Audio Documentaries

Here is a selection of audio files that are being produced for the Passport to Texas Legacies radio program, a partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Jim Blackburn, a Houston environmental attorney, describes the often unseen value of Houston's native ecosystems, credits the past conservation work that has protected them to date, and urges continued work on their behalf. [broadcast August 22, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Al Brothers, a rancher and wildlife manager in Berclair, shows how habitat protection and herd management is essential to both whitetail deer and the hunting experience, including tracking, camaraderie, and marksmanship. [broadcast February 24, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Scooter Cheatham, an Austin ethnobotanist and architect, explains the Useful Wild Plants project, an effort to describe and promote ways that wild plants can be used for food, textiles, drugs and other uses, so that they may be cultivated and protected. [broadcast January 27, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Bessie Cornelius, a Beaumont birder and secretary, recalls how the brown pelican suffered from DDT exposure, and was later restored when regulations of the pesticide were put in place. [broadcast June 29, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Felix Cox, a commercial saltwater fisherman based in Aransas Pass, remembers the danger of the Gulf of Mexico in a fierce storm [broadcast September 14, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Jim Eidson, the former steward of the Nature Conservancy's 800-acre native prairie remnant near Celeste, explains the value of the tallgrasses as a low-input, hardy, high-protein forage for livestock. [broadcast May 19, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Midge Erskine, a wildlife rehabilitator in Midland, remembers the effort to protect migratory birds from open oil and gas waste pits in west Texas. [broadcast June 22, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Ted Eubanks, an Austin-based ecotourism analyst and developer, explains his concerns about the modern urban generation that is growing up without exposure to the land and natural ecosystems.  [broadcast February 20, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Katherine Goodbar, a Dallas science teacher, emphasizes the importance of education for long-term conservation, particularly outdoor education that exposes young people directly to wildlife and natural systems. [broadcast September 22, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Jesse Grantham, a botanist and ornithologist who ran the Audubon coastal sanctuaries from headquarters in Port Aransas, explains the small changes in human lifestyles that can allow wildlife, such as the rare piping plover to survive.  [broadcast March 8, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Walt Kittelberger, a sportfishing guide from Port Mansfield, explains the thrill and challenge to fishing the shallow, clear waters of the lower Laguna Madre. [broadcast August 23, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Richard LeTourneau, a Longview machinist and outdoorsman, recalls a childhood encounter with his industrialist uncle that turned him into a lifelong conservationist. [broadcast April 18, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Rev. Roy Malveaux, a Beaumont minister in Beaumont, remembers how he first became concerned about industrial accidents and pollution problems in his community.  [broadcast May 9, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Billy Pat McKinney, a former wildlife technician for Texas Parks and Wildlife once based in Marathon, tells how mountain lion populations have rebounded in far west Texas. [broadcast March 7, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Ike McWhorter, a forester who worked for the Nature Conservancy, explains the development of prescribed burning as a sustainable way of managing east Texas woods.  [broadcast November 18, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Joe Moore, a former executive director of the Texas Water Development Board, recalls how difficult it was to explain to the public that flows of fresh water and nutrients were needed to support instream and coastal ecosystems and economies.  [broadcast April 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Bill Neiman, a nurseryman and landscaper in Junction, explains how he began work to rebuild the rare native prairies of the state.  [broadcast October 21, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Marcos Paredes, the federal District Ranger for the Rio Grande as it passes through the Big Bend area, sees a gap between a river's legal and ecological boundaries. [broadcast July 24, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Daniel Quinn, an author and philosopher from Houston, predicts that humans' way of life will change radically to accommodate the limits and needs of wildlife.  [broadcast January 23, 2006]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

Sharron Stewart, a coastal advocate based in Lake Jackson, describes the lethal threat of plastic litter to sea turtles and aquatic mammals.  [broadcast December 20, 2005]  Stream RealPlayer version.  Download mp3 version.

David Todd, coordinator for the Texas Legacy Project, outlines the Project's goals to document one generation's environmental work, and to inspire and educate the next generation to carry on the effort.  [broadcast September 21, 2007]  Stream RealPlayer excerpt.  Download mp3 excerpt.  If you would like a fuller explanation of the Project, this audio excerpt is culled from a half-hour interview available as a streaming RealPlayer file or as a downloadable mp3 file.