Season 41

Sea Center Texas hosts the annual Special Olympics fishing contest, where athletes compete to catch the greatest weight of fish. In Caprock Canyons State Park, archeologists uncover ancient bison bones at a rare site where indigenous peoples once hunted. Support nature where you live by planting a pocket prairie for pollinators.

McKinney Falls State Park is an urban oasis near the state capital. Motorheads from across the nation pull up to one of Potter county's greatest attractions, RUTA806--an annual ATV off-roading event near the Canadian River. An orphaned black bear cub is released at Devils River State Natural Area.

A family explores South Padre Island beaches looking for fun above and below the water. Mission Tejas State Park is a natural escape into deep-rooted Texas history, located at the north end of the Davy Crockett National Forest. Once reviled, bats have enjoyed a remarkable image do-over thanks to Bat Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy.

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.

Trail runners explore the wilds of Texas and discover a sense of empowerment, community, and adventure. Ancient rock art and outdoor recreation will draw you to Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. See how some South Texans have come up with a tasty way of tackling the feral pig problem.

Meet a biologist that studies some of the two thousand different types of aquatic invertebrates in our rivers and streams. Brad and Melissa Ribelin transformed 1,940 acres of grassland into a thriving wildlife habitat through dedicated land management and conservation partnerships. Follow a conservationist and hunter as he hits the woods in search of the Eastern Wild Turkey.

Fireflies still inhabit Texas and there are ways to create habitat for them in your own backyard. RC plane pilots at Lake Whitney State Park share the joy and freedom they find in taking to the skies. In a region that is sparsely populated, Tim and Lou Edwards are welcoming hosts and excellent stewards of land that is home to a wide variety of West Texas wildlife.

Members of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society whip up some tasty dishes at Cleburne State Park. For 100 years, the 5,600-acre Running V Ranch has been passed down from generation to generation. It's more than just land--it's family. The Texas Youth Hunting Program hosts an archery hunt in the Hill Country.

Follow along as a young adventurer tackles her first long-distance hike on the longest trail in Texas and feel her triumphs as well as her aching feet. Visit a Hill Country state park that offers tubing and fishing on the South Llano, and hiking and biking in the hills around it.

Enjoy the sights and sounds of one of the best birding boardwalks on the coast. A Pineywoods haven invites paddling, hiking, and stargazing under dark Texas skies. Some fragile flying insects bring beauty and business to Texas each year. Meet the folks who look out for our butterflies.

Join a team of researchers as they traverse the Davis Mountains in search of owls. Ride along over natural bridges and through tunnels on the mountain biking trails at Caprock Canyons State Park. See an amazing mix of birds at South Padre Island--a prime destination for birders during the fall migration.

There are over a million acres of public hunting lands in Texas. Take a look at one of the state's newest wildlife management areas, where licensed hunters can access land for a dove hunting experience. From the surf and dunes of the Gulf to the bay side's quiet marsh and native prairie, Galveston Island State Park holds a lot to discover. Chef Davis Turner of Austin's Huckleberry fries up some wild caught Texas Gulf shrimp.

Protected alligator snapping turtles are returned to their natural habitats, after the trafficked animals are saved from interstate poachers. Cooper Lake State Park in northeastern Texas offers shady campsites and cabins, a large lake, and plenty of fun. Fisheries biologist Dan Bennett is working to turn two new Texas reservoirs into trophy bass fishing destinations.

The salty waters of Baffin Bay have long been a fishing hotspot for anglers on the Texas coast, and folks are working hard to keep it that way. With its lush forest floor and swampy marshes, Palmetto State Park is an unusual slice of the tropics in Central Texas. In the high Chihuahuan desert just north of Terlingua, residents are once again learning to live with bears.

Biologists trek into the backcountry searching for bighorn lambs in the Franklin Mountains. A team of young birders, the Happy Hawks, partake in the Great Texas Birding Classic as they search for birds from Houston to Galveston. Coastal state parks need durable structures and design students need projects. See what the Gulf Coast DesignLab at UT Austin is building in parks along the coast.

A North Texas researcher investigates the health of our most productive native pollinators, and how we might simply help them bee. Hidden high in branches above the Colorado River in downtown Austin sit a group of nests belonging to a colony of Great Blue Herons. Join a fishing trip for black drum in the shallow waters of the upper Laguna Madre.

A park interpreter goes out of her way to make sure all Dinosaur Valley State Park visitors can find a way to connect with nature. In a Houston neighborhood, community members are using nature as a solution to combat blazing temperatures and improve physical and mental health. Meet a man in Utopia who helps save souls, when he isn't helping save lasting mementos of hunting and fishing trips.

Government Canyon State Natural Area provides a crucial source of drinking water for San Antonio residents. Experience the slow-moving water and natural beauty of Martin Dies, Jr. State Park. Thanks to good stewardship and a lot of birdhouses, the Red Cockaded Woodpeckers of Scrappin Valley are doing so well that they're being exported to other forests that need them.