- NARRATOR: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - We are going out into all these overhangs, crevices, rock shelters, caves and things like that and we're looking for unrecorded pictograph sites.

- People enjoy coming here to Cedar Hill State Park.

It's a fun place to hang out and it's a gem here.

Woo!

- We are talking about the Crested Caracara which is a really interesting bird here in the state of Texas.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Texas Parks & Wildlife , a television series for all outdoors.

♪ ♪ [wind blowing] - NARRATOR: In far West Texas, Hueco Tanks rises rugged, ancient, and full of memory.

Its stones bear the marks of those who called this desert home long ago.

Many of the images remain weathered but enduring, while others lie hidden to the naked eye.

[gentle music] Two archeologists are setting out to uncover what time has tucked away.

- All right, I think we're ready.

- Okay, let's get on the trail.

- CHARLES: All right.

- NARRATOR: It takes a good pair of boots and a little bit of grit to get where these stories are ridden in stone.

- CHARLES: It's such a nice morning.

- It's beautiful, it's a great day.

I can't wait to get up there.

[birds chirping] We're an archeological team looking for rock imagery because this is a location that Indigenous folks used for thousands of years.

It's a really important cultural resource that we want to be able to document and also preserve.

How many panels do you think we'll find today?

- CHARLES: I bet we find over 10.

- AMANDA: That'd be cool.

I'm excited to see what's at site 17.

- CHARLES: Yeah, for sure.

- NARRATOR: These archeologists know that every hard one step brings them closer to the past.

- CHARLES: Watch your head on that rock.

- AMANDA: Yeah, thank you.

The places that we are looking for this rock imagery are often in hard-to-reach places.

Okay, got it.

- There you go.

- Thank you.

- We are going out onto the rock and we're going in under a round up through and down into all these overhangs, crevices, rock shelters, caves, and things like that, and we're looking for unrecorded pictograph sites.

Oh, wow.

Lighting's really good up here today.

- Yeah, it's really nice.

You wanna head to 17C?

- Yeah, 17C sounds great.

- AMANDA: Okay, let's go.

- So many of the panels that have been known previously are things you can walk up to and immediately see.

The reds are just popping right in your face.

Most of the panels that are left to be documented are in no way like that.

Yes.

- Should be right around there.

- Okay, yeah, got it.

Still hard to see, even with the light.

- AMANDA: It's really tough.

- As you're crawling around, you're covered in dust.

Okay.

Yeah, that's a little bit better.

What you're looking for are slight changes in color.

You're looking at those kind of subtle changes.

- That's really cool.

- Yeah.

That's super cool.

Well, let's get some photos.

- Yeah, okay.

- It's just been such a wonderful experience.

There's not very many archeologists that have this opportunity to climb all over a place and look for things that haven't been found in over a century.

Towards you.

- Towards me.

- Yep.

And once you do find something, that's when you bring out your phone app to enhance those images.

Got it.

- Okay.

- To actually allow you to find it.

The image-enhancing software allows us to identify those really incredible pictographs at these different locations.

- I think we have what we need over here.

Do you wanna head over to the next spot?

- Yeah.

- Great.

- I think we can find some cool stuff over there.

- Great.

- Other times, it might just be natural staining in the rock.

And in that case, we continue scooting on our way and look for the next spot.

[gentle music] - AMANDA: We're in the middle of year one, and it's been wonderful.

We have so far documented 155 new rock imagery panels.

[gentle music] [camera shutter clicks] ♪ ♪ - Got it.

- Okay.

[gentle music] [camera shutter clicks] ♪ ♪ [camera shutter clicks] ♪ ♪ Oh, watch the ceiling.

- CHARLES: And so, it really is a slow process that you have to be very familiar with what paintings look like in different types of preservation settings versus what is just natural coloration in the rock surface.

- AMANDA: So, the imagery is right here, so if this is okay for you, this is sort of where I'll be laying.

- CHARLES: Yep, there you go.

- Okay, like that.

- Ready?

[playful music] - And, to me, it looks like it's making some shapes.

- Yeah.

- I think this is gonna be something really cool.

- Wow, really cool.

- The dots.

- Yeah, that is super cool.

- I think a jaguar.

- Pictograph sites that we know about have been known for at least a century.

A lot of the new panels that we're finding are much more faded and much more difficult to identify.

- Front claws.

Back claws.

- CHARLES: A lot of those have not been seen for at least a century.

- Wow.

- CHARLES: One of the really important ultimate outcomes of this project is it's going to enable the park to make informed management decisions about where pictograph panels are located, where bouldering routes are, and where hiking routes are, and make effective management decisions moving forward for what's best with cultural resources and public needs.

- AMANDA: There was already an amazing knowledge and catalog of the archeological resources that existed here.

This project has really shown there's still even more for us to learn from and appreciate.

[upbeat music] - NARRATOR: To celebrate 40 years of our television series, we are taking a trip back in time to look at some of our earliest episodes.

[upbeat music] [film reel clicking] - NARRATOR: The rock art has been here for hundreds and thousands of years, yet tomorrow, it may be gone.

The major threat to these pictographs is not natural causes, but man who, in his ignorance, has destroyed many rock art sites.

Our greatest challenge is educating people about the treasures that lie here.

- ALEX: We're living in the middle of one of the richest treasure houses of prehistoric art in the new world, and it's up to us to preserve it and to bloody well cherish it.

- NARRATOR: Will this rock art be here for our children to experience, to learn the lesson that it teaches, to learn to look not with the eyes alone but with the heart?

[dramatic music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [birds chirping] - People enjoy coming here to Cedar Hill State Park.

They can be in Dallas-Fort Worth and just drive 20 miles, 30 miles, and be in this beautiful oasis away from everything.

- WALKER: Come on.

- Here, we have the Koala Trail, which is a two-mile trail.

It showcases our Blackland prairie.

- There's only about one percent of the Blackland prairie that's intact remaining.

We have about 165-acre restoration project to bring that prairie back.

It also comes with a unique opportunity for people to experience nature on this scale in a way that they never have.

[dogs panting] - We have 28 miles of trails, [energetic music] including the DORBA Trail.

- BIKER: Whoo!

- RACHEL: Bikers all come out to the trails and enjoy it.

- Whoo.

[energetic music] - I'd say these trails are moderate to difficult.

We've got three different loops, a three-mile loop, and eight-mile and a 12-mile, and they're all within each other.

[energetic music] It's a fun place to hang out, and it's a gem here.

[energetic music] [birds and insects chirping] - LEAH: Where do you wanna go?

Let's go.

[EcoRover whirring] It's really important for us to provide the opportunity for everybody to be able to enjoy the world outdoors.

We also have the EcoRover that is a machine that someone is able to utilize throughout the whole park.

- LEAH: Jon, you're a better driver than me.

Like, I think it's official.

My motto since Jon received his diagnosis has been, "If we go, we all go.

Everybody goes."

[EcoRover whirring] Whoo, baby!

[Leah laughs] - MAN: That's awesome.

[Leah laughing] - The EcoRover means that he can do some of that explorative, hands up, wind in your hair, driving, hiking, and not feel like he's gonna get trapped and have to ask for help.

It's transformative.

[birds and insects chirping] [hammer clanging] - RACHEL: Camping out here is a unique experience.

You can choose a site that is just nestled up into the cedar trees.

[campers laughing] Oh, they love it.

- So, we've got lots of small moths.

They look a little bit like mosquitoes, right?

But most of these are actually not mosquitoes.

They're called midges.

- RACHEL: We have our mothing program and that one is a unique one.

- RANGER WILL: Look at those super long antenna.

- There's a bug on your phone.

- RANGER WILL: Oh, yeah.

Yeah, they're attracted to light.

- RACHEL: There is nothing more amazing than watching people's faces light up, no matter what the experience that they have here at Cedar Hill State Park.

[upbeat music] People love the opportunity to be able to come out and just get away from the city life to be out in nature, just to cut loose.

- See right where I just told you.

That just popped right there.

[upbeat music] - RACHEL: And it's just beautiful and very peaceful.

[upbeat music] [insects chirping] - I'm Morgan O'Hanlon, a Senior Staff Writer at "Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine".

- And I'm David Yoskowitz, Executive Director Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

♪ Better outside ♪ - MORGAN: Together, we're bringing you a new show about how life's better outside and the people who work every day to make outside better.

♪ Better outside ♪ In each episode, we'll take you into the great outdoors.

- This will be good.

- MORGAN: Whether we're out counting sheep.

- Gotcha.

- Good shot.

- MORGAN: On the hunt for invasive species or just taking a trip down the river, you'll learn something new about conservation in the Lone Star State.

♪ Better outside ♪ So are you ready to go outside?

♪ Better outside ♪ [upbeat rock music] [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ - We're talking about the crested caracara, which is a really interesting bird here in the state of Texas.

A lot of people get confused when they see it.

They'll often think, "What is this strange-looking hawk?"

It walks on the ground like a vulture, and it's actually a falcon.

One of the interesting things about them is that they have a really kind of cool nickname.

They are often called the Mexican eagle, pointing to the fact that they really don't look very much like their fellow falcons.

Both the male and the female, when they're adults, look the same.

When people often ask me, "What did I see?"

They'll often describe a bird that has got kind of a dark body, very close to black.

When they're on the ground, the thing that may catch your attention is their long, yellow legs.

The face and neck tend to be pale, around the tail is pale, and then they have this really distinct orange face, which really stands out on the bird.

And if you do see them in flight, the tips of their wings will often be white.

When we most often see them, they're on the ground.

They take advantage of carrion, roadkill, things like that.

They're very opportunistic.

One of the other things that you may notice about caracaras is they'll often make kind of a rattling, chatter-y kind of sound.

[caracara rattling] Sometimes they'll even throw their head back as they're doing it.

They're definitely not necessarily one of the quieter birds that we have.

[caracara squawking] Crested caracaras are found from the Southern United States, especially here in Texas, down through Central America to Northern South America.

The will typical typically find them in open areas, sometimes into more dry areas like grasslands or savannas.

They are also not a rare species.

In some parts, they are actually expanding their range throughout the state of Texas.

One thing you can do if you see crested caracara is to document your sighting in either eBird or iNaturalist, which are both citizen science platforms.

This information is really important to the work that we do as scientists and researchers and for management, and helps us better conserve all of our Texas birds.

[traffic humming] - Today we're working with Customs and U.S.

Border Protection.

We're the border of Mexico and the United States.

So the ports of entry located here in Laredo, they're gonna be the busiest ports of entry in the State of Texas.

Eight to 10,000 vehicles coming through on the weekend per day.

So today is the day after Dia de Los Reyes, which is a big Mexican holiday.

It's the time of the year whenever everybody that went to vacation in Mexico for Christmas, for New Year, they're making their way back to the United States.

A lot of hunters come through, so we're checking their harvest.

A lot of hunters coming in with a lot of deer antlers, so we make sure that they have the Mexican hunting tag on it.

They gotta have this filled out.

And they also have to have a declaration form declaring any type of wildlife resource that they're gonna be bringing into the United States, State of Texas.

- ROPER: The biggest one's gonna be mainly the seafood stuff.

- GAME WARDEN: This is all from the river, from the mouth there at Boca Chica?

- Speckled trout, red snapper, red fish.

You know, everything that we limit on our side, unlimited over there.

We have done undercover buys.

And you're thinking, "Hey, this restaurant's, you know, clean, legit, and then all of a sudden they're buying out of the back of somebody's pickup truck, buying fish, and then we're eating it.

- GAME WARDEN: Sir, do y'all sell oysters?

- OWNER: Yes, sir, fried oysters.

- GAME WARDEN: Fried oysters?

- Lately we've found a lot of oysters.

Oysters are very delicate, so that's why we're really on the lookout for oysters right now because we don't know how they were harvested.

We don't know, you know, what type of sanitation.

There's no way of telling because they're coming in from another country.

- It's not traditional game warden work.

You know, pretty much one goal, just making sure that people on the Mexican side are not trying to abuse what we have over here by abusing their laws and bringing it over.

[traffic humming] [gentle music] - ANDY: For whatever reason, when I'm in this environment, I feel good.

- NARRATOR: There's a lot to feel good about at Sheldon Lake State Park in North Houston.

- This is an amazing example of why we would want to protect an area like this.

It's probably the last large area of prairie in the Houston area.

- NARRATOR: This is 500 acres of restored coastal prairie.

- It's a very rare habitat.

Plants and animals that are very rare, including some that are endangered, you know, on the endangered species list, depend on this coastal prairie habitat.

- NARRATOR: And so do we.

This land provides a barrier to flood waters, which would otherwise have the potential to impact nearby neighborhoods and businesses.

- In a city like Houston, that's one of the really big perks that they have, is to help reduce a lot of the flooding that's taking place.

So, again, you have flooding purposes and bringing back wildlife.

- NARRATOR: A coastal prairie is nature's water treatment plant.

The soil absorbs, filters, and cleans, the water.

Roots run deep here, some extending six feet.

Their structure holds soil in place through a flood or drought.

[upbeat music] This coastal prairie restoration didn't just happen.

It took the work of industrious-minded people to transform a fallowed agricultural field.

- In 2003, we decided to restore the agricultural fields.

- NARRATOR: Years in the making.

- This is the latest work.

- NARRATOR: It takes conservation organizations, federal and state support, and volunteers to clear land, grow plants from seed, and plant marshes by hand.

A 1930 aerial photograph was used to locate marsh restoration sites.

- ANDY: It's a little bit of an ark to preserve those plants and animals.

Although we're only restoring a total of 500 acres out of what used to be seven million acres on the Texas coast, it's 500 acres that are gonna be authentic, an authentic piece of what Houston used to look like or any of the coastal towns and cities before farming and other developments came in.

They're gonna have the birds and animals that used to live in the coastal prairie, they're gonna be out here.

[frogs croaking] [gentle music] - NARRATOR: The meandering park road is a drive through a timeline of prairie restoration from 20 years to just a few months ago.

The most recent restoration is 10 acres near the park entrance.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department lacked funding to restore the area, but then they worked with the Texas Department of Transportation to put into action a new agreement, which perfectly fit the needs of the 10 acres.

- So, this is switchgrass here, and again, this is its first year growing.

- NARRATOR: A key element of this agreement is based on a state requirement that the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will review a project if roadway construction impacts state resources under their purview.

- And where we have the potential to impact our state resources that they are charged with protecting, then we have not just the duty, but an opportunity to do more.

[owl hooting] [gentle music] This is stewardship.

We're all state agencies.

At the end of the day, we're all under the same state umbrella.

There's no reason why we can't find ways to work together and come to some kind of positive benefit.

[group cheering] [person laughs] - KELLEY: Finding those people that are passionate, that are working with you towards a common and like mission-- - Keep the conservation actions in mind-- - KELLEY: Whether that's doing the work, whether that's helping find the funding, or whether that's coming out and bringing people with them to enjoy and experience the park, or get people excited that this exists.

- CHILD: Here it is, here it is!

- KELLEY: And how they can help to continue and find a connection with it.

That's what it's all about.

- NARRATOR: Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center is a connection to nature and outdoor adventure, whether on the lake, at the ponds, or walking through a diverse, ever-changing landscape.

- CLOVER: Restoration is an ever ongoing event.

It will take hundreds of years for the soil to restore itself.

- NARRATOR: But now, it's well on the way.

- KELLEY: It's exciting to get to see this take place.

- CLOVER: Now, nature gets to take her course - NARRATOR: Left to restore to its authentic condition, life thrives in the native coastal prairie, and it provides for life well beyond its borders.

[gentle music] - NARRATOR: Next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - It's time to kick start this adventure man.

That's the same bridge John Graves looked at when he set off on his trip.

[water splashes] Woo!

It's such a beautiful public place that people can use, and it takes the people paddling to keep it like it is.

Oh, something rolled to your left just down there.

We are spending some time on the beautiful Brazos, getting out in nature and enjoying every inch of it.

- NARRATOR: That's next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife.

[wings flapping] [birds squawking] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] - NARRATOR: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.