Texas Parks and Wildlife Season 40, Episode 16: Mentor Magic, Fortlandia & Desert Sparrows

1

Gator Guardians, Hunting Las Palomas & Mattox Prairie

Meet a game warden father and his biology professor son who monitor alligators and their ecosystem at Brazos Bend State Park. Follow a family in the Rio Grande Valley enjoying a day in the field on a dove hunt and back home for dinner. Julie Mattox transforms an overgrazed dairy farm into a tallgrass prairie classroom, inviting both children and wildlife to appreciate this restored landscape.

30 min

2

Bears Bounce Back, Longhorn Cavern & Southmost Sabals

Black bears, once common across Texas, were extirpated by the 1950s. Today, the species is experiencing a comeback in western regions of the state. Take a deep dive into Longhorn Cavern and explore a place rich in both interesting history and fascinating geology. Efforts are underway to protect, conserve, and restore the Sabal Palm forests of South Texas.

30 min

3

Gravel Roads of Texas, San Angelo State Park, Hawk Watcher

Join two friends traversing Texas on motorcycles and follow their adventure as they explore the state's gravel roads. Travel to San Angelo State Park where wide-open spaces abound and visitors can hike, bike, or gallop across more than 50 miles of trails. Spend time with a birder keeping an eagle eye on migrating hawks in the Rio Grande Valley.

30 min

4

Wild Wetlands Paddling Port O'Connor, Eclipse Village

Join some duck hunters at the Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area and learn how these wetlands are designed for wildlife. From paddling the bays, to sliding through a saltwater marsh, Port O'Connor has one of the best coastal paddling trails in the state. Viewing a solar eclipse is a wonderful experience, especially with friends and family at a beautiful place like Garner State Park.

30 min

5

Watching Whoopers, Fort Boggy & Time Capsule

Birders from all over the world flock to Port Aransas to take part in the annual Texas Whooping Crane Festival. Visit a park on the edge of East Texas where families find water, woods, and wildlife, along with primitive camping and some rather fancy cabins nestled in the trees. Follow the Mother Neff Pecan Tree as it becomes a time capsule to celebrate the Texas State Parks centennial.

30 min

6

Game Warden Gear, Shrimp Science & Biking Big Bend

From airboats to night vision scopes, Gear Up for Game Wardens provides speciality equipment for Texas Game Wardens. Introduced diseases could pose a threat to native shrimp and an entire industry. See how anglers can help keep Texas shrimp stocks healthy. Off-road bicycling meets backpacking, as a group tests their endurance and documents their journey.

30 min

7

Famous Trees, Paddling San Antonio & Fishing Facilitator

From majestic oak to towering cypress, get to know a few of the state park system's most famous trees and see what makes them special. Check out the Mission Reach Paddling Trail just south of downtown San Antonio. See how a redesigned boat is giving anglers with disabilities easier access to the water and helping a boat captain reclaim his career.

30 min

8

Nature's Rhythm, Crab Trap Cleanup & Beneficial Wetland

The connection between artistic inspiration and the natural world comes to live in three unique profiles. Find out how an annual cleanup of lost and abandoned crab traps in our coastal bays and waterways helps save crabs and other sea life. And see how a man-made wetland near Dallas cleans water while teaching the next generation about nature.

30 min

9

Skimmer Savers, Paddling Goliad & Pineywoods Family

Learn about efforts underway to save one of the most threatened coastal birds in Texas, the black skimmer. Goliad State Park & Historic Site is known for its connection to history. It also has a connection to the San Antonio River as part of the Goliad Paddling Trail. An East Texas family carries on the tradition of prescribed fire.

30 min

10

Hueco Rock Rodeo, The Learning Ranch & Parks on the Air

Rock climbers gather at Hueco Tanks State Park for some of the best bouldering on the planet. Volunteers learn how to conduct a prescribed fire in West Texas. Some visit parks to escape technology, but a few folks like to bring it along and do a little broadcasting

30 min

11

Conserving Water, Archery at School & Free Fishing

As Texas grows and prospers, securing our water future remains a critical priority for sustaining the health and resilience of our state. Follow a team of student archers from San Antonio on their journey to compete in the state finals tournament. A passionate educator helps organize Free Fishing Day at Lake Pflugerville.

30 min

12

Seed Collectors, Operation Game Thief & Park History

Discover how plant experts collect seeds to help propagate rare plants and protect our natural heritage. A Texas Game Warden uncovers some fishy contraband during a routine stop. Learn about the history of our treasured parklands, and some hopes and plans for the next century of state parks.

30 min

13

Conservation Dog Squad, Playa Protector & Jelly Fishing

Meet the Working Dogs for Conservation, a canine team that protects Texas lakes from problematic zebra mussels. Visit the High Plains of Texas, where Stan Adcock is working to preserve the Trail of Living Waters. Grab a fishing pole and head to a coastal jetty. You're sure to meet other anglers, and you never know what will be biting.

30 min

14

Patriot Anglers, Oyster Recycling & Cibolo Creek Ranch

Join a support group that uses fly fishing as a form of therapy for veterans living with PTSD. A unique recycling program is underway, and it's helping our bays. By returning old oyster shells up and down the coast, many Texas reefs are on the rebound. The Cibolo Creek Ranch is a sanctuary for both wildlife and Texas culture in the Big Bend region.

30 min

15

Pocket Prairies, Bird Island & Byler Ranch

Meet a couple who got interested in building "pocket prairies" for native bees and butterflies. Meet the people saving an eroding island for nesting birds, in honor of a past protector. Visit the Byler Ranch, where the Texas hill Country meets the Texas Brush Country, and where the owners are focused on wildlife restoration.

30 min

16

Mentor Magic, Fortlandia & Desert Sparrows

Collee students get an education in hunting, fishing, and camping. Join a team of first-time fort builders as they get together to construct a unique, nature-inspired play structure from recycled tires. Follow a survey of grassland birds near Marfa that is part of an effort to document dwindling habitat from Canada to Mexico.

30 min

17

Crazy Ants, White Bass Fishing & Freshwater's Future

Some invasive ants are driving biologists crazy, but new research into control methods is underway at the lab and in the field. Tag along on a family outing and see how springtime is the ideal season to fish for white bass in Texas rivers and streams. Learn about some of the most important natural spring sites in Texas that have been protected through unique partnerships between industry, landowners, and conservation organizations.

30 min

18

Armored Catfish, Caddo Lake, Rio Grande Valley Reef

Dive into the San Marcos River to learn how spearfishing may be our best defense against an introduced aquarium fish. Visit the state park gateway to Caddo Lake and explore its rich history and swampy mystery. An artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico improves fish habitat and the sportfishing and tourism economy.

30 min

19

Crayfish Concerns, Mentored Fishing, Cooking Drum

Texas Parks and Wildlife aquatic biologists track a Texas invader, the Australian redclaw crayfish. Newbie anglers discover the outdoors through a mentored fishing program. Chef Davis Turner of Austin's Huckleberry prepares a special black drum dish on the Texas Coast.

30 min

20

Lights Out for Birds, Goose Island, Building a Park

Follow volunteers monitoring bird injuries and moralities in downtown Dallas and learn how keeping our lights out during migration can help our feathered friends. Feel the Gulf breezes and listen to the lapping water at Goose Island State Park north of Corpus Christi. Kim Shelton has spent most of her life living in state parks and now she is helping build one from the ground up.

30 min

21

Weekend at Ray Roberts Lake State Park

Spend a weekend at Ray Roberts Lake State Park and explore why camping families, biking clubs, horse riders, dog walkers and anglers choose to spend their leisure time at this multi-faceted park north of Denton. While the large lake and oak-covered hills that make up the park feel far away from urban life, this escape is surprisingly close to the bustling cities of Dallas and Fort Worth.

30 min

22

Alligator Tracking, Goliad Illumination, Habitat Barge

Join a team of scientists as they study the elusive American alligator in the wetlands along the upper Texas coast. Witness "The Illumination," a special annual event that highlights the architectural mysteries of Mission Espiritu Santo at Goliad State Park & Historic Site. Anglers create new underwater habitat for fish by recycling leftover construction debris.

30 min

23

Austin Food Forest, Birding Oasis, Conservation Leader

Volunteers maintain a lush urban greenspace in the middle of downtown Austin. In the driest region of Texas, some ingenious landowners have created their own desert birding oases. Conservation biologist Angela England works to stop a 20-foot-tall grass from taking over Texas creeks and rivers.

30 min

24

Flounder Science, Wildlife Selfies, Green Turtle Team

At Sea Center Texas, a saltwater hatchery is producing southern flounder fingerlings to boost populations of this popular fish in the Gulf of Mexico. With the aid of game cameras, see the variety of animals that benefit from man-made water guzzlers. As green sea turtles show up on Texas beaches in larger numbers than ever, a network of people step in to rescue stuck or stranded turtles.

30 min

25

Fishing for Walleye, Dive Team, Javelina Research

The Panhandle's Lake Meredith is known nationwide as one of the South's best walleye fisheries. Candidates try out for a spot on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Dive and Underwater Recovery Team. Wildlife biologists and researchers team up to learn more about javelinas in South Texas.

30 min

26

Bat Rescuers, Birdability, Desert Bighorn Sheep

The Austin Bat Refuge is giving orphaned and injured bats a second chance by rehabilitating them in a safe environment until they're ready to be released back into the wild. Meet Virginia Rose, a birder who started a national movement to introduce people to the joys of birding. Wildlife experts race to restore bighorn sheep to West Texas, capturing them by helicopter and releasing them in the Franklin Mountains.

30 min