Life's Better Outside - December 2014

Economic benefit of State Parks, BP restoration projects, land acquisitions, turtle road crossings and more
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page..

Life's Better Outside header

In This Issue:

=============

STATE PARKS

A&M Study: Texas State Parks Good for Economy

kids, tent at lakeside, sunset Tourists and visitors to Texas State Parks create an economic boost for nearby towns, generating income and jobs for local communities and growing the state economy, according to a recent study from Texas A&M University. In a nutshell, Texas State Parks:
  • Generate $774 million in retail sales annually,
  • Contribute $351 million in economic benefits, and
  • Create 5,800 jobs statewide.

“The take-away message from this study should be that the state park system is an important contributor to the Texas economy, particularly in rural areas and that the state’s net investment in parks is returned many times over as visitors travel to enjoy the outdoors and leave their dollars behind,” according to Dr. John Crompton, research team leader.

The study surveyed nearly 14,000 state park visitors between March and June of 2014 and found that purchases made by park visitors result in greater wealth and employment in communities located near state parks.

Some of the findings:

  • Balmorhea — $2.3 million in value added; 50.3 jobs
  • Bastrop — $1.7 million in value added; 35.6 jobs
  • Big Bend Ranch — $1.9 million in value added; 27 jobs.
  • Cedar Hill — $3.1 million in value added; 41.7 jobs
  • Garner — $6.9 million in value added; 16.1 jobs
  • McKinney Falls — $883,146 in value added; 16.1 jobs
  • Palo Duro Canyon — $3.7 million in value added; 86 jobs
  • Pedernales Falls — $1.7 million in value added; 41.1 jobs

Read the full Crompton study.

Back to Top

=============

STATE PARKS

Celebrate Holidays With State Parks

cabin decorated with lights Holiday festivities abound at Texas State Parks! Park staff “elves” are planning a sleigh full of special activities from hikes and decorated camp sites to historical reenactments. Check the Holiday Calendar for the very full list of events or check the calendars of parks close to you.

Give the unique gift of Texas State Parks:

  • Special State Park Pass Offer − Unwrap the wild this holiday season! For a limited time, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is offering the opportunity to buy a State Park Pass as a gift for $65 - that's $5 off the regular price. Visit the Foundation website to take advantage of this online-only offer. 100% of the money goes back to support Texas State Parks.
  • State Park Ornaments − Each year Texas State Parks creates commemorative ornaments that make great holiday gifts. Ornaments feature images of state parks, wildlife, plants and some of the numerous outdoor activities that you can enjoy at state parks and historic sites. Check the Ornaments page to order the 2014 ornaments.
  • State Park Gift Cards − Give the gift of the outdoors with Texas State Parks Gift Cards that are fully transferable and can be purchased in any amount (minimum of $5). Recipients can apply them towards state park passes, merchandise at state park stores and entrance and facility fees. You can purchase Gift Cards at most State Parks or by contacting the Call Center at (512) 389-8900. If you purchase a State Park Gift Card valued at $75 or more during the month of December, you can also receive a FREE 2014 ornament.

Back to Top

=============

Click for an offer from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation

ADV Texas Paris & Wildlife Foundation
=============

LAND AND WATER

BP Spill Restoration Money Flows to Texas Coast

white egret wading in coastal grasses Four years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the healing of the Gulf of Mexico is underway. Two different sources of restoration funding are now flowing to Texas. Both are good news for natural resources, fish and wildlife and nature-based recreation and tourism on the Texas coast.

One recent round of funding comes from the government civil case against BP and includes the five following projects to begin in 2015:
  • Galveston Island State Park Beach Redevelopment (Galveston County): $10.7 million
  • Sea Rim State Park Improvements (Jefferson County): $210,000
  • Ship Reef/Corpus Reef (federal waters /Nueces County): $1.9 million
  • Freeport Artificial Reef (Brazoria County): $2.2 million
  • Matagorda Artificial Reef (Matagorda County): $3.6 million

Second, in a round of grants from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, eight Texas projects will use about $13.2 in criminal settlement funds from the spill to add land to coastal wildlife refuges, restore threatened marshes, and protect vital habitat from erosion.

  • Anahuac N.W.R. Coastal Marsh Acquisition: $4,363,200
  • Coastal Heritage Preserve Initiative: Bayside Acquisition and Easement: $2,632,500
  • Virginia Point Shoreline Protection and Estuarine Restoration: $2,000,000
  • Oyster Lake Shoreline Protection and Restoration: $1,200,000
  • Greens Lake Protection and Marsh Restoration: Engineering & Design: $125,000
  • Dollar Bay-Moses Lake Shoreline Enhancement and Restoration: $130,300
  • Egery Flats Marsh Restoration: $1,587,000
  • Nueces Bay Rookery Islands Restoration: $1,145,000

Visit www.restorethetexascoast.org to learn more about possible future projects.

Back to Top

=============

WILDLIFE

Turtle on the Road: What To Do?

turtle closeup Why does the turtle cross the road? And what should you, as a passerby, do about it? Texas has an incredible diversity of freshwater turtles from red-eared sliders to the diamond-backed terrapin, and state herpetologist Andy Gluesenkamp tells us where they may be going and how to help them on their journey.

Watch the video answer to a question that has challenged car loads of travelers since family road trips began.

Love learning about Texas critters? Join Texas Nature Trackers, in which volunteers of all ages and interest levels help gather scientific data on species of concern in Texas. Download the program's free mobile app to keep track of your wildlife and plant sightings and to get expert help from other naturalists whether you’re hiking, camping, birding, or are simply curious about what you found.

Safety Alert: Exercise caution for human safety when providing turtle road assistance.

Back to Top

=============
ADV Passport to Texas radio
=============

LAND AND WATER

2014 Wrap Up - Lone Star Land Steward Awards

pronghorn sheep in brush You’ll find inspiring examples of excellent land stewardship in every region of Texas. Some of the best are recognized by the Lone Star Land Steward Awards program.

Take a tour of four 2014 Regional winners:

Watch videos of all seven 2014 winners.  

Back to Top

=============
TPW Magazine gift offer
=============

LAND AND WATER

Two Property Donations Grow Public Lands

moonrise over flat prairie Two land parcels totalling over 14,000 acres were accepted as donations by Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in recent weeks.

A donation of 120 acres will expand the size of Palo Pinto Mountains State Park near Strawn, west of Fort Worth. Watch a video about the future park. The donated 120 acres surround much of city-owned Tucker Lake within the boundaries of the more than 4,000-acre park. Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, which will open to the public in several years, encompasses former ranch land in southeast Stephens and southwest Palo Pinto counties just north of Interstate 20. The donated land does not include Tucker Lake but will add access to the lake for future visitors. 

A land donation of 14,037 acres to create the new Yoakum Dunes Wildlife Management Area in Cochran, Terry and Yoakum Counties near Lubbock, will provide a refuge for the threatened lesser prairie chicken and other native grassland birds and wildlife. It’s the first new Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Texas since the 2006 donation of the McGillivray and Leona McKie Muse Wildlife Management Area in Brown County. 

A successful partnership made up of The Nature Conservancy of Texas, The Conservation Fund and Concho Resources, Inc., donated funds that leveraged $1.2 million in federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program funds.

“Conserving the lesser-prairie chicken all comes down to habitat, and the new Yoakum Dunes Wildlife Management Area will provide vital breeding and nesting habitat for the species in a critically important part of its range,” said Ross Melinchuk, TPWD deputy executive director for natural resources.

Image: Moonrise at Yoakum Dunes

Back to Top

=============

DOING BUSINESS

The New Conservation License Plate Winner Is…

2 license plates - hummingbird and rattlesnake It’s a tie! The winning designs for the new license plates are the Hummingbird and the Rattlesnake!

Many of you helped select the design for the newest Texas Parks and Wildlife specialty license plates by casting your vote in our online survey. Almost from the beginning, it was a tight race — so tight that we could not determine the clear favorite among the thousands who voted. In the end, only 51 votes separated the Hummingbird and the Rattlesnake, so we decided to release both!

Both plates will be available this spring for your car, truck, motorcycle, trailer and RV. When you purchase a Conservation License Plate for $30/year*, $22 goes to fund a vast array of projects that help protect native species such as the state's official reptile, the Horned Lizard. For specific examples of how the money has been or is being used visit Where the Money Goes.

To be notified when the new plates go on sale, click here.

Thank you for your support of Texas Wildlife!

 

*Does not include regular registration fees

Back to Top

=============

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Latest Game Warden Field Notes

2 game wardens on horseback in brush Working in counties across the state, Texas Game Wardens rise to the challenge every day. While their stories are sometimes humorous and always interesting, their encounters can turn from casual to deadly in a heartbeat. Read the most recent Game Warden Field Notes.

These highly-trained officers put their lives on the line every day to protect people, property and wildlife. Learn more about the Texas Game Wardens, and share this story with someone who might want to consider a career as a game warden.

Back to Top

=============
ADV Texas Parks & Wildlife TV Show
=============

WILDLIFE

Postcard From Texas – Panhandle Turkeys

turkey closeup Lucky are those who get to watch Rio Grande turkeys in their natural state, with no southern cornbread dressing or cranberry sauce in sight (lucky for the turkeys, too). Sit back and enjoy two minutes of turkey antics with this flock hanging around a ranch field in Donley County, just south of McLean. Put a decoy or two out, do some turkey calls, and before you know it here they come.

This moment in nature is brought to you by the EMMY-winning Texas Parks & Wildlife TV Show. Now in its 29th season, the show airs on every Texas PBS station, as well as a number of other public television stations around the country and about 50 city government access channels across the state. Here’s where to watch. 

Back to Top

=============

Thanks to the following sponsors and partners:

toyota ad
=============
Nature Rocks