Texas Parks and Wildlife Season 31, Episode 18: Purple Palaces, Big Black Bears & Cleaning It Up

1

Big Bend National Park

Discover the biggest park in all of Texas. Beautiful night skies, river carved canyons, and magnificent mountains combine to make Big Bend National Park a place to remember.

30 min

2

Brushland Birds, Fishing Piers & Old Trains

Discover an abundance of birds in the brushlands of south Texas. Catch some fish and make some friends on the coastal fishing piers. And travel back in time on the Texas State Railroad.

30 min

3

Dallas Paddling, Shotguns & Bighorn Sheep

Traverse the Trinity River near Dallas by canoe or kayak. Get some tips for safe, and accurate, shotgun shooting. Thirty years ago the Desert Bighorn Sheep was mostly gone from Texas. See what was being done to bring back the Bighorn.

30 min

4

Dark Skies, Ranch Restoration & Rockin' Art

Discover the spectacularly dark skies of West Texas, and meet some folks who are working to keep them dark. Take a trip back in time through the discovery of ancient rock art. Enjoy the beauty of a wide open Panhandle ranch.

30 min

5

Catching Up on Quail, Balmorhea Cool & RVs

See what’s happening with Texas’ four distinct quail species. Get above and below the clear water of Balmorhea Springs. Travel Texas with some snowbirds in their RVs.

30 min

6

Wild Firefighters, Cup Crusaders & Rabbits

Meet some of the folks that fight fires in the Texas state parks. See how one very young man from Corpus Christi is trying to help keep trash out of the water. Watch some rascally rabbits munch a bunch of lunch.

30 min

7

Refuge From the Storm, Flying Falcons & Piney Woods

Learn how a Texas woman takes refuge from Autism by hunting. Meet some modern day falconers and find out what draws them to these birds of prey. Head to East Texas and relax among the tall pines.

30 min

8

Wardens on a Boat, Swimming Holes & Flying at Franklin

Spend a few days with Texas game wardens as they patrol the waters off South Padre Island on a sixty foot boat. Enjoy a look at some of Central Texas’ finest swimming holes and see what has been done to conserve them. Jump off the cliff at Franklin Mountains State Park.

30 min

9

Sky High Eye, Wyman's Camera & Big Bend Above

See how biologists learn about the lives and habits of wildlife using satellite transmitters. Travel back in time with Texas photographer Wyman Meinzer. Fly above Big Bend in the early morning light.

30 min

10

Surfing Sands, Volunteer Family & Border Life

Go sand surfing a long way away from the ocean at Monahans Sandhills State Park. Meet the Gibson family, and follow along with them as they volunteer their time to help others learn about the outdoors. See how life was lived along the Texas/Mexico border back before it was a river and not a wall.

30 min

11

Wild Artist, Rio Grande Rafting & Balmorhea Birds

Meet wildlife artist Clemente Guzman and find out where is inspiration comes from. Find out what rafting the Rio Grande is all about. A large group of barn swallows make their home at a small Balmorhea motel.

30 min

12

Birds of Smell, Helicopter Training & Remembering D-Day

Travel to a birding hotspot that might be considered a marginal nature haven. Get in the water with some Texas game wardens as they learn how to get out of a sinking helicopter. Remember D-Day with some veterans who served on the Battleship Texas.

30 min

13

Gator Hunt, Neches Refuge & the Ecotainer

Travel to southeast Texas to hunt alligators at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area. The Neches Refuge in East Texas is a haven for a lot of wildlife species. Spend some time with a singer who takes an environmental message to city schools.

30 min

14

El Paso Trails, Saving Some Bison & Shifting Sands

Meet the El Paso trail builder who is still working away at age seventy nine. Almost twenty years ago the last of the Southern Plains Bison herd was moved from the J.A. Ranch to Caprock Canyons State Park. See the shifting sands of Monahans.

30 min

15

Friendly Flockers, Caddo Lake & a Rising River

Follow a group of friends as they compete in the Great Texas Birding Classic. Discover the timeless beauty of Caddo Lake. Watch as the river rises in a hurry at Colorado Bend State Park.

30 min

16

El Paso Owls, Three Kingfishers & Richland Creek Water

Take a peek at the burrowing owls of El Paso. Marvel at the rare chance to see three species of Kingfishers in one place at one time. See how a manmade wetland is cleaning the water for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

30 min

17

Night Photography, Fishing at Mueller & Some Survival Tips

Attend a night photography class near Big Bend Ranch State Park. An event at an Austin park teaches families how to catch fish, and how to cook them. We remember the late Dave Alloway, an expert in the art of survival.

30 min

18

Purple Palaces, Big Black Bears & Cleaning It Up

Meet some folks whose mission is to help build homes for purple martins. Follow a husband and wife team as they trap, tag and follow Black Bears in West Texas. See how Texas Parks and Wildlife employees mobilized to help wildlife after and oil spill.

30 min

19

Moving Mule Deer, Social Mediator & a Yoga Hike

The Pecos Pupfish is on the edge of extinction but a group of biologists is trying to help save the species. Meet the social media coordinator whose job it is to connect you with the outdoors. Travel to Sundown Island to see how Chester Smith takes care of all the birds.

30 min

20

Butterfly Beauty, Enchanted Rock & the Inspiring Ecologist

Butterflies bring beauty to the world. But butterflies are at risk. What are we doing to reverse this troubling trend? View Enchanted Rock through the use of time lapse photography. The late Geraldine Watson spent her life protecting and restoring the Big Thicket area of southeast Texas.

30 min

21

Feral Hogs, History Keeper & Going to Garner

Crawl inside the caves at Colorado Bend State Park with some dedicated spelunkers. Dr. Cynthia Brandimarte makes sure that the history of state parks is easily accessible. The Fuentes family of Corpus Christi have been going to Garner State Park every Fourth of July for over 20 years.

30 min

22

Cave Crawlers, Outdoor Clubbing & a Frog Pond

Scientists and geologists use laser technology to restore ancient rock art at Hueco Tanks State Park. Outdoor clubs are a great way to discover nature, and make new friends. Visit a manmade pond that gets taken over every spring by frogs.

30 min

23

Pronghorns, Tent Revival & a Sinking Ship

The Texas Outdoor Family program helps teach families about camping, and cooking, and nature. Watch the Kinta S, a 155-foot freighter as it becomes an artificial reef. Spend some time watching the birds at the Hugh Ramsey Park in South Texas.

30 min

24

Pecos Pupfish, Prairie Dogs & Buffalo Soldiers

The Pecos Pupfish is on the edge of extinction but a group of biologists is trying to help save the species. Caprock Canyons State Park is known as the home of the state bison herd. But there are some much smaller, fuzzier animals on site as well. See how Buffalo Soldiers re-enactors are teaching young people about the ultimate outdoorsmen.

30 min

25

Texas Water Safari, Loggerhead Shrikes & Woodpeckers

Follow two teams of paddlers as they navigate the 260 mile Texas Water Safari. Loggerhead Shrikes can be both beautiful and brutal. Baby woodpeckers are very demanding and noisy when they’re hungry.

30 min

26

Preparing Powderhorn, Preaching Taxidermy & Caterpillars

See how several state agencies and environmental organizations came together to acquire the Powderhorn Ranch for outdoor recreation and conservation. There’s a preacher in Utopia, Texas who spends some time saving souls, and some time saving hunting and fishing mementos. See some tree hugging caterpillars in the Pineywoods.

30 min