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.

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.

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.

Two generations of Texas anglers know the joy of reeling in rainbow trout during the winter months thanks to Parks and Wildlife’s stocking program.

07—I believe it started in the 1960s; so, we’ve been stocking trout for fisherman for winter fishery for over forty years I believe.

Carl Kittle oversees the trout stocking program for Parks and Wildlife. Beginning every December through the first week of March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s inland fisheries division stocks more than a quarter of a million of the colorful fish in neighborhood fishing ponds statewide.

06—Rainbow trout are a cold water fish. The winter is the only time we really have water here in Texas that will support them.

Once it starts warming up—which could be any time now—the water will, too, and those fish will not survive. Considering rainbow trout are excellent table fare, it would be a shame to let them expire in the water.

17—They’re excellent eating fish. You can keep whatever fish you catch and I believe it is five per day. The fish that are stocked in general will be between eight and 10 inches, so a nine inch fish would be normal—with the exception of neighborhood fishing program lakes, which should average 11-12 inches in size.

Find the trout stocking schedule on the Parks and Wildlife website. The Wildlife and Sport Fish 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.

Get to a state park with fishing opportunities while there’s still a chill in the air for your chance to reel in the last of the rainbow trout. Out state park guide Bryan Frazier explains.

The water temperature has to stay below a certain temperature for the rainbow trout to do well, and February’s a great time, because it’s usually the last month that there’ll be stockings for rainbow trout.

It’s a great reason to get outside during what’s typically a mild winter in Texas, and enjoy something else. It’s a new slant on fishing, and you can do it this time of year when you don’t necessarily think about fishing. But. It’s even better for rainbow trout when it’s cold.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

There are two types of aquatic mussels in Texas: those that belong here, and those that don’t.

Texas Parks and Wildlife aquatic habitat enhancement director Earl Chilton says native mussels indicate when rivers and lakes are healthy.

10—Native mussels often have pretty strict environmental requirements, and you can tell whether a system is healthy or not by the kind of native mussel population it has.

Invasive species like zebra mussels aren’t native to Texas. Because they have no natural competitors here, they reproduce quickly. And large numbers of zebra mussels can clog pipes and even kill native mussels.

14—Unlike native mussels, zebra mussels have byssal threads they use to attach to various objects. They also can attach to native mussels and when enough of them attach to a native mussel they can actually suffocate that mussel.

So how can you tell the difference between these good and bad mussels?

07—Zebra mussels are small and they’re going to attach to things. If you see a mussel attached to something it is a non-native mussel.

But native freshwater mussels don’t attach to anything. Now that you know the difference, you can find out how you can help stop the spread of zebra mussels and protect the native species www.texasinvasives.org.

That’s our show… the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program supports our series… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Starting a campfire in a state park this past summer wasn’t just a bad idea, it was terribly dangerous given the drought, and so it was banned. But now that winter’s here and we’ve had some rain, we can start to cozy up to campfires again. Our State Park Guide Bryan Frazier has details.

48— With the drought that we had in Texas, most people are understanding that that affects everything we do. And at the end of the summer—at the apex of that drought—we had burn bans in more than 200 counties here in Texas.

And so it’s a nice natural place to gather. So having those burn bans lifted in most of our counties is really good news for a lot of people who want to get out and enjoy an old fashioned campfire for their camping experience.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

The non-profit Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, or PARC, designated 2012 as the Year of the Lizard.

06—Lizards are a group of organisms that scientists have said: you know, we really haven’t paid much attention to what’s going on with them.

Biologist, Leeann Linam, oversees the Texas Nature Tracker program for Parks and Wildlife. When lizard populations are thriving—or not—chances are they are mirroring the environmental conditions in which they live. Because of this, they deserve our attention.

Leeann says putting the spotlight on these cold-blooded creatures may help us warm to them.

14—if you stop and watch a lizard, they’re really an interesting creature. And I think that’s what the challenge is for us—to spend enough time outside to really observe them. If you zoom in on them, and take a closer look, they’re just really fascinating—like mini dinosaurs.

So how does one best observe the year of the lizard?

14—At Parks and Wildlife we we’ve got some ways for people to participate. For example, our Texas Horned Lizard Watch asks people to become partners with us in monitoring what’s going on with our state reptile—the Texas Horned Lizard—and the other two horned lizard species that are found in the state.

Find links to information about the Year of the Lizard, and the Texas Horned Lizard Watch at passporttotexas.org.

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

Herpetology is a branch of zoology concerned with amphibians and reptiles. Although scientists classify both as herps, Leeann Linam says differences exist.

16—Amphibians are the species that are associated with water in their life-cycle. [They’re] smooth skinned, and usually lay their eggs in water and often have a larval stage such as a tadpole for a frog. So frogs, salamanders, and an interesting creature called the caecilian are amphibians.

Leeann is a biologist with Parks and Wildlife. Reptiles are those species that have scales and tend to lay their eggs on land in dry nests, and have hard-shelled eggs.

13—And so we have several divisions of reptiles as well. We have the turtles, we have the lizards, and we have the snakes… And then there are a few other groups. The crocodilians and some others that are kind of unique.

Of the reptiles, says Leeann, scientists agree they need to give them more consideration.

14—Lizards are a group of organisms that scientists have said: you know, we really haven’t paid much attention to what’s going on with them. They are mostly eating insects in the environment, and so one can perhaps think of them as being sensitive to things like pesticides and habitat loss, as well as direct persecution, or killing, as areas are changed in terms of their use.

Tomorrow: The Year of the Lizard.

That’s our show with support from the wildlife restoration program…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

If you fancy yourself a fisherman, or think it’s time you found out what all the fuss is about, Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine has a treat this February. Editor, Louie Bond explains.

60—You know, we’re really excited this February to offer our readers something new and different.

So, this is the beginning of a new tradition for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. We hope everybody will check in on the fishing guide this month, and then back again in the fall for our hunting guide.

Louie says the online digital guide is accessible to everyone.

The Sport Fish restoration program supports our series with funds from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

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

Now that the weather has cooled folks visiting state parks can do what they like best—take a hike. Bryan Frazier suggests hikers stretch their legs on the refurbished trails of Meridian State Park.

60— Hiking is the most popular activity that people seek out in a park. And Meridian State Park had the AmeriCorps crew out there to develop the trails.

So check out Meridian State Park. It’s up near the town of Meridian–Northwest of Waco when you get up near the Granbury area–it’s not too terribly far from there; come back toward the Fort Worth area. It’s right in through there in Meridian.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

By the early 1960s native Texas bighorn sheep, which once populated 16 mountain ranges in the Trans Pecos, were gone. Unregulated hunting and disease from domestic sheep brought in by landowners did them in. But Texas Parks and Wildlife TV producer Bruce Biermann says a segment [on the TV show this month] spotlights a successful restoration project.

64—This story is called Home Again, because the bighorn sheep are finally being brought home again. For the very first time they are being released on a state park.

Forty six sheep were captured at Elephant Mountain and released. And, of those forty-six that I know of, they’ve had three die to mountain lions. But, that’s part of the normal cycle. They’ve had many babies already born. So, the birth rate is far outgrowing the death rate. And the population is surviving and thriving.

Thanks Bruce.

The show airs this week.

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.