PRESIDIO, Texas — There is more to see and do than ever before at Texas’ largest and wildest state park, Big Bend Ranch State Park. The public is invited to learn first-hand about the many wonders of the 300,000-acre during a free, daylong Fiesta on Saturday, May 2 at the park’s Sauceda Ranger Station.
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite welcome rains in late March, much of Texas remains parched by prolonged drought of historic proportions, and wildlife die-offs of whooping cranes and deer have been reported. However, experts say native wildlife evolved to bounce back from drought, and a bigger issue is how human water use is changing the equation, and how drought underscores the need for water planning and conservation.
LAKE JACKSON, Texas — Corporate-sponsored teams from across the USA that include some of the nation’s birding elite will once again take part in what organizers call the world’s longest, wildest birding competition along the entire Texas coast April 26-May 3. The Great Texas Birding Classic raises funds to protect bird habitat and promotes the fun and excitement of one of nature’s great spectacles, but it also highlights a growing concern: the decline of migratory songbirds.
Nature-based fun abounds for Texas families, from diverse and outstanding state parks to programs and workshops that teach fishing, camping, paddling and much more. But alongside this good news, a growing body of books and studies reveals a serious issue: today’s kids are losing touch with nature and that’s taking a toll.
Las diversiones en plena naturaleza son abundantes para familias texanas, de parques estatales diversos y extraordinarios a programas y talleres que enseñan la pesca, el campismo, el piragüismo, y mucho más. Pero al lado de esta buena noticia, una creciente corriente de libros e investigaciones revela un tema muy grave: los niños se van perdiendo contacto con la naturaleza. Eso les afecta físicamente y psicológicamente.
AUSTIN, Texas — The trumpeting sound of cranes overhead is a cherished sound of spring in Texas, but as endangered whooping cranes depart Texas this spring en route for breeding grounds in Canada, fewer birds will be making the trip.
NEEDVILLE, TX — A full day of park activities and interpretive programs as well as a midday ceremony are scheduled to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary celebration of Brazos Bend State Park on Saturday, April 4, at this popular park in Southeast Texas, located less than an hour’s drive from Houston’s southwest side.
EL PASO, Texas — Rock climbers recently noticed canyon wrens nesting at a popular climbing site at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site. Due to concerns about disturbing the nesting birds, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has temporarily closed Grenade Boulder until hatchlings fledge. It is expected to be closed for about a month.
AUSTIN, Texas — Divers from the Texas Department of Public Safety recovered the body of Jerry King, 72, of Athens from Richland Chambers Reservoir at 9:30 a.m. today. Texas game wardens earlier had identified a return on side-scan sonar that proved to be King.
JACKSBORO, Texas — Come celebrate the 142nd anniversary of the existence of Texas’ northern-most U.S. Army fort during Fort Richardson Days on April 17 and 18, and see what frontier life was like in the 1870s.