Texas Parks and Wildlife Season 37, Episode 16: Rio Grande Valley Reef, Hunting Refuge & Sand Surfing

1

Microfishing, Guadalupe River & Sabine Paddling

Put on a mask and snorkel and explore the tiny, underwater world of microfishing. Visit Guadalupe River State Park to camp under the trees, take a bike ride, and find some fun for the whole family. Enjoy a meandering paddle down the Sabine Sandbar Paddling Trail in deep East Texas and find some peace and quiet.

30 min

2

Shrimping, Brazos Bend, Big-Eared Bats

Spend some time on a shrimp boat with a family that has been working Texas waters for decades. Visit Brazos Bend State Park for hiking, biking, and stargazing, and keep an eye out for the alligators. An abandoned house in the woods proves the perfect roost for a colony of Rafinesques's big-eared bats.

30 min

3

Starry Skies, Brushy Creek, Spooky Wildlife

Witness the wonders of West Texas' starry skies and meet the educator working to keep them that way. Neighbors team together to manage over 10,000 acres to benefit eastern wild turkey and further their restoration in East Texas. See some of the creepy critters you may find on a walk in the woods.

30 min

4

Bayou City, Park Barkers, Martin Creek Lake

Meet some of Houston's most dedicated bayou conservationists, striving to keep a city and its water wilderness in better balance. Hit the trail with some furry friends at Franklin Mountains State Park and learn how to keep canine companions safe on the trail. A rainy day doesn't seem to bother the birds of Houston Audubon's Smith Oaks Sanctuary.

30 min

5

Deer Dividends on Opening Day, Looking After Land

Residents of many small Texas towns look forward to deer hunting season, for the time it brings with friends and family, as well as for the economic boost hunting brings to local businesses. See how one community comes alive when hunters arrive. Meet a family looking after their ranch in a way that benefits cattle, wildlife, and future generations.

30 min

6

San Pedro Ranch, Winter Trout, Texas Quail

A rich ranching history is sustained on the San Pedro Ranch, where management decisions are made to make the most of every raindrop. Winter stocking of rainbow trout in the Guadalupe River is a much-anticipated annual event. See how habitat loss has impacted all four quail species in the state and learn what's being done to keep quail healthy.

30 min

7

Lost Lizards Return, Angler Access, Map Mementos

The San Antonio Zoo raises Texas horned lizards in a bold effort to restore them to the landscape. See how a new partnership with private landowners is helping anglers and paddlers gain better access to Texas rivers. A hiker and woodworker preserves his favorite park places as wooden map mementos.

30 min

8

Spill Recovery, History Connection & Water for Wildlife

When an oil spill affects our rivers, creeks, or coastline, meet the team that steps in to investigate the impacts to fish and wildlife. Through his time with a group of Buffalo Soldier re-enactors, a young man learns about these accomplished outdoorsmen of days past. Guzzlers in the desert provide water for thirsty wildlife.

30 min

9

Racing Down a River & Loggerhead Shrikes

Paddle from San Marcos to the Gulf of Mexico, down 260 miles of river, and experience what is called the World's Toughest Canoe Race. The loggerhead shrike is a different sort of songbird, with some brutal dining habits, but it seems to have found a comfortable home in one suburban park.

30 min

10

Coastal Prairie Stewards, Fish Habitat Help & Biking Big Bend

See how a family raises cattle and preserves wildlife habitat on one of the last tracts of coastal prairie in Texas. Learn how sinking strange-looking structures and seeding native plants can improve reservoirs for fish and fishing. Carry plenty of water and a first aid kit-mountain biking at Big Bend Ranch State Park is not for the faint of heart.

30 min

11

San Angelo Trail-Maker, Moore Ranch Heritage, & Saving Swifts

Meet a mechanic and mountain-biking musician who has been taming trails in San Angelo for decades and who considers the local state park a hidden treasure. See how a couple in their 90s has sustained their West Texas ranch for 60 years. Meet another husband and wife team equally devoted to saving chimney swifts.

30 min

12

Weevil Warfare, Getting Kids Outside, & Chimney Creek Ranch

Biologists battle an invasive aquatic plant that threatens Caddo lake, enlisting local conservation groups, volunteer troops, and a horde of tiny insects. Learn how one outdoorsman from Houston works to get urban kids outside with fishing. Ranchers honor local and family history at Chimney Creek Ranch.

30 min

13

Oystering Life, Duck Ranch, River Keeper

See some of the challenges of oystering over the decades and some of the hopes for the future of the industry and for the health of Texas bays. Visit a ranch where management of grasslands and wetland habitat have exemplified land stewardship while rolling out the welcome mat for waterfowl. Aquatic conservationist keeps tabs on river ecosystems.

30 min

14

The County Warden, 7 Oaks Ranch, & Austin Warblerns

Learn how one man turned a tragedy from his youth into a career of helping others with a career as a Texas Game Warden. See how three sons enlist family and volunteers to carry on their father's legacy of land stewardship. Join biologists keeping tabs on an endangered bird at the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.

30 min

15

Bikepacking Journey, Oyster Farming Fan & Conservation Art

Off-road bicycling meets backpacking, as a group tests their endurance and documents their journey. Meet a woman who hopes to help oyster reefs by designing an oyster-farming program for Texas. An artist captures nature in a lithography, while raising funds for conserving natural places.

30 min

16

Rio Grande Valley Reef, Hunting Refuge & Sand Surfing

An artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico improves fish habitat and the sportfishing and tourism economy. Meet a woman who views hunting as her refuge from the stresses of daily life. Learn how to surf far from the ocean and slide down the dunes at Monahans Sandhills State Park.

30 min

17

Outdoor Magazine of Texas, Lake Tawakoni & Fishing Tip

Meet those who carry on an 80-year tradition of bringing the Texas outdoors to newsstands everywhere. Lake Tawakoni State Park offers visitors access to fishing, boating, swimming, and camping--all within a short drive of Dallas. Learn what to keep in your tacklebox for freshwater fishing.

30 min

18

Restoring Grassland, Team for Conservation & Catching Carp

The Grassland Restoration Incentive Program helps landowners improve grassland habitat for better wildlife, water, and soil health. A team helps hunting and fishing license sales fund conservation. Anglers travel from Europe to Texas to catch huge common carp and smallmouth buffalo.

30 min

19

Prairie Wetlands, Arts in Parks & Better Boardwalk

A duck hunter supports waterfowl through prairie wetland habitat, with the help of Ducks Unlimited and other partners. The beauty of a natural place takes on fresh dimension and draws some different crowds when arts activities like sculpture, painting, and photography, are paired with parks. A storm-battered boardwalk comes back.

30 min

20

First Hunt, Preserving History & Paddlefish

A first-time hunter pursues quail around the state. Meet the team who wrote the book on Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site. Prehistoric paddlefish return to the waters of Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou, and what they may teach us about the importance of natural water flows is shocking.

30 min

21

Nomadic Photographer, Water Critters & Lockhart State Park

Travel with a photographer chasing her dream to the most awe-inspiring places a tiny camper can be towed. Meet a biologist that studies some of the two thousand different types of aquatic invertebrates in our rivers and streams. Tag along for a round of golf at Lockhart State Park.

30 min

22

Timeless Trail, Happy Multitasker & Wind Power Questions

Travel the trail that settled Texas and see how traffic along the historic route defined the places and cultures we experience today. Meet an administrative octopus that keeps her team moving. Explore some of the questions wind energy production raises for wildlife habitat.

30 min

23

Hueco Tanks, Turkey Trapping, Texas Rat Snake

Visit a desert oasis near El Paso that has drawn visitors for thousands of years. Meet a team trapping and tracking turkey. Learn about a snake that should be scary only to rodents, and see how radar technology may help reduce wind turbine threats to coastal bird migration.

30 min

24

Nature Photographer Memories, Cooper Lake, On-Call Team

A retired policeman finds peace in nature photography, building a second career and a lasting library of beautiful photographs. Cooper Lake State Park in northeastern Texas offers shady campsites and cabins, a large lake, and plenty of fishing. If you want to make a camping reservation by phone, this team answers the call.

30 min

25

Operation Snap, Cave People & Desert Dunes

Protected alligator snapping turtles are returned to their natural habitats, after the trafficked animals are saved from interstate poachers. Join some modern-day cave explorers as they crawl ad climb through the dark and mysterious world that exists beneath our feet. Visit the abstract landscape of Monahans Sandhills State Park and find beauty in the expanses as well as the details.

30 min

26

Bears Go Home, Camera Trap, & Mountain Trail Builder

See what passes by the trail cameras at Lake Ray Roberts State Park, both day and night. Meet an active retiree who builds legendary trails at Franklin Mountains State Park. An orphaned black bear cub is released at Devils River State Natural Area.

30 min