- ANNOUNCER: 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 is provided by Toyota.

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

Toyota -- Let's Go Places.

- NARRATOR: Coming up on Texas Parks and Wildlife... - We are not able to separate ourselves from bayous.

We have to stop viewing bayous as our adversary and start embracing them as our ally.

- I made the first design as a passion project, like, I love this place and I wanted to make some kind of art.

First step is to fire up the laser.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: Texas Parks and Wildlife, a television series for all outdoors.

[gentle music] - MARK KRAMER: Places like this are living museums.

♪ ♪ They're places where we have collections of the original historic diversity of life.

♪ ♪ And really, as coastal residents that's what we have, is an abundance of diversity.

♪ ♪ We don't really have topographical features like the Grand Canyon here.

We don't have iconic species like the Redwood forest, but what we have around us right here is a richness of life that is really hard to duplicate anywhere else.

♪ ♪ So not unusual for me on a morning paddle to be able to go out and see American alligators, river otters, brown pelicans, and bald eagles.

♪ ♪ Increasingly, it's difficult for us to find any place in Harris County where we can look back at what the land looked like before humans so dramatically altered it.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ [latch clanks] Welcome to Armand Bayou.

Glad to have you guys on the boat today.

My name's Mark Kramer, I'm the Conservation Director and Chief Naturalist here at Armand Bayou Nature Center.

Armand Bayou is the most beautifully preserved bayou left in the Bayou City.

So by definition, bayous are short coastal streams.

Most of us growing up in Houston area are only familiar with the way bayous have been altered.

They haven't really been exposed to what the historic nature, what a bayou would've originally looked like.

Once you come here and have a little bit of background understanding that this bayou is the way those bayous looked before they were so dramatically altered, then it begins to make more sense.

If we could go back in time and we could visit the Houston area right at the beginnings of the formation of Houston, it would be a stark dramatic contrast to what we see today.

Houston, primarily, was composed of the waterways, but also, those bayous were surrounded by these forested areas that line the edges of the bayou.

But the great expanse of the area was actually coastal prairie, grasslands.

Many hundreds of thousands of prairie wetlands, forested wetlands would've died at the landscape and worked very much like a sponge.

So when the rain would fall on the landscape, they would hold the water and then slowly release it back into the bayou.

♪ ♪ Well, Houston began to grow pretty significantly.

30s, 40s, 50s, business, industry, many, many hundreds of thousands of people began to move to the Houston area.

And as they did, many of those ecosystem services that the prairies and forested wetlands had were removed.

Those wetland sponge effects were replaced by rooftops, roadways, parking lots.

Those are impermeable surfaces.

So when it rains, those rainwaters hit the roofs and roads and they're quickly ushered into the bayou.

One of the things that occurred were more frequent flooding events.

So for a number of decades, the primary tool that we use to mitigate those flood events was the process of channelization.

The process of straightening, widening, deepening, and on occasion, even lining the streambed of the bayou with concrete.

Bayous were treated exclusively as conduits of water, as ditches, and that their only real value was to try to keep water out of our homes by moving it out as quickly as possible.

So when you look at that, you don't see a productive, beautifully diverse ecosystem.

♪ ♪ [light music] ♪ ♪ - SUSAN CHADWICK: I grew up on the bayou.

We used to play on the sandy banks, but I never actually paddled down it until I came back in about 2014.

Was probably my first trip all the way down.

And I just thought, "There's no way I'm gonna let them kill this river."

♪ ♪ - You know, right here you've got examples of human attempts to control the bank and erosion.

You can see this sheet pile wall that's tilted over and you've got these concrete interlocking blocks that are collapsing and breaking apart.

But what you see quite a bit of is just this random sort of dumping of chunks of concrete.

You see that all over the place.

- SUSAN: We try to educate people about the danger and the folly of cutting down the trees and removing the vegetation because it just destabilizes the bank and removes wildlife habitats and they're just gonna have a lot of problems.

[gentle music] So all of this used to be forested.

We talk about the riparian forest that used to exist.

This was all -- it was called River Oaks for a reason.

♪ ♪ - Now it's interesting, this little section right here has been left natural and there're a bunch of cottonwoods and sycamores and willows that are coming up.

And I don't really see any issues, any erosion problems.

Vegetation absorbs so much more water and stabilizes the soil so much better than any engineering solution.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ - SUZANNE SIMPSON: Houston is the Bayou City.

Bayous are a huge reason as to why Houston was founded in the first place.

We are not able to separate ourselves from bayous.

We have to stop viewing bayous as our adversary and start embracing them as our ally.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ The main way that Bayou Land Conservancy protects habitat is through conservation easements and conservation easements are a voluntary agreement that says this land is going to remain natural forever.

And by conserving the flood plains of Houston, we're making sure that these habitats that need to be flooded are flooding and not someone's home.

[gentle music] The wetland loss of Houston has been described as death by a thousand cuts 'cause its these little projects that have, over time, taken away our wetland ecosystems.

Preserving places like this and restoring places along our bayou systems, we can turn death by a thousand cuts into life by a thousand pieces.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - KELLI ONDRACEK: Clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, erosion control, urban heat island effect, preventing flooding.

An ecosystem service is a service that nature provides.

You know, all the benefits that are not given a value, that people take for granted because, you know, they're not told about them but they're benefiting from them.

And when you lose them, then that's when you notice that they're gone.

The development of Houston is spreading.

And so I think it's important that we focus on these areas that we can create habitat.

Parks is a really good, easy first start.

We did the restoration at Milby Park, which we put in over 2,000 trees along the bayou.

We've just decided to create our riparian restoration initiative where we're targeting every park that's adjacent to a bayou to create a riparian buffer.

[gentle upbeat music] There's unlimited possibilities for restoration in some of these parks.

And one thing that I've noticed is that some of, even these smaller areas like Milby Park, are very concentrated with wildlife, where you go to some of these larger refuges and have to, you know, actively look for wildlife.

You go to a city park and it's right there.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - There are hundreds of species that live along the bayou systems.

And one of the most interesting ones, in my opinion, are the Mexican free-tailed bats.

So probably the most famous bat colony in the Houston area is the one that lives in Waugh Drive Bridge.

And we have close to 300,000 Mexican free-tailed bats living in the bridge.

They live in the crevices.

♪ ♪ They provide a whole food web that goes around that colony.

So you have bats that are providing food for a lot of different species, such as hawks, owls, peregrine falcons, snakes, herons, and then you also have turtles, fish, things like that, that live in the water of the bayou down below.

And they're eating bats and bat guano and things like that.

And then you have the bats that leave the bridge every night and they go out and eat the insects.

They're helping humans by being insect pest control at night.

♪ ♪ They're also a nature tourism opportunity for people.

So people can come down, spend the evening watching the bats, enjoying being down by the bayou, watching all the different wildlife species interact.

So it's a economic moneymaker for Houston.

♪ ♪ The challenge in urban planning is to consider the needs of both humans and wildlife.

And the fact that we have to share the space.

- MARK: As a native Houstonian, I believe that bayous really don't get the respect they deserve.

But I think our identity is changing as the decades go on.

We now identify ourselves as being Bayou City.

We now are beginning to improve and enhance bayous both ecologically and recreationally.

- KELLI: And I just think that there is a need to create this nature-based infrastructure, which has not been focused on before.

♪ ♪ - TOM: If you look at what we've got here, we've got this wild, natural spot right in the middle of town, and it's our local waterway that's our connection to the natural world.

It's worth caring about.

♪ ♪ - SUZANNE: We are just scratching the surface of what urban and wild land interfaces are able to provide.

And it really is eye-opening to see what can coexist with us in a cityscape.

- DIANA: And I think in the long run, we have a choice to make.

Do we work with nature to make things better, or do we still travel down the same path we've been doing?

We have an opportunity to find a better balance that benefits both people and wildlife.

[gentle music] - Welcome to the woodshop.

My name is Alex.

I'm a woodworker here in Austin, Texas.

I've always loved the outdoors and loved hiking, and I recently began making wooden maps of the places that I love.

[upbeat music] I made the first design just as a passion project like this is, I love this place and I wanted to make some kind of art.

I did Enchanted Rock first.

When I first go to a new park, I get the map, I look at it.

One thing I really love about whenever you look at a map, immediately you see both the shape of the space, as well as the features that the person who made the map finds important.

Really, I decide where I want to go based on what features I'm going to see.

Like, how long the trail is, what I'm feeling.

I always find it really rejuvenating to get out on the weekends for several hours and go hike a trail.

And I've always been connected to the great names that are kind of attached to a lot of the different parts of the parks.

The Enchanted Rock itself, Turkey Peak, Buzzards Roost, Frog Pond.

They've all got like cool names too.

We're going to pull up our design here and we're going to make a map of enchanted rock.

First step is to fire up the laser.

All of the designs that I've made so far are places in which I've spent a lot of time.

They're places I know really well.

Parks like Enchanted Rock, and you go there and you know, obviously the most striking features are the giant rocks that you're going to.

I kind of called those out.

[upbeat music] Right now I'm cutting out a big piece of masking tape.

And I'm going to put it over the design that we've just etched so that we can cut out the exact shape of the park and paint it on there.

That's another part of what I kind of consider whenever I'm coming up with a new design is, is this feature important to someone who knows the area and has spent time there?

And also, how does it look as it's laid out, you know, on the physical layout of the map itself?

[upbeat music] Is that feeling that you get from looking at the whole map, is that the feeling that I connect with that space, and that's how I kind of see if the final design stays true to, to what I'm trying to do.

[upbeat music] Yeah, I think most people are lying if they say that they came up with a plan of why they were doing what they were doing.

I think most of the time you just, you want to do something, so you do it.

And then maybe you notice a pattern in what you've been doing and kind of mentally try to break it down from there about maybe what your motivations were, even if you didn't know what they were when you started.

That's definitely the case for me.

So I'm still kind of analyzing why I'm doing what I'm doing.

- So you just completed your hunter education course and now you want to become a better shotgun shooter.

I'm going to show you some everyday exercises to help you do that.

The Flashlight Drill, The Three Bullet Drill, and some mounting exercises.

These were taught to me by Gill and Vicky Ash with OSP shooting school.

Let's get started.

To do the flashlight drill you need an unloaded shotgun and you need a small flashlight that is able to fit into the barrel.

Indoors, in a room free of distraction, verify that your shotgun is unloaded and safe.

Insert the small flashlight into the barrel of your shotgun.

Start with the light in the corner where the ceiling and the wall meet.

Slowly mount your shotgun continuing to move your flashlight across the seam.

Once you reach the other side, lower your shotgun and do that action again in the opposite corner, from left to right.

You want to make sure the flashlight stays as smooth as possible as you travel across the seam.

In doing this activity over and over, this soon becomes second-nature and instinctive.

One of the exercises is called the three-bullet drill, and you can use three empty shotgun shells, or three cups, or any items.

Place them on a ledge, 12 to 16 inches apart.

Take your unloaded shotgun.

Double-check that it's unloaded.

While keeping focus on that center target, slowly mount your firearm to the target on the right.

Now lower your shotgun.

Keep focus on that center target and slowly raise your shotgun to point at the target on the left.

The whole purpose of this exercise is to not look at your shotgun barrel as it raises up.

You're still looking at your center target, but this is training your brain to accept that the shotgun is coming into your field of view.

You're improving your muscle memory, you're improving your shotgun mount, and you're improving your focus.

However you're going to be hunting in the field, practice that before you actually get to the field.

Let's use this rock.

Double-check that your firearm is unloaded.

Practice standing up, and as you are standing up, mount your firearm as if you were to take a shot.

Sit back down, and then we're going to do it again.

You should mount your firearm as you are standing.

It should be one fluid motion.

And as you stand up, rotate your body as if you were seeing your target in different locations.

Practice this exercise however you are going to be hunting or shooting.

So if you're going to be laying down, you want to practice laying down.

And with an improved gun mount and focus, the chances of hitting your target are much greater.

There's always room for improvement.

By practicing the flashlight drill, the three bullet drill, and different mounting positions, your shotgunning will be on-point.

There are no shortcuts.

With patience, practice, and perseverance, you will increase your shotgun proficiency.

- NARRATOR: Visiting Texas State Parks just got easier.

With our new online reservation features, you can choose a specific cabin, campsite or shelter and reserve it for your next visit.

The new reservation system makes it easier to plan group getaways.

[upbeat music] Save the day.

[honk, honk] And don't get turned away with our optional day-use reservation.

- VISITOR: Good morning!

- NARRATOR: And be sure to get in.

- VISITOR: Thank you!

- NARRATOR: Plus, you can buy park passes and gift cards online.

Texas State Parks, getting better for you.

[crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [crickets chirp, gentle breeze] [frogs croak, gentle breeze] [frogs croak, gentle breeze] [frogs croak, gentle breeze] [frogs croak, gentle breeze] This 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 is provided by Toyota.

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

Toyota -- Let's Go Places.