Passport to Texas

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Chef Cindy Haenel, photo by Cecilia Nasti, www.fieldandfeast.com[/caption] This is Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program If you’re tired of turkey leftovers already, maybe you can find a fishing hole and reel in something tasty during your Thanksgiving break. Chef Cindy Haenel says there’s nothing like catching your own dinner. 09—It’s fabulous. I know exactly how old that fish is, when it came out of the water and how long it’s been dead. And that’s important with fish especially. Fresh is always best. Cindy is a chef instructor at Central Market in Austin. She and her husband Ken are avid anglers. 08—I love the saltwater as well as freshwater. But the saltwater you have more variety. You never know what you’re going to pull up. It’s exciting – like Christmas morning. Immediately put your catch on ice, and if there’s a cleaning station on shore, consider doing the dirty work there. Chef Cindy says be careful not to overcook your fresh fish. 22—Most people, if they don’t like the taste of fish, it’s probably because they’ve overcooked it. And, as it cooks, and the oil of the fish starts to come out of the flesh, it burns very, very quickly. So, if you will under cook your fish, or protect that fish with either a salt crust, or even if it just has a little butter, or some kind of fat on the outside it still protecting that fish while it’s cooking. Find fish recipes from Chef Cindy as well as a link to the Fish Texas e-Newsletter at passporttotexas.org… The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti. ______________________________________________ Trout Amandine 8 (4-ounce) lake or rainbow trout fillets 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 cup flour Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup (about 6 ounces) sliced, blanched almonds Handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped 1 lemon, wedged Directions Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Combine egg and milk in a tin pie plate, beat with a fork. Place a cup of flour in a second pie tin and season well with salt and sparingly with pepper. Coat trout fillets in egg and milk, then in seasoned flour. Collect fillets on a wire rack until all of them are dredged and ready to be cooked. Add 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to your skillet. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to the pan. When the butter foams, add trout and gently saute 4 fillets for 2 or 3 minutes on each side, until golden. Transfer trout fillets to warm platter in oven. Return pan to the stove and add 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. When butter foams, repeat cooking process. When all of the trout is cooked, add last tablespoon of butter to the pan. When the butter melts, add almonds and brown until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove trout from oven and pour almonds over the platter. Garnish platter with chopped parsley, lemon wedges, and serve immediately. Serves 4 _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Salt Crusted Whole Fish Ingredients: 3 egg whites 2 cups sea salt 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley 1/2 cup water 1 (2 1/2-pound) fresh whole white fish, such as striped bass 2 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes 1 tablespoon chopped kalamata olives 2 tablespoons chopped artichoke hearts 2 slices lemon, sliced in half, plus more for garnish 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish. In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]Holly Heyser, image from www.flickriver.com[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Journalist, Holly Heyser, didn’t grow up in a hunting family. She says she eventually took up the sport to spend more time with her boyfriend who is a hunter, author and chef. 13— I got sick of being alone on weekends when he was out duck hunting all day long. He would get up at two in the morning and be out forever….well...it didn’t take that for me to join him. What it took was for him to cooking a lot of ducks, and wild ducks, especially where we live in the Sacramento Valley. Amazing. Really great food. Holly says she’s gained new respect for the meat she consumes, and not just wild game, but domesticated animals, as well. 33— Since I started hunting, I am so much less wasteful of meat. Even if I’m at a restaurant, if there’s a burger on my plate, I will not leave one single bite of meat on my plate, because I know an animal died for that. And when it’s animals you hunt, especially…we invest a lot of time. We can spend 12 hours and a lot of money on gas, to go and maybe get two ducks one day. That’s a precious gift, and you don’t waste it. So it’s really made me understand the value of the food we eat. And, I appreciate it a lot more than I ever used to. And the fact that it’s wild food and it’s absolutely delicious is icing on the cake. Wild game is free range, organic, sustainable, and nutritious. And if you’re a hunter, you can donate deer to hunters for the hungry to feed those less fortunate. Sign up for the Hunt Texas e-newsletter on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, and learn about hunting for and preparing wild game. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"]Hank Shaw (left), image from www.corksoutdoors.com/blog[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Hank Shaw knows where his food comes from because he forages, hunts and fishes for the majority of it—skills he learned from his mother growing up on the east coast. 13— It’s always been part of our lives. Digging clams in the Atlantic, picking berries, and all that kind of stuff. It’s an awareness that there’s food all around us. I’ve always had it. And that’s really helped spur a lifelong passion. He records his passion for wild food on his popular blog Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook, which inspired his book Hunt, Gather, Cook, published by Rodale Press. He says the deepest level of food satisfaction one can achieve is only possible when it’s wild sourced. 18— Think about it: on a very basic level, anybody who’s ever fished, you catch a fish and then you eat it in a frying pan on a camping trip. It tastes so much better than one that you buy at a store. And it is that satisfaction of having worked for your food. It’s difficult to explain if you’ve never done it, but once you do it, it become addicting and you never want to stop. Hank Shaw cooks and eats everything he forages, hunts and fishes, and shares the experience and what he’s learned on his blog and in his book. 09—I want to do justice to the things that I bring home. And I want to help people who are also hunting and fishing and foraging to cook their food better—give them new ideas. Sign up for the Hunt Texas e-newsletter on the TPW website, and learn about hunting for and preparing wild game. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"]Chef John Besh, Image: Cheryl Gerber for The New York Times[/caption] This is Passport to Texas It’s deer season in North and South Texas, and hunters are headed to the field with the hope of bringing healthy meat home for the table. Chef John Besh, who has a PBS Cooking Series, My New Orleans, grew up in hunting and fishing, activities he says helped him develop respect for life. 13— You see something running or swimming one moment, and then the next moment it’s in the frying pan. You don’t waste as much of it. You don’t look at it as lightly as you do as meat wrapped in cellophane on the grocery shelf. If you like knowing where your food comes from, Chef Besh says you do when you hunt and fish. 12— If you’re a carnivore, it’s the purest form—to take it from the field to the plate. It’s something that I do on a personal level quite a bit. I have four sons, and they’re growing up with the tradition as well. Chef Besh apprenticed in southern Germany, where each fall the restaurant served wild game brought in by local hunters and farmers, and inspected and approved by the health department. 16—I so loved that, and so appreciated that that added just yet another layer of understanding of how to treat game and the importance of this tradition. So you were field to plate before field to plate was cool. I don’t know if it’s cool yet [laughter]. Sign up for the Hunt Texas e-newsletter on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, and learn about hunting for and preparing wild game. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Bastrop State Park[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Some of my fondest thanksgiving memories were those I spent with family and friends in state parks. Make some holiday memories of your own this year. Our state Park Guide, Bryan Frasier tells us how. 54— Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the most popular and busiest times in our state park system. We encourage people to plan their family outings in a state park; we have so many group facilities you can rent and have your get together and your Thanksgiving meal in a state park. But also, we have a tendency to really enjoy that Thanksgiving turkey, so get out the next day and hike. See the beauty, the changing colors here in Texas, and walk around and use some energy and burn off that Thanksgiving meal. So, get outside and enjoy some time outdoors this Thanksgiving holiday. And if you're going to, I also encourage people that if they're going to be camping to make some advance reservations. It is a popular time. It is great weather. People historically have time off for the holidays -- so make those camping and overnight reservations as early as you can to come out and enjoy state parks at Thanksgiving. 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.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Women's Goose Hunt[/caption] Passport to Texas with Support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Call it a sign of the times: hunting opportunities for women are on the rise. And Texas Parks and Wildlife TV producer, Abe Moore joined some women on a wild goose hunt. 60— We followed along some ladies on a goose hunt down by Bay City. It was a chance for more and more ladies to get interested in the sport of hunting. So, as part of our story, we like to find some interesting people – and we did. We found a couple of ladies – two Laurens, as a matter of fact. One, she’s a newcomer to the sport. The big excitement is when you see that huge flock [Wow, look at that.] and there’s hundreds of them. [Y’all get ready.] And the other, she’s into hunting big time; Lauren LaBorde is her name. And she does skeet shooting. She’s a hard core hunter. She likes to go out on this hunt as a way to escape the nine-to-five grind she has going on back in Houston. We shot twenty birds today [Yeah?] pretty good for some ladies, here. Normally the hunt ends at ten in the morning, eleven. And these ladies stayed past noon. I’m looking at the clock going: 'Okay, I’ve got enough here. We can go home now – it’s windy. Cold.' So, yeah, they did great. This show airs on Texas Parks and Wildlife Television the week of November 11-17. Thanks, Abe. 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.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Old Baldy, from www.austin.ynn.com website[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Not all champions cross the finish line first. In state parks we have champion trees that earned their honors for simply existing. Our State park Guide Bryan Frasier explains. 69— By champion trees, we mean the biggest or the oldest or something that's historically noted about these trees. And one that's probably the least known, is the second oldest sycamore tree in Texas, which is inside Palmetto State park. I saw it for the first time the other day -- could not believe my eyes. In fact, I thought it was a live oak, until I backed up and looked up and saw the leaves on it. It was amazing! And then there's Old Baldy, which is inside McKinney Falls State Park, right in the city limits of Austin. And it's a big bald cypress tree; the largest bald cypress tree on public land in the state of Texas. It's a hundred and three feet tall and the circumference is sixteen feet on this tree, and it's 500 years old -- and it was named Austin's tree of the year. And then, of course, we can't not mention the Big Tree at Goose Island State Park. It's the oldest coastal live oak in the United States at more than a thousand years old. In state parks, we take special care to make sure these champion trees are looked after and that they're around for generations to see and enjoy in the future. 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.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"]Master Naturalist Group[/caption] Passport to Texas with Support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Protecting Texas' natural resources requires effort from all Texans. 09 – Well, as a state agency, we are constrained by our budget, and so we can’t possibly put as many eyes in the sky and boots on the ground as we need. Urban biologist, Kelley Bender, encourages folks to learn about and share the conservation message by becoming a Master Naturalist. 22 – The Texas Master Naturalist Program is a really exciting way for people to get involved in nature and wildlife in the state of Texas. There’s a nine-week course that’s provided by professionals in the field, where they get training that includes classroom training as well as field trips. And then we ask for a commitment back to provide 40 hours of volunteer service a year. Master Naturalist training prepares people to become leaders in community-based conservation efforts. 19 – Most chapters offer a get-to-know you class where they introduce all the topics that are going to be discussed. They also talk about what the commitment is and what will be expected of the students as well as what will be expected of the program. And all people are welcome and invited to join. We ask that people be 18 years and over. Find a local Master naturalist chapter near you on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and funds diverse conservations project throughout Texas…for Texas parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"]CWD Containment, High Risk & Buffer Zones[/caption] Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is fatal to deer infected with it, but is not known to be transmissible to other animals or humans. Detected earlier this year in far West Texas, hunters may harvest deer from that area, with this caveat: 14— As far as hunters are concerned, the only changes that we have proposed at this time is that for any deer that is harvested in a containment zone, we are requiring that those deer be presented at a check station. Mitch Lockwood is Texas parks and Wildlife big game program director. The containment zone is where the disease was first identified in the state. 18 – We have two check stations established for the mule deer season this year: one being in van Horn and one being in Cornudas. And, so any deer that’s harvested within that containment zone, those deer would need to be presented at the check station, where we would collect a CWD sample. Lockwood says voluntary check stations will be set up in the high risk and buffer zones, which are adjacent to the containment zone. 14 –Texas Parks and Wildlife department will pay for the test and we will post the testing results on the website so hunters can find out the test results from the deer they harvested just as soon as they’re made available from the lab. It will take about two weeks for results to be posted. Go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website for more information about the CWD management strategy. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program…supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects throughout Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="334"]Deer with CWD[/caption] Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program The New Mexico Department of Game & Fish contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife earlier this year with some concerning news: 18— Back in February of this year, we received a call from NM Game & Fish, notifying us that they had detected CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) in three of four hunter harvested deer within 2 miles of our border in the Hueco Mountains. So, that certainly grabbed out attention. Mitch Lockwood, Texas Parks and Wildlife big game program director, says the state’s management strategy for dealing with Chronic Wasting Disease has been updated to include three zones: containment, where the disease is known to exist; high risk, where no infected animals have been discovered, but the likelihood is high; and... 14 – Adjoining the high risk zone is an area we call the buffer zone, which is an area of less risk when compared to the containment zone or high risk zone, but there’s still an elevated risk of CWD occurring there as compared to the rest of the state. This week the Texas Parks and Wildlife commission will consider a proposal to prohibit transport of deer in and out of the containment zone… limited transport of deer from captive facilities in the high risk zone with increased testing of animals…and it would also allow for the trapping and transport of wild deer in the buffer zone. 05 …but not until an adequate number of CWD tests have been performed for that population. And what about hunters who harvest deer in these zones? We’ll tell you about that tomorrow. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program…supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects throughout Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="290"]Mule Deer[/caption] Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Mule deer taken earlier this year from the Hueco Mountains in Far West Texas tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. 15—It’s what they call a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or TSE, which is similar to scrapie in sheep or BSE [mad cow disease] in cattle. I think it’s important to note that CWD is not known to infect livestock or humans for that matter. Mitch Lockwood is Texas Parks and Wildife big game program director. The agency sampled more than 26-thousand hunter-harvested deer for the disease over the past decade; this recent discovery marks the first known cases inside Texas. 30—The incubation period for CWD is long. It can be two to three years, and it could possibly be longer than that in some cases. And so that’s one of the challenges of the disease; the deer doesn’t show any outward signs of being infected. There could be a long time between the deer actually being infected with CWD…before it actually shows any outward sign. So, that disease is able to manifest itself long before we detect that disease in the population. In the latter stages of the diseases, symptoms may include listlessness, weight loss, weakness, and no fear of humans. Contact Parks and Wildlife is you encounter a deer displaying these symptoms. Tomorrow: the CWD management strategy. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program…supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects throughout Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="468"]Hiking in State Parks[/caption] This is Passport to Texas It's finally cool enough to do some serious hiking in state parks...and there's plenty to see when you go...especially if you're on the lookout for the state's abundant wildlife. It's cool enough for them to be milling around, now, too. Our state Park Guide, Bryan Frasier tells us more. 47— I'm so glad we're doing a show on this, because it's one of the most enjoyable experiences that you can do outdoors -- and one of the most popular. And it's great for kids. I was out the other day in a greenbelt, looked up into a big live oak tree, and there was a gray fox sitting in the tree. We're blessed with a variety of wildlife, and if you walk slowly and look through the tree lines and just see...the excitement that kids experience when they observe wildlife like that in the woods -- for the first time sometimes -- there's no experience like it. And it's just a real discovery moment for them, and good for everyone. So, when you're outside and enjoying the great weather here in the fall in Texas, take time to see the wildlife that are already there. It will really enrich your already great hiking 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.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Brown-headed Cowbird[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Supported by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Calling a brown-headed cowbird a cowbird, is a misnomer as far as biologist Marsha May is concerned. I think they should be called bison birds, and not cowbirds, because they evolved with the bison. Semantics aside, the bird’s habit of laying its eggs in other birds’ nests can cause the decline of species with small populations, such as the endangered Black-capped Vireo. Additional species are also affected. Woodland species are now being impacted by brown-headed cowbirds, because we’ve fragmented the woods. Previously those woodland species were protected by the woods. Now that it’s fragmented, the cowbirds are getting into that habitat, and they’re parasitizing birds that have never historically been parasitized before. The cowbird is in the blackbird family. The male has a black body and brown head, while the female is mottled brown and gray. Want to intervene on songbirds’ behalf. You can actually become certified in Texas to trap for cowbirds, and that’s mainly during the breeding season, between March first and May thirty-first. And, mainly you’re trying to trap the females. Get ready for spring. Find certification information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. That’s our show… the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of shooting and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="250"]Brown-headed Cowbird[/caption] This is Passport to Texas Supported by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program The brown-headed cowbird migrated with bison across the Great Plains, and because it’s hard to raise a family on the road, cowbirds laid their eggs in other birds’ nests; host birds unwittingly raised cowbird young. 12—The problem with the cowbird eggs is that normally they’re big eggs; they hatch earlier than the host eggs do; and they’re very vocal and hungry and beg for food. Biologist, Marsha May, says the cowbird hatchlings out compete the host’s offspring for food, starving them out, and reducing populations of that species. Back when bison roamed, cowbirds didn’t have quite the same impact. 15—Black-capped vireos, which are an endangered species now, evolved where if they were parasitized by a brown-headed cowbird, they would leave that nest and re-nest – start a new nest. Well, if the cowbirds had already moved through, that would have worked. Without bison, cowbirds hang with cows. Because cows are fenced in and don’t migrate, neither do cowbirds. 19—They’re parasitizing all the birds in that area – their nests – and they’re having a major impact on some species like the black capped vireo, because the black-capped vireo keeps re-nesting and that’s wasting a lot of energy, and if it’s constantly being parasitized, then no young will be reproduced at all that year. We’ll have more on cowbirds tomorrow. That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program... funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="268"]Texas Blind Salamander, image from www.eahcp.org[/caption] Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program The underlying concept of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan is simple: do what’s necessary to ensure the survival of rare, threatened and endangered species – that depend on the Aquifer and the San Marcos and Comal Rivers – while permitting continued use of the resource by human constituents. 06—There’s federal law requiring this, but it’s the right thing to do in terms of protecting the resource for all of us into the future. Cindy Loeffler is water resources branch chief at TPW and one of the architects of the protection plan. Convincing people to do the right thing – like modifying their usage of the resource based on the needs of rare species – can be a hard sell. The plan includes ongoing water conservation –especially during times of drought – removing invasive species, and declaring a portion of the San Marcos River a state scientific area that would make it illegal to uproot endangered Texas Wild Rice. But Loeffler says these protected species are indicators of a healthy ecosystem – which benefits everyone. 21—By providing these protections for these species, that helps ensure the San Marcos river, the Comal River will keep flowing. Keeping these springs flowing is really at the heart and soul of the work done by the recovery implementation program. And so that benefits the species, of course, but also benefits people as well. Find a link to the plan’s website at passporttotexas.org. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program …supports our series and funds diverse conservation projects throughout Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.