches. When I was a kid, we would play in bayous;
we would catch crawdads. The only thing you’re going to catch in a channelized ditch is a disease.

Did you learn anything about the effect on biodiversity from the channelization of bayous?

If you’ve ever seen Bray’s Bayou, it is basically concrete and mowed grass. Very similar to the hardwood bottomlands when they were replaced by pine plantations. Well, yes, there are trees—i.e. the
pines—but there’s no life around it. And around channelization, yes there’s the water, but there’s no functional ecosystem.

What do you want people to come away with after having seen this piece in October?

Maybe it will give them an idea of what Houston once was. And with other aspects of what made Houston the great city that it is—we’re just not going to throw it away for
the sake of progress.

Thanks, Ron.

Check your local listings.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports
our series.

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

TPW TV: Mountain Biking Big Bend Ranch

cecilia — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:00:23 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

When the weather cools, and you’re ready to engage the outdoors again, strike out on two wheels. Get a taste of a mountain biking adventure on the TPW TV show. Producer, Alan Fisher.

Mountain biking is gaining popularity at Big bend Ranch vast state park.

Big Bend Ranch State Park is the biggest State Park that we have in the state of Texas—310 thousand acres and about 388 miles of road, trail, route.

So, are you following a couple of people on bike?

We followed a group of people who went on hundred mile ride over four days. They had quite an experience.

It is challenging in places. It’s smooth in places. *This is awesome!* What I love about Big Bend Ranch is it has a little bit of everything.

If you’re doing a multi-day ride out there, you really need to have somebody helping you carry some gear. There are also day rides that are options with interesting routes that you can bike.

Who’s your sag support when you’re out there?

Well, there were just hours and hours of jouncing around in a vehicle. It is a difficult place to get around, and that’s another great thing about seeing Big Bend Ranch State Park on a bicycle—there are areas you can access that you really can’t take a car, so it’s really a neat way to explore the park.

Thanks, Alan!

Check your local listings for air times.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV–Hunting

cecilia — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:00:06 +0000

This is Passport to Texas

It may still feel like summer outside, but we’ve already crossed the threshold into fall hunting season. Will you be prepared? You may be if you watch the Texas Parks and Wildlife television show this month. Series Producer, Don Cash.

We’re going to take a look at the tradition of hunting and how it’s passed down from one generation to the next. You know, it helps if you grow up in a hunting family, but if you don’t, Parks and Wildlife has some ways to help you get out there and learn to hunt, whether you’re a kid or whether you’re an adult.

We’ve got to get them a place to get outdoors on regular basis and then teach them about the outdoors, about habitat, about wildlife, and about ethics—and that’s what it’s really all about.

Another thing that’s important in hunting season is to make sure your firearms are safe, and one way to do that is clean them. Make sure you clean them before you go out hunting.

Before you clean your firearm, the first thing we need to do is make sure the firearm is empty, by first looking down the chamber, to make sure there’s nothing in the chamber. We also look at the magazine to make sure there’s nothing in the magazine.

And September is the start of the hunting season, and we’re going to help you out on the television show.

Thanks, Don!

Check your local listings for air times.

The Sport fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.